What was your "retro epiphany"

Or what got you into retro?

Guess many may not have had one but on the flip most will have had a defining momnet (or several) when they decided to start buying old bikes

Mine was late 04 / early 05.
Been riding at at mediocre level since '90. Never really stopped riding but my interest in mtbs faded around '99 with taking a year out travelling followed by moving to the worst mtbing county in the uk (aka Warwickshire). Anyhow by late 2004 was aware of a bit of a retro scene on the go, various faces on here were posting on stw, mtbr vrc and fatcogs etc. Decided I needed a fat chance on a bit of a whim. By May 05 a nice Grello Yo had arrived from Deutschland (cheers Thilo ), went to the Scant arranged retro meet at MM, set this place up and here we are today

And a lot of people are thankful for that epiphany

Raced MTB, road, time trials and track throughout the 90’s before bailing out 98/99.

Sold most bikes but decided to keep the RTS, and just then just rode the trails for fun. However I stopped riding completely in the early 00’s.

Picked it up again a couple of years ago as I decided I needed to do something about my fitness. Dug the RTS out and hit the trails once more.

When browsing Ebay I saw the retrobike logo and the rest, as they say, is history.

The bug has bitten again and well and truly locked its teeth in

never really had one, i just like the same stuff i always did.

I sold a retro egg chair to Neil (Badger?) and ended up here.

Finding this site got me into Retro as well as back into enjoying riding offroad again, that was nearly a year ago.

Was into riding in the early to mid 90's (mainly with an Offroad 852) and was pretty fit but fell away from it, got back into it breifly in 2000 when i bought my LTS but was working as a long distance lorry driver at the time and really wasn't fit and had limited spare time so i didn't enjoy it, fast forward to last year and i changed my job to one involving more running around outdoors, found i got fit again pretty quick, decided to dig out the LTS and cycle to work as it's only 2 1/2 miles away.

Decided that the LTS wasn't the best commuter so i started looking for another more suitable bike, found a 91 Clockwork frame on E-bay, bought that and built it up using bits mostly off E-bay, was looking at a Klein Adroit frame on E-bay and noticed a link to this site and i've been here since

Around that time i dug out my old Trek frame from under a hedge in my garden where it had been for six years and hung it on the wall in my garage.

Finding older bikes attractive seems natural to me, i find most older things including classic cars far more interesting than modern ones, and have always enjoyed using things that are different/rare and willing to put up with any shortcomings.

01/02. Had ignored bikes for a few years whilst I was 'studying at University' ahem, and then wanted something else to run around on that was not going to upset me if and when it got nicked. Cue eBay, and I found that stuff I really wanted bitd was cheap and within my budget now! Hence a lot of frames and stuff bought for very little (and I didnt have to learn about suspension) - first being a '90 Explosif (for about £30).I have tried to ignore it, and it was easier to ignore before RB came along. Damn you!

I sold a retro egg chair to Neil (Badger?) and ended up here

Click to expand...

Pretty funny that, Neil phoned me on the way home from yours and said 'that guy I bought the egg chair from had a really nice Yo and loads of anodised stuff!'

I guess I've always loved bikes, new or old, but it was a pointer from a mate who writes for Dirt that lead me to this site. It's nice to find a group of people who still love anodising and steel. I always bemoaned the drift of MTB culture towards the ever more "extreme" and "fashionable" end of the sport, particularly as I am too chicken to do massive drops and jumps. Singletrack forever!

I wanted to fix my bike in 2006/7 , I bought some modern shifters and a hope xc rear hub. I laced the hope to my 231CD but I didn't like the look of the shifters so took them back.

Then I started searching for new bearings for my bullseyes and found retrobike.

Over £600 on paypal 18months later (all for bike bits - no frames) I still haven't finished doing it up. Add to that £200 for MM and all the parts I bought cash. I don't seem to sell much either, I'm a hoarder.

..... I don't regret one minute of it though. Thanks John

I've always liked retro stuff, I've got 60's radios and tape decks, a few super 8 projectors and 3 singer sewing machines(for making kites)