The start of mountain biking in Britain 1984 picture thread

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Do you remember the early beginnings of mountain biking in Britain? Do you have some old photos taken in 1984 in your loft, or some old cycling magazines that you could scan and post here?

Whilst the history of the early years of American mountain biking has been well documented, if you search online for information on the early history of British mountain biking, there is very little to be found.

So dig out those photos and share those memories so that future generations can more fully understand the history of their sport.

To kick this off here are some images from relating to the first ever 'Wendover Bash' which took place 30 years ago today on the 17th of June 1984.


More pictures to follow!

Does anyone have pictures or memories of the 'Eastway' event held near the 2012 Olympic site on the 27th of May 1984?

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Re:

More 1984 Wendover Bash hill climb shots:

If you look carefully at the above photo you will notice that, due to the steepness of the incline, the front wheel has lifted off the ground.

And a brand new looking Roberts:

 

[andyz]

Re:

Great pics!

The Roberts is lovely, but who is the guy (or kid?) in the Skyway gear and what is he riding? Looks like it has 24" wheels.

 

[606]

Good stuff.

 

[drystonepaul]

Re:

Great thread Graham. I still watch it with keen interest.

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Re:

Some more 1984 Wendover Bash Photos:

The Bottom of the Hill Climb


Cleland Aventura


Top of the Hill Climb

 

[Woody662011]

I think this was held in Telford possibly one of the first commercial event's in the Uk.
This was one of our friend's winning the raffle for a Ridgeback and yes that is one of the presenters from Magpie.

 

[Woody662011]

A picture of one of the early Telford rides.

 

[Splatter Paint]

Re:

Hmm, maybe we should get some 80s bikes and have another go!

Any takers?

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Re: Re:

Hmm, maybe we should get some 80s bikes and have another go!

Any takers?

We did try to get permission from the Forestry Commission to run a Wendover Bash Revival event on the piece of land originally used. However the request was turned down because they did not want to be seen to be encouraging off-road cycling in that particular area. We are still talking to them about holding an event somewhere in Wendover Woods in future years and will now be staging a similar event about ten miles down the road at a place called Lotts Wood. The plan there is to stage 'Bash' style hill-climb,downhill slalom and trials stages as part of a classic mountain bike cross-country time trial. The date for this is August bank holiday Monday starting from and based at Chenies Manor in Hertfordshire. On the day, there will also be a retro road ride, family events and an exhibition of classic off-road bikes. Any pre 2000 bikes can be entered with the only exemption being that no disk brake bikes are allowed.


This event is called the Summit 26. See below for more details:

http://www.summit26.bike/

https://www.facebook.com/Summit26mtbClassic
https://twitter.com/Summit26mtb

I like the idea of an event specifically for 1980s bikes. However, it would require RetroBike backing in order to ensure that a reasonable number of riders turn up.