Cool Hans, I started riding bicycles back in the mid eighties - Mountain bikes had no suspension or even "click shifting" - everything was friction shifters & only 6 cogs on the rear.
More hard core though, were the gents that raced bikes back before the chamois was inserted in the lycra or even before that, wool shorts - they would put a piece of flank steak between their taint & the shorts to pad themselves - out running tigers was a great training method!