It was 40 years ago last month

Retired pro racer Marla Streb lowered the women’s record. Myles Rockwell, who was world DH champ in 2000 and who grew up in the town where the races took place, gave it a few tries on modern equipment. The records still stand.

Wasn’t there a vid of a couple of guys on modern DH bikes, maybe with yourself, who gave it a go & couldn’t beat the time for the men? I’m sure I saw something on it somewhere once….it’s not in Klunkerz is it?

Regardless, I’ve given Repack a go (more than once…) & it’s steep, loose & off-camber..

Sure on a GoPro it’s look easy, but trust me it’s not!

Chapeau to Repack Rider & his fellow compadres – they were nailing it on bikes most of us would be afraid to ride to the shops on……let alone hit 40mph with nothing more than a coaster brake & some denim to look after them..

Retired pro racer Marla Streb lowered the women’s record. Myles Rockwell, who was world DH champ in 2000 and who grew up in the town where the races took place, gave it a few tries on modern equipment. The records still stand.

Reminds me of the old joke. An Irish and Ozzie farmer were having a chat. The Ozzie says ‘I can drive for 3 days and still not see at the edge of my farm’. The Irish farmer says ‘ Ahh yes. I used to have a car like that’.

I’d question the accuracy of the timing then…

tjagain – Member
…I modified a bike to ride offroad in the early 70s but the sort of riding people like us were doing was ” wandering around the scenery” not racing downhill…

That sounds like me. I like that definition.

I’m not a MTBer, I’m a WATSBer. 🙂

But Repack Rider has it right, no manufacturer was interested. In this country we had one of the world’s largest cycle industries and they were very late to get on the band wagon.

We owe those lads a beer or two because those MTBs are great for WATSBing.

What I love best about Repack Rider is his modesty.

You have the wrong guy. You’re thinking of Gary F.

🙂

Forty years ago last month? That would have been my 12th birthday. I remember it well.

I was riding a Raleigh road bike or ‘racer’ as we called them at the time. Purple coloured frame and 3 speed Sturmey Archer gears.

My parents had bought it for me earlier that Summer after I passed the 11 plus to get into the local Grammar school and I had enjoyed riding it all through that long, hot, summer school holiday of ’76. What a time.

It was at least another 12 months before I converted it to an off road machine with some ‘tracker’ handlebars and knobbly tyres.

People may well have ridden bikes in the hills and woods before then, your Dad may be bigger than my Dad but what Charlie et al did was find a way to get more people involved and then open it up the masses. This made it easier for people to join our wonderful sport in all its varieties. You knocking around in the woods and bimbling in woods was for your benefit and didn’t really add to the sport evolving to where it is.

Just remembered – 40 years ago I was bike packing in outback Oz on corrugated tracks with deep bulldust.

On a dropbar racing bike with tubulars because that was the best option for comfort then.

I can still remember getting my teeth rattled on the never-ending corrugations…

Fatter tyres are so good… 🙂

I was going to make a longer post here but there’s not enough room on account of all the ego hogging the bandwidth.

FF to 4:30

^ count the fixed gear and singlespeeds – all still on road gearing. That’s how I remember it. No sealed bearings either…

One bike truly did it all back then. 🙂

dejavu

Again?

Soooo funny….mtbing is like the Queen….two birthdays!