@scuttler – is the second picture a Raleigh Peak? (I think it was the Peak that came in that pink colour), I think they did one called Summit that might have been a green maybe?

The first picture, – maybe a Specialized Rockhopper in the red? The grey/yellow one is familiar but can’t remember – Scott or Offroad are popping in my head but I’m pretty sure it isn’t either of those.

OLd y2K Rockhopper, titivated and pressed back into service for a couple of months last year when the 29er was away with a warranty claim.
Reliable GPS said i managed 86kmh desccending the downs on a metalled farm track, and the brakes still worked

When titivating the original gear shifters were gunked up and unresponsive, so put on some of those odd dual control levers from 2004 that I had in the shed.

Not my favourite hardtail, but was most likely the fastest:

The suspension post was ditched shortly after this pic. Adding more speeds!

My Raleigh Marauder Index. A step above the mere common Marauder.

Don’t have any pics of the next one til after I’d turned it into a commuter, but, then I had a Carrera Krakatoa with flexstem. Actually really very good, except from the flexstem which was great til the elastomer perished, which happened after about 9 minutes.

My 2009 Cove Gspot in on the Mega course

My 1998 Marin DHFRS above Zermatt

Ok,
moving on from the how many bikes have you owned…

1992 RM blizzard

1996 Gary Fisher Procaliber OCLV, pace RC30’s commuter hack thing.

1998 Kona Kilauea. owned in the early 2000’s.

2000 Cannondale F800, not the first CAAD4, had CAAD 3’s CAAD5’s too, but this was the last.

2002 Cannondale Scalpel. perfect for what I was doing. went through a set of bushes a month!

Trek EX7, wibbly

Orange Sub 5, very tall.

DeKerf Elysium. bought from a STWer. such a nice looking bike.

Mk1 Soul, possibly the nicest riding hardtail I’ve owned.

Cannondale Prophet. possibly the nicest riding FS I’ve owned! light and quick.

2004 Gary Fisher X-caliber, fisher price My First 29er.

edit, some of the links aren’t working for me….

£1.00 for anyone who guesses what this is!

I can remember that bike Muffinman, struggling to remember what it was though, definitely a prototype but was it a aluminium 456? Or even 567!?

Oldest picture I’ve got, taken 1995 on the China/Pakistan border: 93 Clockwork, Manitou 4s, Tioga tyres and Club Roost bars…

That’s my oldest. Commencal Super 4

Raleigh Technium up Snowdon late 80’s.
Pre helmet days. Complete with Cosmic Trail frame bag.

Alpine stars Almega 1990.NEMBA race at Bosley

Loving the chopstick-wide handlebar!

Must dig my old pix out.

Great thread 🙂

I went to that Bosley NEMBA race to watch. Them bars are ace!

My bikes up there

Pic 1 is an 1988 Marin Palisades (red) and its 1990 cousin where Marin did the whole range in grey with the different bikes with different coloured forks and stem

Pic 2 is a 1991 Specialized Rockhopper Sport

Alpine stars Almega 1990.

pre e stay noodleness. and those bars! I think I was running the widest bars I could find back then, which was about 23″, Syncros shotgun flat bar, then the advanced composites, carbon/e-glass ‘battle bar’

amazing, the rubbish info I remember.

Can’t see any images but omg I remember

1990 cousin where Marin did the whole range in grey with the different bikes with different coloured forks and stem

I desperately wanted a Marin then… rather than the Raleigh Massif I had.

Some time last century on top of Codden Hill with my lava dome . Dave James with his cannondale. Anyone know where he is now?

I guess most photos of my truly old / original bikes are on film somewhere.

Mid-90’s Saracen Sahara (my first MTB), I know there’s definitely pics of me at the local BMX track on that (aged about 17!).
There’s a few pics from various races of my other MTBs.

I know the late simonfbarnes of Bogtrotters had quite a few of me on my 2002 Cove Stiffee from when I was living in Lancaster and occasionally riding with them but those photos will be lost – he hosted them directly. Tragic really how a lifetime of digital memories (and Simon had millions of images) can be wiped out like that. 🙁

Anyway, the bike is here:

That’s more or less original guise, it’s had a few changes over the years but remarkably little. Still got it although I very rarely ride it.

My bikes that date digital photography are in photo albums somewhere… here a few since about 2003

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mZwve7]Litespeed Lookout MTN[/url] by A A, on Flickr" alt="Litespeed" />

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2npBpvP]Untitled[/url] by A A, on Flickr" alt="Xtc" />

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2npBxf3]Untitled[/url] by A A, on Flickr" alt="Mojo" />

Loving the chopstick-wide handlebar!

I could only just fit my brakes, shifters and grips on they were that narrow 🤣

Cannondale SDelta V, way too big for me but was on sale so I persuaded myself it fitted. Headshok was shockingly bad.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2npMqSK]Cannondale_rhs_Crop[/url] by Steve Taylor 80, on Flickr

Sunn Radical +, bought from a scouse mate of a team rider. Rode amazing but I trashed the damping and couldn’t get it servivced, the hubs were an odd standard as well if I recall.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2npLaq1]Sunn4[/url] by Steve Taylor 80, on Flickr

Foes Weasel bought of a team mechanic, fitted out with cooks cranks, goldtec stub stem, pro taper bars and awful Stratos forks. Note the cannibal corpse T and Rox pads combo. Snapped it in half later on doing a drop.
<img src=”
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2npETis]foes_trails[/url] by Steve Taylor 80, on Flickr”/>

<img src=”
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2npLapV]trails3[/url] by Steve Taylor 80, on Flickr”/>

Another On one one-off – On one Ti compo with SC Shivers
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2npNJ8a]OnOneTiCompo2[/url] by Steve Taylor 80, on Flickr

Custom Setavento Ti, basically built to correct everything that I didn’t like about the above Ti compo. Fitted with the best looking forks ever – Manitou Supernova. Predictably the frame cracked.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2npMqS9]setavento_front[/url] by Steve Taylor 80, on Flickr

I was on a Retrobike ride a few years ago and one of the riders was running a pair of Scott AT2 bars. Whilst not as narrow as ^^ you had to rotate a brake lever to adjust either as there simply wasn’t room to adjust either barrel in situ. Amazeballs design 😂

Will dig out some photos.

18months ago I started rebuilding an homage to my first “proper” mountain bike that was sadly stolen in the late 90s. It was a 1988 Rockhopper Comp. The frame has been modified to recreate how I received the bike – both canti and u brake mounts(!) and freshly painted by Argos. I’ve even sourced a NOS in box Quadra fork for it to replace the one I had fitted in 1994 by Leisure Lakes in Cheltenham ……. 48mm of seasonal affected elastomer travel …… no MCUs here.

My Cannondale Raven on Windy Gyle, I’m guessing 1999. I’d always wanted a Cannondale Super V and working in a bike shop the chance came along and I took it! Full XTR M952 and Avid Arch Supreme brakes and levers. This is the second frameset, the first parted company with itself at the seat mast…. It was light and fun, though the headshok wasn’t the best.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/5nD4yX]Windy Raven[/url] by ritcheyp20, on Flickr

My P20. In its original build. XTR,  Avid brakes from the Raven, Bontrager by Chris King ceramic  wheels and Dart 2.2 & Z-Max 2.35 tyres 😎 Fabulous thing to ride. Kept it 20 yrs before selling it. It flexed, but that just added to the way it rode.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/ZL78U]P20[/url] by ritcheyp20, on Flickr

Couple of pics from the FOD circa 1992-3 I guess.

Just noticed the Scott Unishocks on my Raleigh White Lightning. The worst sus forks ever!

Photo link not working.

Those whyte designed marins still look modern. Such a great bike

Hmmm… I rode this again just before I sold it a few years ago. I could not believe how bendy it was – everywhere, not just the bits that were supposed to flex. But it was light (I held off buying a FS until it was the same weight as my old Eldridge Grade), which might have been part of the problem.

I desperately wanted a Marin then… rather than the Raleigh Massif I had.

@reeksy, This is a ’92 but the principle was the same – all black, with different colour highlights for the different models.

@onewheeledgod that’s pretty much the year I remember lusting after them. Funny how they look now compared to modern geo.

1989 – Tufftrax – Cadair Idris

2003 MsIsle

@scuttler x2 Marins and a Spesh Rockhopper?

(Will guess at Pine Mountain in red and Eldridge Grade in yellow)

My 2003 MsIsle. Photo of an actual 2003 photo

Terrific pics folks!

I can’t believe just how small, short and narrow these bikes look now! How did it take us all 25 years to work out that a big mountain bike is a better mountain bike eh. Probably also explains why looking back i spent soooo much time falling off mine…………

Forgive the photo of a photo, but this my Spesh Enduro from roughly 2001 I think. There are bikes from well before that, need to dig out some photos though! This thread has got me inspired to do it!

@scuttler – is the second picture a Raleigh Peak?

@DickBarton, I had a Peak, it was a bluey green colour, and had a titanium bar, not a black one. The next year it was orange, I think. So it’s not a Peak. Wish I had pics, it was a lovely bike, but it well pre-dated digital cameras and mine didn’t last long as it was murdered by a post office van – which also led to me spending my first ever night in hospital.

Class, looks like a boy band due a reunion tour 😉

My Trek Diesel-Rheola

My old Heckler – fod

My Chain Reaction Brand-X cheapie hardtail

My Tomac Omen – Cotswolds

My Transition Blindside – Caersws
The bikes used to get so wrecked on the uplift trailer here, and it was a fairly new bike so I covered it in inner tube to protect it 😂
Didn’t work

My classic Intense M1 – Hanging off a lift in France

Never mind old bikes….some of the guys i ride with are so tight half of the above is still their “new bike” used week in week out!

Not my first bike…but the 1st I actually paid for.(2006)
Marin (can’t remember which) I upgraded the swinging arm, shock and put zzrr forks with a upgraded 7inch travel…I was (still) so light they barely moved..but I thought at the time I looked cool…ha ha ha
Pictured next to my chums Specialized (he got the same forks coz he liked mine so much) we were at the London Eye for a charity ride

RetroBike forum ride, Surrey Hills 2007, riding a 1990 Kona Explosif.