Here's my "retro" bike although at the time and in my memory it still feels very modern! Bought when I was 14 I believe and had outgrown my first proper mountain bike, a Trek 820, a trusty steed that got me to 2nd place in the 1994 Bexley Junior mountain bike race 11- 13yrs, aged 11 I hasten to add!! Anyway, not even an Onza Rail front tyre and Psycho 2 rear tyre was ever gonna transform that old Trek so a bit of saving and a Building society windfall got me the GT, in all its suspension fork and flame paint job glory (actually the flame part is a decal but shhhhh!) Immediate upgrades were the X-Lite saddle and X-Country riser bar and MBUK sticker, and the Shimano DX (? I used to know off-by-heart) SPD platforms. Upgrades over time were a couple of new headsets, and a Deore rear mech. Used to run a Bullet Bros rear mech tensioner but I swear it did more harm than good!
Bike was used and abused riding with local mountain bike club (Gravesend Bike shop Dirt Demons), and survived a trip to Coed-Y-Brenin, Box Hill and Penshurst Downhill track for the next couple of years. Then my biking fizzled out when an interest in drums and music took over, but the GT has occasionally been dusted down in the summer months in recent years for a bit of light road use, hence the Conti semi-slicks. The stem set-up is a bit of an ugly solution, but I always felt a bit arse in the air on this bike so about 10 years ago I got a shorter stem and a steerer extender to give it a more upright modern stance, shameful I know!
The bike still rides pretty nice, and feels light and nimble, if a bit front end twitchy. The Rock Shox Indy XC has only ever been serviced once, but still seems to do an adequate job of softening the lumps, even if it is a glorified pogo stick with no damping and a hell of a lot of flex. I still think sorted V-Brakes are on a par with all but the best discs in dry conditions. The headset needs tightening, the BB has some play and the rear wheel has a slight buckle but other than that it is still going strong. I was thinking of getting shot of it having just bought a bargain 2009 model Avalanche Expert, but this site has rekindled my love of it! Here's some pics taken just today out on the Cobham Darnley Trail in North Kent.
Bike was used and abused riding with local mountain bike club (Gravesend Bike shop Dirt Demons), and survived a trip to Coed-Y-Brenin, Box Hill and Penshurst Downhill track for the next couple of years. Then my biking fizzled out when an interest in drums and music took over, but the GT has occasionally been dusted down in the summer months in recent years for a bit of light road use, hence the Conti semi-slicks. The stem set-up is a bit of an ugly solution, but I always felt a bit arse in the air on this bike so about 10 years ago I got a shorter stem and a steerer extender to give it a more upright modern stance, shameful I know!
The bike still rides pretty nice, and feels light and nimble, if a bit front end twitchy. The Rock Shox Indy XC has only ever been serviced once, but still seems to do an adequate job of softening the lumps, even if it is a glorified pogo stick with no damping and a hell of a lot of flex. I still think sorted V-Brakes are on a par with all but the best discs in dry conditions. The headset needs tightening, the BB has some play and the rear wheel has a slight buckle but other than that it is still going strong. I was thinking of getting shot of it having just bought a bargain 2009 model Avalanche Expert, but this site has rekindled my love of it! Here's some pics taken just today out on the Cobham Darnley Trail in North Kent.
