Who's gone all retro then?

6000 members + on the Facebook UK MTB Golden Era

So who’s in? I’ve been keeping my eyes out for a mid 90s Zaskar and ended up finding a similarly aged Pantera – total stock with STX RC and Indy XC’s. Going to check it out on Sunday. Guy wants about a hundred quid for it. N+1 and all that.

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Been a member for about 10 years, as have a few other folk on here.
Got a nice Orange Vit T and a slingshot.

I have a passion for older mtbs, but I’ve found it is best left in the memory banks under ‘ahhhh, nice’ 😆

Having built and ridden a few older Zaskars I always come back to something more modern with decent brakes and suspension.

That said, every time I go into the garage I have my first ever real mtb (96 Pantera) hanging on the wall asking me to build it back up.

I’ve been posting over there. I’m the same though, I need all the £ to keep the modern bikes going! If I bumped into something at a car boot or up the tip I’d probably be tempted.

I never left, still riding a bike from 1994 occasionally.

lol…

I had a 97 Zaskar which I sold to fund the upgrade path but I’ve always wanted another. Really hope this all works out and this Pantera works out. Already priced up wheels, some SD7 levers, Arch Rival brakes, got a retro XTR rear mech, 9 speed cassette in the bits box and eyes on a 9 speed shifter (not all old school!). Single ring up front, n/w and forks wise I’m not sure to give refurbing the indy xc’s or some P2’s if I can get a set a a decent price.

Then there’s the whole stripping down and painting which I’m looking forward too. Stem, bars and bar ends….. Like a kid at Christmas!!!

Still sometimes ride my 1999 Merlin malt II, just the narrow bars feel a bit strange!

I’m (vaguely) on Retrobike.
Makes me laugh.

FFS, it’s a 25 year old BSO. It was crap when it was new and 25 years of being left out in someones garden hasn’t made it any better.

Least this new FB page seems to have worked out the difference between a 25 year old BSO and something actually worthy of collection and restoration. Other than a misplaced pair of rose tinted spectacles.

I’ve got a nice 1996 Bravado in the shed 😀

That saddle’s long gone though! 😯

I’m on retro bike more than on here. Currently have a 1989 Saracen Tufftrax, 1990 Marin Pine Mountain and 1992 Orange Clockwork fully built with a 1993 GT RTS-1 under restoration. Don’t ride them much but I like looking at them.

Ya grumpy sod. Old GT’s are way more than BSO’! Don’t you appreciate heritage and boyhood dreams?

I’ve found it is best left in the memory banks under ‘ahhhh, nice’

Yup, spent ages building up a beautiful 1996 Zaskar LE – Spinergy, XTR, decent componants etc
Split it and sold it after 1 months riding. Thing was a pig.
Modern MTBs might have their faults, but they are *so* much more capable.
That said I’d still like an STS dh for wall art in the garage.

I rode my 1991 Clockwork (Orange + white) around Sherwood Pines a few months back, only because I was staying at centre parcs and it’s my shop bike. It was like the old days, kind of, except we didn’t have trail centres. It worked, was a fun ride but definitely would have preferred a ‘proper’ bike without road geometry.

But its in use, mostly shop duties, which its fine at. I get a full 3mm travel from the manitou forks, wonder if there is any elastomer actually left or its just bouncing on the gruft collected over many years. I daren’t look.

I suppose it’s the same as classic cars though. Of course, modern cars are “better” on the whole but still doesn’t stop classic cars being things of beauty, projects to tinker on and fun.

My 1994 Kona Kilauea handles beautifully and is faster to ride in certain areas than my modern bike. Gear changes are perfect, it’s light and flickable, and also looks amazing too.

The speed and terrain I see a lot of people riding on would be more suited to a 90’s bike than a modern full suss.

Bombjack – probably the spinergy wheels that made it cack, they are awful. Zaskars are ace to ride.

I found Zaskars rather meh actually. Too stiff, too unforgiving.

Didn’t help that i weighed about 9 stone wet through when they came out.

Spinergies were horrific though.

my only mountain bike is a 10 year old fsr stumpy….is that retro yet?

I’ve never owned anything built after 1991 so I’m blisfully unaware of how crap my bike is. But I like it.

Yeah I joined up.
Started mtb in the early 90’s with a Trek 930.
Great site with some old names cropping up!
Had a brief period a few years ago with the site Retrobike which lead me to buy a Bontrager and a Dekerf.
Sold them and its all modern now when I realised how much better current stuff is to race on!
Still would be tempted by a Slingshot or a Dogs Bolx if they came up in the right size though!
Thanks,
Max

I’m not on that FB page…..yet

Not that old, my Ritchey P20. Doesn’t get ridden that much, but still overly to ride

Ritchey P20 by ritcheyp20[/url], on Flickr

There’s quite few of us who still live in the 70’s apparently…

I would still have my 98 P7 if it hadn’t been stolen, but I wouldnt’ be riding it. It really was nothing like as good as a modern bike.

Nostalgia for me is no substitute for handling and technology 🙂

1996 Orange C16-R … still gets an occasional ride. Worth more to me than it would be to sell.

Have got a gt sts in the loft. It gets used occasionally but have run out of storage space in the garage / climbing wall for it.
Good fun to ride if a little scary

I use the FB page. It’s great looking back to when I was young & fit and the sport was new & exciting. Spoke to people I haven’t contacted in years!
I love some of the old bikes and parts too, but don’t really understand the obsession with collecting or riding them now.

Im on there and RB. Most of my bikes are old, even my newest one is 26 inch wheeled and triple chainset so seems to have aged quickly.
1992 Proflex
1993 Wheeler
1994 Merlin
1994 Megamo
1995 Zaskar
1996 Orange
2003 Dale Jekyl
2011 Kinesis XC3

The Proflex and Megamo are by far my favourites to ride. With the exception of a 20 mile shakedown ride, I have only ever ridden the Proflex in competition.
The Kinesis is the easiest to ride and does everything perfectly.

Who’s gone all retro then?

never stopped 😉 I do have modern bikes but I have older ones that still get ridden a lot.

The speed and terrain I see a lot of people riding on would be more suited to a 90’s bike than a modern full suss.

Too true, or a modern gravel bike/gnarmac/monstercross/tourer/justabike.

I always find it interesting chatting to ‘new’ riders who have somehow been hoodwinked into thinking that its impossible to ride a trail centre blue route without 150mm of travel, sticky tyres, dropper post and disc brakes.

Had a similar experience last week but on the subject of lights, a guy fairly new to MTB, wanted to do try riding the local TC at night and was asking about lights, said he had been reading up and talking to people and was looking at either a new Exposure Toro or MaxxxD, but was worried the Toro wouldn’t be bright enough so was swinging towards the MaxxxD, he’s only just venturing onto the local red route (very tame more like dark blue) and hasn’t ridden any of the off-piste or natural stuff round here, I was gobsmacked that he was thinking a ~2000 lumen light might not be enough, I mean I’m all for getting the best you cna for future use etc. but he was genuinely concerned it might not be possible to night ride on anyhting less 😯

Some of mine…..

Built this a year of two ago, Saracen kili Racer.

Semi restoration as I have modernised it in places ie. 1 x groupset,Disc brake and some other bits.
Rides really nice,but feels tiny compared to my 29er.

Anyone got a proflex?! Always wanted one of those when I was a lad.

I keep thinking of selling this but then I look at it lol has black pedals and a fixed puncture no though

2 x American Comp Lite, lovely but heavy 89 GT, Barracuda A2X (made by Yeti) all unbuilt at the mo. My new bike is a 2003 foes!

Love that Slingshot!

I’m already in, I have 2 bigfoot smokestones from around 1993/1994. Might be persuaded into selling one, 2 does seem a little bit overkill!
I would agree with a lot of what has already been said- they’re great to look at and tinker with and I ride them occasionally, but I’m quickly reminded that steep headangles, narrow bars and long stems went away for a reason…. and then there’s cantilever brakes. In the wet….
But if any of you fancy a retro ride in the spring in the forest of dean don’t hesitate to ask, I’d love to show some retro fans the trails that got me into mtb 25 years ago. They do seem rougher now, not sure if that’s cos they are, or just because I’ve gotten old and used to modern suspension. Perhaps a bit of both…

https://goo.gl/photos/vdXCDCLs7SH6k6yv7

Anyone got a proflex?! Always wanted one of those when I was a lad.
I’m a bit of a Proflex & Girvin enthusiast.

Do mine count?

Not on FB but occasionally dip into Retrobike which has some great stuff and knowledgeable people. Did a RB Lakes ride which was very friendly but mrs refuses to attend another – big group plus old bikes = faffiest, slowest, coldest ride ever 🙂

Eldest boy is rapidly outgrowing his mum’s old bike – Parkpre Ti that she rode at the 95 worlds. Gradually modernised as things die (including the rear Hope hub which has run multiple rims but finally broke this summer in Germany). The frame is now the only original thing left! 20 months since this photo and he is at the limit of seatpost / stems and outgrown 2 sets of spd shoes (retro folks will know the age of his first shoes…..)

Not properly retro but I’d quite like an old Trailstar like my first one that cracked. Would be a great cheap muck about bike. And it was my very first proper mtb which is always nice.

Yes, I’ve been posting on there occasionally. I got into MTBing about 1993 and very quickly started XC racing so it’s been great looking back through all the images of racing back then.
The early 80s stuff doesn’t really do much for me although I do appreciate the passion for the sport which has lead people to keep their bikes from that era.

I’m going to have a rummage through my old pictures and results when I visit my Mum over Christmas, got a feeling there should be a few old MBUK and MTB Pro magazines knocking around in a box in the loft somewhere! All of my stuff will be from about 1993 – 1998.

What I do like about the Facebook page is the fact the all the racers from that era are on it – people like Paul Hinton, Jonny Clay, Barrie Clark who were all at the same races that I did, they were inspirational to us lowly Junior riders.