A Trip Down Memory Lane with a £500 Bontrager.

[ibbz]

Good read, excellent pictures and love the bike! Thanks again man!

 

[tangent]

Thanks for posting this...am off bike with busted ribs, and reading this took me back to the Global Fridge tent at the Malvern Classic 1992 or 1993 ? where my school friends and I spent quite some time studying the details of the frames displayed against plywood walls...wish had taken some photo’s ... was luckily to start riding a Race OR (+ Mag 21s) in 1994 ... it’s probably fair to say it has aged better than I !!

 

[noteeth]

Brilliant read. Thanks for posting.

Still my favourite MTB of all time. Still riding mine.

(@Tangent: reckon that was '93... cross-reference with Si to be sure )

 

[sinnerman]

Cheers Fellas, as time goes on, and the bits like the rear sprockets give up, ill treat it to the finishing XTR cassette, the one thats on there came from the damaged bike but is fit for purpose for the minute.

And i am short of a Pair of M950 Q/Rs if anybody has some, its running tatty XT right now.

Tangent, hope those ribs heal soon fella, that cant be comfortable.

And im sure you have all seen the Bontrager workshop video in the last post before, but if not, put your feet up and grab a coffee, its a great 90minutes of film.


A modest fella that has left his stamp on this thing of ours.

 

[mrkawasaki]

Over the years I've always enjoyed your evangelism for all things period Bontrager. I remain irritated that my Bontrager frameset hasn't sold in the last year- not because I care about the money, but because it indicates to me the lack of demand and therefore 'respect' decent Bontragers should receive! I'm of a mind that I should refresh and ride it once more, despite my increasing frustration with head down-arse up 'American micro headtube' thing... ;-)

 

[benjabbi]

Thanks for the read, enjoyed that I have a Privateer, bought a couple of years ago on a whim (it was cheap and close). It has turned out to be my favorite bike by far. Love it! A Racelite is probably the bike of my dreams at the moment.

 

[sinnerman]

Over the years I've always enjoyed your evangelism for all things period Bontrager. I remain irritated that my Bontrager frameset hasn't sold in the last year- not because I care about the money, but because it indicates to me the lack of demand and therefore 'respect' decent Bontragers should receive! I'm of a mind that I should refresh and ride it once more, despite my increasing frustration with head down-arse up 'American micro headtube' thing... ;-)

Apologize Neil. Its never my intention come across as preaching, and somethings are hard to put into a thread i find.

A Bontrager needs no fan fare today anymore than back in the day, those that know, know.
Which is why no build thread initially.

I certainly wasn't thinking straight when making the first entry into botm this month, with an Image of a Warrior and the caption "Come and have a go if you think your hard enough", i worried some took the wrong way, especially given the increase in entrants this month over previous months, and i hope it wasn't taken as a taunt, but if it was, the post did some good, because now we have more bikes to choose from.

I would have liked yours myself especially with the Suitable fork and at the current price, alas too big for me, but what's crazy, is the price, for a couple hundred quid buying a suitable donor bike for parts, it would be another Completed Legend to ride and enjoy for around six hundred quid finished.

How much more money would you have to spend to get an equivalent YO EDDY....? ££££££££££s

Its Madness.

And that's what kind of dawned on me, the cost of of our LOVE of Retrobikes, and do a thread in this way.

Apart From My Fond memories BITD, my reasons for Bontrager now are the Same as then, eleven years on this site made it enjoyable too look back over previous posts and reminisce, and reminisce over the last True Cross Country steel bike i had in the trade, my reasons for the choices then and wanting to replicate it now.

With all the High end Boutique builds on here, it can get quite frightening, with all the new members, hopefully this thread can demonstrate that you can buy and build well on a budget. And i think yours and mine is proof of that.

And you Cant complete a Retrobike Journey without experiencing a Bontrager..

 

[Eagach]

Thanks for the read ! fascinating...can't find the Bontrager workshop video though, which post ?

 

[tangent]

@Sinnerman thank for the good words, and healing vibes...I guess my own ribs are ones without gussets !
Oh and have not seen the Bonty workshop video , that will be a nice Friday afternoon treat..

@noteeth of course Malvern 1993! … when able to do in a few weeks time an ascent into the loft to visit the Bonty OR will be on the cards...as you know have often been keen to ride it as single speed …

 

[tangent]

Thanks for the read ! fascinating...can't find the Bontrager workshop video though, which post ?

Link was hiding at bottom of page 1. !

Here it is…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYvPMmlBZwg