The MTB Introduce Yourself Here Thread IV

She made me do it

Hi all

Got here by chance she who must be obeyed said she wanted to use the get you to work thing and so i would be getting a bike as well!!!

Went to halfords and found bike she liked but i did'nt like the price even with the voucher

So got her a carrera gryphon ( i know not retro!!! but new ally and with her on it it'll need to be ) of flee-bay

So looked for bike for me always wanted a dbr wcf mtb and chuffed to have found one on flee-bay £135 hence finding this site

Unfortunatly son has sarasen stunt thing and now has my dbr as it is still cool :? :? :?

So went out and got my other favourite Diamond back 29er mojitos all disk and road and mtb wheels £180 all in

Son took me for 18 mile bimble am today and legs are like jelly but loved it forgoten how much fun it was

Bit long winded but hiello all and great site

Hello all.

After lurking for a bit I suppose I should introduce myself.

Ridden since the glory days of the early nineties, and have always had a softspot for the beautifully engineered bits of the day.

More often than not I'm in front of the missus on our Dawes MTB tandem, but when I am allowed out on my own I'm usually on my Santa Cruz Tazmon, which I still struggle to see as a retro bike!

Also got a 93 Orange Prestige (17" but could do with a bigger one), and an earlier clockwork which has track ends fitted so is my SS.

Feel the Prestige is on borrowed time now, 'cause this site made me remember how much I lust after a Vit T2!

Say hello if you see me around the Northants/Cambs/Beds border!
Phill.

Hi,

Been around for little while now and just realised I hadn't officially said hello.

So, er Hello.

Bought and sold a few bits, and spoken to a few people in the process.

Currently have a '98 Kilauea almost back to how it was when I first go it new (pictures soon), a '92 Cindercone that is slowly evolving back to the early '90s (modern wheels and transmission at the moment). Last year was mainly focussed on getting my dad's '63/'64 Freddie Grubb back on the road (which is how I found this place).

Good afternoon.

I started riding when I was about 14 on a Raleigh M-Trax 1500, gradually, as bits wore out and things got changed, it became a Kona Firemountain. Now, it's about to morph into an RTS 3. I've raced a couple of times in Downhill and Cross country but not for a long, long while. Now, I tend to ride for fun, (and quick transport to the pub and back) stopping every half hour or so to (admire the view - Ed).

hello all!

Hey all,

I've been sneaking around your site for some time, so got my ass into gear and joined. I used to race the UK Nationals (MTB) a few years back, now just taking it easy on my Ti single speed.

Keep up the good work!!

Mike :roll:[/img]

New arrival, second time round

Hello, I joined in 2005 near the start of this site, and posted a grand total of once!

I'm back because I'm about to rebuild my Clockwork in a form closer to its roots - currently has mudguards etc.



I also have a 1999 Gringo, seen here in the wild



The Gringo is being drafted into commuterdom, freeing up the Clockwork for the retro rebuild. The Gringo is being replaced by an R8, which shall be my fourth Orange

SiRvInO":1v842119 said:

Hey all,

I've been sneaking around your site for some time, so got my ass into gear and joined. I used to race the UK Nationals (MTB) a few years back, now just taking it easy on my Ti single speed.

Keep up the good work!!

Mike :roll:[/img]

Click to expand...

Hello Mike
About time you joined up here with your experience and knowledge.
It's you that got me back into bikes about 5 years ago right? And look whats happened now...I've turned into a bike tart
See you at Bikeshopcycles soon
Cheers
Carl

Hi everyone

been riding mtbs since i was 10 (1989)

Was hooked after a friend took me around Harewood house trails (Leeds) Came off a fair few times but its all fun!

Not been without a bike since then

rundown of my bikes -

First stead was a blue Peugeot Niagra with the gorgeous shimano 200sx! but what was even worse was its size, 21 inch frame and i'm 5' 6' tall :shock: you'll grow into it was the reason... i'm still 5'6' :?

Next up was my dad's Saracen Sahara Elite (Black with purple graphics) which he never used. Had a nice mix of LX and DX thumshifters. Got a Rockshox quadra on the front from Stif which was surprisingly good! Oh and a Girvin Flexstem which ate rubbers.

And onto a Carrera E-stay frame with full XT which i mainly bought for the groupset as the whole bike was £550. So sold the frame and transferred all the gear onto the Saracen. This was promptly stolen from my garage a few months after...

Then with the insurance money i bought my first Kona kileau (cant remember how to spell it!) it was the model below the KULA. Had LX/XT and a very light Prestige frame. Marzocchi xc500's which were a bit flexy but play with the oil weight/height and you had one of the best forks of the day (bar a ROND) Also had the best thumbshifters of the day Suntour XC Pro. Damn i loved thumbys This lasted 2 weeks then was stolen from outside Chevin Cycles, Otley. I swear i was just 2 mins inside getting some power bars! I'll admit it wasnt locked but i could see it through the window. Anyway the insurance amazing paid out for an identical replacement :shock: Dont think they would nowadays!

So it was Kona Kileau MK2 This time added a Hope Fatso/mavic front wheel I built myself. Pace bar and Flite saddle. Also favorite tyres of the day Smoke/Dart combo. And you'll never guess... it was stolen from the garage again!! The window had a wooden frame which didnt stand up to the 3 foot crow bar they left behind!

The Insurance yet again paid up for my 1996 PACE F5 which i still own today. It then had LX/XT and an MXCD Pace fork. Its had 4 groupsets since and now has LX and a Marzocchi Bomber MX Comp. It has seen a fair bit of use and has been back to the factory for cracks in the welds behind the headtube. Pace repaired it re-anodised and stickerd it up for free of course Love this bike to bits. I dont wash wash it as often as i should but i promise i'll try and do it more

I got right into the downhill scene of the day which wasnt really that hardcore to be honest! But i still needed a suspension frame and so i selected a Specialized FSR with Fox rear shock. Same design as Jason McCroy Rode. Put a Marzocchi DH3 in anodised green on the front. Maguras were added to help with the extra speed. The Fox rear shock lasted a year or so then i managed to put a large crack in it jumping down the leeds Uni stairs, doh. Got another sourced and tuned by Tim Flukes for bigger hits. This really made a difference. This frame is now sitting in my loft due to the rear bushes wearing out and giving me rear wheel steering. Its metal bush rather than ball bearing so a pain in the arse to replace. So along came...

An Anodised Orange GT LTS DH This was a revalation in handling and smooth suspension travel. Put a Marzocchi Bomber Z1 and a chain device made by a racer Stefan Gleed (Marin). This was the business till the downhills got a whole lot harder in 1998. My Bomber couldnt cope with the exteme angles and pressure on its seals. Harder springs were used but still too much for it. The maguras inherited from the FSR literally melted on most Scottish courses. And then it happened.... I crashed out several times in one week and landed on the same knee. Being a bloke and well ard i didnt really let up and continued pushing myself. I had started running to cross train my muscles. This was the final straw. My knee took one last hit and then was pronounced dead at the scene. 6 weeks off the bike and still swolen i couldnt keep racing. So that ws that. The LTS was used for the odd cross country ride till 2003 when it was stripped for parts to go on the weary Pace. I'm thinking of resurrecting it soon as an XC machine. Still looks amazing. The rear shock has lost most of its oil through a dodgy seal so i'll need another. But its still worth it!

So along came the Specialized BIG HIT Mk1 with USD DNM forks. Hope big un hubs and hope M4 brakes! I had a knee operation in 2006 which gave me hope (pardon the pun) so i bought this beast The rear travel on this thing is endless.. So plush. Looks/rides virtually identical to the Intense M1 at a 1/3 of the cost!

I've been building the knee up and its feeling pretty damn good now. Have even ventured to the dark side (road bikes) to help with its recovery. Got an Eddie Merckx Team SC (Scanduim) with Campag Record which makes it more bareable!

So this is the year i start racing again Wish me luck! I'll need it!

Cheers, Scott

hey all. new here and this is post number 1

been hovering for a while now. here's my Mongoose iboc comp. bought secondhand at uni in '98 after some thieving s**ts stols my motorbike and I needed a cheap scoot.

got the bug for building again. was lucky enough to get this for £5 three weeks ago for the wife. was a furry ball of rust and complete minus rear wheel, heres a progress shot.

hope you enjoy the pics if i uploaded them right.

rich