When did you start cycling off road and what bikes did you use?

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I think I started riding a bicycle on dirt pretty much straight after I learned to ride a bike, so 1977ish, I had a friend who's house backed onto some disused allotments and we made a track on there, when we were a few years older we used motorcycles on this track but this attracted the attention of the Police, hardly surprising as his house was practically opposite the village police station.

Anyway bikes we used were made up out of parts we cobbled together, I think the bike I used had a Raleigh Pony frame, wheels and forks we found and a set of trials motorcycle bars we "borrowed" from my mates older brother, my mate used a lime green frame he found at the dump from a chopper style bicycle called a "Mustang" fitted with the widest wheels and forks he could find, I think the seat was a sprung Brompton (or one that looked like one) and wide MX style bars.

It was a lot "Jumpers for Goalposts"

[weeksy]

Really it was only 2007.

I bought a Carrera Fury from a TRCer as we'd moved to the countryside, i kept that one a while as it was brilliant but then started the upgrade procedure as we do. It was silver and had sprung forks, at a guess i'd say it was a 2004 or so.
Back before that i did the usual BMX type stuff as a kid in the local park/golf course, that was dragged out of a skip and turned into a semi working bike, but that was a VERY loose term of working. But i went from about 14 years old until my mid 30s without ever sitting on a bicycle

[MingtheMerciless]

BMX in the mid 80's then stopped riding regularly till 2000 when we moved to the South Downs, bought a mate's hardly used Dyna-Tech STX rigid MTB (elastomer forks were making an appearance about then). I rode it into the ground and shortly after that bought my PRST-1 and never looked back.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I stopped cycling at 16 and didn't ride one again until I was 22 (1989) when I got banned for speeding, then had another break until 2006ish, when we had a holiday at Centre Parks and I hired a bike and really enjoyed riding it.

[bevvo]

Raleigh Chopper. It was the only bike to have in the 70s where I was. Off-road, on road.

I snapped the frame on my first one doing stunts. It was all pretty tame compared to the big air kids get these days.

My second one was a pinky. I hated the colour but it had deraileur gears. They're worth a few bob now.

[weeksy]

I have a Felt here, but it's a road race bike.

Well it's quite tough to find woods/trails where you are i imagine

[Gregor]

I had a Raleigh Arena racer around 1977, we cycled everywhere back then and got our best crashes in early in life.

Fitted some 8ft wide cowhorns, got a pic somewhere and we'd fuck about in the local park, knocked myself out looping it on a jump, went over the back while wheelying when the grips came off in my hands, lost the front wheel mid wheelie, that taught me to tighten axle nuts up properly. Lost the front on a downhill bend running over a rotten pear in the road.

Sold it to a mate who fitted ape hangers which snapped at speed sending him under a lorry trailer and out the other side unharmed, can't remember if the bike made it but it was surely cursed.

[Mr Moofo]

1988 - 23” Raleigh Montage ... spent ages looking for one in that size!
After doing Jacobs Ladder in the Peaks on it - it’s was sold and a 19” Kona Cindercone - it the pizza vomit paint job replaced it. U brake under the chain stays ... and a Flex stem

[Mr Moofo]

The Kona was the replaced by a Chas Robert’s Genesis 20” frame - which was awful. Too big ( It was like the Montage) with road angles everywhere. Onza canti brake ( to try and stop in the wet) - and some Manitou elastomer forks - with 30mm travel ...
The a Trek Y11 - carbon monocoque frame but URT design, so a bit crap. Hated it
The an Orange Patriot 66 - which was extremely capable, way too small, and as flexi as fuck. You could flex the back end by about 2 cm each way ( and yes, the bearings were good). It used to change gear on its own.
The an On One Inbred 20” 456 - which was absolutely brilliant.
Then a Cotic Soul
Then a Cotic Bfe
Then a Cotic Solaris XL (frame sold to Lost Boy of this parish)
L Cotic Solaris
Production Privee OKA ( pissed eBay buy - brand new frame for 175 GBp!)
Cotic FlareMax

[Gregor]

1988 - 23” Raleigh Montage ... spent ages looking for one in that size!
After doing Jacobs Ladder in the Peaks on it - it’s was sold and a 19” Kona Cindercone - it the pizza vomit paint job replaced it. U brake under the chain stays ... and a Flex stem

Those U brakes were really powerful in the summer but a bit of mud and fallen leaves and they’d jam the wheel up something awful.

Still got a few bikes with them fitted, Muddy Fox Courier, Roadrunner, Marin Pine Mountain and an MBK Aventure

[Couchy]

As soon as I was cycling so 4 or 5. By 8 or 9 was on a generic boys bike and bmx were a couple of years from being the big thing so we used what we had. We used to use the local woods and golf course for jumps, I’ve no idea on distance but we regularly jumped 12 kids laying down lol. Some of the bunker jumps were prob bigger than I do now on my proper mtb but we didn’t care. I could also wheelie it forever too. Prob carried on riding till my mid 20’s with first mtb in late teens. Always had one but did t use it much through my 30’s or 40’s. Bought an ebike 4 years ago and never looked back. Not as brave as I was with the jumps but love riding it

[Nordboy]

Really it was only 2007.

I bought a Carrera Fury from a TRCer as we'd moved to the countryside, i kept that one a while as it was brilliant but then started the upgrade procedure as we do. It was silver and had sprung forks, at a guess i'd say it was a 2004 or so.

I’ve still got my Carrera Fury (in red) in the shed. I’ve easily had that over 20 yrs. I rode it everywhere, should try and get it back on the road, probably won’t take a lot?

I then didn’t ride a bike for many years.

I went to road bike about 6/7 yrs ago but after a few yrs of that I stopped until getting my emtb 2 yrs ago nearly.

[Gedge]

Really it was only 2007.

I bought a Carrera Fury from a TRCer as we'd moved to the countryside, i kept that one a while as it was brilliant but then started the upgrade procedure as we do. It was silver and had sprung forks, at a guess i'd say it was a 2004 or so.

I’ve still got my Carrera Fury (in red) in the shed. I’ve easily had that over 20 yrs. I rode it everywhere, should try and get it back on the road, probably won’t take a lot?

I then didn’t ride a bike for many years.

I went to road bike about 6/7 yrs ago but after a few yrs of that I stopped until getting my emtb 2 yrs ago nearly.

20? That’s positively modern ...I’m still using ( albeit only occasionally) my Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo which I bought new in 1992 .. still a lovely bike to ride although on my last ride out in Sunday the GripShift X-rays snapped and left me stuck with only 2 gears ...I’m thinking of complaining under warranty .....

Meanwhile my 6 yr old Burisch Synergy eBike is back in action after a 3 month wait for a new battery ... I suppose I should think about upgrading to something a bit more modern...

[weeksy]

the difference between the older stuff and more modern stuff is quite remarkable. But that does depend of course upon what you're doing with it.... Both will pootle down a canal path perfectly well

[formula400]

I cycled as a kid, but not MTB, my mum never took me and her brother was in to mother bike so never really considered MTB, got a specialized rock hopper hard tail in 2007/08 ish, as a ride around bike and not for mtb and even did my 9 mile commute on it a few times (what a twat I was)

then in 2009 I got a full suspension Boardman FS comp. loved it. now on my 2nd proper bike.

[Gregor]

Late seventies, I think we might have been cutting our own hair around then, loved those thick sheepskin gloves, needed them with bars that wide.

[weeksy]

They're some proper nice checked trousers !

[millemille]

I got my first mountain bike, a Specialised Stumpjumper, in 1985 and then a Muddy Fox Explorer a year or so later when the Stumpy frame broke.

Racing the in the UK when the scene first started (racing was very low key back then - the first UK mtb champion was decided after the race, to have been held around the Wrekin in Telford and a local BMX track, was cancelled due to rain and we all retired to a local cafe where it was agreed who would have won and they were promptly made national champion, Jake Elliot as it happens) and then when I joined the army in '87 and being the best mtb rider in the Army cycling team - and coincidentally the only mtb rider in the Army cycling team - and for a while in the whole forces cycling team, until Bernie Shrosbree (https://www.chasemanagement.co.uk/Men/Bernie-Shrosbree) showed up, meant I got to go Mammoth in 1988 and '89, Durango in '89 and Italy in '90 to race in the world championships, both XC and DH (which was a new thing back then and you generally used the same bike for both). I was extremely fortunate to have done this, as my ability didn't warrant it, but the armed forces is always keen to encourage and fund sporting endeavours.

Along the way got to meet and race against (i.e. they and I were on the same start line, but I never saw them again once the flag dropped) some of the legends of the sport. Proudest moment of my racing career was when Dave Cullinan, a DH world Champion, sought me out after a race to bestow the moniker "Sir coasts-a-lot" upon me. After I left the army I was extremely lucky to get to spend a few weeks out in the states in California, riding with the Laguna Rads (one of the seminal US mtb clubs), and in Colorado with Doug Parker and the Yeti crew.

Managed to pick up some sponsorship here and there; Mountain Cycles for disk brakes and forks, Chas Roberts for frames, Cadence distribution for fancy anodized machined aluminium bits and the like.

Carried on racing for myself, primarily DH on the continent (the Avalanche Cup and the Mega Avalanches and the Grundigs) through the 90's and my last race was at Aussois in the French alps in '97. The size of the jumps and gaps that were appearing on the courses were just too much for me. Give me a super steep gnarly, rocky chute, too steep to walk down, and I'm happy but the jumps were just too much.

[weeksy]

Carried on racing for myself, primarily DH on the continent (the Avalanche Cup and the Mega Avalanches and the Grundigs) through the 90's and my last race was at Aussois in the French alps in '97. The size of the jumps and gaps that were appearing on the courses were just too much for me. Give me a super steep gnarly, rocky chute, too steep to walk down, and I'm happy but the jumps were just too much.

Just watching Friday fails or Saturday Sends i'm astounded by the ability/balls of the younger generation now. Even the ones who seem to be mostly rubbish, will still hit jumps at insane speeds and hope for the best... it's madness some of the things they attempt, then of course some of them land, some don't.

[Taff]

Late 80's I had a Raleigh lizard MTB, I believe it's still in my parents shed.

I used to spend hours on that thing mucking about up the mountain but it's not a patch on what we call MTB today.

I moved from that to riding motorbikes in the forestry in the early 90's and then for another spell mid 2000's, it was only when I moved to the FoD in 2014 I pretty much stopped riding road bikes and started trail riding