The 'Introduce Yourself Here' thread II

[spwd]

thanks again retrobikeguy made my day,now ive got the choice of putting my exchanged refurbed manitou 3s on when i order them from jonnyretro on here or some nice new ones,four days ago i didnt think id ride my manitou again,now im spoilt for choice,thanks to you guys.


cheers steve

 

[Geoff]

Well this is kinda late, but hello all! Found the site via googling for some images. I'm 25 and have been biking since around 92/93. Started out on a crappy Peugeot, a Tim Gould 'replica' hehe, complete with Ritchey grips (so they could justifiably put a Ritchey logo on the top tube of a 200 quid kids bike), before buying a Kona Kilauea in the latter part of 95. I've been riding it ever since. I emigrated to Australia a couple of years ago and brought it with me. It's not really a retro build at this point, and certainly not immaculate, although another respray is being planned. I'm thinking of running it as the sole bike for a little while longer, then restoring it properly and giving it a semi-retirement. No proper pics at the moment, here is a teaser:



My buddy came over from England. As soon as he got here, the weather turned English too! Me eating macaroons at the end of the ride:



Note stupid looking but incredibly comfortable massive wide Azonic double wall risers. Love those bars!

This forum is great, so many wicked bikes for inspiration and helpful people with all the answers. Thanks, google...

 

[stu_mcp]

Hi everyone,
I've been visiting this site for a while and it only seems proper to introduce myself before this bankrupts me and I have to sell my computer....
I started mountain biking in 1989 in Inverness - some of the best riding I've ever had and right on the doorstep too.
My first proper MTB was an '88 Rockhopper, purchased in 1989 from Highland Cycles (different shop to the one there now). It was a 21" frame, but the price was great! No hyperglide and Exage mountain kit.
It was taken up Ben Nevis a few months after I bought it - longest carry ever! Thank Cosmic Trail for those natty frame/shoulder bags...(but not for their bolt on plastic 'disc' wheel covers!) It was also the bike I used for the first races I did (Stonehaven Moto X track was the location for the 1st one)
That got upgraded as bits wore out/broke and eventually I got another frame from an '89 Hardrock that fitted a little better.
I sold that to buy a Proflex 750, fitted Magura's and Manitou 1's and upgraded the other bits and pieces before it was stolen when I was at uni in Aberdeen. (pic in readers bikes)
The insurance money bought a Marin Team Issue from Alpine Bikes in Aberdeen - amazingly light bike and full XTR at a decent price. It got a pair of Pace RC35's and spd's before I swapped the frame for a 1993 Trek OCLV (the beginning of my love for Carbon). That was raced/thrashed in SCU events and all around Aberdeenshire for a few years before the frame cracked and Trek gave me a replacement in the white/blue Team VW colours. I fortunately wasn't as hard on the replacement as Messiah was with his, so I'm still riding it now.
I also had a Marin Team Titanium with XT, White industries and Manitou Mach 5's but I found it just too damn flexy and sold it on.
More recently I've managed to pick up an old '87 Specialized which has become the final resting place for a lot of the old kit I've used over the years that was sitting in my parts bin.

Glad to have found this site and the memories it brings back....
Scone on!
Stu

 

[messiah]

Hi Stu, as we've said by email it's good to here your still about and riding.

I was at Kirkhill/Tyrebagger at lunch yesterday and round Fetteresso in the evening... I love mountain biking

That OCLV is still the frame I have the fondest memories of, the way the ride would go smoooooooth as the speed increased... I wonder if reality would live up to my recollections?

Does your dad still have that timewarm 88 Rockhopper in the garage in Inverness?

 

[JustKev]

That OCLV is still the frame I have the fondest memories of, the way the ride would go smoooooooth as the speed increased?

:shock:

Always wanted one of those frames, never seen one in my size :cry:

 

[stu_mcp]

Aye, that old Rockhopper is still there - it's sitting next to an old orange kona kilauea as far as I know. I don't think they get much use these days though!
I remember belting down Ladycairn with you years ago on the Trek's - the same feel is still there in the frame although the longer travel forks hide it to an extent. I think that maybe that trail and the old downhills (green hill and cairn william) on the race course at Pitfichie showed that frame at it's best.
It's like you put it - the faster you push them, the smoother they get over the rough stuff. I always wondered how the OCLV STP's would ride, but we never got one in to test and I've never seen one on the trails.
As far as I'm concerned, the early OCLV frames rode the best - when they changed to OCLV HC and stuck the alloy chainstays on them, the back end was too harsh and the front seemed a bit skippy. Great for racing, but you'd end up hammered riding around Fetty or screaming down the Fungle (you'd actually more than likely end up in the bushes)
I think I've still got some old video footage of Team Spanner/Alpine Vuoristo racing in Fetty at the last XC race in 1994 - if I can find the tape I'll stick it on you tube. If I remember right, there's a short section of the final downhill with you both on the bike (hammering with your Rocky Mountain?) and off the bike cheering the other riders in the earlier races - dubious hair abounds

 

[messiah]

Here is a picture of my father riding his STP on the practice slab at Dalbeattie...

Not bad for a bloke in his mid sixties!

He also rides Fetteresso including the water splash. It's a really nice light bike but it has a dead feel when compared to a normal hardtail (I really dislike the feel of the forks).

I still have the 1999 8900 you sold me - it's still a good bike but harsh compared to the OCLV's, it's retired from hardcore use now although I did have it round Glentress (including the freeride park with the wallrides and the big drops) a few months back. It now carries the child seat when not commuting from Stoney to Aberdeen...

That video would be worth a look... "you've got the eye of the tiger".

On the subject of Fe-y you should see the stuff we've built up there now.

This is Simmy on the Mk1 seesaw

Simmy still rides scary fast and he still has an Indian Fire Trail... but unfortunately not the tricked out one with Kooka's etc that he used to race (although he is trying to buy that back).

On the subject of hair I'm glad I made the most of it when I had it

 

[seeminglyabsent]

15 years on an IFT - one careful owner

What a happy evening's googling to turn up this place.

I'm still riding my 1st mountain bike - a '92 Indian Fire Trail. Got back into regular riding last year. Did my first race in a decade on the IFT back in the spring. I've ruined it all by getting my hands on a modern full susser which does tend to get used most outings nowadays, but I've just completed a little rebuild project on the IFT to keep it in action.

Over the years the IFT went all zero rise and 150mm, followed by forays into suspension (manitou 2 and Pace RC-35AB), with the Pace matched to a radical 15 degree rise (still 150mm) clutching a RC130 bar. My racing turned up some good performances, but it all got quick when I discovered the RC30 rigid fork blades. In the way of Pace RC35/30 forks, the crown doesn't clamp the legs like it used to and retirement was looking like an option.

In a poorly researched attempt to bring back the wonder years, I bought a fancy Pace RC-31 fork, not realising that the geometry was going to be all wrong. Well, to hell with it. I'd had the fork in a cupboard since January and last time I'd tried to swap from the full susser to the IFT I'd been unable to recognise the riding position. Yesterday's impulse purchase of a wide mid-rise bar had me fitting the rigid Pace fork on the old stager and, you know what, I think I'm onto something.

So... the new configuration is a stack of headset spacers and a tall fork. Laid back angles beyond any sense... and a bucket load of fun. I managed to nail the riding position first time with an easy unintimidating swap from full susser to full rigid. The acceleration on the climbs is a welcome return and I managed to get it all the way through the singletrack sections on the test ride.

It's different, but I remain committed to retro (albeit with a novelty front end).

Cheers chaps

Peter

 

[longendale]

Diamond Back Apex - is this a classic?

Hi All

A mate of mine recently joined the forum and asked me to post a pic of my Apex - is this a classic, can anyone tell me what year it is...i wish i could remember the year i bought it...it must be my age?

 

[tintin40]

Thats retro ride alright and not many on this site. early 90's if i remember