Who races retro bikes still?

[jimo746]

I'm thinking of racing my zaskar at a couple of rounds of the soggy bottom winter series at newnham park.
Unable to race the first round which starts tomorrow as I need a bit of training

Just think of the race as being your training

 

[kirbdug]

I'm thinking of racing my zaskar at a couple of rounds of the soggy bottom winter series at newnham park.
Unable to race the first round which starts tomorrow as I need a bit of training

Just think of the race as being your training

Probably be lapped before I get off the start line

 

[player]

Who races using old top end parts like xtr and the like.

 

[Inzaman]

Not racing but I used my Fisher For mayhem and I used it the other week for the BHF Robin Hood charity ride, pics in my Fisher link in my sig.

Also the East Midlands section meet every Tuesday night for a ride round the area and when i go i use the Fisher (it's my only xc bike). There are a few members on here that also ride in the EM area and thy are always on retro

 

[player]

Not racing but I used my Fisher For mayhem and I used it the other week for the BHF Robin Hood charity ride, pics in my Fisher link in my sig.

Also the East Midlands section meet every Tuesday night for a ride round the area and when i go i use the Fisher (it's my only xc bike). There are a few members on here that also ride in the EM area and thy are always on retro

We were on the same team this year at mayhem but can't remember which rider you were

 

[drystonepaul]

For the past three years the North West Area 4 man teams have ridden/raced all their laps at Mountain Mayhem on nothing younger than 1997 bikes.
I think the oldest bike ridden in our teams has been MrKawasaki's 1987 Ritchey Ascent Team, other than that it's been mostly early to mid-nineties stuff with DX, XT or XTR components. All pretty much period correct too.

Who races using old top end parts like xtr and the like.

HarryCrumb rode his immaculate 1993 Orange Clockwork this year.

And hiding under all that clag was a previously NOS XTR M900 groupset.

He was not the only one.

More here: --> http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=208349

 

[petitpal]

Considering doing some races next year on the Zaskar and, tbh, think the only way to get back in to them is to just go for it - if you're not feeling to fit go for an easier category or just potter round at the back. Getting back in there, even if you get passed, can give you that motivation to train properly.

Mind you I'm saying all this and I can almost guarantee I'll be sitting here in a year's time having done nothing myself :facepalm:

 

[andrewl]

If I'm not that fussed about the race sometimes I'll race the old bikes, but they are all slower than my modern bikes.

 

[elPedro666]

If I'm not that fussed about the race sometimes I'll race the old bikes, but they are all slower than my modern bikes.

I realise that to dispute this is daft, otherwise people would be out winning world cup races on retros, however...

Given a reasonable budget, ie not megabucks, I reckon the chances are you could put together a faster retro than modern, mostly due to the cost or weight penalties of suss forks, discs and wheels. Obviously with the more money that's thrown at it the more a modern will start to show it's advantages. If I had to take a stab at the tipping point, maybe £6-700 list price? Of course that's looking at new prices so arguably very unfair on the modern, but I am just musing aloud!

 

[petitpal]

And I'd say that there's a certain level of fitness and skill that you need to achieve before which you're on makes that much difference (for XC anyway).