UK MTB hall of fame
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We_are_Stevo
Old School Grand Master
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All you have to do is look at who isn't in the Rock'n'Roll HoF to realise that the UK version of the MTB HoF could very well turn out to be just as naff as some of the comments above suggest...
...though I do agree that the likes of Apps/Roberts/Yates and the founders of Orange should come up for automatic consideration
...though I do agree that the likes of Apps/Roberts/Yates and the founders of Orange should come up for automatic consideration
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Well done Neil. Well done...mrkawasaki":3t59lr9n said:
( slow hand claps )
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According to BikeRadar:
"The United Kingdom is getting a UK Mountain Biking Hall of Fame, or UK MTB Hall of Fame as it will be known, according to Pacific Edge Events who are creating it. The company also owns the UK's first and longest running 24-hour mountain bike endurance event, Mountain Mayhem.
There will be 12 inaugural inductees.
"In its first year to get the ball rolling, the inductees have been chosen by the organisers and some members of the industry."
"Induction will happen in a different way in subsequent years. "We are letting mountain biking fans chose," said Greenfield. "The Hall of Fame supporters from the industry will nominate the group of UK people, eight of which will be inaugurated the following year. The most important thing of all is that the final inductees will be voted by UK mountain biking fans from anywhere in the world. That's the beauty of a virtual UK MTB Hall of Fame. It's such an exciting project and we are delighted about how it has been received so far."
"The UK MTB Hall of Fame will recognise mountain bikers of all disciplines and also key figures in the mountain bike industry. Over a period of time, these figures will have made a significant contribution towards making mountain biking in the UK what it is today through sport, passion and sheer hard work."
http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/news/artic ... ame-34244/
From this report it appears that this is not a serious attempt to create a Hall of Fame that will have much in the way of gravitas or purpose. In particular "letting mountain bike fans choose" will inevitably result in a Hall of Fame populated by each voting years "flavour of the month". The only control will be the shortlist decided by the "The Hall of Fame supporters from the industry". I just hope that their choices will be well informed and wide ranging.
"The United Kingdom is getting a UK Mountain Biking Hall of Fame, or UK MTB Hall of Fame as it will be known, according to Pacific Edge Events who are creating it. The company also owns the UK's first and longest running 24-hour mountain bike endurance event, Mountain Mayhem.
There will be 12 inaugural inductees.
"In its first year to get the ball rolling, the inductees have been chosen by the organisers and some members of the industry."
"Induction will happen in a different way in subsequent years. "We are letting mountain biking fans chose," said Greenfield. "The Hall of Fame supporters from the industry will nominate the group of UK people, eight of which will be inaugurated the following year. The most important thing of all is that the final inductees will be voted by UK mountain biking fans from anywhere in the world. That's the beauty of a virtual UK MTB Hall of Fame. It's such an exciting project and we are delighted about how it has been received so far."
"The UK MTB Hall of Fame will recognise mountain bikers of all disciplines and also key figures in the mountain bike industry. Over a period of time, these figures will have made a significant contribution towards making mountain biking in the UK what it is today through sport, passion and sheer hard work."
http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/news/artic ... ame-34244/
From this report it appears that this is not a serious attempt to create a Hall of Fame that will have much in the way of gravitas or purpose. In particular "letting mountain bike fans choose" will inevitably result in a Hall of Fame populated by each voting years "flavour of the month". The only control will be the shortlist decided by the "The Hall of Fame supporters from the industry". I just hope that their choices will be well informed and wide ranging.
doctor-bond
Feature Bike
Retrohof?
Yep – this looks destined to be partial, and as contentious as it is random. But thinking about what’s been written so far on this thread, what could well work is a Retrobike HOF. By being under he RB banner it would have focus (i.e. retro rather than geographic), a built in voting population of well educated enthusiasts, and a ready-made mechanism for nominations, justifications and voting.
All we’d need are some guidelines (i.e. what to think about when nominating and voting), and a few categories (which could follow the different sections we already have). Some features/interviews with the winners would be a nice wrap up too.
It would also lead to a stellar discussion thread.
GrahamJohnWallace":3mkenbij said:
Yep – this looks destined to be partial, and as contentious as it is random. But thinking about what’s been written so far on this thread, what could well work is a Retrobike HOF. By being under he RB banner it would have focus (i.e. retro rather than geographic), a built in voting population of well educated enthusiasts, and a ready-made mechanism for nominations, justifications and voting.
All we’d need are some guidelines (i.e. what to think about when nominating and voting), and a few categories (which could follow the different sections we already have). Some features/interviews with the winners would be a nice wrap up too.
It would also lead to a stellar discussion thread.
Re: Retrohof?
Agreed.
doctor-bond":1ee4yvs5 said:GrahamJohnWallace":1ee4yvs5 said:
Yep – this looks destined to be partial, and as contentious as it is random. But thinking about what’s been written so far on this thread, what could well work is a Retrobike HOF. By being under he RB banner it would have focus (i.e. retro rather than geographic), a built in voting population of well educated enthusiasts, and a ready-made mechanism for nominations, justifications and voting.
All we’d need are some guidelines (i.e. what to think about when nominating and voting), and a few categories (which could follow the different sections we already have). Some features/interviews with the winners would be a nice wrap up too.
It would also lead to a stellar discussion thread.
Agreed.
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Re: Retrohof?
:idea:
My preference wood be for a mountain bike history area. It would be ongoing and moderated by a team of moderators each with expert knowledge of a particular era or subject. Retrobike members could then discuss the relative merits of information for inclusion. The combined
knowledge of RetroBike members worldwide could be used to create the definitive history of mountain biking. A Retrobike created Wikipedia of the history of mountain biking. :?:
doctor-bond":1emsz3u0 said:But thinking about what’s been written so far on this thread, what could well work is a Retrobike HOF. By being under he RB banner it would have focus (i.e. retro rather than geographic), a built in voting population of well educated enthusiasts, and a ready-made mechanism for nominations, justifications and voting.
All we’d need are some guidelines (i.e. what to think about when nominating and voting), and a few categories (which could follow the different sections we already have). Some features/interviews with the winners would be a nice wrap up too.
It would also lead to a stellar discussion thread.
:idea:
My preference wood be for a mountain bike history area. It would be ongoing and moderated by a team of moderators each with expert knowledge of a particular era or subject. Retrobike members could then discuss the relative merits of information for inclusion. The combined
knowledge of RetroBike members worldwide could be used to create the definitive history of mountain biking. A Retrobike created Wikipedia of the history of mountain biking. :?:
Re: Retrohof?
Like this?
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/wiki/Main_Page
GrahamJohnWallace":56hpz7pl said:
Like this?
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/wiki/Main_Page
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Re: Retrohof?
Reteobike Wiki is a great source of information but it is seldom placed in its historic context.
I was thinking more along the lines of an illustrated version of this but with sources given and links to relevant threads. Retrobike members could add to the contents and challenge errors.
The History of Mountain Biking in Britain - (The Early Pioneers)
This History is periodically updated as new and verifiable information is received.
This information is based on detailed research and is mostly based on published and verifiable resources. However, many of the events referred to were not documented at the time, but some years later. Many of the exact dates are not known.
Early 20th Century -'Pass Storming':
Serious off road cycling started in Britain in the early 20th century with the activity of 'Pass Storming'. This involved riding a bicycle to a mountainous area, then riding, or carrying the bike over a high and unpaved, mountain pass. This activity eventually led to the formation of The Rough Stuff Fellowship in 1955, an organisation for cyclists who liked to wander from the beaten track.
1955 onwards The Rough Stuff Fellowship used a variety of existing bike designs and some modifications were made to improve performance. There is evidence that a few custom built frames were made and fitted with suitable components i.e: alpine gears, cantilever brakes etc. The idea was to, whenever possible, get off the roads and cycle along lanes and byways. If the going got tough the riders would simply get off and walk.
Which were the first ‘Mountain Bikes’ to be designed and made in Britain?
There is little doubt that the Geoff Apps designed Range Rider were the first ‘Mountain Bikes’ to be made in Britain. These were designed without any knowledge of the American bikes and so should be considered as a separate lineage of off-road bike. The first prototype was made in 1968 based on a Raleigh Explorer frame. Experiments using a variety of road bike framesets continued throughout the 1970s. His bikes mostly used 2 inch wide, 650b, knobbly snow tyres from Finland. His first Range Rider bikes, using a custom designed (un-braced) framesets were designed in 1978) I believe the frames where made by Dee's Cycles of Amersham in 1979. These bikes had all the features of the Mountain bike, though their design was arrived at independently. I believe that these bikes were the first British made Mountain Bikes. (One version had drum brakes another rim brakes).
Later versions of these were sold by Cleland Cycles (Geoff’s own company), English Cycles, and Highpath Engineering over the next ten years. They were built to order and as far as I know never mass produced. In October 1981 Nick Crane rode a third generation Range Rider prototype up Snowdon.
The above bikes were designed as if getting off and walking was a criminal offence. Geoff Apps was also a trials motorbike rider. They were designed completely for off-road use. They are the tractors of the Mountain Bike world, tall, functional and reliable.
http://www.james-walters.net/cleland/cl ... story.html
Who made the first American style Mountain Bike in Britain?(1981) A US style Mountain Bike was made by
Chas Roberts at the request of an American customer.
Amateur frame builder Tony Oliver also made himself one which he exibited at the 1981 York Cycle Show.
Who brought the first American style Mountain Bike into Britain? (1978) Journalist Richard Grant brought over a 1st generation Gary Fisher built ‘clunker’. He exhibited this bike at the 1978 Olympia cycle show.
By the end of 1982 American built Ritchey's were being brought into England. I remember it being received wisdom that Norman Hiller of Covent Garden Cycles brought over the first purpose built US Mountain Bike, an early Tom Ritchey built Bike. Others claim that either Journalist Richard Grant or Richard Ballantine brought across the first Ritchey's from the States. Richard Ballantine's two bikes brought over for a Saharan expedition were the inspiration London bike shop, F.W. Evans Cycles, to design a Mountain Bike that became the F.W. Evans ATB, Saracen ATB. Both bikes were identical, apart from the first being usually painted silver and the latter being painted black or red. In July 1984 I hired a black F.W. Evans ATB from Kingston Cycles, its frame number was 001.
Which was the first Mountain Bike mass-produced in Britain? Raleigh Bomber? 1981 (I don’t think so). They were American style Beach Cruisers. Only three speed hub gears, caliper brakes and small frame/seat Designed for teenagers who were outgrowing their BMX bikes.
Early 1984 F.W. Evans ATB/Saracen ATB? (Manufactured by Bluemels).
In 1982/3, Richard Ballantine asked London bike shop F.W. Evans Cycles to build up two Ritchey frames he had brought from the U.S. for Tim Gartside's and Peter Murphy's ,February 1983, Saharan expedition. Evans were curios and persuaded Bluemels to build some bikes based on what they had seen. The resulting F.W. Evans ATBs were mostly silver and branded under the shops own marque. The Bluemels’ own Saracens bikes were identical, apart from being painted black.
The other early British made mountain bikes include was the Dawes Ranger and Bob Jackson's Col Climber model.
As for the Raleigh Maverick, I remember these as being surprisingly late to the party. The earliest contemporary reference I can find is October 1985. And were "made in Japan", and so don’t qualify as British. British made versions were eventually mass produced at a later date?
Which was the first mass-produced Mountain Bike imported into Britain?I am not sure about this but the Freewheel, mail order catalogue, included far east made Ridgeback bikes from 1883 onwards. The first that I personally saw were Ritchey Montares in late Late1983, though many other models had arrived by mid 84.
LINKS:
Mountain Bike Hall of Fame UK History section:
www.mtnbikehalloffame.com/page.cfm?pageid=13665
kaiser":14s3s4bi said:
Reteobike Wiki is a great source of information but it is seldom placed in its historic context.
I was thinking more along the lines of an illustrated version of this but with sources given and links to relevant threads. Retrobike members could add to the contents and challenge errors.
The History of Mountain Biking in Britain - (The Early Pioneers)
This History is periodically updated as new and verifiable information is received.
This information is based on detailed research and is mostly based on published and verifiable resources. However, many of the events referred to were not documented at the time, but some years later. Many of the exact dates are not known.
Early 20th Century -'Pass Storming':
Serious off road cycling started in Britain in the early 20th century with the activity of 'Pass Storming'. This involved riding a bicycle to a mountainous area, then riding, or carrying the bike over a high and unpaved, mountain pass. This activity eventually led to the formation of The Rough Stuff Fellowship in 1955, an organisation for cyclists who liked to wander from the beaten track.
1955 onwards The Rough Stuff Fellowship used a variety of existing bike designs and some modifications were made to improve performance. There is evidence that a few custom built frames were made and fitted with suitable components i.e: alpine gears, cantilever brakes etc. The idea was to, whenever possible, get off the roads and cycle along lanes and byways. If the going got tough the riders would simply get off and walk.
Which were the first ‘Mountain Bikes’ to be designed and made in Britain?
There is little doubt that the Geoff Apps designed Range Rider were the first ‘Mountain Bikes’ to be made in Britain. These were designed without any knowledge of the American bikes and so should be considered as a separate lineage of off-road bike. The first prototype was made in 1968 based on a Raleigh Explorer frame. Experiments using a variety of road bike framesets continued throughout the 1970s. His bikes mostly used 2 inch wide, 650b, knobbly snow tyres from Finland. His first Range Rider bikes, using a custom designed (un-braced) framesets were designed in 1978) I believe the frames where made by Dee's Cycles of Amersham in 1979. These bikes had all the features of the Mountain bike, though their design was arrived at independently. I believe that these bikes were the first British made Mountain Bikes. (One version had drum brakes another rim brakes).
Later versions of these were sold by Cleland Cycles (Geoff’s own company), English Cycles, and Highpath Engineering over the next ten years. They were built to order and as far as I know never mass produced. In October 1981 Nick Crane rode a third generation Range Rider prototype up Snowdon.
The above bikes were designed as if getting off and walking was a criminal offence. Geoff Apps was also a trials motorbike rider. They were designed completely for off-road use. They are the tractors of the Mountain Bike world, tall, functional and reliable.
http://www.james-walters.net/cleland/cl ... story.html
Who made the first American style Mountain Bike in Britain?(1981) A US style Mountain Bike was made by
Chas Roberts at the request of an American customer.
Amateur frame builder Tony Oliver also made himself one which he exibited at the 1981 York Cycle Show.
Who brought the first American style Mountain Bike into Britain? (1978) Journalist Richard Grant brought over a 1st generation Gary Fisher built ‘clunker’. He exhibited this bike at the 1978 Olympia cycle show.
By the end of 1982 American built Ritchey's were being brought into England. I remember it being received wisdom that Norman Hiller of Covent Garden Cycles brought over the first purpose built US Mountain Bike, an early Tom Ritchey built Bike. Others claim that either Journalist Richard Grant or Richard Ballantine brought across the first Ritchey's from the States. Richard Ballantine's two bikes brought over for a Saharan expedition were the inspiration London bike shop, F.W. Evans Cycles, to design a Mountain Bike that became the F.W. Evans ATB, Saracen ATB. Both bikes were identical, apart from the first being usually painted silver and the latter being painted black or red. In July 1984 I hired a black F.W. Evans ATB from Kingston Cycles, its frame number was 001.
Which was the first Mountain Bike mass-produced in Britain? Raleigh Bomber? 1981 (I don’t think so). They were American style Beach Cruisers. Only three speed hub gears, caliper brakes and small frame/seat Designed for teenagers who were outgrowing their BMX bikes.
Early 1984 F.W. Evans ATB/Saracen ATB? (Manufactured by Bluemels).
In 1982/3, Richard Ballantine asked London bike shop F.W. Evans Cycles to build up two Ritchey frames he had brought from the U.S. for Tim Gartside's and Peter Murphy's ,February 1983, Saharan expedition. Evans were curios and persuaded Bluemels to build some bikes based on what they had seen. The resulting F.W. Evans ATBs were mostly silver and branded under the shops own marque. The Bluemels’ own Saracens bikes were identical, apart from being painted black.
The other early British made mountain bikes include was the Dawes Ranger and Bob Jackson's Col Climber model.
As for the Raleigh Maverick, I remember these as being surprisingly late to the party. The earliest contemporary reference I can find is October 1985. And were "made in Japan", and so don’t qualify as British. British made versions were eventually mass produced at a later date?
Which was the first mass-produced Mountain Bike imported into Britain?I am not sure about this but the Freewheel, mail order catalogue, included far east made Ridgeback bikes from 1883 onwards. The first that I personally saw were Ritchey Montares in late Late1983, though many other models had arrived by mid 84.
LINKS:
Mountain Bike Hall of Fame UK History section:
www.mtnbikehalloffame.com/page.cfm?pageid=13665
Firstly i feel that it is Important that we do record/resource/document...our own history....
I have been looking at the wiki over the past few days since john suggesting i look at wiki as the place to try and record the information.
Is there a way we can use the wiki, as per the idea from Graham below...?
Reteobike Wiki is a great source of information but it is seldom placed in its historic context.
I was thinking more along the lines of an illustrated version of this but with sources given and links to relevant threads. Retrobike members could add to the contents and challenge errors
Perhaps a sticky thread....for members to make there contributions, scans storys, interviews, memories, etc......and then for the thread to be used to discuss facts, prior to upload to wiki.
I have been looking at the wiki over the past few days since john suggesting i look at wiki as the place to try and record the information.
Is there a way we can use the wiki, as per the idea from Graham below...?
Reteobike Wiki is a great source of information but it is seldom placed in its historic context.
I was thinking more along the lines of an illustrated version of this but with sources given and links to relevant threads. Retrobike members could add to the contents and challenge errors
Perhaps a sticky thread....for members to make there contributions, scans storys, interviews, memories, etc......and then for the thread to be used to discuss facts, prior to upload to wiki.
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