The 'Introduce Yourself Here' thread

Hi there,

I just got my first full suspension bike ever (because I am old now!) so I decided to do something for my karma and at least read this forum.



Cheers

phaty

Hi christian, long time no mail Hows your back these days?

Hello All,

Discovered this site while searching for a 1988/89 Explosif as you will see if you go to the wanted section. I have not an MTB for a while due to work/family but looking to get back into it due to an iminent move to the country and perhaps time to start up my hobby again.

Bike History:
1988 - My dad imported me an 'OFF ROAD Sport' which I think was the first bike with a Flex stem (correct me if i'm wrong). I had that for a couple of years before selling it and buying a Kona Explosif in 2000 (it was the 89 edition green/yellow spltter).. I loved that bike and had it until 1994 when I was attacked while riding it in manchester and had it stolen by some dodgy scallies that probably flogged it for a tenner not knowing what they had ...
Anyway, I replaced that with claud butler sh*thouse as i didn't want another decent bike being stolen ( I lived in Old trafford at the time) and that was it on the MTB's.
I have had a Ridgeback hybrid thing for a few years to get me about round town but want to rekindle my love affair with fat tyres and crashing so am looking to get a retro kona as i stated at the top.

So that's me, hope someone is able to help with the Kona.. money is waiting !!
Hilts

I believe in Coyotes

I'm a late convert to MTBing. It takes me back to the days when having a bike was fun.

I had 2 or 3 no-name bikes as a kid, would cycle for miles around Forfar, plummet down grassy slopes without a thought of the dangers and haul my steel monster up those hills to do it all again. I thought I wanted to graduate to a half-decent roadie, but I got bored before leaving my crappy Peugot Premier behind.

Many years later, I met my wife and she wanted to build up a frame she'd had for years... a Vicious Cycles Jewel. Great little American company that she had done some promotions work for. So I started looking for my own bike. I wanted light (coz I am) and it had to be cheap.

I got a Coyote hardtail frame from eBay (the HT1 or HT2), with RST Aerosa BAS fork, seatpost and an old Selle Italia saddle. Then I got similarly odd but cheap-and-light stuff to finish the job. The result is what you see here. I have next to nothing to compare it to, but I love it. As On-One say, it's all about getting out and riding. But the fettling is fun too.

Anyone who knows more about this frame than it's "about '92" and an HT or HT2, please contact me.

John (glory311)

mmmmmmmmm......................Hello all, where to start. Here's my story!!

Been working in ski and climbing shops until I had my first contact with a MTB. Wanaka , NZ, 1998 - I can remember it was a Muddy Fox but can't remember the model. Only rode it round the local woods but was hooked.

Came back to UK and decided I had to have one. 1989 - Hired a cannondale fron Dave Mellors in Shrewsbury and took it into the Berwyn Mountains - 'cos I was on a bike, forgot all the rules of mountaineering and ended up in a thunder storm 20 miles from the car and on the wrong side of the mountains in a t shirt and shorts with no food.....learnt some lessons that day!!

Went back to Dave Mellors and tried to buy a Lavadome on credit.....credit refused......saved for 6 months.........got the Lavadome!! This thing was the 'love of my life' for 6 months until my best mate bought exactly the same bike. Don't know why, but couldn't cope with someone else having the same 'love of my life'!! So, scraped enough cash together to buy a brand spanking 1990 Cindercone from Davies Brothers in Chester.

Now , this thing was an awesome machine!! Best biking memories I have..super solid bike, handled like a dream, discovered some amazing trails and I was young and fit.

Ended up having a shop with a Kona dealership and worshipped at the alter of the Explosif and all was well!!

But, after 5 years it all went wrong....shop went pop 'cos I was young and had no business sense and ended up doing factory work. 1995 Explosif lasted a while then broke and got replaced with a Kula....ally was never the same!! Ended up going through a few non descript modern bikes believing suspension and technology would bring back the glory days of the early 90s.........until........2 years ago,founds a 1990 cindercone, complete, for £40. Drivetrain knackered but it made a great ss. Discovered I didn't need that 5" freeride bike to get my kicks again!! This thing is just as fast as it used to be, still goes uphill like a train and on the right terrain, it can stll stick with any modern bike. it's my favorite bike and gives me most grins for the least money!!

Also got a modern Scott full susser for the Knarly stuff, a couple of Italian racers (Winter and summer) plus the wifes 2 bikes.

Just need to find an early ninties explosif to complete the collection........frame would be good.....got my xc pro thumbies and se self energisers sitting in a box waiting!! Wouldn't say I'm a Kona freak as I appreciate most good bikes from the era, just that Kona played a large part of my formative years.

Welcome to the site one and all....some cool stories in there

Hi there, thought I should introduce myself after the odd post and a spot of lurking!

I'm Pimpmaster Jazz, been riding for 17 years (still can't quite believe that...) after selling my Mustang SIS (the black and red smoke one in a diminuative 23" frame) to fund a 1989 Specialized Rockhopper (still in my garage and looking a bit forlorn as it's had its wheels scavenged for my ss). The Rockhopper still has some vintage XT on it (including thumbies), Jive BMX grips and a Mtn. LX chainset with Specialized rings, but the DX hubs and GX23 rims have unfortunately bitten the dust after a few years of city commuting whilst working in London and Oxford. In its prime it was running black Porcs, but they've unfortunately been lost a long time ago.

After that came a '96 Rockhopper – stolen, just after I put a set of MK2 Judy XCs on that I bought whilst backpacking in Canada – which was followed by a '97 Fisher Paragon, now in ss guise.

Following THAT came a 2000 P7 frame, built with all manner of exotica (frame's for sale if you're interested...!) but this was not ridden as much as it should've because I buggered orf from London to work as a guide all over the globe for 3 years, back in 2002.

I'm now back from that, work in the trade and ride a Cove Handjob (steel is real my friend... ), with parts from the P7 and some nice old-school bits such as ODI Attacks (the grip of champs) and have just bought a Hustler frame which will be built up when I can afford it.

I've also got a chrome 1990 Haro Invert BMX from my mid-90s freestyle days – the time that a big BMX jam was 30 riders from all over the country meeting at one of the few skate parks and Jamie Bestwick had a day job. I got some bits and pieces for it when I aupaired in the States back in '94ish, so it's running (rather dented) WAL Riot twist-lace wheels, Graveyard pegs, Haro Kneesaver 1 bars, an Invert stem, purple Jive grips and Primo V-Monster tyres.

So, not really a retro fiend but I like to think that I've paid my dues, if that makes any sense...

Hi My name is Mitch and I am from th us. I am 36 yrs old. Her si a link to my bike.
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... 2593#12593

Just noticed that christian has joined the site, always good to have the 'phat lizards' seal of aproval!

Scary how similar everyones stories are; got into in in the late eighties\early nineties, bought bike, upgraded the hell out of the bike, had bike stolen, bought another bike, left serious biking for a bit (except scant, who is our resident hardhore, welsh ride til you die), came back, bought another bike and got old one out of garage, found this site and retroed the hell out of old bike and spent life savings on ebay..... Sounding familiar?

Yup -

"My name is Jez and I have a retro-bike problem"

Think thats quite a common statement now!