BoTM August 2013 - Nominations if you please

The History Man":1ydi0qpk said:

The History Man's Overbury's Pioneer three hour build. Bring on the brick bats!

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Not getting my vote, there's no dog in the pic.

The History Man":1cslt36p said:

The History Man's Overbury's Pioneer three hour build. Bring on the brick bats!

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It's a trick! They're 24" wheels.

REKIBorter":1kbgdq9a said:

Bikes were much cheaper in the USA. I bought a Trek 930 for £500 in 1993 which had a basic frame with STX and Alivio components.

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I always found the prices in the shop ads in MBUK/Mountainbiking BITD to be way OTT ( x pounds to x dollars for San Andreas frames for example). Then again, I bought my LP 12 here for less money than my cousin could have picked it up in Glasgow, which was out of whack in my eyes too.

The History Man":1dbfgw1e said:

The History Man's 1989 Overbury's Pioneer three hour build. Bring on the brick bats!

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I know you built it up in a hurry, but you need to take a few links out of that chain. Looks a bit slack on the stay.










My mistake, that's the top of the fence

None taken!

Tad":1rnytgay said:

The History Man":1rnytgay said:

The History Man's Overbury's Pioneer three hour build. Bring on the brick bats!

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Not getting my vote, there's no dog in the pic.

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Just for you. Overshot Overbury's Archie.

TAKEN WITH AN IPAD OK?

Don't have a dog, how about Bill & Ben lurking in the background?

Gunna have to withdraw my 1991 GT Avablanche.. Have given it to my Brother In Law [minus the White Porcs )..

Looks like Archie's out of focus.

hollister":5af5b0y7 said:

What was the difference between 500usd and 500pounds bitd?

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Funny thing was the exchange rate didn't tell the full story. Cost of living and duties always mean that the UK is a pricey place compared to the US. More often than not, back in the 1990s, a $500 bike would cost £500. At the top end that was even worse, bikes like Merlins and Fats sometimes cost more, so a $2000 frame could be £2500 purely because top end importers were tiny operations and would pay full import duty, VAT and then retail mark up.

In many instances you could fly to the US, buy a top end bike, stay in a hotel and fly back with the bike for less than it would cost to buy it over here. There were even guys who specialised in doing that, taking out a scrap bike and bringing back a new one to beat the customs guys.

My fat chance titanium frame cost £2500 when new over here (not that I bought it new, I couldn't afford a tenth of it back then), at 1.5 £/$ that equates to $3750, getting close to twice its US price.