My history echos some of the comments, here, really.
I'd always ridden bikes from the late 70s onwards. An older brother who was a keen cyclist was probably significant in that - and to this day he's twice the cyclist I'll ever be - living / cycling in places / continents / countries I'll be lucky to visit. And for all that, he is the least focused on brand or cost of bike - so long as it's solid and decent, and reasonably reliable, he just damn well rides them, no fuss, no muss.
Like many have commented, mid-to-late 80s I slowly became aware of this mountain bike crazy craze. At the age of 18, I got a purple mottled Mustang. I don't think I was under any illusions of it's status, but I guess at the time it seemed my entry into the world of mountain biking - and in fairness, it's where the thing started for me. I tinkered and upgraded a few bits before temporarily moving on to something slightly better.
In terms of magazines, I'd say from sometime around 88, I would have been reading MBUK. I may have bought the odd copy of other magazines, but MBUK was the only mag I regularly read.
My first real mtb I bought new in 91 - a Diamond Back Apex - for some reason, I've got in my head it cost £567. My choice of bike had been influenced by knowing somebody who had a reasonably decent Diamond Back, and reading encouraging reviews about the models I was interested in. I still have my clear, endearing memory of first riding it back from the bike shop, in light rain, the Smokes sounding like a Land Rover on the road.
I used it all the time, commuting to work, general out-and-about, and off-roading. It never missed a beat, wherever I went, and always reminded me what a good choice it was, for the type of cycling I did.
I didn't really do much in terms of upgrades. May have bought the odd lighter bit, here and there - stems, handlebars, seatposts, saddles, pedals. It got good maintenance, I seem to recall lots of cleaning of drivetrain bits, changing the wheel bearings a couple of times, as well as other bits and bobs.
I have to say, history nor aspirational bikes never really struck me at the time - nor now, really. I think BITD, the only real awareness I had of anything else I really wanted was a Pace.
The guys I cycled with, BITD, rode bikes like GTs or Marins, or the odd Raleigh or Kona, typically - again, mid-range, decent bikes, but truth be told, we didn't really talk or obsess about higher end stuff, really. It was good enough to have a decent enough bike, and just go out and ride. Perhaps that was an age thing. By the time I was hitting the trails with others, I was at least 20, and easily the youngest of the bunch.
Towards the mid 90s, my off-roading dropped off a little, knee problems didn't really help. Around 95, somebody had tried nicking my Apex whilst it was locked up outside a gym (have to say, I thought it was a tad bold, because as well as lifters, it was also a boxing gym). They didn't manage to break the lock, but they succeeded in bending the back wheel and the chain (due to how the lock was routed through the bike).
Anyhoo, that seemed about the right time to replace a few things, so it got some Campg rims on XT hubs, and a load of new drivetrain bits (chain, cassette, chainrings). About 2 weeks after getting it all fettled, and now running mainly road tyres, some scrote nicked it out of a garage of a house I was visiting. I was truly gutted. I guess because I used it to go everwhere, it was as much appendage as chunk of metal.
I replaced it with a 95 Apex - which to many may not reggae with their own, onwards and upwards philosophy to bike ownership, but for me, personally, I never really saw the point in buying a bike well beyond my abilities as a cyclist. Mid range was where I was at with cycling ability, and about right for the bike - least that was my philospohy (still is, for that matter). I suppose mountain biking, whilst one of my hobbies, was never a huge singular focus.
And as a replacement, I have to say, I was delighted. Frame seemed a step up, kit was still reasonable quality. Bike was reasonably light, and still retained that encouraging feel that my previous Apex did. I guess being at a point in my life where I was cycling less (and just about to start driving), I suspect I never quite got the same bond or connection I did with my first Apex.
All the same, it's served me well, and I still have it now (as well as another 95 Apex, a 91 Apex that I got a while back from somebody on here - which was truly a sentimental journey back to my roots - and a 91 Axis).
As to other bikes - be they high-end, or of US origin, or both - I never really had much feel for them. Nobody I cycled with had bikes like that, they were all, typically, mass-produced, decent, mid-to-higher range kit. Maybe it was the age I was at that point, or the age of the people I cycled with, but I don't recall much slathering at all on high-end stuff. For that matter, I'm not sure I recall seeing much, if any, out on the trails, really.
The first time I actually spoke to somebody in person, who owned something of that ilk, it was in 95, with somebody I met on holiday - he owned a Klein. I was vaguely aware of them, and their rough price-tag. But as much as I could surmise during the brief period I knew him, it seemed more of a trophy, than something that really got put to good use.
I suspect life from the 70s and early 80s stuck with me, where bikes were concerned. I always appreciated longevity - which was why I was never in a rush to change or upgrade bikes, really - or for that matter, to collect them. I guess some of the UK bikes strike a chord, because they remind me of the types of bikes I aspired to when I was a nipper. When we were kids, me and my brother always wanted 531 frame bikes.
I have to say - those that have mentioned the types of bikes and brands they were aware of being mainly influenced by LBSs, cycling buddies, and UK mags, definitely resonates for me. Having a very local bike shop being a large Raleigh shop, always had an influence for me, even if when I got hit by the mountain biking bug, it became a bit stale for me - that said, the more exciting LBS, with lots of bikes, glass cabinets with lovely parts in, and a great selection of bikes, disappeared when the mountain bike boom slowed (at a guess late 90s) - whereas the large, Raleigh bike shop is still open and shows no current signs of fading away.
I guess my interest in retrobike mainly started as I became more enthused about getting more opportuinity to use my bike again, after moving house a few years back, and getting more opportuinity to use it. Even now, though, it's not about some longing or crush on some exotic bike(s) from BITD, but more the memories and nostalgia of the types of bikes I saw and rode back then.
All the same, I know I can't go back, that was then, this is now. I guess my formative years still imprint, though, and my interests in longevity and having bikes that I can still use and enjoy, from decades ago, when cycling was a much bigger part of my life, is one of those rare, coinciding joys, that gives you pause and a little smile as I move into middle age.