Mountain Bike Specializations

In both Boulder and Denver, police actually have arrested cyclists who obstruct roadways or endanger joggers and pedestrians.The Colorado State Patrol last year organized an Specialized Mountain Bike compatibility committee in Boulder County and the city of Boulder hired a bicycle program coordinator. Fourth-graders in Boulder schools are taught safety rules for cyclists.

In Denver, police set up radar speed traps and ticketed Specialized Mountain Bike in Washington Park after receiving numerous complaints from joggers about reckless cyclists.

The Frisco-to-Breckenridge bike path has been the scene of some of the most intense conflict between cyclists and non-cyclists. Lt. Tom Flohrs of the Summit County sheriff's department says his office has received reports of abusive cyclists who ambush moped riders and others, insult them and even spit on them. ''Just some very inconsiderate behavior,'' Flohrs says.

The sheriff's office has responded by sending out plainclothes cops on mountain bikes as targets. So far, Flohrs says, ''I've received some pretty firm comments from bicyclists but nothing that could be construed as an outward act of aggression.''

Ned Overend first began competing in endurance sports in high school as a long-distance runner. In college he started competing in triathlons, then he was entering road races on his ultralightweight racing bicycle. Today, Overend is the national and world champion mountain-bike racer, and he has a new love: the rugged, knobby-tired mountain bike.

Overend is not the only convert to mountain biking in Colorado. The state ranks No. 1 in the country in per capita bicycle sales, and in this mountainous state, mountain bikes have led the way since they were invented eight years ago, even though most will never leave the pavement. Nationwide, mountain bikes make up about 35 percent of all bicycle sales, but Colorado retailers said the new bikes account for much more than half of their bike sales.

"They account for 70 percent of sales," said Rod Mitchell, manager of The Spoke, voted Boulder's best bike shop in a Daily Camera poll last summer. The Spoke sells between 1,500 and 2,000 bikes a year, and according to Mitchell, "manufacturers predict a 30 percent increase in (mountain bike) sales nationwide over the next two years."

New bikes often mean new clothing and accessories for the rider who wants to be completely equipped, and that translates to increased sales for retailers. Bike retailers said parts, clothing and accessories accounted for about 35 percent of their total revenues.

Mountain Biking