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I've been off the bike since January, due to lots of running training for a marathon. Unexpectedly, I haven't missed riding all that much. Which is a little disappointing, as I used to live for it.
It got me thinking, what was 'peak' riding for me and why. I came to the conclusion it was a few years ago. I had a second generation Norco Optic (short travel, aggressive trail bike), it had what I perceived to be top parts on it.
I was riding fit and my legs could go for hours. It was my only bike, so didn't have to make a decision of what to ride (i now have an Enduro bike and an XC bike, plus a dirt jumper) and I rode it everywhere. I did Ard Rock on it. The Megavalanche. The Alps. Plus local XC, BPW, Surrey Hills blasts and pootling with the family.
Looking back, it felt like a simpler time. Just riding. Bike, mates and the outdoors.
Maybe its rose tinted specs, but to me, that was the best. And why i am thinking of going back to one 'do it all' bike.
So what about you? Are you currently enjoying peak riding? Or due to injury, time, life, etc are the ultimate days a fond memory of the past? What bikes, places and/or people made it happen?
Answers on a postcard.
Mid to late 90's
It was awesome! Bikes were really changing and exciting, suspension was becoming great, the trails were brilliant, many friends in to it, it was almost a pioneering time!
Glad to have gone through it 🙂
Early/mid 2000s. Riding a Demo 8 then a Specialized SX Trail, hitting drops and jumps with reckless abandon, watching the New World Disorder movies.
Getting an ebike recently has given me some of that feeling back 🙂
The actual bikes and riding that I have available and do, right now. The time I had to mess round in the woods with mates without needing to watch the clock due to life's responsibilities, that stopped probably 20-25 years ago.
Glad to have lived through almost the complete evolution of the sport to where it is today though.
When I 'dropped' riding mate Paul on a climb along Cliff Lane into Elton circa 1998.
I'd been trying for years to batter him on a climb and that was my day! 🤣
Holy deja vu Batman! We had this thread 2 months ago - so I think we can now ask "what was peak "what was 'peak' MTB for you" for you?".
Mid-2000s for me personally: 29" and 27.5" were growing in importance but 26" was still the broadest standard; geometry was evolving, and suspension was becoming more sophisticated.
The actual bikes and riding that I have available and do, right now. The time I had to mess round in the woods with mates without needing to watch the clock due to life's responsibilities, that stopped probably 20-25 years ago.
Glad to have lived through almost the complete evolution of the sport to where it is today though.
Sums it up well.
I remember some massive days out in the Lake District with not really a lot to worry about, plenty of free time, a good level of fitness. I remember the even earlier days when there'd be 300 riders in Sport category at an NPS or a SAMS (Southern Area MTB Series), the regular XC races, the beginnings of 24hr MTB events...
The MTB riding I do now is very limited; a few trail centres as and when I can, short local loops in the Peak District. Ironically on a bike that is half the price and twice as good as anything I used to ride back in the 90's / 00's!
The bikes and types of trails/riding now is as good as it's ever been, so "now" is the default answer. But for a lot of people this'll be about a specific time for them when for lots of reasons, most of them illogical, they enjoyed it most.
So for me, there were 2 periods, close together but distinctive.
Late 90's being part of a "scene" at uni where you rode your bike everywhere and that MTB was kind of who I was. Think Trek hardtail with a pair of Judy's up front and a Rox t-shirt, Malvern's Festival, the bike show at the NEC, Animal watches and The Marti/yn's and having all the time on the world to ride. I even did a week in the Alps before going to the Alps was a thing, you had to ride up the hairpins at Alpe D'Huez (or blag a lift) to get to any good riding and there were no lifts.
Then not much later, mid 00's. I'd got a proper job, bought a dream build Orange P7 (Fox forks, full XT, Hope brakes) and was driving all over the country to ride. Weekends with mates in Wales and The Lakes, attending races and events, very much feeling part of a "scene" again.
And no matter how good the bikes are now or any other logical answer, nothing will compare to those days.
ah! apologies, i must've missed that thread.
Doesn't bother me, it's always good to mull it over! I do think geometry now has moved on meaningfully since even the mid-00s, to the point that bikes are much more capable than they were. But I'm annoyed by the incessant creation of ridiculous labels, and new standards, to try to push yet more sales; so it can't be peak MTB 😆
"Max gravel" is just hardtails from the 00s with dropbars; I don't even know what downcountry is; and Cy@Cotic has very easily summed up why 32" is a complete crock.
I thought about the 90s, when I first got into it. Me and my mate would go out every weekend, miles and miles of South Downs riding, events, XC races... (I could get away with lycra shorts 🤣 )
But then there were the Yeti 575 years. Miles and miles of riding, Alps, a fantastic bike and my riding not too bad! Getting out with groups from STW and other places. One of those glorious STW rides:
But then, there were the offspring years. My son getting into riding and using my 575, pushing me to ride better at Rogate and BPW. Fab times
But then again, there's now! I have to use a motorised bike 🙁 but a fab bike it is and I get to go on rides with my partner...
So, nah, I think there were a few troughs - I can pinpoint the worst time, when health gave up on me... But ever since Matt got me into riding back in those early 90s, it's all been fantastic *wipes a tear* 😁
Doing (most of) the Great North Trail last year was pretty good.
I'd also like to do more uplift, as the more I do, the better I get.
Peak MTB for me was when I had more time to myself - probably between 2006 & 2015.
Regular weekends away with mates to the Peak district, Scotland, Welsh trail centres, events like the Dusk2Dawn, Twentyfour12, Wiggle Enduro 6, Thetford Winter Series XC races, trips over to Ciclo Montana to fall off a lot & roll around in thorn bushes. etc.
I had time to ride regularly, time to train for fitness & time to mess about & session stuff that I found tricky.
I've never had the latest & greatest bikes etc. but for me it was never really about the kit - it was about shared experiences with friends, being out in the great outdoors and sitting around with beers in the evening recounting the day you've just had and how many times you'd scared yourself or run out of ability.
I enjoy my riding still now, but it is not like it used to be.
It doesn't help that I probably live in one of the worst places in the UK for mountain biking - even local gravel rides are not particularly easy as there are barely any bridleways & most of it just goes round the edges of lumpy fields that are boggy for most of the winter & overgrown all of the summer.
About six years ago. I'd do a full day with the family and then nip off in the evening. In Braemear that might be doing five Munros starting at 6pm. In Val d'Isère it was doing a full day uplift (6-8000m) and then deciding I'd nip up the col d'iseran in the evening in full enduro gear to scope out the GR7.
Or doing big Peak District rides whenever I wanted to, up to 100km with perhaps 3,000m of ascent. The feeling that I could keep going pretty much indefinitely so long as food supplies held out. And that I could do it for days at a time.
God I miss that feeling.
For me I think peak mtb is yet to come. That’s largely because I’m expecting to have more time and opportunity to travel with my bike but still fit enough to enjoy it. That said I had a really enjoyable ride with mates in Monday
bike wise is now. Really don't miss the amount of maintenance the old bikes needed. Forks and brakes had seals that may have well been made out of playdough etc. Just shit.
Enthusiasm - 2000's downhill. Bikes were shit in hindsight but pretty much everything revolved around riding. Racing went crap in about 2011 and it wasn't worth the drive for 5 - 6 runs in a weekend. Enduro was fun while it lasted. Most of the issue is mine and everyone else's commitments that mean rides happen less often. If it wasn't for my ebike I'd really not find the motivation at all as most of my rides are unplanned/last minute by myself and i get loads of laps in a 2 hour ride.
Depends what the gauge is for me as 1989/92 was peak thinking about MTB and it being the most important thing in my life, 2005/10 was peak getting out with mates, going on trips and sharing the sport (including retro) with my pals but peak milage has probably been the last few years (when it's not raining!).
Times that stand out...
1993-95 : Hanging out with mates down the local woods, saving every penny to buy whatever MBUK reviewed (DCDs, USE seatposts, Manitou 3 forks). Golden hazy summer days and muddy winters grinding round the Peak District - we were lucky to grow up where we did. Mint Sauce vibes.
Late 90s : University days, smash and grab rides round Hanchurch woods in all conditions, dripping wet by the pub fire with beer and crisps.
Early 2000's : Disc brakes, better suspension, weekend trips to Wales, 7 Stanes, feeling like a master of MTBing having done it for *nearly 10 years!!!*.
Late 2000's : Full suspension bikes, trips to USA & Canada, WHISTLER... feeling awed but coming home with confidence tripled. Big Peak District days.
Early 2010s : Yeti ASC5. What a bike, did EVERYTHING well - all day rides, Alps trips, trail centres. Smashing it round anywhere feeling invincible.
2015 - present : balancing life with parenthood, a different focus. Rides are precious, Tweed valley the perfect compact location for an hour or a lucky day out. Riding at this age is an unexpected* privilege, experience counts for a lot, happy being on two wheels.
*As a teenager I used to think I'll ride while I'm young enough, maybe another 4 or 5 years.
Probably around 2005-2015. For me, it's always been about the people I'm riding with, not so much about the actual rides. At that time, Stirling Bike Club had a thriving MTB scene and I was out riding with them every Tue, Thurs and Sat with some fantastic Sunday away days and brilliant weekend events like Sleepless in the Saddle chucked in for good measure.
Sadly now, most of my riding is solo and almost feels like a chore sometimes as I try to maintain enough fitness to be bike ready for the odd occasions when some of my old riding buddies meet up again. I still love mountain biking and bikes in general though. Just this morning I was reminded of that fact as I rode a Voi commuter e-bike through Kelvingrove park on my way to work. I passed an elderly lady coming in the opposite direction on a similar bike and she was looking so pleased to be out cycling in the park that I couldn't help but smile.
Injury, illness and lack of fitness have taken their toll on me so that I'm only able to ride with a few very patient friends nowadays. I very much cherish those times as I do the memory of all those fantastic club rides when I was in my 30s and early 40s.
I have had two peaks really, one in the early-mid '90s when I was young and fit, and another one a few years ago (post pandemic), til I got some annoying and continuous leg pain that started in Sept 2023 that seems to be CVI but as yet is undiagnosed and so untreated 🙁 hopefully one day there'll be a future peak...
Living in France and driving to Les Gets with Little Miss J when she was 11. We had a UK RHD car and it was priceless seeing other drivers confused to see a small child in the left hand seat. Got there and found I’d forgotten my shoes so panic drive to Go Sport for replacements. Marin Mt Vision on the roof rack. Good times!
Another one for bikes: now. They're just so good.
But riding and scene? Late 90s. Hanging out at PORC or the local spot when I wasn't working at the local bike shop, and most weeknights, big group of riding buddies all pushing each other, no egos, encyclopedic knowledge of bikes, voracious appetite for all the new kit, stuff just getting better all the time, Sprung videos, new warranty Marin every 6 months or so...
Bikes still define me and are the thing I will always love, and I love spending time in the woods with my son, but a lot of the friends have either given up or moved, or worse still, passed away.
But I spent Monday riding in the Surrey Hills, and it was amazing. I don't think there will ever be anything I love more than chasing my best mate down a rowdy trail in perfect conditions.
Back in the day when Coed Y Brenin first opened and Red Bull 24hr races were held in Birmingham
And now - emtb is just the best thing to ever happen to happen and its a whole new world of riding.
Not sure what I said a month ago, but now the weather is nice again, its definitely now.
I was probably fitter 10 years ago but still functionally fit enough to enjoy what I want to do.
Skill and confidence highest they've ever been and hopefully still rising.
And of course, bikes are better than they've ever been. And the slowdown of development means that my bike*, which you probably could have bought every component 5 years ago, gives me no desire to upgrade or FOMO.
For the OP's second part of the question - I'm currently at one mtb. (that I actually ride - some parts and a frame need ot go up for sale).
Admittedly, paired with a gravel bike, and an indoor trainer to get me through the winter.
But the decision paralysis of what bike to take and the inevitible having half the ride spent on the "wrong" bike... that feeling has gone. *A 140/130 "do-it-all" trail bike
Interesting that this thread seems to highlight the alignment/misalignment of work & life responsibilities and people's (relative) youth with their MTBing "peaks"...
For me it was also probably mid-90s to mid-2000s During which time I went from being a spotty teenager to (technically) a grown-up with a job, free weekends and some disposable income.
MTBs went from being relatively new and novel to an established thing with lots of sub-niches and associated kit during that ~1993 - 2005-ish period (IMO). and I had everything from rigid steel MTBs to XC bikes to DJ and DH bikes all during that period.
Weekends and trips away riding with mates, lots of laughs, some vague swipes at racing, I was young and malleable enough to bounce back from a tumble and be riding again the following weekend. No kids/spouse/Mortgage to worry about... This weekend I had a 2 hour riding window, and had to unblock a drain pretty much the moment I got back.
I have mates who had similar feelings about (both playing and attending) football at that same point in our lives, most of whom are now rounder, no longer play and are more concerned with affording their Sky sports package and maybe the occasional ticket for a home game... I do at least still ride bikes.
Summer 2024 for me. I had a bike I was really comfortable with and all the time in the world to ride it. I had made it through the preceding couple of months without another soul destroying respiratory illness and was the fittest I had ever been in my life.
That all came crashing down with the personal shitshow that was late 24 to mid 25 and then the last winter ruined me again.
I've trimmed my pack down to one bike that I am riding for everything and it does feel like simpler times already. It's a brilliant bike and I really enjoy getting out on it. Hopefully as the year progresses my time constraints fade away and I can have another good year.
Peak MTB for me has not yet happened.
For me it's now - at almost 50 I am riding harder stuff than I have ever ridden, hell I've even learnt to jump. My fitness isn't quite what it was 20 years ago, but I am still pedalling.
I am in the process of downsizing - going from a hardtail & full suss to a 140/130mm travel bike for everything & it's already a much simpler life, just keeping on top of maintenance of just one bike.
It's definitely now for me. My son got back into biking a couple of years ago, he bought his first bike last night and we're looking forward to some good days out. I'm not as fit as I was 25 years ago, I'm not as brave as I was then either but I am a better rider than then and bikes are so much fun now. The other thing is that I've got a bunch of friends I ride with and we get on really well. Our riding is a similar standard, we're roughly the same stage of life and we just have a really good laugh.
Mid 2010s for me. I was still in the first full enthusiasm, hadn't had any big injuries yet, and was just getting good basically. Plus bikes were getting really good! I started that phase on a cotic hemlock that I loved literally to bits then ended it on a trek remedy 29 that I still have and what a pair... Enduro racing was a massive boost for me, absolutely fell in love with it and it was such a good time for it. And being near the tweed valley was just incredible for that, ground zero for the UK, turning up for random events with literally no idea what it even meant, some absolute lamb to the slaughter moments. Getting to do the EWS especially, riding with the best in the world sometimes on trails I'd helped build, mint.
Still love it, I'm not complaining but I don't think it'll ever be that good again for me. But it was really bloody good. Proper "Find something you love and then love it as hard as you can"
Definitely now, bikes are great - agree that mechanicals are such a thing of the past.
More riding spots than ever, and I am old.enough to be able to travel to amazing places to go riding and buy the kit I want. I don't have kids and my partner loves riding too so I am lucky that I am riding more than ever.
However, I do miss the times before riding was "fashionable." There are more riders now (which means more trails, better bikes etc....) but definitely less friendly. The time when you saw another mtb'er and you would always talk, share trails, etc... it's always the way.....
It is hard to better the feeling of going from a touring bike to a mountain bike for the first time when affordable MTBs first made an appearance in the UK and realising where you could ride and how much fun it was I hired one to try it out and then bought a Muddyfox Courier in 1987 and rode it all over the place. The only time that happened for a second time was when I tried a fat bike.
92 to 95 for me. Very much into doing the Polaris twice a year, lots of Trailquests (Both of those are MTB orienteering events for those scratching their heads) Had a GT Richter then upgraded for a Team Marin in either 93 or 94. Exploring what was available, visiting some great parts of the country, no longer seen as MTB places....and I was in my 20s and fit as a fiddle
When worlds collided and my Edinburgh University riding days in the Pentlands became Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op riding days in the Pentlands which gradually became Singletrackworld/ The Bike Chain days in the Pentlands (and very occasionally elsewhere).
I've since moved to better riding locations and owned fancier bikes, but never really had the same time or rotating cast of quality companions to ride with.
So yeah, mid-2000s Pentlands on a variety of 26" hardtails was peak MTB for me 😎
No peak for me. It's a continuous upslope, 538 weeks long according to Strava. After a hiatus from 15-38 years old it's just got better and better. From sneaking out to ride while the little ones were asleep, to teaching them how to ride, building them jumps, to learning to coach my own and other's kids, to struggling to keep up with my kids as they've got older, gong racing with them, to taking them riding in other countries... all the while progressing my own skills.
I guess for me it has to be Summer 2010 . A year after being diagnosed with Osteoporosis, crushed vertebrae in my spine and advised never to ride off road again .
I took Royal Mail's financial offer to bugger off and at 54 years old found myself working as a chalet maid in Whistler ! Bought a Lappierre Spicy over there through the company I worked for , rode World Class trails , worked with top class guides , did trail building with World Class builders ,did float plane trips , road trips round BC so from a really low point to how the @@@@did that happen in a year !
Oh and non bike shenanigans including cage dancing 😁
loving hearing all these points of views and stories. A good mix of today and yesteryear.
Good stuff!
I enjoy my mtb'ing as much now as I ever have done. Not at peak fitness atm, so I wouldn't say right now is my ultimate peak mtb, but that aside, I'm into the whole thing as much as I ever have been, when I'm on my game I can ride stuff I could never ride years ago.
Riding mates/groups come and go, but at the moment we've got a small group of likeminded people that go out, ride great trails, have the odd trip away, take the piss, have banter and always end up at a pub. And most of us have camper vans
And there's the bonus of being able to afford whatever bikes or kit I want
As much as I like riding solo for escapism now, MTB is best as a social activity. MTB started for me as a way to mess about in the woods with mates and it was just fun and silliness and I found the effort needed rewarding as I got stronger and could do more on the bike. That just gets harder as we get older (time pressures) and get more into bikes (specialisms or drift into/away from riding groups). But that's life and it's ok, I don't think the value of a good day out somewhere either new or a fave local spot changes, so peak MTB is those days. Days that are a way to connect with the fun you had as a kid. We need that, I think.
Like @reeksy, for me it just keeps evolving and the enjoyment stays the same albeit for different reasons. I started riding seriously around 2008 with a half decent hardtail, then really enjoyed the 2010s riding with mates and my Mrs at various good locations whilst moving onto increasingly better full susses. 2020s so far have been more about riding with the growing family or sneaking off for quick blasts (often at night, which has got me into night riding) and I loved that too. My nearly 6 year old son is getting pretty handy on his bike so I can only anticipate things getting better as we get the excuse to go out more and more to a variety of places! Next phase will be getting a kids ride shotgun seat for my nearly 2 year old daughter and hopefully the Mrs an e-bike to encourage her back out more.