25 years of mountain biking!! :D

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This topic has 73 replies, 60 voices, and was last updated 14 years ago by DaRC_L.

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25 years of mountain biking!! :D
Blower
Free Member

20-21 years for me now riding atb's-mtb's,
I was a roadie before that born into the sport with mi old man..

celebrate the 25 when it comes yes… 8)
loadsa ups n downs,and times when i shoulda been ridng instead of getting off mi face on drugs ahh well! 😮

Falcom ATB model i forget..?
Emmelle Californian
Gt outpost
Gt Timberline
marin bear valley
marin nail trail(still got)
Scott Endorphin
ellsworth moment
cove stiffee
devinci ollie
ironhorse sunday
cotic bfe
genesis io ss
ragley blue pig

not many really struggled in my teens and early 20's to support it.
obviously the road bikes and bmx's too.
awesome sport may it long continue!

Posted 14 years ago

crikey
Free Member

Raleigh Chicco with cowhorns in 1972
Orange Eddy Merckx 10 speed racer
Emmelle something mountain bike in 1987
Muddy Fox Courier in 1988
Cannondale M800 in 1989
Cannondale M500 as replacement after snapping the above
Peugeot 531 roadie
Peugeot 753 roadie
Kinesis Shogun roadie
Quest aluminium roadie
753 custom roadie
TRek OCLV roadie
Scott Tampo-something
Halfords branded Merida magnesium HT
Spesh Stumpy FS
Klein attitude
Scott Addict roadie

38 years man and boy.

Posted 14 years ago

Maltloaf
Full Member

1989 Emmelle Cub
1995 Raleigh activator
1996 Saracen Hardtrax
1998 Peugeot Richard Virenque racer
2002 Specalized Enduro
2004 Rocky Mountain Blizzard
2006 Giant TCR composite
2007 Norco DH Team
2007 Cove Stiffee
2008 Voodoo D’Jab
2009 Surley Cross Check

Posted 14 years ago

Blower
Free Member

20-21 years of atb-mtb riding now..
Was a roadie before that,born into it thru mi old man…
Loads of ups n downs,took a back seat here n there while i fuelled my drug habit..ah well doing it again now. 😮

falcon atb,cant remember model..?
emmellee californian
gt outpost
gt timberline
marin bear valley
spesh m600
marin nail trail(still got)
scott endorphin
ellsworth moment
cove stiffee
devinci ollie
ironhorse sunday
gary fisher ss (nicked)
cotic bfe
genesis io ss
ragley blue pig

road bikes and bmx's too..
Awesome sport,wish i'd stuck to it more here n there,but hey ho thats life eh..

Posted 14 years ago

toys19
Free Member

I feel like a young un I think its exactly 20 years

1990 specialized rockhopper
1992 specialazed rockhopper (still got it)
1999 Specialized FSR thing (looked like a flying Y uggghhh)
2002 Giant XTC NRS
2006 Santa Cruz Bullit
2008 Orange P7 Pro
2008 On One inbred using the P7 pro as a donor
2010 Mountain Cycles Battery awaiting delivery..

Posted 14 years ago

barnsleymitch
Free Member

raleigh chopper mk 2 (so wish I still had it)
peugeot something or other (reynolds 501, not bad)
kendall hand built (in mercian pink – tasteful)
zinn (cant remember which model, and anyway, it was cack)
puch with raised chainstays, purple and black with spiders webs (goth out)
yeti fro (mmmmmm)
orange gringo
specialized tarmac comp
specialized big hit 3
cannondale f4

Posted 14 years ago

Tracey
Full Member

Started in 1987 as an alternative sport to when there wasnt enough wind to windsurf
1987 Marin Bear Valley
2001 Raleigh RSP 200
2003 Specialized Enduro Expert
2003 Specialized SX
2005 Specialized Enduro Expert
2007 Santa Cruz Chameleon
2008 Marin Wolf Ridge

Still have the last 3

Tracey

Posted 14 years ago

Stripe
Free Member

Had a few along the way…..

Cove Hummer now….. only one ill ever need !!

Why didnt they start making them in 1985? 😀

Posted 14 years ago

tang
Free Member

86 here also, 82 on a bmx tho. some emmelle crap my old man made me buy, it had gears wasnt a bmx and made sense in every way, upgrade soon followed, generally itching about bikes since.

Posted 14 years ago

MisterCrud
Free Member

My first MTB race…1987. My first MTB…1973 singlespeed. Is this a comp?
Do I win?

Posted 14 years ago

swamp_boy
Full Member

First proper MTB in 1990. Had several over the years, but still ride the first really decent one, a 1992 Raleigh Dynatech, although the frame is about the only original bit left. Most expensive was a 1995 Gary Fisher ProCaliber I got for £1,500, RRP was about £3,5000. Beautiful fast machine but deeply flawed.

If bombing round the local woods on a 3 speed Elswick Hopper with the chunkiest tyres I could get and a set of bars from a trials motor bike counts then I started in 1968.

Posted 14 years ago

j-claw
Free Member

19 years for me…
Definitely changed my life as I moved half way across the world because of it & now its my job. Its also give me some great friends & some amazing experiences.

1991 Marin Bolinas Ridge
1995 Orange C16-R
1998 Azonic DS-1
The wildnerness years
2003 Kona Caldera
2003 Orange Sub 5
2005 Orange Patriot 66
2005 Cotic Soul
2006 Specialized SX Trail
2007 Cotic BFe
2008 Specialized Demo 7
2009 Specialized Enduro SL

🙂

Posted 14 years ago

oldfart
Full Member

Andy thats quite a list .There must have been atime when you didn't take quite so long to make yer f***in mind up !!!! 😯

Posted 14 years ago

noteeth
Free Member

Twenty years this year. Got started a little after Tangent and his dad first ventured out on Mendip, Crane Bros style, on matching Saracen Trekkers… 😀

All downhill from there… MBUK regularly confiscated in school lessons… saving pocket money for replacement rear derailleurs… wearing a garish Bula hat for days on end…. losing my front teeth… In short, Gawd alone knows who/what I'd be without mountain biking.

Anyway (*still own)…

1990 Marin Muirwoods
1992 Raleigh DynaTech
1992 Rocky Mountain Hammer
1993 S-Works Steel*
1997 Bontrager Privateer
Bontrager Race no 1*
Bontrager Race no 2*
Rocky Mountain Blizzard*

Roll on the next two decades!

Posted 14 years ago

rightplacerighttime
Free Member

22 years (I think)

Specialized Rock Hopper Comp
GT Avalanche
Jamis Dakar
Schwinn Homegrown Pro
Schwinn Rocket 88
Marin Mount Vision
Merida FLX 3500

Hmmm…. my years/bike average looks a little high.

Posted 14 years ago

adeward
Free Member

1985 or 86 kona cinder cone first race cambell park milton keynes 86
1989 scott proracer fitted with WP rond forks in 1994 i think
1997 to 2000 the marin /whyte years lots of prototypes
2000 to 2009 mount vision single speed
2003 to present whyte preston
2009 to present whyte preston single speed pr alfine

Posted 14 years ago

AnalogueAndy
Free Member

1989 here. Thinking about organising a 21st year ride locally (Bath).

Muddy Fox Courier (nicked not insured)
Giant something (when Giant were bottom of the range and Muddy Fox top – how things change) (swapped for first road bike)
Marin Pine Mountain (nicked)
Kona Explosif (nicked)
Trek 8000 (still got the frame)
Trek ? (The one with the carbon tubes into ally lugs)
Trek Fuel (forget which model)
Spesh Stumpjumper (the last Tange Prestige one)
Another Trek Fuel
Spesh Stumpjumper M2 (warranty for above – bust seat stay)
Kona Kula

Still a fair few of the original guys riding round here – including Justin Loretz.

Those were the days, if you spotted someone on another MTB you had to stop them and chat / sort out a ride.

First race? Blandford Forum? Anyone remember it? Used to be the traditionally National Series 1st Round.

Posted 14 years ago

mcmoonter
Free Member

Started mountainbiking in '85. None of the bikes would have meant anything without the pals I'd ridden with. Thanks.

Posted 14 years ago

zangolin
Free Member

AndyCh – Member
That was what started it all. There was an article in Bicycle Action about hose races and the Hay ??? something. showed one pic of racing and loads of people sat outside the pub afterwards. Still got that mag somewhere. had a thing about bernard hinault winning his 5th TDF on the cover.
seem to remember a bloke racing then called Friend Wood. any ideas what happened to him??

Yes – those were the days.
Friend was a top guy – pretty certain he rode the 1985 3 Peaks that year also. He built his own cars back then as well – 3 wheeler based on a 2CV.
The Fat Tyre Five events were whole weekend affairs. Racing Saturday – timed lap for starting position then mass start race. Sunday was big organised route with feed stops along the way.

Locations for 1985 – in order.

1. Quantocks
2. Llanwrtyd Wells
3. Hay-on-Wye
4. Yorksire Dales
5. Cross Fell – Appleby Westmorland

Bikes that were around then – lots of Overburys, Few Specialized Stumpjumpers, reasonable number of Jeremy Torr + Geoff Apps bikes, few Saracens, Dawes, Raleigh.

The ultimate sheep mug 😯

Posted 14 years ago

racefaceec90
Full Member

i love mountain biking. 1988 dawes ascent 1991-2? marin eldridge grade 1993-4? specialized stumpjumper m2 2002 cannondale f800 2006 mongoose fireball 2007 specialized stumpjumper fsr comp 2008 p/x'ed fsr frame for an s works carbon ht 2010 p/x'ed s works ht for a stumpy fsr comp (i'm keeping this one! i just wish that i could get my fitness back (that i used to have.)

Posted 14 years ago

RepackRider
Free Member

2retro4u
Marin County, Cali

I really am an old git. Had a guy build me a mountain bike in 1978 because that was before you could buy one.

Posted 14 years ago

AndyCh
Free Member

Twenty years this year. Got started a little after Tangent and his dad first ventured out on Mendip, Crane Bros style, on matching Saracen Trekkers…

God i totaly forgot that. i wrote a letter to blue peter about mountain biking. got a blue peter badge, met peter duncan and they did a bit on the cranes with old PD riding with them.

First race? Blandford Forum? Anyone remember it? Used to be the traditionally National Series 1st Round.

Flip, i had my first propper crash at that. took my front teeth out after hitting a tree – WHILST LEADING!!!!! 😀

Posted 14 years ago

AndyCh
Free Member

Andy thats quite a list .There must have been atime when you didn't take quite so long to make yer f***in mind up !!!!

i'm just alway searching for perfection rolly!! anyhow, wasnt it you mentioning building a curtis based on a hummer?? now where did you get that idea 😉

Posted 14 years ago

onewheelgood
Full Member

21 years

1989 Trek 830 (nicked)
1992 Raleigh Peak (written off in incident with a Post Office van)
1992 Marin Eldridge Grade
1999 Marin Mount Vision
2004 Pashley 20" Muni
2005 Onza Muni 24"
2009 Giant Anthem X1

Still own the last 5. Mountain biking keeps me sane – even when it's just the edges of Warwickshire fields.

Posted 14 years ago

Spankmonkey
Free Member

around 22 years, brough the 1st muddy fox courier comp… kept it for years and years till it died. on and off the bike for many years due to life issues etc….

Posted 14 years ago

muddyfoxcourier
Free Member

Repack rider .That's cheating . You'll be telling us next you pick pianos up for a living and used to be a hippy and know Gary Fisher and stuff.

And have a beard and play guitar and stuff.

WE all made bikes in the 70s dude ,on account of the ' 3 day week '.

Anyway . Let's not get lost here . Didnt the original post mention 'doing something ' and muddy foxes .
Do it . Old school . It'll be ace .
I went out yesterday ( that's yester -day , not yester -year ) on my DB Axis . The speckly black /white one , as mentioned AndyCh.
Yea . It's dead hard . Everything aches . But you dont half feel alive . is'nt that why we all started in the first place .
Last week I put some screws in my Muddyfox courier ( pearl white )tyres and went out in the snow.
youtube 'spikeybike3',if arsed.
Either way , it's got to be knocking on the door of 20 yrs for a lot of riders. I'd say that's just about right for a look back in anger /rose tinted spectacle ride .
Now where's my dayglo legwarmers .
Oh yea . In the washing basket …..

Oh , one thing . Just dont over -organise it . Just make it up as you go , You know , old school . Jeremey Torr stylee .

Posted 14 years ago

TandemJeremy
Free Member

I started riding a modified road bike off road in the mid 70s. First 26wheeled triple chainset in about 93

My dad however rode a singlespeed 29r* over black sail pass in the 50s
.
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.
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.
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.* Known as a bike in those days

Posted 14 years ago

oldgit
Free Member

I put my start date down as 1972 as that was when I did my first race, road of course as MTBs hadn't been invented. That was a Viking.
1976 first cross race.
1985 First mountainbike, some Raleigh job.
2000 First mountainbike event.
38 years of taking it too seriously

Posted 14 years ago

oldgit
Free Member

.* Known as a bike in those days
Exactly TJ. Me and my mates rode the Ridgeway in the 70's on bikes.

Posted 14 years ago

Nezbo
Free Member

Got my bros handmedown mountain bike as my first 🙂 It was far to big for me and was not really a good bike or a light bike but i loved it 😀 and I started racing when i was 11 😕

So it makes this my 20th year of riding mountain bikes apart from a bit in the middle where i had an unpland/unwanted break where i went off the rails with sex, drugs, and rock & role (but with out the sex)(that i try to forget) 🙁

Then i started to ride again again in 2004ish and never looked back since, met loads of great mates, met my wife (to be), fell fitter, fell happyer, got a new job (when i started to get my self clean with the help of mountain biking), got a home, a washing machine, a bit telly, etc… Things just got better!

THANK YOU mountain biking 🙂

Posted 14 years ago

oddjob
Free Member

19 years since I got the first one on this list, but I was riding BMX when I was about 8 or 9

Dawes Stratos road bike with Shimano 105 – 1991 (wrecked in car crash)
Scott team racing – 1997 (stolen)
Trek 2200 road bike – 1999
Marin Rift Zone – 2000 (sold frame)
Cannondale R3000 -2004 (stripped parts)
On-one Pompino – 2005 (sold)
On-one geared inbred – 2004 (sold)
Cotic Road Rat – 2008 – (Still got)
Salsa Mamasita – 2008 (best MTB I've had)
Cervelo R3SL – 2008 (sex)
Cervelo soloist team – 2009

I love collecting/building/buying and obsessing over bikes almost as much as I love riding bikes

Posted 14 years ago

NormalMan
Full Member

I started in 1986 (had been riding offroad on a BMX for at least a couple of years before that) with a Raleigh Maverick. 5 gears was all it had and the combination of sidepull brakes and steel rims meant braking was, erm, interesting!

Posted 14 years ago

The-Swedish-Chef
Free Member

Must be around 25 years now.

First generation
Peugeot something, 3 of them as 2 frames broke, sold the last to fund a
Gary Fisher A1 with seat post pump – stolen the same night as a friends Clockwork Orange, his father Overburys and Tim Gould's race bike that he'd won in a MBUK comp ;-(
Kona Expolsif in gold, loads of Syncros and Cooks Bros – sold, freaking great bike
Amp B4 with Marzocchi oil/air forks, seriously blinged in silver and blue – sold

The road years
Specialized Allez carbon
Giant compact

Re-born MTB'r
Gary Fisher Malin – currently being seriously upgraded

Not that many bikes, but each one ridden like it was stolen, and each gave me a smile.

Posted 14 years ago

DaRC_L
Full Member

20 years for me – I spent almost a decade lost in a wilderness of not-riding-bikes.
The chainset on my old BSA road bike had died in 1982 then I was persuaded to try this MTB malarkey on a mates bike in Tx 1990.
Back in blighty in the New Year I walked into On Your Bike with £300, as recommended by MBUK, came out with a bike went straight up to the South Downs Way
and found the antidote to the hedonistic lifestyle I'd been living…

Fusion 0110 – 1991 to 1994
Fuquay – 1994 to present (fortunately it's purple-ness is now gone)
Spesh FSR – 2000 to 2006 (about to make a return as the kids/wife bike)
SC Blur LT – 2006 to present

Posted 14 years ago