[Closed] Your first 'proper' bike?... Photo's please!

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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/67749037@N02/12757241984/ ]Mission[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/67749037@N02/ ]boltonjon[/url], on Flickr

Can anyone remember what the spring thingy was that I fitted that added tension to the rear mech?

Bullet brothers chain tensioner

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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/gingerfox/2457052369/ ]Kona Explosif[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/gingerfox/ ]Ginger F0x[/url], on Flickr

A few major upgrades from the original spec, but this was my first proper MTB, bought nearly 10 years ago...

Mine was a GT Backwoods that I bought off Steve Peat in Chapletown, Sheffield.

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It had these upgraded forks, they were amazing at the time.

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1997 - although I did have a beast of a second hand Scott for a little while before this. I still have the Kona

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Late to the party after spending my teens climbing it's an Orange Evo2 second hand from a mate (red jacket), I busted the bombers landing hard at cannock in the old quarry then managed to detach the rear triangle somehow. In that group there is also one of them white thingies from way back when!
before that I had a MBK Monaco from about '94.

Bit late to the party also, but here is my first decent mountain bike way back when in 2007 or so, halfway up Snowdon.
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It cost around £600 and was upgraded pretty quick. Tough as old boots though.

I had one of these for 6 months before a scrote in my school stole it.....fantastic paint job, only bettered by the avalanche that replaced it

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Pic shamelessly stolen from a 2yr old thread by berniethebike

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First bike I owned that was actually newly bought for me, not a hand-me-down painted and tarted up by my dad.
Early 80s, think it was my 7th or 8th birthday.

^ STRIKA!

+1

😀

Number plate? Really? You think someone might clone that Volvo?

GT tequesta with a lovely blue 'clouds' paint job...

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My 1992 GT Tequesta
In 1992

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Trials practise

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Joe bloggs top and frogskin copies - sweet! Neon pink Scott motocross gloves - still the best cycling gloves I have ever owned.

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2013 rebuild - rode very nicely indeed! Me in the Peaks riding it too.

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Cracking stuff.

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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/leecollis/5616467730/ ]My Old Rockhopper '99 Comp[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/leecollis/ ]-Drac-[/url], on Flickr

My first proper one, after various Raleighs, etc, was one of these (not my pic):
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A Balance AL 350 from about 95. I had Marz. XC700s on mine (50mm of the noodliest suspension fork ever) after snapping the original rigid forks casing a jump.

Then came this (mine, as it is now):
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/warpcow/9169873542/ ]Untitled[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/warpcow/ ]warpcow[/url], on Flickr
A 97 Lava Dome. It had a Judy DH on it for ages, which everyone said was stupid, cos no one needed 100mm of suspension, right? It was, and still is, excellent.

Not mine, but it was one of these.
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Set up a plank on bricks as a jump for teh radnezz. Crashed hard and landed my plums on the saddle. 😯

No long term adverse effect, thankfully.

This was my first proper bike. Had a couple of cheapy ones before. But this took me on expeditions around Scotland and did the obligatory stair hucking in front of the ladies.

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I bought this shortly after and owned both for a couple of years. Take note of retro zocchi's with bolt on arch.

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Rode this everywhere. Over the summer i would ride 10 miles to my mates house. Spend the day riding, then ride 10 miles back. Pretty much every other day. Even entered an XC race on it. Who knows why I didn't take the trek!

Raleigh Arena 'racer', like this one.

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Hmm...smaller than I remember...

bought a marin eldridge grade in 1996 like the one below
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bought a pair of RST mozo pros about 18 months later
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then some scumbag nicked it a few months later...

Not my first, that was a Dawes Tracker in 1986.

But this is the first pic I can find.

A Cannondale M500 circa 1992.

Deore DX thumbies, XT rear mech and 'Coda' cranks, Peperoni forks etc..

Loved it.

And some thieving scrote knicked it..

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1995 Muddy Fox Alu Sport which I rode and raced loads, was stolen once and the thief's took it to the bike shop I worked at for a new seat-post and was returned me!
Then it was stolen again 🙁
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Think I might try and find an old one on ebay...

mine was exactly like this

[img] http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=87010 [/img]

got stolen from my mates garage

I loved my Strika. Rode it everywhere. After that I had a Raliegh Burner, then Raliegh Maurader, a large break from bikes then a mighty Diamond Back Serento with actual front suspension (no dmpening though) which my little bro still uses as a pub bike.

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Still got it. Would love to say that it's a majical ride that reminds me of my teenage years, but in reality, compared to bikes today it's an uncomfortable dog!

'93 Kona Hahannah, christmas present when I was 13, don't think I've got any pictures of mine sadly.

I've still got the forks somewhere in the garage (and the purple Ging chain tensioner!) as I upgraded it with a set of Marzoccki XC51 forks with a whole 2" of plush suspenion!

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[img] [/img] not mine but same as. Circa 1982

Photo pinched from retrobike
[img] http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=54352 [/img]First none-BSO* pimped it up a bit as my paper round/shop job allowed. Farmer john nephew tyres then some ritchey megabite and think I tried the ubiquitous smoke/dart combo too, swapped the c10 shifter/levers for A20 rapid fire stis, some wider (23"!) lighter bars, bar ends, finally stumped up the money for new wheels, some LX parallax hubs with very shiny rims - might have been campag, just before some scrote nicked it.

*debatable

[img] http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=120047 [/img]

Not mine but I had one just like this. Still remember spending all day with my dad going out looking for a bike. Then we ended up at Dees in Amersham and struck a deal.

I still remember it was £350 plus free Onza bar ends (should have been over £400) as we said we'd seen a Saracen in High Wycombe that was better specced.

Loved the Marin. Eventually sold it to a mate but it was nicked a few months later 🙁

one of these:
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Then one of these
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My first proper bike (After a spangly gold Emmelle) was this, minus the rack and guards. I bought the same model a few years ago and built it to exactly how I had it when mine was stolen.

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Muddy Fox Courier circa 1989. To be fair this is actually the 2nd proper bike. Before this was the red special edition Courier with the seatstay U-brake and Exage groupset. The headtube bust after 6 months and was replaced with this. Which in turn broke after 11 months, by which time the Clockwork had been born......

Isn't fashion a wonderful thing 🙂

Rob

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This was my first proper bike, its a Specialized Rockhopper Sport with snowflake wheels from Merlin. I gave it to a mate who needed a bike to commute on and lost touch with him, then saw it again in Bristol City Centre near Cabot Circus like this, badly locked up. The saddle, pedals and riser bars were different but I doubt there are too many of these around with [i]those[/i] wheels...

First proper bike was a '95 diamond back topanga.. That got destroyed in an accident involving a fiesta and was replaced in early '98 by this which I still own:

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Puch Murray. Coaster brake and all.