If you ride mountain bikes, chances are good that at some point, your Facebook feed has been populated with YouTube clips of insane motorcycle hill climb events – you know, the ones that are impossibly steep with nearly a 100 percent failure rate.
Since all of those machines feature longer-than-usual rear ends, surely it’s a good idea to apply that philosophy to mountain bikes, right? That was the idea behind the decidedly unusual Velocitech Mountain Machine in the mid-1980s – and not surprisingly knowing what we know now, it didn’t work too well.
To say that the Mountain Machine’s frame geometry is a bit different would be quite the understatement. It uses a 20in rear wheel, a 24in front wheel, and the chainstays measure a whopping 530mm (20.86in) – roughly 10cm (3.94in) longer than what’s typically found on bikes today.
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Someone once thought this was a good idea
The thinking was that the long rear end yielded better weight distribution on steep ascents, thus producing more consistent rear wheel traction and making it easier to keep the front wheel from lifting off the ground. The smaller rear wheel effectively lowered the gear ratio, too, so the rider could truly inch their way uphill.
Complete specifications:
- Frame: 1985 Velocitech Mountain Machine, size 18 M (‘modified’)
- Fork: 1985 Velocitech Mountain Machine
- Headset: Shimano 600, 1in threaded
- Stem: SR BMX
- Handlebar: Aluminum high-rise
- Grips: Turbo Grip BMX
- Front brake: Shimano BR-MC70 cantilever
- Rear brake: Shimano BR-MC70 cantilever
- Brake levers: Shimano BL-M700
- Front derailleur: Suntour Mountech
- Rear derailleur: Suntour Mountech
- Shift levers: Shimano SL-M700
- Freewheel: Suntour 6-speed, 14-32T
- Chain: Sachs Sedis 6-speed
- Crankset: Takagi Tourney GS, 170mm, with 26/36/46t chainrings
- Bottom bracket: Tange
- Front rim: Araya 24x1.75in
- Rear rim: Araya 20x1.75in
- Hubs: Shimano HB-MN72
- Spokes: Galvanized, 14g
- Front tire: Carlisle Aggressor R/A, 24x2.125in
- Rear tire: Carlisle Aggressor R/A, 20x2.125in
- Saddle: Vetta
- Seatpost: SR Laprade
- Pedals: SR SP-100AL
- Total weight: 13.84kg (30.51lb)
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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