This Septic Isle

[cherrybomb]

Or is it??

Following on from another thread, I got to thinking about all the MTB 'stuff' that had come out of the UK.

It was something that Neill said that got me thinking, sorry mate I'm not trying to pick on you . It was this:

On a more serious note, there's precious little in terms of MTB kudos that comes out of this dismal little country

....it was said in the context of explaining the whole Pace 'thing' to one of our international friends.

I've got to say I disagree. Maybe the UK can't compete with the USA but....

Pace
Chas Roberts
Dave Yates
Hope
USE
Middleburn
Orange
Raleigh Special Products
Muddy Fox (BITD)
Whyte Suspension bikes including the Marins

....and that's just off the top of my head.
Then there's all the World Class competitive riders.....

What do you folks think. Do us Brits have something to be proud of, or should we hang our heads in shame??

 

[neilll]

On a more serious note, there's precious little in terms of MTB kudos that comes out of this dismal little country

I knew that would bite me on the ass

What I meant was in the grand scheme of things there aren't as many achievements/products as the were/are Stateside but then it's a bigger country, they invented it (allegedly )....blah blah blah.

Wasn't trying to diss my country.....honest Guv

 

[cherrybomb]

I'd been thinking about it for a bit mate. You saying that just kind of got me to actually typing something.

It is a genuine enquiry as to what other folks think.

 

[cchris2lou]

could you build a 100% british bike ?

british brand , not necesserally british made .

 

[retrobikeguy]

could you build a 100% british bike ?

british brand , not necesserally british made .

they tried


http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12069&highlight=

 

[tintin40]

could you build a 100% british bike ?

british brand , not necesserally british made .

they tried


http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12069&highlight=

And had to make it European. MBuk did it some time back

 

[David Gibson]

British componentry

Speaking from America's point of view I think that Hope and USE both have good reputations over here. There really aren't too many Orange's around; but I think they are well regarded as well.
I almost bought a Muddy Fox 20 years ago as my local bike shop guy highly recommended them--i bought a Cannondale instead but the Muddy Fox was a close second.

 

[Russell]

Question of size isn't it. If you look at it more accurately as a ratio of MTB riders to product, the UK is/was a hotbed of new product design and innovation compared to the US.

 

[JeRkY]

Has any one ever tried producing a definitive list of UK MTB bike/part manufacturers, past & present?

 

[David Gibson]

uk parts

about 6 months ago there was a thread dealing with that exact topic--it turned into a pretty long topic.