The 'Introduce Yourself Here' thread II

[bagpipes]

Hello all, Kevin here from Ontario Canada. Wow what a pile of information to be found in here. I checked out this site while trying to find some info on a 1986 Rocky Mountain Blizzard and I was floored at the knowledge oozing from this web site. I joined and will be sticking around to hopefully get some tips on UK riding. I visit the UK normally once per year if not twice. I just left Seven Oaks in Kent last week and was also up in Glasgow while I was there. (I have close friends in Kent and my family is from Glasgow)

I do have 2 retro rides, the 86 Rocky Mountain Blizzard and a 1992 Rocky Mountain Equipe. The Blizz is 100% original other than the stem and headset / the Equipe is totally updated as it was just a frame when I bought it but it has been stripped, powdercoated and is being re-decaled this week. (The Equipe is my winter bike .......... love the old school steel and that wishbone seatstay. The Blizz will be for riding with the kiddies and as a commuter bike)

Anyhow, some my cringe here but I also have a 2000 RM Oxygen and a 2004 RM Slayer for some more technical riding and to give my tailbone a bit of a break. Old shcool is cool but the new technology gives my back the recovery time to enjoy the steel hardtails like I did when I was 18.

My first "real" MTB was a 1996 KHS Alite 1000 followed by a 1991 Mongoose Hilltopper. KHS was ridden into the ground, and the Mongoose sold on e-bay. There were plenty of the department store 50 lbs + bikes in there too. I suppose we've all had those at some point.

Cheers!!!!

 

[Augustus]

Hey guys, welcome to the site. Glad to have you on board. Always good to know the word is reaching far and wide. Canada, Poland, elsewhere in the UK...

Don't know on the Kona front Gabor, but someone here will. Ask in the main forum maybe?

Well you guys, anytime you are over, look us up, someone somewhere will take you out on their local trails and show you the area.

Enjoy...

 

[gump]

hey bagpipes, pop up some pics of your old Rocky's. Have a bit of a soft spot for them. No prob with new school too, I have a few, but theres a whole other debate with that sort of stuff

 

[6950rpm]

Hi all,

Found this site after an old friend added me into the 'RetroBike' group on FaceBook.

Was seriously into Bikes about 20 years ago and everything from road bikes to lightweight mtbs to a Windcheetah recumbant. Things kind of came to a bit of a stop about 10 years ago when I passed my driving test and discovered cars however the interest in good engineering has remained.

Looking through the site has brought back a flood of memories of the colour purple, the excitement of opening up a new copy of MBUK and looking at the new products section, the start of the light weight obsession etc.

Still have 3 bikes left (actually, recently bought an A-Bike so that'll be 4 bikes) Dynatech Torus FS with the Trimnell fork, Dynatech Odyssey and an old Raleigh road bike.

- Tim

 

[tintin40]

Hello

 

[Mr752]

New member-Old bones!!!!!!!

Hello eveyone!
Found the site by accident 2 weeks ago. I ride Proflex, got a 752 and an 856 with Vector 2's.Needed a new project so Googled Proflex and one of the threads sent me here. Started trawling Ebay and eventually found an XP-8 frame that turned out to belong to Orange71, have purchased this and a pair of Girvin crosslinks he had. Project underway.
Started MTBing in 1990 when skiing in Chamonix, Intasun went bust and we found ourselves stranded in the resort with 12hrs to kill, bikes were hired and we hit the lower slopes, been hooked eversince, however been back into road for a while so the Proflex's have collected dust.
Used to ride the NEMBA series back in the 90's, this was a series set around the north east and organised I believe by Pete "Mr Crud catcher" Tomkins! Saturday would be downhill and Sunday XC.
Used the 752 for both, it was very effective at that time. 752 got tricked up Ti this and alloy that,Control Tech stem pair of Bombproof Campag Ateks and some Shocktech forks, essentially a british copy of the original Manitou elastomer forks.The 856 is fairly standard, I love the Vector fork.
Anyway better stop or i'll go on for ever!!!!

By the way, note to Orange71, Got home from Aberdeen on Tuesday and have put the digital camera on charge to take some pics, sadly not of the 856, good old brother came round last month and "borrowed" it!!! Mrs752 said it would be OK as ive got plenty of bikes and cant ride them all at once and then neglected to tell me, and no I didnt miss it!!!

Cheers,
Paul.

 

[SeeingisBelievingGTMuseum]

Hello Brethren

Hello Brethren, especially you of the GT denomination. I've had the opportunity to serve many of you as customers and for that I say a huge thanks. I was a bike store manager from 1980-1992. Then worked in product and purchasing for one of GT's distributors. I've sold the following bike lines in the past (Panasonic, Fuji, Nishiki, GT [all the brands], Diamond Back Centurion, Bianchi, Timberlin, early Gary Fisher, Cannondale and lots of Italian frames back in the day so I maybe able to answer some of your questions on older models. I bleed GT and take pride in my GT Bi Ti / Bi Steel personal collection. Xizang and Edge Ti, Psyclone and Edge steel.

 

[homercles]

Just wanted to say hello to all - stumbled across this site while searching Google for something completely unrelated and ended up snooping about for hours. The memories have been brought flooding back - what a brilliant site!

My first proper MTB was a 91 Marin Palisades, sadly it only lasted 32 days before it was nicked from outside a bike shop. Much waiting and saving later, it's replacement was a pride and joy 92 Marin Eldridge Grade. Sadly that lasted 9 days before it too was nicked! At that point I was banned from getting anymore Marins (looking back I can kind of understand my folks stance on this one) and wound up with a Fusion 0150 (anyone remember them??). Had Suntour component set and was an OK bike but not one I ever truly loved. After falling out of cycling through the beer years of the mid 90s, early 00s I got the bug back in 2005 and decided to go for third time lucky with a Marin. Pleased to report I've still got the latest one (a Nail Trail SE).

But the site has inspired me and I realise that I loved that Eldridge Grade like no bike before or since. I'm now determined to track one down and get on the rebuild trail. Hopefully I'll be able to share the story if and when it develops with you guys here.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Olivier78]

Hi all,

I live in France and I use to participate to a french forum on vintage MTB. I recently buy three road bikes or frames ... I think I got a new virus :roll:. There is no (or I did not find it) french forum for vintage road bike and I'm looking informations, I hope that I will find a lot of interessant informations here !



PS : My english is not very good, I will try not to make too much mistakes ... But do not complain, you cannot hear my accent

 

[Dream Bikes]

Hi guys!

I'm from Italy and I'm an engineer (I've a collaboration with Extralite).
With my friend Monticone, we've created "Light-Bikes.it" the Italian light bikes portal.
I'd love vintages bikes & cars and I spend a lot of time (and money...) to restore it !!!

I've a beautiful Klein Attitude 1994 Sea & Sky , some frames like a 1989 Klein Quantum, GT STS, MC San Andreas, and several vintage parts...

If someone needs bike or parts from Italy I'd be happy to help him!!

The last thing, sorry for my English, I know it's terrible :mrgreen: