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Got my first MTB 30 years ago this weekend, age 11. After trying multiple sports and done BMX racing as a sprogg, it's the only thing I've ever stuck at! First bike was a very shonky Raleigh Mustang, replaced by a diamond back axis 3 years later which then lasted nearly ten years until a spesh FSR, then an M2 Stumpjumper. A move to the south coast then corresponded with the start of going through multiple bikes of a retro stylee and first joining STW. I've been through fat chance, salsa, Klein, ventana, surly, fat bikes, full sussers, singlespeed, Singular's and many more. The garage now has a 1990 attitude, 1990 yo Eddy!, 1988 Roberts, kona humu, Niner RLT9 and a Jones.
All my friends ride, and they will stay friends for life. Here's to another 30 years!
Congratulations! Time flies hey! It was my '30 year mtb' anniversary last month.
Well done Grant.
I think you were the first person I ever saw riding single speed! I've still got a Roberts DB in the barn(and its ss) . 32 years for me, but then I'm quite a bit older than you whipper snappers.
Pictures!
Cheers chaps! Pics from anything before the last ten years are minimal but I do need to sit down and put something together from more recent times. Even just a slideshow of bikes might be good.
Only 20 years here. Would have been longer but windsurfing sucked away all of my money until then.
Congratulations! Only 25 years here, but then I didn't start until I was 31! Yes here's to another 30! Oh no, wait a minute...!
31 years here on mountainbikes. 35 years riding offroad.
love it more than ever, just dont manage to get out as much.
started on rigid steel, still on rigid steel.
Same here! I was 11 when I got my first mtb. Amazing how time flies
27 years here, sort of. First 'MTB' [as was sh1te] a Prompto Equalizer for my 9th birthday in '89. Mostly remembered for my dad shouting at me for skidding the tyres to nothingness in a couple of weeks. Several nice bikes (Boss, Muddy Fox) to '98, then moved to London... There followed 13 years of motorbike and roadbike but I've been back where I belong four fun-filled years.
Monday 27th May, 1991, with the purchase of a behemoth of a Raleigh Dakota from Halfrauds in Cannock.
Followed by a Kona, GT Timberline, GT Zaskar, Rock Lobster, Giant NRS, SWorks Enduro, Pace 303, Ventana El-Ciclon, Inbred (26"), Inbred Summer Season, Inbred (29"), another Ventana El-Ciclon, & the two I have now, a Five & my ever present Niner SIR.9. I've not counted the BMX, road bikes(s) & the favourite of them all, the Kina Ute cargo bike.
It's been quite a journey. I've had plenty of periods where I've not ridden at all, but bikes, especially the single speed ones, have always picked me up when I'm down.
I feel Young. A paltry 24 years this September just gone - first student grant went partly on second hand Raleigh MTB to get to uni and around hills......
Way back in 1986 an early ridgeback bought from our local shop DJCYCLES (Derick helis) good recommendation it was too.
Lasted me 4 years till i sold it when cash was tight(young family)
Year later picked up a 2nd hand ridge back again via relative,that moved to WALES with us -mountains n moors of ceridigion became my back yard.Also used it for a 17 mile each way commute in n out of Aberystwyth.
Sold that after 5 years as moved onto first full suss a Saracen (bright orange),but truefully found that heavy.
Then picked up a Marin bolias ridge with modified forks ,that was fantastic,kept me going till 2012 ,when i moved to ireland n left it at previous work to use between shifts (as working back in wales for a while).
Now have Carrera Fury not fantastic but good enough.
So 30 years of fun
Giant Sierra with Mountain LX groupset, featuring the all new Hyperglide cassette! That would have been 1988, so 28 years ago for me.
27 years here since my first (1989 Muddy Fox Courier Comp) 'official' MTB but I'm kind of celebrating 40 years off off-road riding this year as '76 is the first year I can really remember building my first 'tracker' and riding every day in Epping Forest.
BTW I highly recommend this truly fantastic current topic on Retrobike 'trackers' - worth a read for the oldies like me who don't believe 'mountain biking' (or 'offroad biking') was 'invented' in the US!:
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=334891
Only 24 years here so just 6 more to go to reach 30. By then I'll be 75 I hope I make it! 🙂
Next year is the 35th anniversary of my first off road bike related trip to a&e. Ruptured my spleen messing about on some dirt jumps. My jumping skills still haven't improved, in spite of numerous more trips to a&e in the intervening years.
Congratulations!
25 years of MTB's, 42 years on two wheels here.
I pretty much ride the same type of stuff now as I did back then, but just slower and with more cake stops.
Only ever had steel hardtails.
Freeride, enduro, all mountain, ultra light XC are all trends I've steadfastly ignored.
The thing that has increased my enjoyment of cycling the most is having a partner that enjoys cycling too.
She bought a new AWOL yesterday, just off for a blast.
🙂
24 years MTBing this summer - '92 Marin Palisades Trail bought from Behind Bars in Abingdon. Should have bought the red Kona with Suntour though, but couldn't afford it.
Hmmm, must be around 30 years since I started, sadly I can't remember specific dates.
Can't even remember the name of my first bike but it was a Raleigh Hi-ten steel, 15spd. Heavy but fun.
Then moved onto a Giant coldrock like this one - [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/giant-coldrock-is-it-worth-selling-for-sale ]Linky[/url] which I upgraded with a Girvin Flexstem. Did WHW, 1/2 of Nevis, Ben Lomond and many other highland adventures. Lasted until my student days where I spent too much time on the water to bike much and it was then stolen from outside the flat 🙁
Next got a Kenesis Maxlight with a RS Judy built up by Ric when he was at Mabie. Great bike and many more fun adventures exploring the joys of front sus. Even made it down Nevis range DH when it first opened (really could have done with a clutch mech for that one!). Still going strong as a hack/shuttle bike with an ancient pair of Psylo's, which continue to work.
2004 and invested in a HL 5-spot which was a wonderful bike for doing a bit of everything all over Scotland. Sadly put it to sleep last summer, to be woken up when my son grows into it.
Replaced with a Burner 650B which is just as good an all round bike and continues to put a smile on my face. 😀
how can you tell which weekend?! blimey!
I got my first MTB in - I reckon - 1986 as well..
Yellow Rockhopper.
It's still going strong somewhere near Peebles.
Likewise, the mates I had then still bike and we still go for jaunts out. Magic!
Congratulations! Just done the calculations and I'm on my 30th this year!
Raleigh Maverick, Araya rims, Suntour gears and slack as hell:)
Congratulations! Just done the calculations and I'm on my 30th this year!Raleigh Maverick, Araya rims, Suntour gears and slack as hell:)
31 years later this month and it was a Raleigh Maverick for me too
Grant.
Would you say "those shorts" were a high or low point of your 30 years? 😛
Be great to see pics of some of your old bikes. Seems back then I was more interested in riding than pic taking and as a result have no record of some of my earl stuff.
It must be brilliant to still own some stuff from that era.
First bike was a DB Ascent with plastic Exage brakes. £300 second hand. **** me it took me months to save up to buy that.
23 years proper mtbing, first had a go about 1988 on my brothers Raleigh Mustang, awful. Used to ride my old Raleigh Chipper round the local woods back in the 70s, so riding about 45 years.
First proper mtb was fully ridged, rode that everywhere and for everything, still ride the same routes, can't imagine how I did it back then, youth and fitness I suppose. I feel beat up after a ride on my full sus these days ... All bloomin good fun though!
Stu, those shorts were ace!! Like a reverse mullet, business at the back and party at the front!
I only remember the weekend as it was a month after starting secondary school and my
Mum bought it for me as she'd just split from my dad. It was basic bribery to make up for being a ****!
All I did back then was ride with my two mates and paw the latest copies of Bicycle Action!
A solid 27 years for me.
Interestingly my parents cleared out their attic last week so I now have my collection of MBI/MBR magazines dating back from 1992.
There is some real gold when you read back through those beauties.
2005 for me really - 11 years. I had a bike before that but it was only occasionally used for getting into some Highland glens before dumping it and climbing the mountains.
I think it's 26 years of MTB ing for me. Never owned a road bike, I have previously dipped into CX though. My first was a 21" British Eagle with 500LX, my current bikes a 15.5" frame!!! I wish they'd remake the AXO Pony, I loved mine, I'm sure they could sell a modern version to the EndurO crowd.
AXO Pony
Got a purple and green pair in the garage.
Size 10 if you want to buy them. 😉
The first MTB I saw was a Muddy Fox in a shop window in Oldham.
I used to ride up from Manchester just to stand outside and look at it.
Never had the nerve or cash to go in.
🙂
A few years later Gary bought a heart stoppingly beautiful splatter paint GT Tequesta, and let us all have a go...
28 years for me.
Dad and I hired out some Offroad MTBs to help reach a remote munroe in 1987 (when I was 13). That got me hooked.
Bought a Dawes Jackal in 1988. It had round chainrings; I was convinced I needed BioPace, so talked my parents into getting me a Kona Explosif in 1989. First race was the next year.
Qwerty - still got my AXOs....brilliant shoes, very well made.
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26 yrs for me, giant hurricane. Was a good bike!
At a guess, 28 years since I got my Raleigh Marauder Index. Don't forget those last 3 letters, they important, it had SIS on one side!1!! Totally shit but we had some great crashes together.
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1989, pink Raleigh mustang age 10
So that's what, many years?
No proper mountain bike until 1990 but always off-load on singlespeed old fashioned steel rimmed hacks. Kid down the road had a Raleigh Bomber that I thought was the dogs bollocks. In the mid-eighteenth we took a Grifèr frame and a Puch moped front end and went down hill fast off the top of the Downs. It weighed about 45lbs but suspension was amazing.
1984 Madison Ridgeback, mail order , first ride parked at Rydal Hall and went over Jenkins Crag not a clue where I was going!! Happy days!! Couldn't ride it round town as everyone stopped to ask what it was!!
30 years. Started out on a Freespirit Meteor 10 with bullhorn bars that I bugged my Mum and Dad about until they bought it for my Christmas in 1986. £99 special from B&Q. Quickly moved onto a Trek 850 after riding the Freespirit into the ground 🙂
It'll be 30years for me next year, been a lot of fun along the way, and met some great folks too.
I was thinking exactly this while riding on Monday night - my first MTB was 1988 - Kona Explosif, so 30 years in 2018. Might buy a new one then !
Blew my Student Grant in the autumn of 1991 - Cannondale M500 (which is now being ridden by on old mate of mine as a pub bike).
The purple......oh the purple......
Only 18 years for me,back in 1998 I gave one of my mates £50 for some Halfords wonder.Funny how things turn out,I only bought it as a means of keeping fit,as a result of mountain bikes I've made a lot of new friends over the years.
Here's to many more years on them! 😀
Here a pic of you racing Grant from 1990 at stibby quarry you have some nice Axo kit on
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about 28 or 29 years for me -- 1987 or 88 on a "proper" MTB - Raleigh Maveric (age 21). But had been offroad on any bike I could get my hands on since about age 6. Pic from Eastway circa 1989
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30 years heere too! Brother bought a Giant super Sierra off a mate and hardly ever used it.... My first foray into MTB (other than dodgy 'scrambler' made from road bike with massive handlebars). Havent looked back since.
18 years, started a job where the team building was mountain biking.
Bought a GT Tequesta and loved it, heavy steel frame but brilliant to ride, upgraded to a Zaskar a year later, still have the Zaskar.
1991 - so 25yrs now....
Its 25 years for me. How time flies. 1990 Stumpjumper for me.
It'll be 30 years this Christmas for me. Got very vivid memories of the 14 year old me slithering my Ridgeback S up and down the South Downs on Boxing Day 🙂
29 years since I saved up for my first bike.
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whereabouts on the South Coast? I occasionally see a dashing looking chap scooting along the front on an exquisite Klein.
Warns74 - Raleigh Lizard?
I was thinking Raleigh Montage when I saw the picture.
Yeah the Lizard was greener than that...god aren't we sad?
I was going to say Ascender but I think maybe the Ascender was more qualcast green
32 years. Nishiki Bushwhacker. I can claim first tracks in and around Edinburgh - Pentland Hills, etc. (I remember taking the bike to the Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative, and the guys all coming out to see it. One of them actually said "They'll never catch on, you know"! Still chuckle about that one now and again!
I know that my tracks were also first in the Forest of Dean, where I was living at the time!
Anyway, enough! Got to get out for a ride! Kona Explosif...
@ mildbore
It's really sad hey!
I've still got my 1990 Fisher set up as a singlespeed (although it needs new headset bearings plus it's a tad small now) and the frame and forks of my Raleigh Maverick from 1986 (I think it was an '85 model).
Neither of these count as actual bikes when people ask me how many bikes I have as they aren't currently ready to ride 😉 )
Normal Man wins....it was indeed a montage!
Even rocky had a montage
1989 for my sparkly red/black Raleigh Mustang [b]SIS[/b], aged 12, but I had been riding off-road on a Raleigh Grifter, a Raleigh Strika and a Raleigh Small Rider before that.
...There were a lot of Raleigh bikes in my family.
ps. Apparently, the weight of a typical Grifter was 35lbs
21 or 22 years for me. First bike (an Orange C16-R) was funded with a bonus and purchased from Madgetts in Diss. It was a bit small but it's in the garage with a more road-inspired set of gear ratios on it.
Hey Grant!
24 years for Me I reckon. Well, there were a couple of years before that on a Raleigh Mirage before the bug really built. Still got my first proper bike (my '92 Eldridge Grade). Here it is next to the latest addition...
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started riding off road late 70s on what we then called 'trackers' we d hang round the local skip and make bikes from the bikes dumped there then we d race them through the woods at ilkley.. fast forward to 88/89 and i went into leeds on the train aged 27 with a credit card armed and ready and bought a shogun from two wheels good and rode it home. ramped up to a orange fram/forks and orange stalk from stif when the still sold surf boards from a lock up garage.. self built the bike and rose yorkshire mtb rounds and the early nembas for two or three years.. then my heart blew up.. orange 5 in the garage with that first clockwork.. old skool.. nah the only school.
'87 Raleigh mustang also.
1989 for MTB here. Saracen Limited Edition - Exage Mountain groupset with bottom bracket U-brake. Also had a Raleigh Bomber for 6 years before that.
And prior to the Bomber I got my brother's Vindec flat bar / singlespeed. That instantly lost the mudguards and gained bmx grips. The original white tyres that lasted him years were worn out in the space of a week by my newly discovered love of skids.....
24 years here, Scott Peak in 92, upgraded to a new Specailized Rockhopper in 96, tried a Proflex 856 for a bit then swapped back and fore between a variety of fs and ht bikes up to the present day where I've just completed a summer mini dh series at 46
Back in the late '60's (**** that's a long time ago) my brother and I got our hands on a bike that had been dumped, stuffed the tyres with straw and then built a 'ramp' on some open ground near our parents.
Ramp was some bits of stone & broken bricks stacked up and a piece of wood as the ramp.
Even now i can feel the pain of crown jewels crashing into top tube as tyres didn't work as intended and I discovered by bike handling skills were s**t.
And the ramp didn't provide the hoped for elevation.
Other than that - it was great................
I think 26 years next month for me, maybe 27. Got a Raleigh Lizard for my birthday - as OP, the only sport I've stuck at and it has been awesome.