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Ready To Ride Mayhem is over for another year, but what a great year it was! With over 30 riders and a massive stand this was by far the biggest year ever for Retrobike. Check the threads in the forum here and here for a flavour of what happened along with more pictures.

Follow retrobike on twitter - http://twitter.com/retrobike. Will do a few updates from MM over the weekend!

Once again Retrobike will be at this weekend's OS Mountain Mayhem 2009 at Eastnor - this will be our biggest and best year ever! Our new and improved show stand will be located in the heart of the MM arena and features some of your favourite and most significant MTBs from the dawn of the sport, along with a fine selection of vintage road and bmx bikes. Over the course of the weekend we’ll be holding a vote for the ‘Mountain Mayhem Retrobike Trophy' - so make sure you drop by the stand, check out all the bikes and cast your vote! Those of you racing this year should watch out for our retro-themed trackside tent of crazy supporters, listen out for those classic old schools tunes and party whilst you pedal! At Retrobike we don't only party...

August 15th sees the return of the fantastic singletrack trails of Stanmer Park in the shape of a fresh and new 6 hour enduro for solos and teams: It's called: "The Brighton Big Dog." The event offers a dedicated pre-95 retro-category sponsored by Retrobike and a pre race retrobike show - winner takes the Retrobike BigDog Trophy home! Local riders have come together to put on a rider organised, not for profit, summer classic at the Stanmer venue. We've taken a course described by many as the best of 2008 and added our own Big Dog flavour. Our dedicated pack have been meticulously combing the park in order to unearth new and hidden gems and we can proudly say that the natural flowing singletrack has been enhanced. Whilst riders are...

Archangel takes the May 2009 BoTM with a very worth winner - Specialized's finest Stumpjumper Epic Ultimate!

Pete McC's Doug Bradbury Manitou Full Suspension In the now standard start to a Retrobike.co.uk story I want you to wind the clock back 17 years - it's 1992, Carter USM are riding high in the charts and playing on my 'auto-reverse' walkman, my Calvin Kleins are visible for all to see above the waistband of my baggy jeans and the MBUK Summer Special has just landed in WHSmiths. This years Summer Special really lived up to it's name as nestled amongst the pages of vital holiday reading was an article so special that it would get read with an amazed open mouth more often than a lottery winner rereads his winning ticket - the Superbike Test! Four bikes - all works of art, all utterly desirable and all far too expensive for a 17 year old on...

The 'Leftfield' BoTM for April 2009 is Gary Turner's GT STS.

Archangel’s 1993 Klein Adroit 'Tinker Juarez Replica' Ever since I saw a Sachs chain add featuring Tinker Juarez on his Klein Adroit EX in Team Storm paintjob on the pages of Mountain Bike Action magazine in 1993, I have lusted after a similar Klein. I remember drawing pics of Team Storm Adroit on my Physics exercise book during high school lessons. At the time, it was more exciting for a young man than learning about gravity! Fast forward 12 years. After graduating from the University, I was able to get a good and well-paid job and my love for the bikes from my teen years began anew. Now I was able to buy those bikes I drooled after while reading the American bike magazines but never had funds to buy any of them. From the beginning...

Following on nicely from DrS' RC-100 BoTM victory we have 20 questions with Adrian Carter of Pace Cycles, one of the leading lights of the British MTB scene. Adrian Carter with early proto RC100 from about 1988. Note the 24in rear wheel and drum brakes. The bike also had the first threadless headset (bored out Shimano 105 road headset) fitted with one-piece steerer tube stem. Retrobike: Hello Adrian. 1) RB: Ok, we've all heard stories about tubes not rolling off workbenches, box section strength and cartoonists saying they're easier to shade... why were they really square section then? Adrian Carter: Nope not heard those stories and no one ever made fun of square tubes that I can remember. Actually we used box in some frame areas...

For those who have expressed interest and would like some new Retrobike Endura kit please check the thread here. We now have more than enough orders to go ahead and will be placing the order asap to try and ensure delivery for MM.

Welcome to the first and almost certainly last in our self-penned 20 questions series (16 in this case). This article features retrobike's #1 skip monkey, bin raider and angle grinder operator, the one and only Legrandfromage. Legrandfromage, recently. 1) Legrandfromage: so, who the hell are you to be doing a '20 questions' thing when all you do is wind up people on the site by finding 'stuff'? Legrandfromage: I thought it was a funny idea... I live near a recycling centre that has provided some fantastic stuff that people simply throw away. And I dont get out much. 2) LGF: whats you best find? LGF: In terms of value - a broken Macbook Pro - sold for silly money. In terms of 'I'll keep forever' theres been some Campagnolo...

English off-road pioneer Geoff Apps has finally been nominated for the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame by Graham Wallace. Click here for full details > http://www.completesite.com/mbhof/page.cfm?pageid=7&categoryid=4&memberid=209

A fine victory for a British classic!

It all started back in ‘Ebay and Market Watch’ thread (October 2008) Gravymonster had spotted it on Ebay and posted it up for fellow retro bikers to see. There seemed to be lots of interest but not a lot of bids, seemed like an opportunity not to be missed so I quickly sold off lots of bits in the ’For Sale’ thread to finance a bid. I was thinking it would go for well in excess of £700, but to my surprise when it came to bid with a few seconds remaining it was at just £252. The auction ended and as the screen refreshed the final total was revealed £362! I could not believe my luck. Research (October/November 2008) The bike had been tinkered with over the years as parts wore out or broke. With a 1993 Grundig bike there was only one...

The first Old World Mountain Bike Championships are to be held in Bergen (NH), 40 minutes north of Amsterdam, Holland, this September. A group of vintage mountain bike enthusiasts have come together to organise a weekend of retro bike activities, designed to crown the first Old World Mountain Bike Champions. All racers will have to use mountain bikes built before 1995, with extra points gained for original features including cantilever brakes and skinwall tyres! As committed restorers and riders of classic machinery including Klein, Fat Chance, Overbury’s and Orange, the group recognised that, despite the growth of interest in such historic and important brands, there were no activities or races dedicated to the early days of mountain...

Second in the retrobike 20 questions series is a man who will need no introduction, Keith Bontrager. If you really need one check out his entry in the MTB Hall of Fame. Keith building in the garage 1980 Retrobike: How's life? Keith Bontrager: Life is pretty good, though complicated sometimes. Nothing surprising I guess. RB: Keith, what is the mtb holy grail? KB: This is one for Gary F. He's best at that kind of question. RB: And what is the mtb holy fail? KB: Getting too carried away with the mtb holy grail. RB: Desert Island Discs Scenario - one luxury. Bike or corkscrew? Or something else? KB: Bike, as long as there isn't too much sand. I have lots of ways to get a cork out of a bottle besides a corkscrew. RB: Wine. Bike...

A fine victory in the February e-stay special BoTM for Hairstream's Yei Ultimate.