Folowing the ‘modern bikes are overpriced’ theme on this thread http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-rising-cost-of-biking , let’s put to bed the rose tinded ideal that 10 years ago everyone rode round on sub £1k full suss bikes made of carbon/titanium with top of the range forks when in reality we were all riding round on various hardtails with pgo sticks up-front dreaming of affording FS exotica.

Taillefer, anyone remember them? I remember an XC version of this (well, ‘XC’, I think it was 150mm+ travel), a bit nut’s like Mr Taillefer himself!

GT Lobo DH bike, the thermoplastic one, I used to lust after one in Evans by Waterloo Bridge. Silly money and broke if you rode it but it looked the nuts back in the day.

The rear swingarm on that Trail-heffer looks sooooo gooooooood. The rest of it looks soooo baaaaaaaad.

I offer this pile of gubbins – admittedly more than 10 years old, but still expensive gubbins:

GT Lobo DH bike, the thermoplastic one, I used to lust after one in Evans by Waterloo Bridge. Silly money and broke if you rode it but it looked the nuts back in the day.

Broke Where?

Don’t know – I could never afford one. I thought they had a tendency to crack but I could be wrong.

Bikes you couldn’t afford 10 years ago anytime

Orange P7, the one in *that* nickel colour.

Bikes you couldn’t afford 10 years ago

My mum had died a year or so previously, so I had been left a small amount of money, with strict instructions to spend it on something that I would enjoy…So I was the proud owner of my dream bike, and Orange Sub5.

Broke Where?

The thermoplastic split where the two halves were glued together. Mate at uni had two go there. There’s a drug dealer young lad with an aikita around here got a very early GT STS with original boxxers. Yum yum

10 years ago I was lusting after one of these

heckler2 by D0NK, on Flickr
fortunately I did manage to scrape the money together to buy one – and I am still riding it, tuesday night, admittedly not many original parts on it (front hub & rear brake off the top of my head)

Stuff I couldn’t afford, turner horst link 5spot, ellsworth moment, merlin ti hardtail

I’ve had 2 along the way. I used to lust after the oversize coke can tubing of the Cannondaels slung in the window of Evans in Woking. A few years later, when I had some money for summer jobs, I found a s/h Beast of the East in Guildford Cycles (with Purple ano cranks, stem and cage 🙂 on a red frame 😕 ) It wasn’t until a couple of days later that I put the two together “I’ve got one of those Cannondales I’ve always wanted!

That got nicked 5 years later, I found a s/h Dekerf Generation in Recycle in Penge in exactly the same spec as the one I’d lusted after in MBUK. That one’s currently at home in a different colour.

I always fancied a Sintesi Bazooka as well and I never managed to get one.

The thermoplastic split where the two halves were glued together.

i doubt it very much

More like fifteen years ago, but…….one of these

Friend of mine had a Cannondale Raven, couldn’t give it away about 5 years ago!

The thermoplastic split where the two halves were glued together.
i doubt it very much

Oh it definitely did, right behind the head tube / top tube intersection with the crack propagating back from the (I think they were cast) ally gussets towards the seat tube. Replaced twice under warranty by GT. The lass whose bike it was didn’t seem flustered at all. Put the rest of us in the uni club right off plastics.

Ellsworth I D, sc bullit polished with psylo forks and an ano green sc superlight please

Always looking on eBay but I bet they ride like a pile of cack compared to modern stuff

There were no two halfs to split STS stood for single tube system the carbon failed when the aluminium lug failed

There was a carbon Scott full sus that I absolutely lusted after, but for the life of me I can’t remember what model it was? Might have to get busy on Google.

Scott G Zero Strike!

I always quite fancied a Cannondale, but was put off by the price and their reputation for cracking.

I bought this 2002 f600 in excellent condition a couple of weeks ago for £112 though.

The Saronni red Master X-lite with silver Record kit that I couldn’t justify or even fully appreciate when I could have got one at a good rate. Still kicking myself for that.

bought this 2002 f600 in excellent condition a couple of weeks ago for £112 though.

I had a similar want for the F2000 (I think) with the aircraft/riveted paintwork. Bought an F400 in bright yellow a few years ago and it was every bit as good as I thought it should be!

Quite fancy one of their 29ers but some of the reviews say they’ve lost their reputation for being so brutally stiff, but that’s what made it special, one of those bikes that really feels like it’s stuck to your feet with no lag between pedaling and it shooting forward. Couldn’t ride it for more than an hour, but what an hour!

Bit more than 10 years ago, about the only bike i have really wanted. Bontrager Race Lite.

Speaking of which i must get my Race rebuilt!

My friend had one of these-

I would guess ten years ago, maybe 11. I was hucking about on a Mongoose SGX and a rigid alloy MTB wih Judys o it was some kind of all conquering dream bike.

1998 Turner javelin. wanted one for years. Finally got one in 2004 best bike ever. Way ahead of its time. Single pivot linkage driven suspension.

Over twenty years ago now my friend bought a 1992 muddyfox alu comp the same as in the photo.

I loved this bike, and borrowed it as often as he would let me.
Even just looking at this photo brings back so many good memories of what seems almost a lifetime ago.
Happy days.

i have one of those muddy foxes in the shed. full lx. never gets ridden now though. recently serviced the hubs on it and they were perfect.

10 years ago i was riding a giant team dh with ti-nitride coated boxxers (that people still tell me never existed, despite me still owning them). it was an ace bike i regret selling.

The two bikes I lusted after but never bought:

&

Wow! You couldn’t even afford the pic?

I was pretty lucky – I had my dream bike 12 years ago. Intense Tracer, ball burnished. Absolutely loved that bike! Even now it still looks great.