Remember when you used to search for bike parts by flicking through a catalogue, or the back of a magazine? Perhaps you phoned a landline to check stock, or maybe you just put a cheque in the post and hoped for the best. No apps tracked your order’s progress, you just waited until the postie would deliver your parts to you – not a courier – and there was very little risk of you finding it left in a random recycling bin.
Or maybe you had a local bike shop, complete with wafts of rubber and WD40, in which to lurk. Lusting after parts in glass display cases, looking with your eyes, and occasionally with grubby fingers. Mostly you were just in the way of people who had work to do and actual paying customers to attend to. Or maybe you were there, a fully grown adult, fitting these parts to bikes – and shaking your head knowingly as you fitted something you expected to be back next week for repairs.
Whether you were ‘there’ as a lurker, a buyer, or a lusting wannabe, here’s a gallery of parts that may take you on a trip down memory lane.
Highly desirable Kooka crank. Kooka Racha crank maybe?Suntour XC Pro mid length cage with an Avid Rollermajig to smooth out the bend in the cable for better shifting.If Play School made bikes… or is it Lidl?Controversial XTR M951. First Hollowtech groupset.We Hope you can stop with that tiny rotor.Purple! Turquoise! Two colours universally recognised as a mark of excellence by men in the early 90s?Sponsored by Daz? Probably never ridden. Certainly not up north.Grafton or Kooka levers? Or something else? You tell us!7 speed shifter with a shadow 8th click. And foam grips for maximum water absorbency.Spin wheels, signed by your heroes.Paul moto-lite brakes with unique camming straddle action. Also, matching tyre and frame, not chocolate.X-lite seatpost clamp and UK-ready rubber seal.Another Paul brake, another brown tyre. Pace fork with dual arches. Purple and Ti Hope hub in the background.The UK’s finest, Middleburn……’Oh God, Look at those things’.There’s always one…Purple Ringle cage. Probably a re-ano, but who cares?A Suntour derailleur (meant for a much bigger chainring) for touring or MTB (with adaptor). Because MTB stuff was still being invented. Ignore the cable housing. Just look at that derailleur that you probably lusted after. Have you grown up yet? Replaceable green bolt, from the time before replaceable derailleur hangers.The finest rear derailleur Suntour ever made for MTB, in absolutely mint condition.Rare M700 crankset in black.‘Ooof’. Our nerd is momentarily overcome and lost for words. MTB’s one hit wonder groupset. It was awesome, but then it wasn’t further developed and it got left behind.In the 80s it was cool to crimp your hair. But it was never cool to crimp your spokes. WTF?MRP chainguide and bashguard.Suntour XC Pro lever and shifter… on…… UK MTB history. On a Geoff Apps bike. If you don’t know who he is, watch this:
Soft tails – making a comeback in gravel circles.Kooka stem, Chris King headset, Hyper Lite bar… the standards of the day.Collectable mud? Hiding the pierced monostay frame construction, and the first parallel push V brake.Back when cable routing was sensible?X-Lite titanium handlebar. British company, lusted after by kids with magazines.X-Lite lever and shifter pod mount.Mavic’s answer to rapid fire, before rapid fire.Two. Because derailleurs came in two places.Who made this headset? We’re not sure.A rare find.Ugliest crank award? Aftermarket Shock Bone brake bridge. Apparently the weight was a marketing point!Russian Ti. Somewhat dubious weld quality.
Was that a blast from the past, or a horrible flashback? You don’t have to collect or ride old parts to appreciate them – a little bit of knowledge about where your latest whizz bang component started out might just give you an event greater appreciation of how very clever it really is.
I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones.
More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments.
I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.
