Educational Media Reviews Online

Mountain biking is both a popular recreational activity and a serious sport, but prior to the early 1980s very few people had ever seen a mountain bike, much less ridden one. The documentary film Klunkerz explains how this particular piece of sporting equipment developed in Marin County, California, and it profiles the people responsible for its evolution. Interviews with cycling veterans and pioneers Gary Fisher, Joe Breeze, and Tom Ritchey (among others) are interspersed with archival footage and photographs in an attempt to track the development of the mountain bike from home-built and highly modified “klunkerz” to the mass-produced models available in today’s markets worldwide. The first half of the film focuses on the relationships within and among the local bike clubs in Marin County during the 1960s and 1970s, while the second half of the film looks at some of the first businesses which launched the mountain biking industry. The DVD includes several short bonus featurettes, including a segment on the philanthropic efforts by many of the film’s subjects. Klunkerz will appeal not only to mountain bikers but also to those interested in entrepreneurship and Americana. Both public and academic libraries will find an audience for this film.