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Hosted by BoneshakerMTB and Gremlins Bicycle Emporium, the 2nd Annual Vintage Mountain Bike Show showcased over 30 vintage mountain bikes and celebrated bicycle craftsmanship from the late 1970s to the early 2000s. Organizer Jake London put together a recap of the event. Find that paired with a gallery of photos from Nathan Petrie of Dismount Bike Shop here…
Words by Jake London, photos by Nathan Petrie
The 2nd Annual Vintage Mountain Bike Show was another one for the books, one that we, BoneshakerMTB and Gremlins Bicycle Emporium, had been eagerly anticipating since wrapping up last year’s event. With an even bigger turnout, people traveled from all over, including New York, Vancouver, and Montreal to celebrate their love for vintage mountain bikes.
This year, we showcased a vast collection of vintage rides spanning from the late 1970s to the early 2000s. It featured 35 new bikes! The winter in Toronto has been harsher than last year’s, making it even more exciting to bring everyone together, and the anticipation of spring riding just around the corner was palpable.
The main wall featured builds from Rocky Mountain, Yeti, and Fat Chance, with klunkers from Cook Bros and Ritchey. We curated a selection of jerseys, T-shirts and Volvo/Cannondale mountain bike team hats from the Tinker era. On the floor, we had a diverse collection, from late ’90s rigid bikes to early 2000s full-suspension models. One of our favourites, and something we all bonded over, was the Ritchey P-22 exploded bike, a frame with quite the history. The exploded bike was hung above a number of vintage Paul derailleurs, both front/back of all colourways, along with some true Canadian heritage Syncros shirts and parts.
We are fortunate to be friends with collectors who continue to grow their collections, thanks to Mike Berlin, Lucas Longman, and the Gremlins crew who are always restoring and building vintage bikes.
For this year’s show, we wanted to create even more ways for people to engage. We built a custom pinball machine with help from Nitto, MKS, and Crane Japan, who provided specs and prizes for the game. This unique experience allowed attendees to win mementos from the show. It was a highlight seeing and hearing the bells and cheers of those who landed a prize! Additionally, we created a show-exclusive T-shirt, designed and screen-printed here in Toronto. We were also fortunate to receive donations from Stridsland and House of Looptail, allowing us to host a raffle at the show’s wrap-up. The grand prize was a custom 1995 GT HTS-3, built by the boys at Gremlins Bicycle Emporium.
Meeting so many new people who had heard about the show from last year and seeing familiar faces from our community made the event even more special. Opening night alone saw around 600 attendees, with an additional 900 visiting throughout the weekend. Many of them returned multiple times to fully appreciate and take in all the bikes on display.
One of the things we love most is showcasing these bikes in a gallery-like setting, where visitors can view detailed specs and descriptions of each bike, allowing them to not only admire the bikes but also learn more about their parts, builds, and history. We’re still geeking out over having all those bikes in one place and can’t wait to do it all over again next year!
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