There are only three weeks to go until the inaugural RetroBike Big Dirty Weekender which this year is located in “God’s own Yorkshire”.

It’s shaping up to be a great weekend with some quality riding and general retro goodness over two days. We have a superb 15 mile old skool route on the Saturday through the glorious forests and moorland of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park and RetroBike’s Gil_M will be leading us around some of his favourite parts of Dalby Forest on the Sunday. We hope to have around 80 retro bikes on display including the largest ever gathering of old skool PACE bikes. We also have The Repack Downhill Challenge, a stage event over the two days of riding, a concours event with several classes and prizes, The ‘Cock o The North’ trials event, special guests, trade stands and Saturday night BBQ, music, drinks and chat into the early hours.
We have secured the exclusive use of a campsite behind a traditional country pub serving fine ales and good food. Secure storage is available for bikes whilst we are out riding and we have been guaranteed a great Yorkshire welcome by our hosts.

Camping is payable on the day and is just £7. Cooked breakfasts will be available on Sunday morning. Limited edition T-shirts are available (please pre order) for just £8. Further details can be found here.

Hope to see you all up on’t moor

Dr. S for the North East and Yorkshire Area Group

For those who missed out on MM or who haven’t followed one of the many threads (like this one) you won’t know about the catchily titled “Original Source Mountain Mayhem Retrobike Trophy”.

On the showstand over the course of the weekend we held a public vote to find the ‘best’ bike on display. The winner was called on Sunday afternoon and a presentation made in front of the masses.

The winner was Jez with his Pace RC-100. A worthy and iconic winner for sure, well done Jez!

‘Dr’ Steve Peat has somehow found time to plan what is sure to be a mouth-watering 4th annual Wharncliffe Weekender, despite his hectic racing schedule and his new found profession, delivering babies! Little did Sheffield University know last year that the honorary doctorate awarded in 2008 was to pre-empt the delivery of son number 2. All this when the UCI Downhill World Cup is now in full swing with Steve having a blistering start and leading the points series with 2 wins and a podium in the 3 rounds so far. His win in Andorra has now established the Sheffield born rider as the most successful of all time with 17 World Cup wins. He’s somehow finding time for the return of the ever popular event ……

The annual cross country mountain bike meeting, held in Sheffield is, again, receiving global interest and last year saw riders from across the UK & Ireland as well as further afield from the Canary Islands and even New Zealand! The charity event, which raises money for the Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity has been extremely successful over the past 3 years. The amount raised to date is £28,500 with last year’s funds being specifically donated to the Teenage Cancer Unit at the hospital.

A visit by the Wharncliffe Weekender events team to the Teenage unit has strengthened their resolve to continue what is now becoming one of the most enjoyable MTB events in the calendar.

Steve Peat said ‘We’re stoked with the amount of money we’ve raised so far and can’t believe the distance some of the riders travel to take part. We all say this event is easy to organize because we have so much fun. We’re tweaking the plans for this year with the emphasis being solely on riding and old school MTB fun. We’ve even built a dual slalom fun track in the event field for people to play on. It’s gonna be awesome so come along and help us raise loads of money!’

The event comprises of 2 categories. Firstly a fun race for children or the less discerning riders, almost all of whom will be in fancy dress and will this year incorporate a team event. Secondly, a senior event which is for the more serious rider. In addition to the actual riding, there will be camping, food all-day and many other fund-raising stalls and activities. In the evening, things will slow down with old school ‘chill & chat’.

There are still plenty of places available for interested riders and people who may just wish to spectate or enjoy the other activities are gratefully welcome. The dates for the event are 4th & 5th July.

You will be able to download entry and sponsorship forms from the following website and get all the latest info on the race running up to the event.

www.wharncliffeweekender.com

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Ready To Ride

Mayhem is over for another year, but what a great year it was! With over 30 riders and a massive stand this was by far the biggest year ever for Retrobike. Check the threads in the forum here and here for a flavour of what happened along with more pictures.

Follow retrobike on twitter - http://twitter.com/retrobike.
Will do a few updates from MM over the weekend!

Once again Retrobike will be at this weekend’s OS Mountain Mayhem 2009 at Eastnor - this will be our biggest and best year ever! Our new and improved show stand will be located in the heart of the MM arena and features some of your favourite and most significant MTBs from the dawn of the sport, along with a fine selection of vintage road and bmx bikes. Over the course of the weekend we’ll be holding a vote for the ‘Mountain Mayhem Retrobike Trophy’ - so make sure you drop by the stand, check out all the bikes and cast your vote! Those of you racing this year should watch out for our retro-themed trackside tent of crazy supporters, listen out for those classic old schools tunes and party whilst you pedal! At Retrobike we don’t only party hard - we have over 30 riders in various teams and solo classes, making us one of the largest club entries in the event! All Retrobike riders will be on old school machinery and some still in their vintage race strips! So be sure to support the Retrobike riders out on course!

August 15th sees the return of the fantastic singletrack trails of Stanmer Park in the shape of a fresh and new 6 hour enduro for solos and teams: It’s called: “The Brighton Big Dog.” The event offers a dedicated pre-95 retro-category sponsored by Retrobike and a pre race retrobike show - winner takes the Retrobike BigDog Trophy home!

Local riders have come together to put on a rider organised, not for profit, summer classic at the Stanmer venue. We’ve taken a course described by many as the best of 2008 and added our own Big Dog flavour. Our dedicated pack have been meticulously combing the park in order to unearth new and hidden gems and we can proudly say that the natural flowing singletrack has been enhanced.

Whilst riders are railing the course those in the venue can enjoy music from our resident Brighton DJ’s, excellent food, retro bike parade, fresh from the barrel Harvey’s ale, a host of tea and cakes and most importantly a general top ranking vibe.

We reckon that for most riders a great ride just isn’t complete without a great night out and what better place than Brighton! Luckily The Big Dog ends not at the finish line but at closing time with any profits from the day being unleashed behind the bar at the post race party venue to make sure that you are properly rehydrated: “old style.”

We have called up all of our friends and also some of the coolest names in the industry to help make the event a reality with contributions and prizes. As such the fund is strong and includes goodies from brands such as Gary Fisher, Cannondale, Exposure Lights, Independent Fabrication, Skins, Apple and Morvelo.

The event offers some further twists with the unique “Onederdog” cat. The “Onederdog” enables anyone; passer by, supporter or those who just want a quick burn to check out the singletrack for one lap at any time. For your £6 you’ll get free tea and cake and also leaderboard status if you so wish.

Aware of spiraling bike costs we’ve tried to keep entry fees reasonably tight - and remember the more entries we get the bigger the bar tab so enter as soon as you can!

Local rider and singlespeed maestro Oli Pepper has put together a stellar website with all the information you could hope for - check it out at www.brightonbigdog.com

Let’s make “The Big Dog” one big memorable day.

Archangel takes the May 2009 BoTM with a very worth winner - Specialized’s finest Stumpjumper Epic Ultimate!

Pete McC’s Doug Bradbury Manitou Full Suspension

In the now standard start to a Retrobike.co.uk story I want you to wind the clock back 17 years - it’s 1992, Carter USM are riding high in the charts and playing on my ‘auto-reverse’ walkman, my Calvin Kleins are visible for all to see above the waistband of my baggy jeans and the MBUK Summer Special has just landed in WHSmiths.
This years Summer Special really lived up to it’s name as nestled amongst the pages of vital holiday reading was an article so special that it would get read with an amazed open mouth more often than a lottery winner rereads his winning ticket - the Superbike Test! Four bikes - all works of art, all utterly desirable and all far too expensive for a 17 year old on his way to University.
The Superbike test featured some of the years rarest and most individual bikes to hit our shores; bikes like the he Mountain Goat, the Alpinestar Almega, the Funk E-stay. But for me, one bike stood out in the review as the ultimate Superbike -the Manitou FS. With it’s eye watering £2,950 price tag for a frame-kit (in the days when £1500 would buy you a fully built Pace RC100), it was out of the reach of all but the most hardcore or most over-paid cyclist out there. It was the true embodiment of the term Superbike, it shone with new and exciting technology and was laden with unique and bespoke parts. It featured a 145mm rear axle that allowed a dish-less rear wheel and the 90mm width BB shell for the optimum chainline, it had amazing, cutting edge suspension forks with a full inch of elastomer travel and the additional set of forks where the seatstays should be, offering another bump-soaking inch of travel at the back. Unsurprisingly this bike scored a full 5 stars across the board and won the praise of all who rode it, all this praise was testament to the fact that it was designed by mountain bike design pioneer and Hall of Fame member, Doug Bradbury. This was the bike I told myself I would buy when I made my fortune.

Now, with the scene set, let’s fast forward to this time last year - I no longer had that magazine, my dog ear-ed and ragged copy was lost in one of the many moves since Uni, but I still lusted after each and everyone of the bikes in that Superbike review, I was still promising myself that I will own a Bradbury Manitou when I am rich and famous. But little did I know that Karma has a special surprise in store for me, one that it had been storing up for me for those 16 years since I first opened that magazine.
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The ‘Leftfield’ BoTM for April 2009 is Gary Turner’s GT STS.