What mountain bikes did you own BITD?

1986 Raleigh Mustang - crap version with caliper brakes and steel rims.
1990 Muddy Fox Cro Mega 500LX
1991 Raleigh Dyna Tech Odyssey (Pace suspension forks added 1992)
1993 Trek 8300 composite frame, parts transferred from Dyna Tech.
1997 GT STS 2.

Mustang died quite quickly when I started using it properly off road, along with my after school delivery job.
Muddy fox was relegated to delivery beater when I got the Dyna Tech. That pretty much killed that off.
Dented the top tube of the Dyna Tech, when I’d only had it a month or so. Used it for a few years like that before swapping out the frame for the Trek. Tried resurrecting that a one point in the 90’s but 130mm hub spacing was a problem by then and that generation of frame didn’t play well with brakes. Ashamed to say it went to recycling.
Trek was my bike through my Uni years and went through various part upgrades including take off parts from the GT that followed. Eventually sold frame on here or STW.
GT was bought when I passed my professional exam and started making decent money. Various iterations of parts and I still have it in an XTR build.

Lots of post 98 bikes since then and also a 92 Delta V restoration that I sold on and brief custody of a too small for me 89 Kona Fire Mountain.
 
My interest started around 87/8 when a local lad got a Raleigh Mustang and we all marvelled at it's ability to climb the hill in the park! it was a couple of years before I saved up enough to get my own but I remember wanting a terrible Apollo Blizzard because I liked the colour, then some sort of Peugeot (Lazer 15 possibly, or the pink and black one?), again because the colours were ace before actually buying a Saracen Tufftrax. My list is:

1989 Saracen Tufftrax.
1989 Orange Clockwork (second hand in 92).
1999 GT XCR4000. Terrible thing.
2005 Orange Evo 4.
2006 Orange 5.
2009 Orange 5.
2013 Orange 5 29.
2016 Orange Segment.
2020 Orange Stage 5.

These have been my main bike at the time but I've also had/have a couple of gravel bikes, 2015 Orange P7, probably 4 or 5 2007 Orange Clockwork's, an On One Whippet and am just about to finish a Pace RC627. Obviously had about 50 million retro's since I joined this site as well!!
I know exactly what you mean about marvelling at these new style of bikes that could climb hills offroad, though the Mustang which was my first 'ATB' had those hybrid tyres with the raised centre that couldn't quite cut the mustard if it got slippy!
 
1990/91 Raleigh Discovery
1994 Marin Eldridge Grade (great bike, lots of time and money spent on this one)
1996 GT LTS DH
1996 Kona Cindercone
1997 Turner DH
1998 Santacruz Chameleon
 
My first proper MTB was a Raleigh Cajun. A531 lightweight division affair with exage trail iirc.

Then I think I had a giant track, which was black with coloured decals and push push shifters etc.

All the above were second hand. Poor family so I used to source bits and build bikes and traded up from various road bikes to MTB.

I then saved up and bought a really lovely giant. I can't remember the model but it had full dx and a pearlescent purple, blue, pink paint job which was stunning. Sadly after it's maiden proper ride I cleaned it up so as good as new and it got stolen later that day. The following day my 531 framed Peugeot aravis 105 groupset bike got stolen.

With the insurance money from those, I ended up with a GT RTS-2, this was in 1991/2 iirc, as I was riding that to school aged 17/18.

I had nothing after that, uni, life etc, but decided to get back on my bike aged 23 ish, found that the RTS had a crack, so looked online for advice on repair, found retro bike, found a nos Team RTS frame in the state's, had that shipped over and since then, had soo many but not classed as bitd. Won't sell the team, it's just so nice and reminds me of the good old days.
 
My first was a 1991/2 Townsend Mt Tobin in green/pruple that I adored and spent a bomb on. Zoom stem/bars, USE Seatpin (purple) 200GS group on it and some purple cantis.
I had a set of Mavic rims laced onto the original hubs with purple spoke nipples, Panaracer Smoke/Dart tyres. Then it got stolen while I was on my paper round
Secondhand Muddy Fox Courier (Also ended up having a bomb spent on it! RST Dual crown forks, Azonic bars, LX/XT mix) after than then a smattering of BMX's unitl my early 20's then I bought a brand new Marin Rocky Ridge in 2001 and I've still got that!
Always hankered after a Cannondale F700 but could never afford one and only bought the Marin becuase i had a credit card and I was excitable!
 
Two Klein Attitudes and a Trimble frame number 222 Muddy Fox Explorer
 

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