This, a Marin Team Titanium. I was doing masses of Road Racing pre taking up MTB’ing and had a few quid to spend so I bought this off a shop in North Wales and got my G/F to drop me off at Lake Bala on the way home and I rode it back from there to Ironbridge. I then entered a couple of the early XC races at Cannock and the first time I turned up to race it got nicked from behind me, didn’t even get to do my first race on it.. Gutted doesn’t quite fit the feeling. It was then replaced with a Klein Attitude in pink/green fade (which I have to say was much nicer and became one of my all time favorite bikes)

[/url] image by artaylor910, on Flickr[/img]

1989 Saracen Tufftrax for me. Got another one now for retro trips.

Second was a 1990 Orange Clockwork. Got it second hand around 1993 as I couldn’t afford a new one. Ace bike that, still ride Orange because of it 8)

Alpinestars Al-Mega DX 😀

First MTB-style bike was a Diamond Back Sorrento in 1992 (?)

First what I’d call ‘proper’ MTB was a 1996 GT Backwoods

one of these:

Then one of these:

Specialized Sportrock – stolen from the shed after two happy years 🙁

I had the same one as simmy, the Raleigh ‘Mountain Bike Team’, a heavy old gate done up to look vaguely like the proper team bike, sort of, maybe if you squinted from thirty feet off on a foggy day. Had some grand days out on that and covered a fair few miles for a 12 year old. Scrimped and saved for two years to get myself a proper bike, a Breezer, then sold the old Raleigh to pay for some shoes or something like that.

1986 Rockhopper.

my first tmb be was, i’m ashamed to say a Raleigh Shaftivator….it was a horrible piece of s**t…

got rid of it as soon as possible and replaced it with a Marin Eldridge Grade….

oh how i miss that bike…

Wish i still had it but it was 15.5 inch and i sold it once i grew out of it and decided it wasnt a very good as a trials/ DJ bike 🙂

the bars and stem are still being used on my mates bike, having had a stint as a banger based mortar system 🙂

A Marin Bear Valley SE- i literally perstered my parents to but it for me!
Thanks mum and Dad 😀

Marin Eldridge Grade….

oh how i miss that bike…

Oh how i wanted one of those….

I too started on a Raleigh Activator (like gonzos above).

Kays catalogue must have shifted 1000s of those things!

Mine is still in the family and is regularly ridden by my father-in-law!

Grifter

more properly a black Kona – 1990 Lava Dome I think 😀

1988 Kona Explosif that I bought in 1989. I still have it, it still gets ridden from time to time.
There’ll be photos of it on here somewhere.

Here it is….

I grew up right by a bit of woodland and some old railways tracks and army ranges, so all my bikes went offroad. My first was a Raleigh Chippy – a singlespeed fixy! Then a coupla Raleigh Boxers, also singlespeed and with big mudguards that made them look like a motocross bike. Then a Raleigh Superburner BMX. Then, when I’d been mountain biking for about 10 years something amazing happened – mountain bikes arrived in Surrey! I got an Apollo Atomic. It had GEARS!

Anyway the first, my chippy, looked like this:

This is the closest pic I can find to mine.
1988 Saracen tufftrax (2nd year of them I think):

Many of the amazing period details shown in this one image:

rossi146 – i originally was going to get a Bear Valley SE then realised i’d actually saved up enough money for the eldridge!! result!! 😀
i had it for 4 years before some sticky fingered scrote thieved it!! i know who took it but without actual proof i could never do anything about it… 😕
muffin-man – i feel your shame pal!! 😆

Second hand Marin Muirwoods in a lovely luminous yellow. Similar to this.

’87 Muddy Fox Courier brought second hand with my paper round money.

Still have the front wheel in the garage which was all that was left after it was nicked 😐

Had an MBK bike something like 90 or 91. 200gs shifters, 300lx rear mech, biopace etc.

Bought a Hardrock in 91 that had a flex-stem, not the Girvin one though.

After that was a GT Tequesta with Rock Shox Indy S. Yay elastomers. That got nicked so I bought a Marin Bear Valley SE. Rigid though.

Big gap then a GT Zaskar.

I miss my old bikes.

Marin Palisades in blue, roughly 1987, with Biopace. Stolen 5 or so years later at uni. I got my girlfriend into cycling as well, and we’d head out to the pub and clubs and wobble home off our heads.

The odd thing is, despite it being called a mountain bike, I had no conception that off road trail riding existed until almost 10 years later when my girlfriend bought a mtb mag because she wanted a suspension fork like the one I’d got on my new Marin Bear Valley. Initially it was all about the fluoro yellow courier bikes popularised by Muddy Fox, but then I grew in Central London with no car, so my idea of off road was within the tree and shrub sections of Hyde and Battersea Parks!

Giant Coldrock. 1992ish, It was my Mam’s really but I permanently borrowed it. Was nicked from my backyard when I nipped upstairs to get my puncture repair kit. Fast buggers. Replaced with an Orange P7, which I had until 6 months ago.

First bike that resembled an MTB was a Townsend Topeka. First actual proper MTB was a Kona Fire Mountain, 1996 model, stil regret selling it to this day 🙁

1991 Alpinstars Cro-Mega DX

[/url]
holmo bike chop by bmclynskey1, on Flickr[/img][/url]
old skool by bmclynskey1, on Flickr[/img]

1986 Ridgeback S… and whenever these threads come up I set off on a search to try and find a pic of one, but never with any luck.

Closest I’ve found is the next page or so on in the Freewheel catalogue with the top of the range model from that year (you get the idea.. mine was like that but with much cheaper bits!)

ridgeback mountain bike retro mtb british by vincycles, on Flickr

Rigid KHS about 300 quid 20 years ago. It got nicked at the station.

Considering that a bike is still pretty much 2 wheels, plus a frame and seat/bars, i can’t quite believe just how old fashioned these MTB’s are looking! If the same thing occurs over the next 20 years we are going to be riding hover bikes soon 😉

I had one of these
14th birthday present, from Pa who thinks bikes are important. lucky me. Loved it, took me places, eventually got nicked from Victoria Park while on long term loan to a mate.

This one isn’t mine, I just found the pic on Google image search. Had a really strong reaction when I opened it full size: the smell of warm pine needles, summer afternoons in the Bourne woods, not much to do but get lost and follow our noses. wow.

Diamond back ascent. The one i rented in Kathmandu was ace, the one i bought in Blighty was utter bollocks, creeky, rattling piece of junk.

Diamond back Ascent EX 😀

Rock Shox Judy SLs the forks added latter

Raleigh Avanti identical to the one previouslt posted – bought used, and I only ever used it as a commuting bike. Never rode off road!

Then a Kona Unit 29er bought specifically to ride off-road, 15 years later.

That’s it, my mountain bike career in full.

That Raleigh may have had a good frame but it was a dreadfully dull ride.

Some lovely bikes in here… I found a pic of mtb number 2.

Old school by Northwindlowlander, on Flickr

That’s me up the back. Purple, check. Flexstem, check. Ridiculous bars, check. 90s! My brothers showing off our fleet of terrible Sarcinz. We’ve still got all these bikes, mine is strapped to the turbo now.

Maroon Raleigh Maverick, short stem wide bars, about 25yrs ago.

Dumb kids in school used to be real hostile about it, lots of comments like “What you going to do, ride up a mountain on it….”

edit: oops, possibly a year later

2007_0808Afan20070035 by cmaddski, on Flickr

Ain`t she a beaut

Ain`t she a beaut

Sure is!
What’s with all the gaffer taped bits? Must have a mega thirst for that jerry can 😆

Wide bars , comfy seat and nail your shoes to the pedals , what`s not to like

The embarrassing thing is, I am still riding my one and only MTB after more than a decade. Trek make ’em to last!!!