(1984-2014) 30 years of UK mountain biking.

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Thirty years ago - May 1984, the sport of mountain biking did not exist in the UK. The UK bike shops that were expecting their first delivery of mountain bikes were mostly cautious, ordering only a few in case these relatively expensive US bikes, for which there was no consumer led demand, did not sell. The biggest manufacturer of bikes in the world, Raleigh, made the judgement that they would not sell widely or for long. And so by not making them until 1985, inadvertently drove another nail into their coffin. Dawes however decided that they would be the first British maker to offer a mountain bike into only to be pipped to the post by F.W.Evans/Saracen. As a result they had to remove the claim of "first British made mountain bike" from their brochures. By this time eastern produced mountain bikes were arriving. In fact the first was the original Ridgeback, which first appeared in the Freewheel catalogue as early as 1983.

If you bought a mountain bike there were no organised rides, races or books or magazines that covered the topic. It was just a case of head out into the country and try your luck. Quite possibly a puncture or similar mechanical problem and a long walk home if you could not fix it. You could have course taken it along on a Rough Stuff Fellowship ride as they had been following the long tradition of British off road riding on road-bikes since 1955. And from 1982 Geoff Apps had been leading Rough Stuff rides with the emphasis on riding, not walking, difficult terrain. In fact his rides were very similar to rides today but with a group of rough-stuff riders at the back struggling to keep up.

In terms of mountain bike racing/sport it all started with Bicycle Action magazine first published in June 1984 and edited by Richard Grant and Nigel Thomas. They immediately set up "The Fat Tyre Five" series of events starting with Racing at Eastway London on Sunday 27th of May 1984. The second event was the first Wendover Bash held in the Chiltern Hills on 17th June and the third was a days ride from Brecon to Hay on Wye in August.

It would be great to hear some other tales of early UK mountain biking. I was living in London at the time though also rode in and near Liverpool. Apart from organised events you hardly ever saw other mountain bikers.

 

[Unclejack]

Re:

It had not passed me by GJW, (although I did think it was April and not May ) and was celebrated by a small group as below...

My 30 year old Saracen celebrates its birthday with some good company on Snowdon -13.04.14. Note full authentic Bicycles up Kilimanjaro clothing aswell

 

[Unclejack]

Re:

Slightly of topic, but whilst we are talking about 30th anniversaries, and early mtb adventures GJW what significance do you place on the publication of bicycles up Kilimanjaro?
To me it was a hugely influential book. At a time when there were limited articles on mountain bikes, rides and equipment etc suddenly you got a whole book dedicated to it with fantastic full colour photos. And also not just racing down some hill, actually doing something completely bonkers - but something I could recognise that yes there was masses of wilderness out there, right on my doorstep to be explored.

Please, please ,please could someone consider either on behalf of Retrobike, or one of the people that have previously worked with him that are members (Geoff Apps, Charles Kelly?) approaching Nic Crane for an interview about the subject ?

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

It had not passed me by GJW, (although I did think it was April and not May ) and was celebrated by a small group as below...

My 30 year old Saracen celebrates its birthday with some good company on Snowdon -13.04.14. Note full authentic Bicycles up Kilimanjaro clothing aswell

Well Done Unclejack! I'm glad to think that I am all on my own in being nostalgic for those first UK rides and events. To mark the 30th anniversary Geoff Apps and I are planning a far less ambitious ride in the Chiltern hills in either June or July.

I can only think that RetroBike not marking the 30th year is because the vast majority of RetroBikers only got into the sport in the 90's, when things really took off!

I remember that not many people in the early years, were sure that the sport would ever become mainstream. And there was quite a lot of discussion as to whether access to the countryside would be restricted if it became too popular.

2021 will be a future Snowdon mountainbiking milstone as it will mark the 40th anniversary of the conquering of the mountain by Nick Crane and friends on a borrowed Cleland prototype. They didn't manage to ride it all the way down again due to an irreparable front wheel puncture. Maybe the first UK "snakebite"?

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Slightly of topic, but whilst we are talking about 30th anniversaries, and early mtb adventures GJW what significance do you place on the publication of bicycles up Kilimanjaro?

I would give such mad adventures a very high level of importance in establishing an awareness of mountain biking amongst the British public. These grand adventures established the mountain bike as an aspirational icon even if most people were only going to ride them to the shops. At the time they were far more influential and inspiring than was the early racing scene. I have argued to no avail that the achievements of these early adventurers should be celebrated in the UK MTB Hall of Fame and also included in any histories of UK mountain biking.

The the publication of bicycles up Kilimanjaro came at a key moment in time and was an inspiration to many be they cyclists or non-cyclists.

Please, please ,please could someone consider either on behalf of Retrobike, or one of the people that have previously worked with him that are members (Geoff Apps, Charles Kelly?) approaching Nic Crane for an interview about the subject ?

A few years back there was a half-hearted attempt by Myself Geoff Apps to contact Nick to mark the 1981 ascent of Snowdon. I recall sending some emails to the BBC but received no reply. I wonder if anyone here knows a way to contact Nick? Maybe he is on Facebook or Twitter etc?

 

[mrkawasaki]

Fascinating timeline - not wishing to derail, but I'm interested in the 'who was first' manufacturer story partly as I have an Andy Powell that also dates from 1984, apparently pre-May from whence they became 'Overbury's'.

Who, I wonder, of the smaller or custom builders were working up ATBs in that year or maybe they were led to build them first through enthusiast customers that were aware of the American scene or just adventurers? I'm guessing that Reynolds were perhaps ahead of them in the sense that they'd be reacting to global (outside UK) demands - wouldn't have taken a great leap for a rep to start looking for business within these shores, thus triggering early builds in specific ATB tube sets.

Could we perhaps compile a list of all ATBs made in the UK in 1984 or before?

The AP - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=91862&hilit=andy+powell

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Fascinating timeline - not wishing to derail, but I'm interested in the 'who was first' manufacturer story partly as I have an Andy Powell that also dates from 1984, apparently pre-May from whence they became 'Overbury's'.

I am, as you point out, making the distinction between those who manufactured bikes for sale to the public and frame-builders who made one off bikes for themselves or friends. A key distinction here is that the former produced promotional materials and advertised their bikes, whilst the provenance of one-off bikes is difficult to verify unless such bikes were written about in the press reports of the day. Failing that, the closer to the event the history is recorded the better, as histories written decades later are more likely to be unintentionally inaccurate. Such inaccuracies abound, and many popular histories too often fail to give references that identify the nature and credibility of their sources.

Who, I wonder, of the smaller or custom builders were working up ATBs in that year or maybe they were led to build them first through enthusiast customers that were aware of the American scene or just adventurers? I'm guessing that Reynolds were perhaps ahead of them in the sense that they'd be reacting to global (outside UK) demands - wouldn't have taken a great leap for a rep to start looking for business within these shores, thus triggering early builds in specific ATB tube sets.

Journalist Richard Grant brought a Gary Fisher Scwinn based Klunker back to England in 1978 and from early 1980 reports of the US mountain bikes started to appear in UK bike magazines. And you are right to speculate that early UK frame builders made and exhibited US style mountain bikes at trade shows from 1981 onwards. Others, with US connections, were asked to build and export frames or bikes to their US customers. Though because quality mountain bike components or tube-sets where not readily available in the UK at this time, building a bike without drawings, a bike to copy, or the necessary specialist imported parts, would have been very difficult.

Could we perhaps compile a list of all ATBs made in the UK in 1984 or before?

I will put together a list of what I know and where, when and whom the information originated. Others may then like to add to or challenge this?

Anyone with unsupported information or anecdote should should also contribute as by doing so they give others the opportunity to either verify or contradict it.

Sadly, far too many of the people who introduced mountain biking to Britain and documented the early history, have now passed away.

 

[Unclejack]

Re:

Cheers GJW...although i just proposed the ride and my thanks must go out to those who attended- especially for waiting at the top in the cold for me. Riding mountains on painkillers and antibiotics for a tooth absess is no fun.
As for opinions on Bicycles up Kilimanjaro, its significance and the majorities interest in mainly the nineties onwards due to their age / exposure to mountain bikes- I completely agree. I admit it was a leading question; however I deem your opinion to carry more weight that my own ramblings.

Nic Crane is on twitter. I too have tried to contact him but no joy- most recently the week after we did Snowdon.

Carrying on the unsung early pioneers thread though, I have just come off the phone from Paul Tattersall. Now a mountain guide he is the person who in 1989 carried/rode his bike over all the Scottish Munros. He is hoping that when he gets chance that he will be able to share some memories of his trip with us.

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Nic Crane is on twitter. I too have tried to contact him but no joy- most recently the week after we did Snowdon.

BTW. Should Nick ever want to re enact his early adventures, I have arranged to buy the Cleland he rode up Snowdon in 81, with a view to restoring it.

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Fascinating timeline - not wishing to derail, but I'm interested in the 'who was first' manufacturer story partly as I have an Andy Powell that also dates from 1984, apparently pre-May from whence they became 'Overbury's'.

I' just searched the archives for the earliest mention I could find of Overbury's or Andy Powell in a mountain bike magazine. I discovered a 1/4 page Overbury's advert on page 52 of the 2nd ever edition of Bicycle Action magazine of July 1984. However, no mention of either Andy Powell or Overbury's own mountain bikes.

In fact the add is primarily promoting road various makes of road bike. The only reference to mountain bikes is at the end of a list of road brands they stock and simply says "...also various mountain bikes". The add does however mention "Custom made frames and cycles" and "Tandems from stock or custom made". So they did have access to frame building facilities. I can only assume that the bikes that they made or had made for them at this time were branded as Overbury's?

I did however find an advert that states "We are proud to introduce our new range of handbuilt 531/501 mountain bikes:Fell Rider, Peak, Finder and Cross Fell.
It is a 1/4 page advert on page 44 of the 7th edition of the December 1984 edition of Bicycle Action magazine. So by this time they must have been set up to react to the increased demand created by their advert.

So it would appear that they set up their mountain bike production facility somewhere between July and December 1984. That is not to say that could not have made earlier, one-off bikes.