Your Retrobike.co.uk...and what it means to you...

Right, it's coming up to a year I've been hanging about with you lot on here and thought I'd reflect on what sort of an impact it's had on me and find out what it means to you?

There are some more common things that will have happened to a lot of us as a result of stepping back in time on two wheels, such as perhaps...

*Made you lighter of pocket for one! :shock:

*Got you back into mountain biking.

*Made you some great friends and new riding partners.

*Turned you into a mega consumer with a new addiction.

*Saved you life whilst bored stiff at work.

*Depressed you about the beautiful machines you sold for pence a couple of years back and had neatly forgotten about (and have subsequently seen Jez (not) riding.) :cry:



For me, I think it's been a journey through the fabled anodised wonderland and out the other side into a beautiful open pasture of bicycle-ness.

I realise that above all, this site has awakened an absolute love of all things cycling in me.

I'm as interested in a 'Yuba', heavy, cheap, ugly, long wheelbased cart horse of a bike as I ever was of a Fat Ti with all the trimmings.

I love bicycles.

This is cycling culture. And I now realise I live for it.

Thank you Retrobike.

You are what makes Retrobike what it is.

So, tell me...What does it mean to you? What has it given you? Where has it taken you?





:?: :?: :?:

"There are some more common things that will have happened to a lot of us as a result of stepping back in time on two wheels, such as perhaps...

*Made you lighter of pocket for one! check

*Got you back into mountain biking. check

*Made you some great friends and new riding partners. check

*Turned you into a mega consumer with a new addiction. check

*Saved you life whilst bored stiff at work. check

*Depressed about the beautiful machines you sold for pence a couple of years back and had neatly forgotten about (and have subsequently seen Jez (not) riding.) " check

'bout sums it up

Couldn't put it any better my self

The 'FOR SALE' forum has certainly made my wife richer! and me poorer (of kit!)

Bikeshopowner":ukrth9k4 said:

The 'FOR SALE' forum has certainly made my wife richer! and me poorer (of kit!)

Click to expand...

I heard it was online bingo , on both counts

For me, the best thing has been discovering that I'm not the only one who thought the "glory days" of MTB were in the 1990s (or just an old git!). I came across the site from an occasional browse of the STW forums, and it was like discovering a fantastic piece of singletrack tucked away on some grassy moorland.

I still read STW every now and then and think it's a great resource, but was disappointed when the whole MTB scene got more downhilly and big-air than really suited me. Maybe that's what I got for reading MBUK ...

I think the proof is that the bikes I liked BITD still look as good today when compared to anything else out there. I'm sure there was a Mint Sauce quote along the lines of "fashion is something so ugly it has to change every 15 minutes, but style is permanent and timeless, something in the way you move".

For me, the very spirit of mountain biking is what's found here. It's not about the bike, it's about the bikes

Planets aligning for me. Decided to give up smoking and get my arse out on my bike again after about 6 years of riding only occasionally.
Then found out about retro bike just as I started to get really into it again.

Never been not retro if that makes any sense!

Thanks to John for starting it, and every one else for turning up too.

As a newcomer to Retrobike, I’m looking forward to any local retro rides, but the best thing so far is that I had never before seen a bike as nice as Jez’ Salsa, and without Retrobike, I never would have.

I do have misgivings about anything focused on the concept of retro, because it’s usually a focus for people who regret change. They usually live in Chipping Sodbury or similar, read the Telegraph and don’t get out a lot on account of their zimmer frame.

But when you look at Jez’ Salsa, the most obvious question is ‘seriously though, why don’t they make bikes like that any more?’ No really, why not? You could go into any bike shop now and spend as much as you like, but could you buy a bike that was as much fun to ride or as pretty to look at as that Salsa? Sadly not.

So one of the things that Retrobike means to me is that the mountain bike industry has gone down some blind alleys, and new bikes are stupidly expensive and inferior in quality compared to building your own from second-hand parts.

There aren’t many consumer products you could say that about.

Gus summed it up very well but this is just about perfect:

Kestonian":3i3b5k5y said:

.... like discovering a fantastic piece of singletrack tucked away on some grassy moorland.

Click to expand...

I think we all know how that feels.

orange71":vyel72cl said:

*Made you lighter of pocket for one! check

*Got you back into mountain biking. check

*Made you some great friends and new riding partners. check

*Turned you into a mega consumer with a new addiction. check

*Saved you life whilst bored stiff at work. check

*Depressed about the beautiful machines you sold for pence a couple of years back and had neatly forgotten about" check

Click to expand...

Agree completely.

I used to race from early to late 1990's, the golden age of MTB's.

I stumbled accross your website via Ebay when looking for kit, and now feel like I have made 100's of new friends. I look at the site every day, it makes me want to ride all the time.

It is great that everyone understands what PROPER MTBing is about