If you think about it, mountain bikes came by right at the time when bicycle manufacturing technology was about to explode. In ten short years they made huge leaps in braking, drivetrain efficiency, and geometry. The mountain bike and bicycle technology took off together, so that may be why the early models are finally coming into their own as collectable vintage bikes. The window of time for true "vintage" mountain bikes is extremely narrow, from birth of the type, to their inevitable modernization. By comparison, lightweight road bikes have decades upon decades of gradual improvement.,,,,BD
Of course I could just be full of it
. But yeah.. You will never be able to hear someone say.. "Man, check out this SWEET early 60's mountain bike I just found!!"