Twenty years ago….What were you riding?

One of these. A Raleigh Dune Dance (although the one in the picture is not mine). Twenty years ago I’d just moved to Utah, so this was getting ridden up mountains and across deserts. Still got the frame in the shed, although it’s now orange and is just a frame and forks being neglected at the back of the shed, which is poor return for all the fun it gave me.

Alpinestars Cro Mega DX (not mine pictured), I’d probably still have it if one of my mates hadn’t managed to mangle the dropouts on it 🙁

An Al Carter LX Trail with LX groupset!

Didn’t get my Marin Team Issue until 1994, I was a bit behind the times.

GT Talera, Cannondale M500 (I think), grey, wasn’t the beast of the east which I think was the M800?

Then bought a ’93 Explosif Pro, way too small & loved it – even cut the handlebars down to about 1ft wide to lose weight.

Looking at these pics (especially the Kelin’s & Marins) remind me of a different time, a great time, when you could achieve a top class bike on paper round wage and some shrews ‘trading up’; pre-ebay, pre-carbon, pre-credit cards!

my brother’s raleigh maverick. still remember finding my first piece of through-the-trees singletrack by chance at glentress and wishing there was more riding like that in other forests…

20 years ago, one of these:

25 years ago, one of these:

Fixed and sporting Postman Pat slippers, natch. I was so ahead of the curve.

After the grifter though, I had to make do with BSO’s until I spent my 17th brithday ‘driving lesson money’ on somethign much better:

(not mine, I don’t have any pics of it from back then. Which is a shame, becuase at one point I put DHO’s on it … it lived to tell the tale too, I still ride it now)

In 1992, I saved up my paper round money and traded in one of these

For one of these

one of these:

’89 SM600 Cannondale

One of these:

Marzochi Forks
Grip Shift
BLT lights
Cook Bros Cranks
Silver Syncros
Lots of blue bling

1991 GT Timberline in 16″ – managed to save pocket money from doing chorse and combined my birthday and Christmas presents together for the remainder. Had it fitted with a flatter stem from the shop (Grosvenor Cycles in Aldershot) and 6 months down the line I sold all my Star Wars toys to fund a pair of PD-M525 SPD pedals and Shimano MO30 shoes – think I would have been 14/15 then.

Sold it after a couple of years and upgraded to a 1992 Kona Lava Dome (which got ridden around Pitch Hill by Declan Hicks of Zero Components whilst I was on 6th Form work experience there – he let me ride his £2.5k Proflex!), which made way for a 1993 Marin Eldridge, which made way for a car. Didn’t own a mountain bike again til 6 years ago, and up til last year they were still all early ’90s bikes.

Always wanted a 1993 Kona Kilauea after it came top in an MBUK test – will have one some day!

1992 Kona Hahanna. Loved it, despite its modest status.
Like this one (minus the upgrades) – pic ‘courtesy’ Keando on this here forum…

D’oh except that^ is a Cinder Cone. Well, it looked v similar. Minus the red bits.
Oh FFS.

1992? Aged 18. Very much still riding shanks’ pony. Walked all over the place – my dad and I used to knock out 50miles in a day in the Peaks, then go for a pubcrawl round Hayfield afterwards.

Having been desperate for a bike during the early ’80s BMX craze, I finally learnt to ride one in my second year at uni in late 1993. Raleigh Amazon, as shown above. Really natural to take it offroad. Barely stopped since.

Not *quite* 20 years ago (18) but I had one of these:

(but in black)

Got it for my 16th birthday.
Over the course of the next few years it got upgraded with SPDs, RockShox Quadra 21Rs, Harry Rowland handbuilt wheels and eventually a new drivetrain when the Shimano Alivio wore out. It also had a year or so when it had grey Specialized Umma Gumma tyres on it which were, as everyone knows, the second coolest tyres after white Onza Porcupines.

It lasted well, I did loads of races on it and days out in the Lakes and Scotland when we were on holidays.

Eventually gave it away to a Youth cycling club.

I think I had a Coyote, not sure on the model. It was black with pink writing and had Scott brakes. I’d replaced every alloy part on it for something purple too!

A skateboard.

20 years ago I think I had just about saved up enough pennies to buy one of these:

1992 – a new Trek 950 and a Moto Morini 500 Sport 8)

My first mtb

This bad boy lolzzz

20 years ago i rode A haro master bmx
And a GT Tequesta

Today a Sunday 24″ bmx
Ang a GT peace

Diamondback topanga for me. White frame with black splatter, and the odd bit of fluorescent pink. rode that until 96 when I got myself a kona koa.

A rather lovely pert young thing called Kate.
Oh…….

Orange Aluminium O until the baggage handlers at Glasgow Airport feked it on the way back from a trip to Iceland. 🙁 Mind you the insurance claim paid for a Bontrager OR. 😀

20 years ago, I’d not long got my Kona Fire Mountain.

… which 20 years later, is still in regular use – this was about a month ago.

The only parts still from new, are the frame, the seatpost, and for sentimentality, I’ve left that little clamp arrangement that used to steer the back brake cable around the top of the seat-tube in place.

Clockwork Orange – arse up, head down, fully rigid, beautiful.
Still been used as a ‘rat bike’ ss.

I was riding an emelle cortina XL in white with a funky pink/purple marble smoke effect paintjob on the front and back and also a Raleigh Burner BMX (wish i still had that)

an FZR1000 EXUP Yamaha. I started MTBing a couple of years later.

Kona Explosif, in lovely purple, stock apart from Pace RC 30 forks still own it, still commute on it, although it’s a bit faded now. New back wheel and numerous sets of tyres, otherwise all original.

impressive air Euro 😀

Saracen Trekker Comp Hydro 1990

Tasty orange number, nasty stickers, e-stays, maguras, switchblade forks.
Jumped, raced, roaded & ridden (aka mountain biking)

No pics as laptop died the other week :0(

Ah here is the catalogue…
http://www.rideandrepair.co.uk/Retrobike/1991-Saracen-catalogue.jpg

650 quid IIRC – bargain!

Riding a GT Zasker LE … middleburn cranks, XTR mechs and brakes, XTR wheels with ceramic rims and polished Rockshox mag 21`s !!
Was working for a bike company at the time so things were a lot cheaper 🙂

Diamondback Ascent ex. The black one with pink splashes. Running a custom 8 speed microdrive cassette with upside down xt thumbies, spesh umma gumma tyres and blue xlite bar ends.

A Robert’s White Spider …..

Which was lovely until the ‘monkeys’ sorry baggage handlers at Glasgow airport (returning from Iceland) ****’d it…. Thankfully Chas was able to restore it to life

I had a Raleigh Max overized, red, alivio groupset, grip shifts. At the time was super light and envy of all my mates. Even got it from halfords and everything stayed on it in one piece and it worked. Sadly stolen after 2 months.

But with Zokes 2’s!

Kona Hahanana,

not mine but the same model and year. by the time i had finished with it not much original left, pace sub 130’s diacompe ss5s, sugino chainset, XC comp front mech, mavic wishbone shifters.

In 1992 I was mostly riding a Marin Bear Valley and sometimes a Saracen Killi Ultra flyer elite. Happy days on the downs.

This bad boy with an oval chainset.