Vintage Bike Masters Klosters: Interview Marcus Klausmann: "Logically - full throttle!"

FREERIDE: You've been involved in the whole downhill sport. Can you still remember the early races, such as the race in Klosters in 1993, in honour of which the Vintage Bike Masters was held last year?

Marcus KlausmannOf course. I was even at the start in Klosters in 1993. The European Championships took place there. I came fourth in the juniors. Two weeks later, I competed at the World Championships in Métabief, where I came second.

When did you do your first downhill race?
In fact, 1993 was my first year in downhill.

Which bike did you start with in Klosters?
With a hardtail from Hooger Booger. This was originally a snowboard brand, but they also sold mountain bikes under the name. Hooger Booger belonged to Scott. I was lucky and switched to the Scott team shortly afterwards.

Of course it's nonsense to say that everything was better in the past. The bikes from back then are the best proof! But when it comes to big feelings, vintage is ahead. The greatest heroic stories were always in the past. - Alex Beeler, organiser of the Vintage Bike Masters in Klosters

When did full suspension arrive?
In 1993, many had already started with fullys. There were good bikes from Kona and Sunn, Ancillotti and Scott built serious fullys. The Mountain Cycle San Andreas was a bike that was ahead of its time. Only I didn't have one.

Did the fullys deserve the name?
Not all, but some full-suspension bikes were really good, Sunn for example or Scott. The fullys from GT were extremely good.

How were you able to finish 4th with your hardtail?
I don't really know that either. (Laughs). I was actually still an U17 rider in 1993. But I had special permission to compete. I was actually too young. I was in the mud a lot throughout the season because I overdid it. In Klosters, I managed to get the run down well for the first time.

You made up for the lack of full suspension with risk and full throttle.
Of course - full throttle! (Laughs) That worked in Klosters, but back then we also rode on routes that were not manageable with a hardtail. For example in Cap d'Ail. That's where I rode my first World Cup downhill. Also with a hardtail, but it was impossible - not rideable! I had one flat tyre after the other and was completely exhausted.

The 1993 Klosters Dh track had little to do with a modern Dh track, right?
Not much. Sure, there were open meadow bends back then and they still exist in DH tracks today. But the steepness and brutality of today's tracks is a whole different ball game than back then. Otherwise I would never have got down there alive on my hardtail. You can't compare the tracks with each other. But for the time, the track in Klosters was a fast route - but also extremely pedalling-heavy. You rode right into the village.

Klausmann: "The bikes from 2008 were already damn fast"

Is it true that people rode with the seatpost extended back then?
Not fully extended as you would normally ride, but retracted by 3 to 4 centimetres. That was a compromise in order to have a little more freedom of movement and still get enough pressure on the pedals during the long pedalling sections. They weren't 30 metres long like today, where you pedalled for half a minute before going down again. You sat in the saddle to make faster progress.

At what point was a downhill bike comparable to today's downhill bikes?
Mmmh... 2008 I would say. Well, they were still 26-inch bikes. But you were already going very fast on those bikes, even if today's mullet bikes have big advantages. At that time I was training a lot in San Remo - and in San Remo I also rode modern downhill bikes, so I have a good comparison. I know that the bikes from 2008 were already damn fast.

"When I look at the bikes from back then, one thing goes through my mind above all else: We can be very happy that we got out of that time alive!" says Mike Kluge, World Cup legend, racer in 1993 and participant in the Vintage Bike Masters in Klosters.

Some people claim that they were downhill world champions from 1990 to 2004 - with a modern-day enduro bike. Do you agree?
I believe that too. I would have won all the world championship titles with an enduro from 2024. Maybe not until 2004, although maybe.

Would a hobby freerider have won the 1995 Downhill World Championships with today's Enduro?
I don't believe that. The World Championships were in Kirchzarten in 1995. There were two tough pedalling sections. To be fast there, you really had to have something on the chain. There were also nasty root passages and bends. So you had to have all the skills and the punch to ride fast for four minutes. That would have been too much for a hobby freerider. The retractable seat post and better suspension would have helped, but you would still have had to pedal.

Will we look back on the 2023 Downhill World Championships in 30 years' time like we do now with the 1993 European Downhill Championships in Klosters?
Probably yes. I've already asked myself this question and played through the scenario in my mind. Where are we now and what will happen? At first glance, our current bikes, geometries and chassis look sophisticated. It's as if there's not much room for improvement.

Klausmann: The biggest game changer was the retractable seat post

If you look at the bikes from Klosters in 1993, they were an adventurous piece of kit. It's a wonder that the riders made it down to the valley alive.
That's right. And the leaps in technology will no longer be as great as before. Back then, we started from scratch. But look at motorsport. It was already much more advanced in 1990, comparable to downhill racing today. And yet, if you compare the cars of 1990 with the cars of today, the technology has developed enormously. In short, it is quite possible that in 30 years' time we will look at the bikes of today and smile as we do today at an Audi Quattro from 1990.

Looking back, which innovations were rubbish, which were lucky charms?
Back then, we started out with triple chainrings and chain guides that we had devised ourselves. It wasn't until around 2000 that the first standards were introduced, but nothing ever fitted. So we always had to reach for the file. Today, we have come a long way to ensure that the chain stays on. The biggest game changer was the retractable seat post - for the entire MTB sport. The seatpost was no longer important for downhill riding, as the trails became steeper and faster and the pedalling sections of the early years were no longer necessary.

Wide handlebars and fat tyres?
Thick tyres already existed back then. Michelin built a good tyre with the C16, which was 2.1 or 2.2 inches wide. But there were also 2.5 inch tyres. I liked wide handlebars even back then. You couldn't buy them, so I built my own extensions on the lathe so that my handlebars were 720 millimetres wide. Protaper was the first manufacturer to offer really wide handlebars. So wide that I had to shorten them again. I remember a curious regulation of the BDR that handlebars were not allowed to be too wide. So they built a lock into the track. Only those who could fit through it were allowed to start. That was ridiculous, and the BDR quickly dropped it again when the protests mounted.

I think vintage racing is great - says Markus Klausmann

Do you still have the bikes from the early days?
Unfortunately not. I still have the bike frame with which I won the 1996 World Cup in Kaprun. And I still have a special frame from B1. I could adjust everything on it: Chainstays, steering angle, reach etc. My father had built it - I was supposed to use it to find out what suited me best. Only then did I place my order for the customised frames. After all, I couldn't say in advance: longer here, shorter there - because I then had to ride the whole season with the customised frames supplied.

So you no longer have any complete bikes?
No. But recently I received an email from someone who had bought my Intense M1 back then. It was still in its original condition with Rond forks, six-piston brakes, Gripshift and other curiosities. Even the Tioga tyres were still on it. I made him an offer to buy it back, but unfortunately he had sold it on not so long ago. What a shame - I would have loved to have the bike back. It would have been the ideal bike for competing in retro races like the Vintage Bike Masters.

Why didn't you take part last year? Are retro races not to your taste?
I think the vintage race is great. I was even invited to Klosters, but my son Levin had his European Downhill Championships at the same time, so of course his dad wanted to support him.

How did Levin do?
He had two faults at the European Championships. Les Menuires is a high-speed track. Once he broke his rim when jumping into a stone field and once he had a flat tyre. But Levin is damn fast and has what it takes to follow in my footsteps. That makes me happy as a dad.