Where has all the 'tat' gone?

[VEGAS!]

Rumaging through the loft the other day I found a Cosmic Trail pad set which set me thinking. Back in the late 80's, early 90's our bikes were covered in junk- Mt Zefal pumps, 2 bottle cages, Cosmic Trail frame bags and stem pads, saddle packs, at least three Ever Ready light brackets hanging from the (cut down to death) bars. Some bikes I saw looked like they had been covered in glue and riden at speed through Halfords.

What has happened to all this lurid tat and when rebuilding bikes from ones youth are you ever tempted to fit (or at least own) some of that old rubbish again?

By the way, if anyone would like a mint Cosmic Trail pad set in black with acid green straps before it goes back in the loft, then send me a PM and i will send it at the weekend.

Stevo

 

[legrandefromage]

the bin.




although a few faded bits still turn up at the tip

 

[lewis1641]

i guess in the "early" days there were a lot of companies cashing in on the fast growing sport and suppling stuff that nobody needed, but thought they did. marketing 101 i suppose

 

[Dossa]

Cosmic Trail? Pah!

Local Motion was top dog back then!

 

[DegsUk]

the summit I bought a few weeks ago had the cosmic trail frame bag fluro yellow ish.. BITD I had the handlebar pad , top bar pad and the frame bag, at least you knew where you had left your bike in work ...

 

[rienster]

Never used any of it. In my quest to get the weight of the bike down (not a weight weeny, but with a 15kg Giant Terrago....) I stripped all of it, except for bottle cages.
But damn funny to see what bikes looked like back then.

 

[merckx]

i used to keep all my tat in a bum bag aka fanny pack when i was riding as a kid bitd. spare tube, mini pump, patch kit etc etc.

very daggy.

that said, at least my bike did not have any superfluous junk bolted or stuck to it...

 

[marc two tone]

tat

good question. We could'nt accessorise enough! Frame bags, spokey-dokeys, u or d locks. Weight meant nothing with townsend mango creek and raleigh mustangs. Lol. Now though, its the 'less is more' and de-clutter approach which, i assume is natural progress. Cut down bars! Yeah mine were so short the cable adjusters were nearly touching. I now both laugh and cringe in hind sight.

 

[sancho]

Re: tat

Cut down bars! Yeah mine were so short the cable adjusters were nearly touching. I now both laugh and cringe in hind sight.

Last summer I put some new Hyperlites on a Fat I keep at a friend's house. He got into mountain biking in the 90's, like me, but he hasn't really paid much attention to mountain bikes for the last decade or so. When he saw the new bars, he asked, "you want me to cut these down for you?" I think he was a bit surprised how emphatic my "no!" was.

 

[Paul Eggleton]

I tried the cosmic trail stuff for a bit, then went through a phase of taping pipe insulation around the top and seat tube, although I hardly carried the bike anywhere :roll:

I'll even own up to owning a Bula hat!!!!