Aged 12 - Started in 1991 with brand new Raleigh Moonrun (birthday present). Decked it out with a top tube pad, monster bar ends, saddle bag and twin bottle cages. It weighed a ton 🤪
First and only time to have had an off the peg bike - custom builds ever since.
I had an MBK ATB when I was 13 back in 1988 that I used to mess around on in the local area.
I really got into mountain biking in 1991 though after buying a lovely yellow Saracen Sahara. I joined the Liverpool MBC and used to get picked up and taken on the different rides.
I can't recall exactly what happened now, but the Liverpool Mountain Bike club folded and I ended up joining the St Helens MBC. I was still only young and not of driving age, so again used to get driven by another club member to the rides.
I bought myself a Marin Bear Valley SE in 1992 and that was the bike that really got me into it. I was out every day on it and it was the first bike that I upgraded / modified.
I've been riding ever since, so 29 years for me.
Bit of a latecomer, me. In 1999 I realised I was getting fat(ter) and needed some exercise. Bought an *AWFUL* 2nd-hand Peugeot 'ATB' thing from the local paper which really should have ben in a skip. There was nothing good about it: made of scaffold, purple with gold flecks, steel wheels, and a badly roar drive-train. Did a few local loops on the road then one day bought an OS map and took it off-road for the first time. I distinctly remember thinking 'Yep, this is for me'.
Upgrade after upgrade followed and took MTB (and cycling in general) very seriously for many years becoming a sponsored rider for a local team, regional Vet champ at CX and quite a handy time-trialler. Owned 10 bikes at one point. I don't ride so much these days, though I still have a rigid SS 29er that I'll never part with.
Since the late 80’s with my first MTB being a Raleigh Maverick
Had a Raleigh Gritstone in the 90s as a kid. Broke it and stopped riding. Back end of university 2003, I was kayaking a lot but there was an absence of rain or surf. Neil, of SSC fame leant me a bike. Amazed at how much better disc brakes and suspension were I bought one from Merlin Cycles with the money I earned over summer.
No car so used to ride 10 miles on the road to Rivington, do the fun off-road bits, then ride home. Not been without a bike since then.
Early 80's. Got a Haro soon up graded to a Cannonale then to a Fischer onto a Bontrager next up was a Lightspeed. Titus was next then the next jump was to a 29ner Santa Cruz Superlight, next was a Santa Cruz 5010 then to a Santa Cruz Hightower and this spring with be a Pivot 429.
Twas around 94 I bought an old mtb clunker with a decent child seat, that was probably worth more than the bike. I used to take my new daughter out over the hills and had extra padding in the seat to cope with the bumps.
I then started to enjoy the actual riding and with my knee causing me running problems, bought a Dawes mtb a couple of year later. I think it was about 2002 that I bought a Saracen hardtail and started actually riding properly and that lasted until 2007 when I bought a spesh epic expert. That served me well, until 2015 when I bought a Giant Anthem 29er which Ive still got and still like.
I do other stuff, so never been massively into mtb and probably average about 750 miles a year.
I'd love to say I started with a cool steel rigid bike, but I didn't. I bought a Saracen Raw that was miles too big on 25th April 1999 because I was sick of getting beaten to death by the state of the roads round here. I thought I knew what I was doing! 😀
It only took one ride down the railway lines (it's just a dirt track) and I was hooked; I felt like a kid on his new bike. Mind you, I nearly popped a plum going downhill with that poxy URT rear end.
My first proper MTB was a second hand ex-hire bike bought in Chamonix. Was bought as my b'day present in Summer 1991 (i think) It was my first full size adult bike. Although I had a been smashing around on Raleigh era kids ATBs and breaking/bending them before
It was an MBK in dayglo green/yellow, U brake under the chainstay, and 18 speed Shimano Exage/500LX mix with Biopace chainrings, and I absolutely loved it. Fitted one of the corner frame pads with padding under top tube exactly like the one in the photo Tracy posted (on pg1) and I used to carry a set headset spanners in it! I think someone posted a pic of near identical bike on here a couple of years back after a discussion on the 'sausage' inner tubes that a few people remember from the time.
Well, I was born in 81 and I think my first bike was a chrome BMX with white plastic wheels, red pads and red tyres. I think after that I had a 24" wheeled Peugeot - my dad had a yellow Peugeot road bike and a white Peugeot MTB. From there it was a purple Raleigh Mustang, then a re-sprayed green/white hand-me-down Giant Stonebreaker. 1999 saw my first proper MTB. A 1998 Trek 7000ZX. Gold, Indy XC forks (63mm of travel!!!), Panaracer Fire XC Pro tyres. I loved that bike. Joined a local MTB club and fell in love with the sport. My late 20s and early 30s were mostly involved with work, marriage and moving up the property ladder. Over the years I built up a Spesh Stumpjumper FSR S-Works, a Giant Reign and a Voodoo Hardtail I bought with the intention of getting back into it. That morphed into a Marin full bouncer, which eventually became a Cube Reaction Pro 29er on the Cycle to Work scheme. That became a Jamis Dakar A2 the next year on the C2W scheme, then once I started out-riding that, I bought my Canyon Spectral and haven't looked back. Fallen back in love with the sport and am fitter and faster at 39 than I've ever been.
God bless mountain bikes 👍
July 2nd 1989 on a spearmint green Raleigh Montage. Aged 14 and a bit.
31 years! Hi Tech Kalahari, 2 months later a Giant terrago and then in 1992 a Marin Eldridge Grade. Come full circle as only seem to use my Scandal.
When all this was fields..
I couldn't afford an mtb until 1998. The first was a Specialized rockhopper. Quickly it was replaced with a Kona Cindercone (which I absolutely loved), but it got trashed one weekend in the Lakes.
Next was a full suss Stumpjumper. I was then hooked on the bouncyness.
Of course an onone inbred for the more local quick rides.
Mtbiking changed my world.
an ex of mine got me into it in 1996. She and her brother used to race so invariably I got roped into a few events.... on my Raleigh M-Trax1000 with grip shift.
After that I think it was on and off a bit. A few XC rides with mates through the summer. Then in 2001 I bought a Specialized Epic. The early version of the brain. It was crap. But more and more seriously since then really. I used to play rugby and football which took up a lot of my time....since hanging up the boots MTB has become my main sport.
‘92 for me on a purple fully rigid specialized rockhopper from M. Steels in Newcastle which I think has recently closed. Loved that bike and have always had a soft spot for specialized ever since ...
My first "proper" mtb was a Trek 950 in 1990. Prior to that I'd had a Raleigh Mustang SIS. That weighted a ton.
bought some sort of Raleigh in the 'States in 1986 and rode it across most of Central America. I still have nightmares about the night me and my mate had with the transvestite mafia in Tegucigalpa in Honduras. Nicaragua was pretty scary too
New Years Eve staying with the fire-service somewhere in Costa Rica was good!
@charliemort - I might be the only one to say it, but I cant be alone in wanting to hear more about an MTB trip that involved the tranvestite mafia in Honduras!
Late 80's. First bike was an MBK (French Company). Rigid hardtail with 200gs groupset and 300lx rear mech and biopace.
August 1990. My 21st birthday. Went halves with my mum on a Peugeot Adventurer from the LBS.
Took it out for a spin round the local woods and have never stopped since, except for time out due to the odd injury.
there were these lovely ladies in this dive of a bar. After they sent over the 5th or 6th beer they came over for a chat. One of them was about 16 stone, in stilettos with a hairy chest...... and took a definite fancy to my mate Ash (6' 3, good looking, Irish); when the army arrived (16 year olds toting machine guns) concerned about our safety said Raleigh and Ash's Schwinn were hastily converted to getaway vehicles and we did a runner back to our sh@t hole of a 'hotel'.
We went to sleep to the sound of someone bashing on the metal door calling out 'Ashley - I love him.....'
We were on the first bus out of town in the morning
That was proper Gap Yah stuff
Was 1985 – purchased a Raleigh Maverick was reddish/brown, 531 Reynolds frame, alloy wheels and suntour 15 speed
BUZZER
Lie, because the 1985 Maverick didn't have Reynolds 531 and alloy wheels. It had hi ten frame and horrible steel wheels...
Or at least my reddish brown one did.
Did they make different versions ?
I didn't take my driving test till I was in my 50s so used to ride BSOs to get around. Ì would take groups of school children to Hagg Farm for outdoor pursuit holidays and we would hire bikes from Fairholmes and ride around Ladybower, the kids on MTBs but I took perverse pleasure in doing the ride on a 'town' style bike. This was 1989. One day my bike was knackered and I borrowed my son's Raleigh Mustang to commute. The 'Dennis the Menace' stance immediately struck me, and I took the long, off road route to work. Never fixed my commuter, I bought a Diamondback Sorrento and have been ridiculously enthusiastic about mountain biking since. I still panic that I don't have enough mtb time left in my life.
