When did it lose it for you.....

Last new bike I bought was 99 I think it wasn't a doey eyed must have purchase it was very matter of fact get the job done...guy in the shop didn't know what to make of me ...I walked in with a pair of calipers and started measuring stuff.
That one will do guv...how much without suspension forks?...
Erm....
yeah don't need forks...
Erm...ok..
If a bring the frame back give us anything for it?
Erm...ok...sure
One generic bland and bouncy giant instantly culled for a groupset wheels and contact bits...
Stupidly enough I thought the deore 9 speed would be a competent replacement for dx....how wrong was I!
Have nothing of that giant now,still got the GT tho! Says it all really!

Didn’t fall out of love with it (cycling) just sort of put it down sometime around 1991, sort of forgot where I’d left it until about 2015 when I moved some crap out of the way and found it again.
But it had changed into something I didn’t recognise with bits I’d not seen before needing tools I didn’t have.
Then I found you lot and I’m skint again!

I never stopped riding since buying my first MTB in 1991. But the bikes generally lost it for me when:
Frames went aluminium
Shimano went for painted finishes instead of clear anodised & polished (M750 I'm looking at you)
Chainsets went to 4-arm (just ugly)

Discs are great but mainly through less maintenance and all-round performance rather than being specifically better.
Forks got better for a long time.

But nowadays I mainly ride a rigid singlespeed. I love the simplicity and bulletproof reliability. My pleasure has always been riding distance (going exploring somewhere) rather than pulling off tricks. The idea of bike parks and trail centres fills me with horror. Modern bikes seem more orientated towards that kind of riding.

Good point re 4 arm chainsets...
Wrong like a square wheel!

It was disc brakes for me, so not a defined year but across a period of time. They are just so soulless

Never. For me, it’s been split straight down the middle since 88’ ;

1.bikes and tech

2. Riding.

I’ve grown and loved both together, throughout the years. Embraced the tech, without being to stuffy (although as a pro mechanic I’ve never been a Sram fan).

The secret to keeping the faith is simple.. variety. Cycling aint ever “just” riding a bike. I’ve seen mates fall by the wayside being stuck in a rut doing the same thing over and over. I began with xc/adventure, fell head over heels with DH, had a go at track, joined a road club and loved winter 60milers, ridden and raced tons of enduro, and now knees deep racing bmx with my sons in with the Rad dads.

And I still ride all the above (apart from track) whenever I feel like it. And of course Retro..

And who said Muddy Fox were shite! They were awesome, THEN shite. Things change

Ahead sets...just why? I get 1 1 /8" may be stronger but that was do able with quills, also disliked V brakes they just look crap to my eye, never had any issues with well set up decent cantilever even up in the Peak District on very steep descents

Sticky fluids.

Hydraulic brakes and oily suspension forks, I don't want a supercomputer to ave to work out how much oil and sag I need. As for Marin they made a few nice frames around Y2K Colombus steel and no disk mounts, I have an Eldrige Grade from then very nice frame (Newest frame I own.). Last new bike I bought 1992 Raleigh Peak, still have the frame and forks.

I was really gutted when Campag threw the towel in after ‘95, especially as they’d finally nailed MTB components with their Record OR and Icarus groupsets.

Shimano killing off the sometimes silly but fascinating and fun CNC party by ’96 …RIP boutique canti’s brakes etc - and many little machine shop companies that made this interesting stuff for only a few years…

The final nail I guess was when Breezer ditched rigid forks on its ’98 Lightening - a sacrilegious downgrade to a legendary rigid bike!
…’97 was also the last year Breezers’ were imported to the UK IIRC

retrobikeguy said:

As in brands,

I like to think the reason mountain bikes took a back seat for me was when I went into a 'relationship', spending time with loved ones and creating a 'home' was priority ...

Or was it?

I think it was 1994 when I started to lose interest, everything just started to look pants and cost more, and style.... Style just disappeared, as did the era of bikes I could look at and think ..... Wow, that's nice.

Click to expand...

I feel similar with a lot of your comments. For me, the late 80's/early 90's was a really exciting time for Mountain Biking in the UK. The sport still felt new and a bit 'underground'. I particularly like the period before suspension became wide-spread. I generally find pre-suspension era MTB's a lot more cool and desirable.
I also think for me, age is a factor. I was a teen during that time and had lots of time to ride, plus most of my mates were into it. As we got driving licences/jobs/etc, other priorities took hold. And living in cities with little access to off-road trails also was a factor in becoming less involved in MTB'ing.
However I am getting back into it now and I do find the scene to be very vibrant. The sheer range of bikes available is much wider than it ever was. The retro scene and gravel bikes I find very interesting.