1985 Bridgestone MB-2
1985 Bridgestone MB-2
If you’ve looked through some of the other sections of our museum, you may have read about Bridgestone’s 1991 MB-0 mountain bike or the 1989 MB-1. These were top-end offerings from their respective years of production. This bike, the 1985 MB-2, isn’t quite as fancy as those premium models, but in many aspects it’s a superior bike thanks to earlier design ideas that with 40 years of hindsight turned out to be right on.
So if you look at modern gravel bikes or some of the bespoke touring and utility brands that are really doing well right now, you’ll notice the long chain stays and relaxed seat tube angles on these bikes. Maybe you have seen some modern bikes that have front forks with rake similar to this old MB-2. This isn’t accidental design.
The extra front fork rake (and just like the seat tube, a steerer tube angled further out) make riding with a heavy handlebar bag a safe and pleasant option.
By extending the chainstays beyond what has been the norm for 40 years, the old MB-2 or a modern Rivendell can handle rough trails smoothly without the aid of a shock fork or rear suspension unit. This old Bridgestone’s long wheelbase would also help to distribute the weight of panniers, a design element that really disappeared until only recently.
The MB-2’s catalog page
Bullmoose bars
Fresh spokes, Gravelking SK tires
Matching bars
MB-2 drivetrain
Later mountain bikes (in the 1990 to 2010 time frame) came with pretty twitchy front-end frame and fork geometry, so handlebar bags and front racks were likely to steer you into the ditch. Also, top-end bikes often lacked the attachment points for racks or fenders, much less feature geometry that would make carrying the extra weight a pleasant experience.
There’s another design element on this MB-2 that disappeared for a long time but is now back in a big way. This one is dumb, and we do it just for style… The one-piece handlebar and stem combo. These days a lot of high-end bikes come with integrated bars & stems that offer no adjustment if you feel the need to change your position. At least this old Bullmoose handlebar doesn’t have the brake cables running through it…
Comfortable frame geometry, fender mounts and cargo capacity? Those weren’t available features for a long time… Selling premium goods often means selling speed or just repackaging what racers would use. Maybe things have changed a bit and now we’re back to where we were 40 years ago, appreciating the style, comfort and practicality of a bike like this Bridgestone.