Mountain Biking Is Just a Passing Fad! | 1986 | CBC Archives

From tranquility to turmoil, the ubiquitous mountain bike has pressed its way east. To downtown Toronto. The bike that was built to go up mountains will also let you off-road in the city. People tell me that this is the kind of bike that yuppies are buying. Are you one of those? I don't think I'm old enough to be a yuppie yet. The wave that is sweeping in from the west is still just a ripple at this Toronto bike shop. But where once you could only find the odd exotic model, now you will see everything from top-of-the-line $2,000 bikes down to $200 machines. I think they're the bike for the average person. But Ian Kay is not your average person. He treated himself to his first mountain bike a year ago, $800. He uses it to commute to work at the fire hall and he uses it for off-roading. I paid a considerable sum of money for it and I noticed the quality. It's like, I guess, driving a Volkswagen and then getting in a Porsche. There is a difference. Although the differences are very subtle and hard to see on a bicycle, they're there and they do make a big difference. But will mountain bikes still have their special appeal when every kid on the block has one? When you can buy mountain bikes at Canadian Tire for $99.95 instead of $700 at a specialty bike shop, it'll be interesting to see if the upscale market segment that has to be different, that has to have its pasta homemade, whether that particular group will continue to stay there or whether they'll go on and find another specialized leisure commodity.