We’d like to know a little bit about your for our files.
It’s pretty important for us that we know who you are. That’s how we can make sure we are doing the right things for our users and subscribers. So every so often we will ask you to complete a poll or two. Here’s our next question following our last poll on how old you are?
Below you should see a poll. If you don’t it’s possible that you are not logged in to the site. If you don’t have an account you can create one in under a minute here. The one you see will depend on whether you are a full member or a free member. Yes, we’ve made two polls but you will only see one. So you will get to see the results of your group after you have submitted your age, but we will get to see if there’s a difference between the two groups. I’ll report on the answer to that question in the comments in a week or two.
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Done.
Started with a Marin Bear Valley in 1987 as an alternative to windsurfing on windless days
Still get the buzz.Â
Then and now
Since the early ’90’s probably, but before that used to do what we now call gravel on whatever bike I had.Â
Been into bikes since I was at primary school 45 years or so ago and used to do my own maintenance learning from a bookÂ
1987/88 I think, Peugeot Ranger ATB, rode it to destruction around the Malverns and it was replaced with a Peugeot Laser 15, which want much better.Â
Before that was a redline BMX, but I was hit by a car which wrote that off. When the compensation money came in, I was told by the guy in mycycles that at 13 and over 6ft, I was too tall for BMX and would be better on one of these all terrain bikes…..I don’t think he thought I’d actually take it over all terrain..:-)
Was having an internal dialogue about when I’d describe it as ‘mountain biking’ , when it was just ‘owning a bike that was a mountain bike’ or if years of just road biking meant the counter had to restart….
Then I opened the poll and saw the longest category was only 30 years+ so it was all irrelevant!
From the 2 recent polls, we are mostly old and have been doing what we do since the beginning of time. Will mtb and STW just die with us?
Yep, this one perhaps?Â
First bike I bought was a Specialized Hotrock and that would have been 1989. It was primarily acquired to reduce the long walk-in to several of the more remote Munros. After a while I realised I was actually enjoying riding it rather than it just being convenient.Â
As a child (young teenager) I did have a bike but we lived in the city so any off-roading would have been local parks, including Arthurs Seat.
Well I certainly learnt a lot from that book too, although I never attacked any dogs with my pump…
Bought my one & only brand new bike around 1990, a Trek 950 which I kept for 16yrs, then I found stw & my bike addiction ballooned 🤣
1985 working in St Andrews bought an imported book about ATB/MTB from JG Innes got me hooked, bought a Rockhopper frame was too big when straddling the top tube the jewels were at risk, drove up to Alves to get the frame builder to cut and lower it can’t remember his name maybe Ralph
Bought a Chas Roberts white spider frame with mcmoonter behind the counter at Stockbridge and with xt group set often up the Cairngorms/Glencoe and Glentress just had treesÂ
Still have the thumbshifters and frameÂ
Back out on an Orbea Gain with the di2 , hydraulics and tubeless with the mojo returned so 40 years
Rode a 20″ “tracker" in the local woods where there were bumps that were jumps from 11. Then got into roughstuff touring and taking my bike up mountains however little could be ridden. I observed the first few years of MTB then in 92 bought a Giant CFM 1 with XT and an awful Manitou fork. I’ve followed the fashions except e-bike and 29″. Being in a club has been a big part of the motivation and e-bikes have created a two-speed club so I feel I’m at a crossroads.
1989, on an 18 speed Falcon that was way too big.
Quickly replaced by an (obligatory) Muddy Fox; wish I’d kept the frame bag/pad like the one in the very cool photo by @Tracey
Time really flies…
First go on a mountain bike was when my brother bought a Saracen (Tufftrax??) in about 1989. I scoffed a bit, but was smitten by overall rideability and the rapid fire shifters.
Soon bought a Marin Eldridge once I’d found the money. Loved the Zolatone grey and fluoro orange paint. Deore LX throughout. Magic piece of kit and much missed.
There’s a lovely one for sale on Retrobike if you want to relive your youth?
For Sale – Marin Eldridge 1990, all original except the tyres. | Retrobike
From whatever year Raleigh released this ‘ATB’ beast…
so late 80s? Still got the bike in my mums garage
First ATB was a rigid Saracen something with one chromoly tube, the top coat of paint started falling off so Halfords replaced it with a later model -three chromoly tubes! Used and abused that bike for over 15 years, still fully rigid round the Peak District.
If it’s about when we first experienced off road, I had a three speed Coventry Eagle that I had at 9, a full adult size but as weekend rabbit monitor I used to ride it round the school grounds where there were some huge slopes. Got through a lot of front axles but I learned how to fix it myself.
1990 for me I reckon? Got the bug after having a go on my pal’s Raleigh Mustang around 87/8 so started saving. Wanted a Peugeot Lazer, then an Apollo Blizzard before picking up a copy of MBUK in 89 and upping my ambitions a bit before finally deciding on a 1989 Saracen Tufftrax from the local shop. Paid a deposit but by the time I had the rest of the cash it had probably ticked over to 1990? My best friend picked up a 90 zolotone Marin Palisades on the same day. Rode the wheels off that thing before replacing it with an Orange Clockwork.
Had a mountain bike ever since although 95-04 was fallow due to rugby with only a brief dalliance with a terrible GT full suss I-Drive thing in 2000. Bought an Orange Evo 4 in 04, packed in rugby soon after and have been MTB’ing regularly ever since.
I was riding road bikes for fun since the late 70s, a blue carlton 5 speed, until i bent it crashing into the viaduct on the old shoreham road when the brakes went at uni. Then a columbus tubed bike mid 80s – 90s and did a lot of touring on it. MTB came calling in 98 with a bit of an all round life change, and i got me a Rockhopper. It’s still in the shed, just in case. I rode it in 2021 when the downcountry FS was away for a warranty claim. Strava says I got 86kmh out of it going down Balmer to the 27 (rather not think too hard about that) :Â
My takeaway from these polls is that the overlords at STW Towers need to find some young blood before it’s current crop of users send it off their mortal coils.
Probs ’88 or ’89
An MBK which I saved up my paper round Christmas tips and bought from a place called Charlie Brown’s in Kingswinford.
Mix of 200GS and 300LX. Rigid forks. 21 speed. Some kind of paint splattered neon “corner" bag so you could swing the bike over your shoulder for styles /fences.
That got stolen.
Spesh Hardrock Sport. 92 ish.
That got stolen.
GT Tequesta. 94/5.
But been riding bikes since I was old enough to swing my leg over my metallic red tricycle that had a white seat with a pink elephant on it. that would have been 81 or 82.
I’m 50 in Feb.Â
A Raleigh Maverick 87 or 88. Sachs Huret mechs and a BMX style stem. Richard’s Bicycle Book, Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Glaskin and Tor’s ‘Mountain Biking’ books plus some issues of a US mag, MBA I think. And maybe Bicycle Action over here? Jeans and rucksacks to ride in the woods and do a loop of Peckforton Gap. Putting bits of corrugated rubber sleeve on our seatposts because Ridgeback did it and they looked cool in the Freewheel catalogue. Wanting a Muddy Fox Explorer or the red+ white Raleigh Ozark but at about 13 years old, thinking £400 was an amount of money that you’d never have for a bike.
Jumpers for goal posts and Farmer Johns for your tyres eh.