# What did you start riding on ?



## todd_freeride (Aug 9, 2005)

hehe... I was just wondering what you all started riding on ? and I mean when you started to get good and actually learn something.

I started riding in 2003, so I thought I was all extreme buying a Motiv Vortex Disc .. I was all like "YEA !! a disc brake in the front ! its basically a mini Kona stinky !" the frames design was the same as the 04 stinky. it had a Mozo M30A fork in the front with 70 travel  SrSuntour cranks and shimano Acera drivetrain. I thought I was some awesome freerider with my $235.00 Costco bike.

One day I decided it wa time to go to the local bike park ( it was a DJ park ) and I launched off the jump and landed to flat. the funny part was that the ramp was 8 feet tall ....so I did a 8' to flat on that thing. then I got a P.2 and started beating on that till i'm whare I am today .... I sold the bike to a friend for $200.00  after it was trashed,scratched and the headset and BB were pretty much destroyed I sold it for $30 less than I paid for it.

so what were your riding experiences when you were a newb ? feel free to post pics or whatever

-ride hard


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## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

1999 Giant Eddie Bauer. Wow, an Eddie edition bike, im so cool. Parents got it for me, my first non-walmart mtb. It'd did good. NIce italic eddie bauer logo across the down tube. Rockshox Jetts, full Alivio drivetrain. I still have it as my downtown commuter, the thing can take a beating, all original parts including tires except for the brake pads. My current rig prolly costs almost 10 times as much but my heart is always with the eddie.


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## Yeti_Rider (Dec 26, 2003)

*1989 KHS Montana Comp*

rigid, toe clips, 18 speed with thumb shifters! I think it came with a 26 tooth granny but I don't recall what the spread was on the cassette. I upgraded in 1991 to a DiamondBack Apex which actually was a nice bike. both were "real" mountain bikes although neither was top of the line. they were probably middle of the line offerings though.

YR


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## rzozaya1969 (Nov 28, 2004)

2004 Schwinn Mesa

I started on that bike. I hadn't ridden much before that bike (I think for about 15 years if not more).

It was a very nice bike for a begginer. Changed crankset, cassete, rear der., clipless, saddle. The tires were very good (WTB Velociraptors), the brakes I think they're pretty nice for a I-have-no-idea brand.

I gave it to my Dad who live in Cancun, so it's still in use


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## Hollis (Dec 19, 2003)

*May 1997*

Gary Fisher Mamba.
POS  
Flexy steel frame, Mag 5 fork
Canti brakes, Grip Shift, Alivio Crank & Derailleurs.


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## Berkeley Mike (Jan 13, 2004)

*Dirt?*

Marin Palisades got me on the dirt.
Fisher Aquila built my power.
Bonteger Racelite helped me to understand what riding was really about.
Starting on the Bonti would have been waste.


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## 29erchico (Jan 1, 2005)

*June 1985*

Bridgestone MB-1. Friction shifters and 6 speed freewheel. Not cassette. Broke a bunch of rear axles and ended up cracking a dropout.

All in all, it was one of the better bikes available at the time.

29erchico


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## wooglin (Jan 6, 2004)

1985 for me too. A Rockhopper with bull moose bars. Never did like that bike.


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## Dan Gerous (Feb 18, 2004)

Not sure when, a long time ago on a heavy, too big piece of rigid steel with non-SIS thumb shifters. It had 12 speeds! Impressive back then. The bike eventually died and was replaced with a much better bike: a Pro-Flex 550, still with thumb shifters but this time with SIS!  it eventually got stolen.


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## SeanL (May 4, 2005)

2001 Giant Rainier
Even today it is still stock, except for the seat and pedals.

Rode that bike up until May of this year when I got my FS. Good strong bike that has taken a beating.


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## Tarekith (Mar 9, 2005)

'03 Schwinn Mesa GS.


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## rkj__ (Feb 29, 2004)

My first geared bike was a Jeep Cherokee from sears with 24" wheels and 18 speed grip shifters. That was the bike that i rode on my first mountain biking experience. It was rigid, but i was young, so the vibrations were a thrill. I loved it. Still have that one.

My first 26" wheeled MTB was an Infinity Quantum from costco for only $300 CAD. It was a cheap fs that was actually a step above some. It came with Alivio shifters and RD Acera up front. RST fork, promax brakes...

I am still convinced it was the best bike for me at the time. I had lots of fun on it. A Giant warp 3 was more than twice the price at the time and still only had alivio, and a suntour fork. I really think the Quantum was the best bike i could have got for $300 CAD. A warp would have just been an expensive pogo.

After a while i realised that the bike did more pogoing than shock absorbing, and the RST fork actually did not absorb very much. After about 1700 km she was pretty much toast. Seatpost (seat clamp) was shot, along with tires, cassette, chain, chainrings. It would not have been economical to replace all that stuff. I sold it to a friend for $70. I think he got a good deal. After that, i got something more serious:

A Giant Rainier. Fell in love with the bike. At $1100CAD i think that was a deal too. Far more reliable, and capable than anything i had owned before. I put about 3400 km on that and then recently, much to my dismay, i found a crack in the frame. I will miss that bike for sure.

If Giant indeed does warranty the frame like i expect, they will be sending me an NRS upgrade (at a cost). Hopefully that will top the Rainier and prove to be reliable as well.


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## Chip (Jan 12, 2004)

*'96 Diamondback Sorrento*



todd_freeride said:


> hehe... I was just wondering what you all started riding on ? and I mean when you started to get good and actually learn something.


Rigid fork, canti brakes, cages. Switched over to clipless briefly before buying my first VooDoo.
That Diamondback still hangs in the garage, ready to roll.
Steel is real.

-C


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## BontyRider (Feb 18, 2004)

Fat City Cycles "Monster Fat" from early 90's (not sure what year... '93?)
Black and day-glo green
It had a Frankenstein monster head badge
Best mountain bike ever
Stolen


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## slocaus (Jul 21, 2005)

1979 - Custom welded by Jeffrey Richmond from the Bike Peddler, San Anselmo, CA. Had Suntour BMX stem, bars, pedals; TA triple crankset, Campy Gran Turismo derailleurs; Araya rims (alloy!), SunTour thumb shifters, Magura brake levers, Phil Wood hubs & BB, Mafac cantilever brakes; Campy seatpost. Not a clue what tires I had,


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## ArmySlowRdr (Dec 19, 2003)

94 or 95 scott racing comp--fully rigid
acquired from the baumholder px sportstore marked down from 900 to 610 bux.


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## sterd (Aug 7, 2004)

*'89 Nishiki Backroads*

It had a Rigid fork and canti brakes . Which reminds me how much I love my Heckler.


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## SaxMan (May 21, 2005)

*'95 Mongoose Switchback*

My sister was going through a messy divorce. After an emotional phone call from my sister, I actually found myself seriously plotting how to kill her soon-to-be ex. Rational thought took over and I realized I had to stop thinking like that, so I went out for a drive. I stopped at a bike shop and bought the Mongoose right off the floor. I did no research and completely bought on impulse.

I had no idea how ill-suited this bike was in stock configuration: Rigid fork, poor tires, 18 speeds on top-of-bar thumb shifters, among other things. Before the summer was over, I had put a Rock Shox Quadra 21 on it, upgraded to Specialized knobbies on Mavic rims, replaced the high rise bar with a flat bar with bar ends. I spent more money on the upgrades than the actual bike.

With all the mods, it became a decent, if somewhat heavy XC bike. It was extremely forgiving on a novice like myself.

After 3 seasons, the bike was just clapped out. The hubs, bb and drivetrain were pretty much toast. I cleaned it up and sold it to a coworker for $50 to give to her son. To the best of my knowledge, he still has it.


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## Acme54321 (Oct 8, 2003)

First MTB 1995 Trek 800 Sport. First "serious" MTB 1999 GT Timberline.


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## Sideknob (Jul 14, 2005)

*First bike*

First bike was a cheap steel rigid bike with 18 speed and thumbies, in 1993. Then I got a purple GT Backwoods, rigid with Alivio. Next was a Balance AL450 with 21 speed STXRC and a Mag 21, in 1995. STOLEN!!! I loved that bike. So I bought a Klein Pinnacle with Judy SL and XT / XTR mix, which I still have and ride occasionally. I got a Mongoose NX7.5 with LX / XT and 100mm Judy SL in 2000, and traded that bike in last year on a GT Avalanche 0.5.


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## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

First Mtn Bike:
1985 GT Timberline - 4130 Chromoly frame, Suntour derailleurs, Dia-compe cantilevers, Friction thumb shifters, 18 speeds, araya alloy rims. Rode it hard for 3 years. By the time I sold it to buy it's replacement (1988 MB-1), it had a 150mm Tioga t-bone stem, 6 speed XT drivetrain, and flat bars. Great bike. I ordered it through the shop I was working in. Got to build it up myself.


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## Drewdane (Dec 19, 2003)

I started on an '01 Stumpjumper hardtail. It was on the trunk rack when I got rear-ended. But before that, the first time I rode on dirt as an adult, it was on my '94 (?) Kona Lava Dome. It got stolen a few years later - I still miss that bike!


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## milehi (Nov 2, 1997)

*June 1985 for me too...*



wooglin said:


> 1985 for me too. A Rockhopper with bull moose bars. Never did like that bike.[/QUOTE ]A Schwinn High Sierra. I turned 16 that year in June and took my car money down to Riverside/Redlands Schwinn. I wish I still had that bike. It got stolen out of a friends garage. With the rest of the cash, I bought a semi beatup jet boat. I always had a ride to Havasu. And anywhere for that matter.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

todd_freeride said:


> I sold the bike to a friend for $200.00  after it was trashed,scratched and the headset and BB were pretty much destroyed I sold it for $30 less than I paid for it.


Some friend you are!

My mtb history:
1988 Cannondale Red Shred
1990 Cannondale something-or-other
1993 Trek 9000 (full-suspension nightmare, but it was my 1st)
1994 Manitou FS
1995 AMP Research B4
1996 Specialized Stumpjumper
1998 LenzSport Bouldervore SP
1999 Titus Quasi-Moto
2002 Santa Cruz Blur
2005 Gary Fisher Rig

I don't think I left anything out...


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## Gregg K (Jan 12, 2004)

*1983 Diamondback Ridgerunner*



slocaus said:


> 1979 - Custom welded by Jeffrey Richmond from the Bike Peddler, San Anselmo, CA. Had Suntour BMX stem, bars, pedals; TA triple crankset, Campy Gran Turismo derailleurs; Araya rims (alloy!), SunTour thumb shifters, Magura brake levers, Phil Wood hubs & BB, Mafac cantilever brakes; Campy seatpost. Not a clue what tires I had,


Wow! You don't Jeff Boheim do you? He was one of Gary Fisher's first bike mechanics. Lived in San Anselmo. Just wondering. Man, you really started early. Very very cool. Wish I'd known. I went nuts when I saw the first knobby/beartrap/etc... I was still brazing sprockets to get that 1:1 gear ratio!


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## Structure (Dec 29, 2003)

*1985 Mongoose All Terrain Bike*

Terrible bike. I thought it looked cool at the time, but I never found the bike as comfortable as some other bikes of the era.


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## Fast Eddy (Dec 30, 2003)

slocaus said:


> 1979 - Custom welded by Jeffrey Richmond from the Bike Peddler, San Anselmo, CA. Had Suntour BMX stem, bars, pedals; TA triple crankset, Campy Gran Turismo derailleurs; Araya rims (alloy!), SunTour thumb shifters, Magura brake levers, Phil Wood hubs & BB, Mafac cantilever brakes; Campy seatpost. Not a clue what tires I had,


Whoa. You win.


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## GinoLicious (Apr 4, 2005)

I actually started riding this year.. First time on a serious MTB... Used to ride BMX...

2005 Norco Rival.


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## Fast Eddy (Dec 30, 2003)

Still have it? Pictures?


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## Fast Eddy (Dec 30, 2003)

*1969*

1st time - 1969: green Schwinn Stingray
2nd time - 1985: used 5 speed beach cruiser, 26" knobbies with whitewalls.
3rd time - 1987: 1987 Tange Chromo Diamondback Ascent EX

I stopped riding from 16yo until 22. I rode the cruiser for a couple quarters in school, but not enough. In '87 my fiancee and I bought matching D'backs. I sold mine a couple years later to upgrade, but I still have hers. I've ridden it around at Sea Otter the last couple years. Someone has a pic, but I can't immediately find one.


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## Mr. GT (Jan 17, 2004)

My first "real" mt bike was a 1996 GT Timeberline FS

I still have it in all stock condition, i use it as my town bike.

it needs a new drivetrain but otherwise its as good as new.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I have to put in my entire bike history:

- about 1970: 24" wheels, "looong saddle", motocross bars, single speed, coaster brakes. Rode it to school, thrashed the neighbourhood trails, did skids and small wheelies, probably jumped off something too.

- - - - a big "men's bike" - - - a trecking bike with drop bars

- 1992 Specialised Hard Rock Sport: rigid, 21 gears, cantilevers. Rode some local trails but now it is my commuter bike.

- 2004-2005 Banshee Scirocco ...


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## Meat Foot (Jan 14, 2004)

*1988...*

gonna have to bust out some tissues here:
1988 Nishiki Colorado w/complimentary U-brake and 50 deg. stem. What's not to like?
Traded for a fishing pole  after I bought...
1991 Bridgestone MB-3, sold recently (actually to fund the On-One below), but it was
cannabilized for the next one.....and resurrected for trail duty after Bonty below....
1992 Klein Attitude, metalic blue (tissue please)..beat the sh!t out of me. Climbed like a
virgin angle. Very much like strapping a jack hammer between the legs and putting
wheels on it.
1998 Bontrager Privateer Comp (I know Trek made it, but it had guts and good
components, and it had 63 mm of travel, who needs more?). Meth Head stole it.
1991 Bridgestone MB-3 resurrected as a SS.
2003 Dean Scout (have still, mainly collecting dust, but does get love now and again).
2002 (?) On-One Inbred SS garb, simply *****en. Bought from SlowSSer. Sold to fund
the 3rd SS...
1999 (???) Dean Private, Vulturized SS with EBB and disc only. Powder coated red
orange. Thinking about selling to fund a 29er SS.

Should about do it. I always wanted a Whiskey Town Racer, or a Ross Mt. Hood, or a Fat City, or a.....


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## STinGa (Jan 14, 2004)

*1985 Rockhopper*

1985 Rockhopper

I bought it with my first paycheck after finishing basic training. The frame is still in my garage ... just can't seem to part with it.


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## scrublover (Dec 30, 2003)

1991 Diamond Back Ascent EX in the bright orange glow color. Ich.

Then a 92 Cannondale that I bought as a frame, and swapped parts onto. 

Then a 1993 Haro E-stay; something I forget the model name of.

Followed with a local built ti hardtail frame built up with swapped and new parts. It survived for nearly seven years before giving up the ghost.

After it cracked in 2000, then onto a 95 Kona Explosif frame bought cheap off my roommate of the time, again swapping parts to the new frame.

Then a Curtlo Mountaineer in 2001. 

After that frame broke, a brief spell ( like about 2 months) on a 2004 Rocky Mountain Flow frame was followed by my now much more loved Peyto "Wild Bill" hardtail frame. Other bikes on the side have come and gone, but this is the main ride. A steel SS (3+ years old) and a 7x7" full squish (less than a year old) are also in the stable.


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## fred3 (Jan 12, 2004)

*Ummm...*

Sorry. Can't relate. I don't thrash, mash, get brash or talk trash. I don't do 8 footers(more like 1 footers) and I'll likely be riding the same bike for many years to come. I might break a bone or two(not yet-knock on wood) someday, but I won't be racked with joint pain due to crashing my bike when I get really, really old either.

Enjoy!


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## CDtofer (Nov 4, 2004)

*Class bike*

I needed a bike to get to class, Michigan State has one of the biggest campuses in the nation. So I bought a used 92/93 Specialized Hard Rock cheap. It was a full rigid ride with SIS thumbshifters and was some horrible color fade - light blue to red or something. After that I sold and bought a new bike every year so I would not have to take it home with me for the summer. Had a GF HKEK, a Trek 880? and a Bridgestone ??? Somewhere along the way I started riding for fun.

My first serious bike bought in 94 was an Ice Violet Trek 7000. First year that all the bikes came with threadless headsets. Upgraded nearly every part and rode it for almost 10 years. Still had it to this year when I let the GF keep it when we parted ways. Have a pic some where must find...


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## SSINGA (Dec 23, 2003)

The bike that got me in the dirt.


Year 1976
Bike Sears Free Spirit Moto (Dad was a store mgr...I had lots of Sears bikes growing up)
Gears 1
20" wheels
Steel Frame (solid steel I swear)

I couldn't even stand over the top tube when my dad brought it home. It had tires that look like the Tioga factory DH models and were probably heavier. The gearing was about the same as a 34/12 combo!!! My friends and I raked some trails behind our houses and built jumps & berms also. 

The picture was the closest thing I could find to it. I think the pictured one is a '75 because mine was silver with orange fenders and had a triple top tube with a large, upward curve in the larger middle tube. The seat on mine was more of a motorcycle style also.


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## lucifer (Sep 27, 2004)

88 Rockhopper bought in 87. It was a 20" frame which is really too big for me so it was better on the roads than the trails. But it got me started...


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## Jessep (Dec 1, 2004)

My first bike was an old rockhopper. I dont' know how old it was, but it had deore thumbshifters and biopace chainrings. This was around '87 i think, but the bike was a little older than that...Sold it and got a Macalu true temper something with a "suspension adjusted" rigid fork. That way, if I put my 63mm fork on the front it would'nt screw up the geometry.


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## JM01 (Mar 29, 2005)

1961 3 spd Supercycle racer...complete with headlight powered by a wheel driven dynomo, coaster brake, fenders, battery powered horn, and a spring loaded carrier (still using it), cost $55.00


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## whoda*huck (Feb 12, 2005)

todd_freeride said:


> hehe... I was just wondering what you all started riding on ? and I mean when you started to get good and actually learn something.


1987 Cannondale XM 400 w/ Suntour friction thumb shifters, and a cool (ahem) turquoise color with white saddle and cable housings. Bought it at a closeout sale (it was two years old and dusty but new) with a frame 2" too big. Rode the crap out of that bike for a year till it broke. That was the first of 4 Cannondale frames that I rode (broke 2 more) and loved over about 12 years, all for that $198! (Well that's forgetting about the upgrades through the years, but I digress.) 
Not riding C'dales anymore, but I loved those frames (once I got one the right size...I got a whole lot better after losing the 20" frame) despite the failure rate.


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## OdaNelli (Jul 28, 2004)

It started August 2003 when I bought a '99 Schwinn Mesa GSX for $200 from a buddy. I bought it because I was a bit overweight, and wanted to add some cardio to my rock climbing.

From there it's been downhill. 7 months later, I was the proud owner of a Santa Cruz Superlight. One year later, I bought a TREK 2000 roadie in order to train more for the Mountain Bike. Oh the pandora's box I opened.


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## erik99 (Feb 16, 2004)

*1994 Giant Yukon SE*

I had a tax refund burning a hole in my pocket junior year of college. Bike was rigid for about a week when I choppered out the steel fork jumping off a loading dock  . I reasoned that I would just bend another steel fork, so I dug into the student loan for a Quardra 10 (?). Man, that fork was so cool!

Sold it after graduation with just about every part upgraded. I had my first paycheck burning a hole in my pocket, so I bought a 1996 GT Zaskar.

OK, I stop here.


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## gopriest31 (Sep 17, 2004)

*OM flyer*

Mine was a mid 80's SE Racing OM flyer 26" BMX cruiser w 5 speed freewheel added (became my mountain bike when I switched to a 24" cruiser for BMX racing) One front gear only- Bike was great, had a really comfortable agressive seating position, which suited me as a converted BMXer- Wasnt the best climber in the world, but it got the job done! Lots of tears through Annadel back in the day!


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## SLinBend (Jan 12, 2004)

1995 Giant ATX 890. Bought while broke and hungry in college. Oogled at it on my way to class every day. Finally snapped and signed off on my first credit card. Immediatly maxed it out via the Giant purchase the second I got it! Probably ended up paying twice the sticker price in the long run (21% interest for 2 years... ouch), but damn, it was worth every penny. I loved that bike. It was stolen from my covered porch 3 years later. I almost cried. I'm convinced I would still have it today if the dirty thief hadn't robbed me of the precious prize - most likely would be a SS conversion if I still had it.


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## VA2SLOride (Feb 17, 2005)

Back in the day, an old Huffy BMX. Then a Huffy road bike, followed by years of not biking, but bought a lot of skateboards and snowboard gear during that time. Fast forward to Dec of '01...sister's fiance fixes up and hands down sis's old '98 GF Big Sur. Rode the hell out of it for about 2 years. Moved to Ca, scrapped the GF after it just crapped on me. Bought a Giant Warp ('03) and beat that thing into the ground. After a year of abusing that, bought a Banshee Chaparral. That was tempoarily out of comission, so in the meantime, I built up my steel On-One. Got the Banshee back together. Following that, I got a wild hair up my ass and jumped on the 29" SS bandwagon. Let me tell you...it's a fun wagon to be on. It's the ride that's currently getting the most miles on it.

scott


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## Roland (Jan 15, 2004)

*Mine was a Giant iguana...*

... back in 89. It got stolen and I didn't ride mtb again till the late 90's when I bought a used Outland rigid steel boat anhor w/ a POS RST fork. Then in 99 I got myself an Ibis Mojo steel hardtail which I still ride occasionally. Mostly these days I ride my new SC Blur.


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## Zeroack (Jul 4, 2005)

*Ritchey....*

I think it was called a Ritchey Mountainer. Dad bought it for me back in 1988. It was a good bike till it was stolen at College. From there I bought a ProFlex, the one with the spongy plastic in the stem and rear tri. That was a great bike too.

Ahhhhhhh the memeories....

Zero AKA TRON


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## Call_me_Clyde (Oct 27, 2004)

*Fully Rigid Yukon*

I started on an early '90's fully rigid Cro-Mo Giant Yukon that I purchased used for $150.00 back in 2002. I believe everything was original, right down to the canti's and Altus drive train. I gave it to a friend when I bought my Warp, and he still rides it to this day.

Bob


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## BelaySlave (Aug 4, 2004)

My first MTB was a 1990 red Hardrock. I locked it up outside my dorm one night. Came out the next day and it was gone . Went through a couple of more Specialized's after that.

When I unretired from MTB last year...I got a 2004 Novara (REI house brand) Ponderosa. LOVE that thing. Now I'm on my new ride...2005 Yeti 575.

Nick


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## superlightracer (Feb 11, 2004)

This was my first REAL mtb. 








Complete with inverse fork design.

I could shred back in '91 like no other 5 yr old....








see!

Then...
'94 : 'Protour' 20''
'98 : Huffy Lizard Rock
'99 : Supercycle mbx 1000 (shudder)
2001: Trek 4300->upgraded  
2003: Trek 8000-> Upgraded
2005: SC Superlight


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## deoreo (Aug 26, 2005)

1989 Raleigh Chill - Oh yeah, aluminum frame and straight blade
rigid forks - it was the ****!!  hehehe.

I got it while I was in college, after having been a serious road rider
since 1987.

Steve


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

1999 GT Outpost Trail, regret selling that sweet cro-mo frame.


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## extrafunky (Jul 18, 2005)

I'm a late bloomer. Just started riding this year but i'm on my second bike.

May 2005 - Iron Horse Warrior DS Trail. My first upgrade was a pair of Candy SL's. Got my newb scars from this bike.

Aug 2005 - Santa Cruz Blur XC. Except for pressing the headset, I did all the work in building up this baby.


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## rideit (Jan 22, 2004)

*1976 AMF dual suspension BMX bike...*

really. It got stolen in TWO HOURS from me in Baltimore.

Next bikes:
Ross Mt. McKinley (83?)
Univega Alpina
Nishiki Alien
Klein Adroit (broke)
Klein Adroit (broke)
GT Hans Rey trials bike
Cannondale Beast of the East
Park Pre customized 24'" trials cruzer
Trek Carbon road bike
Klien Attitude
Marin Alpine Trail dually
Redline conquest pro cross bike
Moots Mootaineer
Rocky Mt. Vertex
Ellsworth Truth
Giant NRS prototype
NRS
Giant AC prototype
Giant team ATX downhill
Rocky Mountain Slayer
AC
02' NRS/ 02' AC
03' NRS/ 03' AC
04' NRS/ 04' AC
04' Giant TCR 2 road bike
05' NRS carbon
Rocky Mountain ETSX
Titus 05' SB with Maverick front end....current!
Love my Titus!!


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## Fuelish (Dec 19, 2003)

Started mtbing on my childhood bikes (old StingRays, 3 speeds, 10 speeds, whatever - I took 'em off road on on trail)...as far as my first mtb, it was a 1990 Schwinn Sierra MOS ("Mountain OverSized" cromoly tubing......guess cause the tubing was "bigger" than road bike steel)...rigid rear and front, 21 speed Shimano Exage 400 LX (something like that) drivetrain - shifters were updated to Deore LX in mid 90's, but cantis and both drs are original and functional to this day. Came with 28-38-48 rings with a 13-30 cogset (now has a 24 granny - the 28/30 combo just wasn't low enough...LOL). The bike still sees daylight from time to time, and is likely to be rebuilt up with some newer stuff someday, as the frame is very sound (and steel), although showing lots of "character" from a decade of hard use and commuting. It has a 1 1/8" headset, so possibly going threadless/with a suspension fork is not out of the realm of possibilities (maybe swap my frok over from my Fuel and get a new fork for that... ) Granted, it's a Schwinn, but it was back when Schwinn was still in charge of their destiny, I believe, and they were only sold through LBSs at that time.....way before Pacific or whoever bought 'em out. Whatever - from what I understand, the frame was made by Giant anyway, so...no matter. It's a "burnt chrome" color that I still love a lot - it looks like hell, but I love it !!!


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## mtbidwell (Apr 7, 2005)

First MTB was a Schwinn Woodlands in 87 bought w/ my own detasseling money. Road the heck out if it thinking I was Greg Lemond. Good memories!


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## MrXC (Jan 14, 2004)

My history:

1. 1996 Raleigh M-30 - rigid with Acera Components. Road it enought to get hooked than it was stolen

2. Replaced in 96 or 97 with a used 199X Giant ATX-760 (black and green model - anybody know the year. Road the crap out that one for the next 3-4 years upgrading almost everything on it. It also taught me how to wrench, the hard way, meaning I had to replace more than I should have. Then it became a commuter, than an SS and was finally sold a couple of years ago.

3. 2000 Voodoo Bizango - Took me from beginer/intermediate land to endurance racing. Cracked the seatstay in 2004 and now it sits in my storage unit waiting for me to get the welds repaired. I cry when I see it.

4. 2001 Redline Monocog. After singulating the Giant in 2000 I wanted a real SS. this was my starter.

5. In 2003 I bought a NOS 2000 Haro Werks SSX single speed frame to replace the Cog. Still in service as my SS today. Veteran of the ECNASSCU Part Deux and 2005 SSWC.

6. In 2004 I bought a NOS 2001 Haro Werks XCS dual suspension frame and built it up with the parts from the Voodoo. Taught me the beauty of dual squish. Currently my primary ride. 

7. 2005 Soul Cycles Monk CX bike. Used as my commuter, road training bike, and even in a road race. Will see cross duty this fall.

A couple of other beater roadbikes mixed in, but they didn't see trail action.


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## sf_firestarter (Aug 6, 2004)

1986 Nishiki Cascade


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## 95Stumpy (Jul 29, 2005)

GT Outpost. Sometime between 92-93. It was the orangy red color, with white and black splatters. It was a tank but it was solid due to it's Triple Triangle.


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## AndrewTO (Mar 30, 2005)

Either a '92 or '93 GT Avalanche. Steel frame and rigid fork, canti front, U-brake rear (thanks GT!), with a Zebra-inspired paint theme. I treated that thing like gold-plated garbage.... beacause it was. Conveniently funded by insurance payments from being hit by a car while I was on a BMX. I couldn't wait to get back on a bike and I figured it was time to go bigger - maybe i'd try riding over the next guy that tried to run me over. LOL!

Arguably I could state like Trekracer8000 - an old orange thing from ~'76 with solid rubber wheels.


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## Dwight Moody (Jan 10, 2004)

First dirt rides were on logging trails on my Huffy BMX back in the early 80's. Rode that bike forever.

Then I got some department store "mountain" bike. The constant breakage put me off riding for a long time. Couldn't take it out without something going wrong.

In 1999 I got a rigid steel Specialized Hardrock. That's where I reallys started mountain biking. While it was low end, it is freaking rugged (except the Strongarm crankset, first thing to go). It's my pavement bike now. I love the frame and will probably keep it forever. Or until it breaks, at which point Specialized will give me a new (aluminum) Hardrock frame.

Now I've got a Rockhopper. Who knows, in another three years I might move up to a Stumpjumper. At this pace I'll be on an S-Works in a decade or so.


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## ryman (May 4, 2004)

1990 Giant Butte
cro-moly frame, heavy as hell, but I pedaled it off drops and up the hills and trails around LaCrosse. Hit the back of a parked car with it, bent the rigid fork, wheel stayed true, got a new rigid fork and had at least 5 more years of fun on it until I bought the race bike in '96 
KHS Alite 8000 (something like that) rebuilt and still riding it. Thinking about converting it to a SS.
Now the '01 SB is probably my favorite bike. Rebuilt too and currently riding again.


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## freaky franky (Jun 4, 2004)

my Uncle's 19 old girlfriend, but that's a story for another day  

my first ride was a Mustard color 20", no gears and no cables.
brake system was actuated via levers and hinges, i kid you not.

metal fenders, chain guard and definitely weighted almost twice as me.


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## Juliius (Apr 30, 2004)

I was given a Nishiki hybrid sort of bike in '92 and rode the heck outta that thing while living in Mexico until it got stolen - probably a bit more on-road than off - but experimented off road as much as possible.

First Mountain-specific bike was a bit later in Summer of '96 - a Trek 6000 HT. RockShox fork with about 2" of travel (maybe), decent drivetrain and weak rims, cantilever brakes - I paid about $500.00. I still have that frame - but have replaced every other part on the bike. That frame took some serious abuse for the next 6 or 7 years.

'01 I replaced that bike with a '99 GT LTS 2000 that I bought off of ebay for $500. Got a decent taste for FS.

Just bought this bike a coupla weeks ago: Ventana X-5


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## todd_freeride (Aug 9, 2005)

extrafunky said:


> I'm a late bloomer. Just started riding this year but i'm on my second bike.
> 
> May 2005 - Iron Horse Warrior DS Trail. My first upgrade was a pair of Candy SL's. Got my newb scars from this bike.


how did the Warrior DS Trail ride ? I have an 04' Ironhorse Warrior Sport and I absolutely love it. I was thinking of getting a DS though because I want a little more travel.
how did it ride ?


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

1983 Univega Alpina Sport.
23" frame (proper fit at the time)
68 degree parallel angles
18.5" chainstays
45"+ wheelbase
steel bullmoose style bars/stem
short arm cantilever brakes
32 mm wide Araya 7X rims and bolt on hubs
3x5 gearing (48/38/28 x 13-32)
32 lbs stripped down and ready to race

Did a lot on that bike.


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## rkj__ (Feb 29, 2004)

Wow, it is sad to see how many people have lost their bikes to theft.


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## marsb (Jun 6, 2004)

got my "dream bike" -blue Huffy BMX w/ yellow mags circa 1981
got a Team Murray "City Bike" for Christmas around 1986
borrowed my girlfriends brother's '90 Rockhopper for a summer during school
"acquired" a semi-abandoned Hardrock during a drunken night at another campus, karma caught up to me as it was stolen before I could ever get it fixed enough to ride it.  
bought a GT Borrego off my roomate around 1994
built up a 1998 Giant ATX-890 (now a rigid ss)
bought my SC Bullit last summer


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## giantbikeboy (Dec 3, 2004)

Mine was a 99 Giant Yukon I bought in 98. I was 41. I now have too many bikes. No I don't.

GBB


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

shiggy said:


> 23" frame (proper fit at the time)


You used to be 6'4"? What happened, knee surgery?


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

Nat said:


> You used to be 6'4"? What happened, knee surgery?


No. "Long" seatposts were 280 mm.


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## Schwinng (Jan 21, 2004)

*Nishiki Colorado by Richard Cunningham*

Fully rigid, with Shimano thumbshifters, and Exage components, including the Biospace crankset. Cool purple-blue color, but once I got into riding more, I traded it in for a Mongoose Rockadile Comp, updated the fork to a RS Mag 21, got rid of the moose handlebars for some flat XC bars. The chromoly frame was a bit heavy, but the geometry was great. She diced and sliced everything well.


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## jonnyp (Sep 1, 2005)

i started to get good on a wal-mart 24" with 21speeds. shifters broke and i stopped riding for a few years. i ordered a '06 gary fisher and thats the bike i'm going to get on again.


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## morganfletcher (Jul 22, 2005)

In 1982 I had a Laguna cruiser frame, big Landing Gear forks, parts a mishmash of Huret, Stronglight, Magura, Araya, Mafac. Red frame, gold ano riser bars, bmx neck and Araya rims. Snakebelly tires. BMX pedals, eighteen gears. Weighed like 50lbs. Used to ride/hike it to the top of San Rafael Hill in San Rafael, CA and then bomb the corkscrew fire road down. Rode it at the old Nike Missile Base site above China Camp, also over by Lake Lagunitas, five corners in Fairfax on Tam. After that it was a Ritchey Annapurna. That was the first bike I actually rode to the top of Mt. Tam, that was about 1983 or 1984. Since then it's just been sickness, nothing but bike sickness.

It started before then, I was doing long trips on my bmx bike by myself, thermos of soup in my school backpack and enough money in my pocket for a model from the hobby shop at the mall like seven miles away. But first real mountain biking was that Laguna.

Morgan


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## Bikinfoolferlife (Feb 3, 2004)

Waay back in the early/mid sixties when we were kids we used to ride in the local prairies and any other dirt we could find on our mostly converted-into-stingray-like bike from our regular 20" kids bikes by putting on hi-rise bars and a banana seat. Mine was a regular old Schwinn one of our local kids stole and converted for me, the only bike stolen I ever recovered. 

First "real" mountain bike was an 84 Schwinn High Sierra, got my first "real" mountain bike ride on that several years later, after it languished in my garage, and I was hooked big time. I sure wished I had kept that intact; still have some of the parts, though, it's a kick checking them out once in a while, a nice perspective on how far things have come over the years. Each successive bike has brought more love of the activity as well as the machines, and I'm still learning. 

90 Bianchi Grizzly, frame broke and replaced by two Super Grizzlys, each also broken. The last fully rigid bikes I've had other than my road bike.
93 Trek OCLV 9800 and it's warranty replacement ProIssue, first suspension fork, currently my singlespeed.
97 Custom Moots YBB, my first custom (frame and part spec) and "suspension" bike, still being ridden.
99 Santa Cruz Heckler, my first full suspension bike with significant rear travel, still being ridden.
02 Santa Cruz Heckler, my favorite and the one I ride mostly now. 
Next? A Nomad?


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## SoCalDesertRider (Aug 1, 2005)

My first 'good' bike was a mid to late 70's Cook Brothers Racing BMX bike with nickel plated tig welded cro-mo frame. I got it used in about '83 from a neighbor and built it up with nice parts and rode it till it was stolen at school in '89.

I used the insurance money to buy my first 'mountain bike', an '89 Takara Highlander with Tange Prestige cro-mo frame, chainstay mounted u-brake, Suntour 18-speed drivetrain with oval chainrings and top-mount thumb shifters and Araya RM20 wheels. It was a good bike, but heavy and a little too big in the frame for real off-roading, but I still had plenty of fun on it .


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## extrafunky (Jul 18, 2005)

todd_freeride said:


> how did the Warrior DS Trail ride ? I have an 04' Ironhorse Warrior Sport and I absolutely love it. I was thinking of getting a DS though because I want a little more travel.
> how did it ride ?


It served me well on my first three months. But if you're getting a DS, get the Pro at least. The Trail has a pogo stick fork. And i had to stiffen up the rear shock (so hard it almost felt like a ht) to eliminate pedal bob. The pivots creak like crazy I have to lube it every ride. But for $500, I can't really complain and I knew I won't be keeping it for long.


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## Maddog (Jul 4, 2004)

1991 Schwinn High Plains. It was black with yellow squiggly lines on it. It had one of those eliptical granny rings and cost about $350.00 and was fully rigid. I took it to Moab, Mammoth and 
Colorado so it served my well. As I began to break parts on a regular basis I upgraded to a Paramount Series 70 with a front shock! Rode that until '98 when I got a FS Rocky Element which is still my main bike though I fear its days are numbered. Had great times on each bike!


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## Chiewable (May 5, 2005)

first mtb was a CCM gemini from canadian tire. i think it cost me 200 bucks (sold at a garage sale for maybe 50?)

second mtb was a raleigh inferno from a lbs (still have this one)

for the canucks reading this both bikes have seen time in the Don. I still ride the Don today but on a slightly better ride (04 norco charger)


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## Scaebor (Aug 11, 2005)

a mid-90's mongoose (now known simply as 'the goose'). now that bike put up with a lot of sitting in the rain and sun for months on end before i actually started riding seriously, and still it held up far, far better than it really should have. the fact that it held together through way more than it really should have made me respect it far more than i though i ever would for such an unexceptional looking bike. and it serves me well every day as a solid, stripped down commuter bike.


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## mtnfiend (Feb 26, 2004)

1989 yellow Specialized Rockhopper from SuperGo. Got stolen at Junior High. Replaced it with a 1991 Mongoose IBOC Comp from SuperGo on sale for $400 down from $600. It had this really cool teal paint with black splatter. Shimano DX components. I still have the frame. I stripped it down and painted with flat olive drab and turned it into a 2x1. I put a Rock Shox Judy TT with 1" steer tube on it. Unfortunately the fork totally choppered the bike. So I transferred most of the part to a different frame.


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## LetsGoOutside (Sep 4, 2005)

1997 Schwinn Sidewinder, rigid, 21 speeds, soo much fun, I was young so I didn't know any better. Upgraded to a Fuji Nevada in 2000 and still ride it to this day (well the frame anyways), it has served it's purpose for ever and I just can't ever seem to get rid of it.


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## pornstar (Aug 15, 2005)

*Hey the same happened to me!!*



Roland said:


> ... back in 89. It got stolen and I didn't ride mtb again till the late 90's when I bought a used Outland rigid steel boat anhor w/ a POS RST fork. Then in 99 I got myself an Ibis Mojo steel hardtail which I still ride occasionally. Mostly these days I ride my new SC Blur.


I had a 92 Giant Iguana, i still can remember its purple frame.
Yuck... i remember all the falls i had with that rigid bike riding the technical trails around here... They are the same trails we ride today with 4 inch full suspension bikes and the trail usually takes at least one of us down once on every ride.
At that time i used to complain on people starting to upgrade into suspension forks because i praised having a true feel on the road, and that riding with a suspension fork was like cheating.
Now i can`t bear riding anything without at least 4 to 5 inches of full suspension.

Boy oh boy, i sure was fond of my weird looking purple Iguana.
Unfortnately my bike suffered the same faith as yours did, it got stolen too. 
I was hitting on a girl i liked from school at her house while a bum sneaked into the garage and left with it.... i chased down the bum all the way down the street but i couldn`t catch him.  
I remember being frustrated and somesort of embarrased as i was filling the stolen report at the police station, because of having a purple bike named after an iguana. ( a very common animal here in Mazatlan).
I was frustrated also because i knew that there wouldn`t be that many bikes like mine around town, but i was almost sure that they (the police) wouldn`t find it.
After that i got a 95 Giant CFM 2 that i was riding until 2 months ago when i bought my 05 kikapu deluxe which i truly love.
I just whished that i would have had the extra bucks to afford a Dawd deluxe instead.


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## Trevor! (Dec 23, 2003)

I cant recall what my first ever bike was, but my first official bike when I actually got into riding was a Giant hardtail - it was below a rainier and cost about $400Aud. I thought it was the sh!t - lets all safely assume it was no where near.


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## Iranian-Mechanic (May 6, 2004)

*Angel thief*

Well after i had my old bike stolen i got into real MTB.I had an oyama cromoly framed with canti brakes I had also put a STR suspension fork on it it was some thing like the forks in 1996-7 looked like and it had Shimano SIS drivetrain .
But after it got stolen i bought an Overlord Hawk It had Shimano Alivio drivtrain /Promax X3 discs / RST gila XE fork /DNM mm22ar shock / A class G3000 rims and....
Till now i have changed many items :Giant iguana frame / Rock shox Juddy tt / RST gilla AET / Avid ball bearing 7 / Amoeba borla / Shimano LX & Accera and...........
And im going to buy a Giant warp DS2 this week too.


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## tomd (Aug 18, 2005)

95Stumpy said:


> GT Outpost. Sometime between 92-93. It was the orangy red color, with white and black splatters. It was a tank but it was solid due to it's Triple Triangle.


LOL, i totally had a 24" GT like that, was my first MTB....

Then i got a Mongoose of sorts once i was ready to go up to a 26", it was a piece and i broke the rear axle which iirc ended up being some oddball size and just got stripped/scrapped..

Currently i'm riding a Diamondback of sorts w/ a RST fork (sucks), and converted to SS, upgraded to Avid brakes (Arch Rivals and SD-Ti levers) Which has served me well, but is a little small and has a variety of issues ;-)

So next week my K2 Zed 4.0 will arrive, and it will be my first bike with a threadless headset, among other things...


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## WTB-rider (Jul 25, 2004)

First Mountain Bike was a 1987 Ross Mt.McKinley.Suntour XC everything, friction shifters, 18 speeds and best of all roller cam brakes. Unfortunately, the frame was too large and I ended up selling the entire bike. I'd love to have those components now.


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## Frozenspokes (May 26, 2004)

*Me too*



giantbikeboy said:


> Mine was a 99 Giant Yukon I bought in 98. I was 41. I now have too many bikes. No I don't.
> 
> GBB


I road the crap out of that thing for six months. Then I was riding over the bikes head. The RST fork on it was a bit of a joke. I sold it to a friend for $200.00 and replaced it with a 2000 Trek 7000. My buddy at the shop who sold me the Trek told me that I would be a better rider on the 7000 AFTER I had purchased it. He was right. I still have that bike and added an '02 Trek Fuel 90 purchased on closeout late in '02. I guess that I like Treks, I got an '01 Fuel for my wife this summer too.


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## dsully575 (Feb 23, 2004)

Started 2 years ago--summer of '03, on a Trek 4500. It's been mostly retired now that I have my '04 Spec Enduro Expert (upgraded) and my Intense Tracer. I did give the Trek a much needed overhaul/facelift a few months ago. Now the only original stock part/piece is the frame and seatpost. Here's a pic of it then (stock) and now (upgraded).


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## SeanH (Sep 5, 2005)

In 1988 I bought a Saracen ltd Edition and have ridden regually untill last week when some slime ball stole it from my shed.


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## c-dale (Aug 30, 2005)

*1988*

I starting real MTB 1988, with a modyfox, than a scott, klein "mountain klein", klein attitude, yeti fro, yeti arc, c-dale superv-carbon, gt hardtail, gt lts, c-dale superv, c-dale superv lefty, norco vps, gt idrive, gt dhi, MC 9.5, c-dale prophet 1000 lefty!!!


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## Locust (Jan 16, 2004)

*K2*

My first Mtn bike was a Schwinn High Sierra, I don't think it ever touched dirt. I bought the K2 over in Germany. When I first seen it I thought " wow, it got suspensionup front". I rode that all over the place. their was a quarry nearby that had some dirtbike trails in it and I used to fool around there.


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

*60's Off Road*

We used to dirt jump our Stingrays on some gravel piles in the late 60's. Mine was a purple Murray, followed by an orange one with the much sought after cheater slick. A little later, when Evel Knievel became popular, we used to build plywood ramps, put on our football gear, and jump garbage cans. We would go until someone was hurt badly enough to go home for first aid, then quit for the day.....It just occurred to me that some people have never seen an old steel garbage can. I still remember the noise it made when someone cased it into the cans. And how pissed our parents were when we squashed them!

I then had a Schwinn Typhoon. Take off the fenders and the chainguard, and ride through the woods.

I converted an old French St. Etienne road bike to a cross bike in about 1976. Those old road bikes had a lot of mud clearance, as did the Mafac centerpulls. Steel rims suck when wet though.

I bought my first 'real' mountain bike in 1985, a Specialized Rockhopper. I wish I'd kept it.

I'm on MTB number twelve now. Its all good......


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## MTB1986 (Aug 13, 2005)

First MTB was a Murray Mt. Climber(Wally World), first real MTB was a Peugeot Greystone, and then I picked up what I have now a '01 Haro Escape 8.2.


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## Can't w8 (Jan 15, 2004)

*Mine is a Kona...*

...Cinder Cone 1996. Gange Green colour but looks gold to me!?!? She's my ol' reliable.

Still have it with the only original parts left being:

- Front no-name Kona hub and rear LX parallax hub (unbelieveable)
- Sachs front derailleur
- non-QR seatpost clamp

All Cromoly steel frame (Kona Chromoly double butted) with minor specks of rust on a couple of dents near on the top tube thanks to a brake hanger of the headset (Modus Variform!??!?) banging it on a spill on Slickrock Trail.

Love the feel of a hardtail, esp in steel. Steel is real, baby!


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## Steveorocks (May 30, 2004)

*'96 GT timberline FS*

I had a 96 GT timberline FS with the quadra 5's on it!! I cracked it racing at Rim Nordic. still have the frame


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## slowrider (May 15, 2004)

*Newb ride*

My first mtb was a fully rigid aluminum Fisher Montere; I couldn't afford the upgrade to the hardtail until my next paycheck so I rode it that way until I upgraded to a Manitou 3 elastomer fork. Irode that for a year and decided I needed the next size down and went to a Fisher Mt. Tam, best fitting bike I ever owned.


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## Squash (Jul 20, 2003)

*Hahaha...speeds, what speeds...1966 and a....*

35 lb Sears and Roebuck cruiser with a springer front end! Stripped the fenders, tail fin, obligatory saddle baskets, and light/horn housing off the top tube. Found some 26" knobbies (not an easy task in 66) and hit the dirt. Didn't even know we were mountain biking back then. Just riding the trails around the neighborhood. There were some really good ones out back of an old abandoned farm at the edge of town. They'd been used and then forgoten by the moto cross crowd. Anyway, that old pos taught me the advantages of front suspension, how to land jumps to flat and trasition, and how to flat out have fun with a bike! That old bike cost about $40 back then, and the knobbies were $2 a piece, and one gear! My how things have changed! Everything but the fun that is. Wish I had a pic of it, but back in 66 a bike was a stupid thing to waste film on. Oh well, I still have the memories!

Good Dirt


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## PenMy (Jan 30, 2006)

*my 1st bike*

YAAAH!!!! I started reading this thread and thought, "No one would ever no what bike I had!?!". Plus I didn't even remember what brand it was until I saw your pic!! I had that bike for about five years (age 5-10). By age 10 I had it Pimped out with a yellow knobbys, gold anodized fluted seat post, yellow viscount seat, knock off ODI mushrooms, (mind you it was circa mid 80's Fallbrook, Ca). I was totally into BMX and finally broke the downtube jumping. My dad told me to save my money for a new bike and he would meet me 1/2 way but totally surprised me and bought me the Torker 280x I had been drooling over. Thanks for the blast from the past.

PenMy


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## Billy Zoom (Dec 31, 2003)

*Started about 6 years back on a Breezer Lightning*

Found this website, started reading reviews, found Breezer frames being blown out at Jenson, and started buying parts here and there until I had enough parts to take them and the frame to a bike shop and have them put it together.

It was a great bike. I went from the hardtail Breezer to a Santa Cruz Superlight, to a Titus Switchblade, to a Gunnar Ruffian, to a GF Rig, Voodoo Dambala, and building up a Gunnar Rockhound (back to a steel hardtail)!

I still have a soft spot for that Breezer because it was so pretty. This pic was taken on the way home from the shop after it was built.

Joel


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## pimpbot (Dec 31, 2003)

*1985 Schwinn Sierra*

I bought it from a friend in high school. It had a busted off front canti mount. I took it to a welding shop where they tacked it back on. When it broke again, I ended up buying a new fork from the Gary Fisher shop in San Anselmo. That bike rocked. I used to bomb the watershed fireroads in and around San Anselmo wtih a big fat grin on my face.

I loved the heck out of it. It was stolen about a year after I got it.


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## Umbrous (Feb 3, 2005)

Started on a 03 Trek 3700...what a piece of crap.

At least I got the crashes in on the cheap bike.


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## radair (Dec 19, 2002)

I also started on a Schwinn Sierra, 1986. Went to the bike shop with my girlfriend (now wife) and she wanted one also. Hey, it's only money. They set us up on 18" and 19" frames (I'm 5'-7", she's 5'-3"). We had loads of fun on those rigs. Helmets? Seems like it was a few years before they became commonplace.

Bikes were a major part of growing up, though. I distinctly remember riding my Murray fat tire singlespeed on some local trails across town when I was 11 or 12, around 1969. I remember thinking how cool that was and still have not burned out on it.


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

*Schwinn Jaguar circa 1958*

It had gears, fat tires and hand brakes and, since we did not have paved roads and rode from neighborhood to neighborhood on deer paths, we certainly were mountain biking.

Lots of other bikes after that but the first "modern" era mountain bike was a Giant Iquana from around 1991 or so. The price and quantity of bikes just took off after that.


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## RickC5 (Sep 23, 2004)

*A 1981 Specialized Stumpjumper*

That would have been in early 1982. Wy wife and I both got new Stumpjumpers at the same time. This was way before there were any laws against riding in (Kalifornia) State Parks, so we pretty much rode wherever we wanted. The laws came later, when there were enough obnoxious mtn bikers to irritate the horsey set and the hikers.

These early Stumpjumpers were a mix of Japanese-built frame and Japanese/European components. We still have my wife's bike, which just happened to be the bike that was used for all the Specialized marketing photos and ads at the time. It had been "prepped" for the photo sessions by Cupertino Bike Shop, which is where we bought it after the photo sessions were over.


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## N4BBQ (Jan 23, 2006)

todd_freeride said:


> hehe... I was just wondering what you all started riding on ? and I mean when you started to get good and actually learn something.


I just started at the first of this month (January) on a Bianchi MUSS. Loving it so far.


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## rich.grandzol (Sep 20, 2005)

*1990 Trek*

First ride was on a friend's brother's steel Trek. It was fully rigid and weighed a ton! I had recently started road racing, so I had some fitness. My buddy took me to a local trail that was pretty technical. I crashed all over the place on the ride, but had a blast. I went to the shop I raced for that afternoon, and had a Schwinn Paramount two days later. I upgraded to clipless pedals quickly, and I put a Rock Shox Mag 21 on it when they became available.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*95 stumpy*

ano blue with a Judy XC up front with a LX-XT mix. What a great bike that was


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## bedheadben (Jan 30, 2006)

I started riding on a K2 Sidewinder FS, and that's what I've still got.


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## SuperBad (Jan 5, 2004)

1988 Specialized Rockhopper Comp. I had moved to Colorado for the summer before I started college @ CU Boulder. I spent about $600 on it, if I remember correctly. I loved that bike, entered my first NORBA race on it, The first Aspen Mountain bike festival, which was at snowmass mountain. The event still goes on today, I think I finished DFL or close to it. Not bad for a kid who just moved from florida. The bike was stolen when someone cut through the bike rack and stole the bike.


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## radair (Dec 19, 2002)

Rev Bubba said:


> It had gears, fat tires and hand brakes and, since we did not have paved roads and rode from neighborhood to neighborhood on deer paths, we certainly were mountain biking...


You got my curiosity going. Did it look something like this?










I would love to have one of those - way ahead of its time!


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## bauerb (Oct 17, 2005)

*1985 CyclePro*

I believe the model was a skyline. it was a full rigid, and had a one piece handlebar/stem setup. It was later stolen. I rode that bike up and around every major ski mountain in VT. this was looooong before you could put your bike on the chairlift. I used to get the strangest looks from tourists who had ridden the lifts up "How'd you get that bike up here?". My favorite was racing the gondolas up Stowe Mt. impossible on a bike going up, very close race on foot.



radair said:


> You got my curiosity going. Did it look something like this?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

*Close if I can remember that far*

It certainly had the chain guard but it had a tank with a horn in the frame and no light. I can't remember fenders. Color was red. Shifter was a 3 speed Stormy Archer. Brakes? Darned if I can remember but they certainly were on the handle bars. Definitely white wall tires. The seat had springs and was black but other than that, I can't give you any details. I certainly did plenty of off road riding on it though. I rode places I now ride on a 6" travel freeride hardtail. The advantages of youth, I suppose. That and no options other than a road bike which some of my other friends rode on dirt. Early CX.


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## smw (Jun 22, 2005)

Early 70's Stingray
Mongoose Bmx
Red Line BMX till around 1982
Centurion road bike till a car took it out in 1986
took 9 years off
In 95 Yokota Yosemite hardtail.
took 10 years off
2005 bikes
Trek 4500 hard tail-2 weeks sold it
Rocky Mountian Slayer
Specialized Enduro
Yeti 575-sold Slayer
2006 bikes
Salsa Juan Solo delivery 2-3-06

Sean


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## misctwo (Oct 24, 2004)

early 80's Raleigh US Express, 18 speeds, steel beast--sold it for $250!! LOL
1990 Gary Fisher Advance, blue, rigid
1993 Gary Fisher Supercaliber, yellow, rigid (upgraded to Manitou2)
1994 Cannondale M800 Beast of the East, red(stripped the paint)rigid(upgraded to Manitou3)
1994 Cannondale R800, dark blue(road bike, still goin strong!)
1996 Manitou HT, black(Manitou 4)

----fast forward----
(stopped spending on bikes, school and women started sapping the cash)

2004 GT IDXC 1.0 XTR, blue Fox Float RLC
2004 Yeti AS-X, gravel, 888RR
2003 Azonic Propulsion, silver, Fox Vanilla RL
2006 Intense Tazer VP, Fox 36 RC2

i wish i still had em all....


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## sriracha (Jun 23, 2004)

misctwo said:


> i wish i still had em all....


1985 specialized hardrock, with about 2" of flex in the frame and fork.
1993 1/2 limited edition kona kilauea, metalic green.
2000 santa cruz superlight
2002 santa cruz bullit
present quiver:
2004 vpfree & enduro
2005 azonic steelhead (back to the roots)


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## misctwo (Oct 24, 2004)

sriracha said:


> 1985 specialized hardrock, with about 2" of flex in the frame and fork.
> 1993 1/2 limited edition kona kilauea, metalic green.
> 2000 santa cruz superlight
> 2002 santa cruz bullit
> ...


sweet. when do you plan to throw down on the Nicolai TFR?


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## Old Oi Punk (Sep 8, 2003)

*Hmmmm, let me think...*

...oh, well during college my roommate had a 1988 Raleigh mountain bike, 18 speed, fat knobby tires!!!I I rode that around the Southern Illinois University campus woods and trails in the Shawnee Nat. Forest. MY own first mountain bike was a 1986(?) Mount Shasta (POS) and I can't remember if that was the brand or the model name, anyway some crack-head stole it off my friends porch. My first REAL mt. Bike was a1990 Mongoose Rockadile, well, it looked real!


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## K-max (Feb 20, 2004)

*the K-Max chronology*

1990: 88 Diamond Back Sorrento--rigid, 18 speed
1993: 91 Specialized steel Rockhopper--rigid, 21 speed
1997: 1997 Trek Singletrack 950--first new bike and first with a susp. fork. 24 speeds.
2001: 2001 Giant NRS air. First full-suspension. 27 speed.
2002: Airborne Ti Hag. First singlespeed.
2004: Jericho hardtail frame.
2005: Weyless XP 5" travel frame.
2005.5: 1964 Schwinn crusier.


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## Judge Smails (Apr 7, 2004)

I grew up riding BMX in the 70's, we always took our bikes in the woods and hit all kinds of jumps and burms.

My first official mountain bike was a Cannondale SM 400 that I got in 1991. 2 years later I put a Rock Shock Quadra suspension fork on the front and I thought I was set for life.


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## Jefff (Jun 16, 2005)

*My first was....*

Giant ATX 860, alivio drivetrain, rigid all around. It's really light. I've been thinking about adding a suspension fork on it. Anyone happen to know the headtube diameter? I got it right after college in 1997, it's a 1995. My wife rides it now. The only thing to change has been the seat.


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## ICanDigIt (Jun 23, 2004)

Ah yes...my first bicycle. I remember How Phineas Dickens, Professor Oswald and I would bi-cycle around the town square at mid-day. Twas ever so much fun. Why, I remember once, Phineas encountered a young lady and exclaimed his intentions to propose, wed and consumate the entire affair - that day! Oh, Phineas...you madman! But such was the nature of our reckless, youthful shinnagins.

Seriously, My first bike was a 98 or 99 Raleigh M40, I think. I cant be sure because, my sister's boyfriend at the time, "borrowed" it, and that was the last I saw of it. It was a good first bike though...Blue with a yellow Suntour fork. I had some good times with that bike...


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## Nonracerrichie (Dec 20, 2005)

*First "real" bike?*

87 Fuji Tiagra road bike. 88 Bridgestone MB-5. I mowed lawns and bought the Fuji at 15 years old.

Had some pos department store hand me downs before those that saw more miles than they deserved.


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## WickedChicken (Jan 31, 2006)

1998 Giant Iguana sporting a bumble bee paint scheme.


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## number2 (Dec 11, 2004)

1982 Ross Mt Hood, back in the day when you could ride a bike anywhere you wanted to. Ah! those were the days.


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## The SS Boz (Apr 12, 2004)

1989 (im guessin) Mongoose IBOC comp.....my first MTB...back when the Goose was respectable 










-Boz


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## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

*Green Dragon 3 speed from Grant's Dept Store*

Circa 1973. Had a stick-shifter on the top tube, just like car.
Grew up in the Southern California desert. We had trails for days. If you couldn't afford a YZ80, you rode what you had.
Then, mostly ten speeds (Free Spirits and such) until my 1987/88 GT Talera. Stolen in 1994.
Voodoo Bantu since 98.


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## Shawn595 (Dec 19, 2004)

I started on a 93 Model Raliegh MT300 I got from Cardinal Bicycle shop. It was blue and black and I loved that bike. It started life as a fully rigid 21 speed and I upgraded everything on that bike. Heck, I even built a set of wheels for it using some directions I got from a magazine in 95 or 96. I know I used Mavic rims I got from Performance, lx hubs, DT swiss spokes and blue anodized nipples. I learned a lot about biking, wrenching, and meet a lot of people riding that bike.


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## alizhan (May 6, 2004)

*Western Flyer 4-ever!*

My first bike was a Western Flyer that my father purchased at True Value. No, seriously. I took that cherry red, single-speed, coaster-brake bike everywhere. I pretended that it was a BMX (since all my friends had BMX bikes). I pretended that it had gears (since my sister's bike had *three* of them!). I pretended that it was a jump bike (it wasn't). I even pretended that I was a certified mechanic (fortunately, it was pretty tough to really hurt it).

But mostly I just rode it until I passed our from my allergies. Ah, North Carolina in spring...

Good times.


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## tahoetucker (Oct 28, 2004)

*First MTB*

1985, Nishiki Ariel-pretty nice ride for its time. Then, 1990 Mongoose mono stay with a stiff, rough ride. Next, 1992 Kastle (euro ski company), with Mongoose 1" travel fork...plush! Then Specialize 1993 or 1994 S-works full suspension, super twitchy, huge rake. Carbon Specialized fork that was crap. Overall though, great full suspension.

Fast forward...Santa Cruz Blur


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## too40sx (Apr 20, 2005)

Hmmm? i guess it was a 95 GT mountain bike, royal blue. i think it was called an avalanch but i'm not sure. the most i remember was the cheap ass suspension fork. the stantion tubes would push up through the crown all the time.i used to ride these trail that me and some other kids in highschool build, i was a freshman. i learned to ride there, we built some pretty cool stuff too, sometimes i wanna go check them out, that would be weird.


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## Capt Tripps (Jan 19, 2005)

I too started on an 1983 Diamondback Ridge Runner, and I still have it, I kept going to Charley and Garys shop and drooling over the Ritchey's, and the Breezer on the back wall, but could not bring myself to spend the dough.. then The Ridgerunner and Stumpjmpers were about. Bought my Ritchey 2 years later ( 85) and yep, still have it too... and an 85 Ritchey Skyliner Tandem, An 86 Schwinn Sierra ( gonna be a SS soon) 2001 Sugar 1, a Grateful Dead Ho Koo just for the nostalgia, and lookin at a 29'r next what a long strange trip its been .. 
Happy Trails~


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## GroverGT (Feb 5, 2006)

my 1st was a giant boulder about a '90 model...I still ride it occasionally
then I got a giant rainier ('03) a few years ago for christmas...I like it alot

hopefully next year I go FS


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## ibanezrg520kid (Oct 27, 2005)

i start to get good/ride seriously on some POS bike in preK and K. then i moved up to a redline mini bmx bike. i raced that in k-garden and then we moved when no bmx was around so i rode it as a mtn. bike till about the 4th grade when i bought a trek 220 and rode that forever and i started racing mtn. bikes on that. I also was riding an old trek road bike. then i quit riding for awhile and started riding motocross, but then a year or two ago i started riding my dads proflex and i just got my current bike a 2005 specialized hardrock pro about 5months ago. i really like this bike! i also ride a trek 520 road bike with full campagnolo parts.

so when i started taking riding seriously i was really really young.
bike order
-random POS that i raced bmx on a few times
-redline mini bmx bike
-trek 220
-old trek road bike with a few upgrades
-proflex with cross link wheels, noleen carbon fork and what not...it WAS top of the line in the day lol...its my dad bikes but he is getting a new bike this summer.
-specialized hardrock pro...i love this bike!!
-trek 520 with full camp. parts...i use it for training and riding rollers. i don't take road riding too seriously...just some extra training.


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## dahoos (Mar 13, 2004)

1990 Diamondback Outlook. Fully ridgid, 18spd thumb shifters. I lived on that thing. Lots o miles put on that bike. I finally replaced the stock rigid fork after I bent it going off jumps. It was basically a raked out "chopper" fork by the time I realized how much it was bent. I replaced it with a suspension fork...can't remember the name brand, but it used polymer discs as the dampening and rebound. I think it was close to an inch of travel. I rode that bike until just a few years ago.


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## YetiBear (Dec 2, 2004)

My first bike was one my Dad found in the garbage and fixed up for me. My first solo ride was around the block and I ran into an old lady since I didn't know how to stop very well. She proceeded to say many words that I didn't understand at the time since I was only 5 but I knew she was pretty angry. 
After many years of road riding my brother took me out Mtn. biking and I used my sons old Huffy. I liked it a lot except for the endos I kept doing because the rigid front end stopped pretty quick when I hit big roots and such. I may have used a few of the same words that old lady used when I was 5. So I decided to get a real Mtn. Bike and bought a Schwinn Moab. Heaven!


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## Bombardier (Jul 13, 2005)

I had a Huffy MTB back when I was about 11. I killed it taking some dirt hills near my subdivision. It had some crappy handguards, IIRC.

Then, my wife got herself a Fischer brand (German Walmart) MTB while I was downrange. She got me riding on a trekking MTB once I got back. I rapidly discovered that a hardtail 21" frame with a 2" travel coil fork wasn't enough. She upgraded to a GF Cake, and I got this..... An HM FSK 4.5" travel XC rig.










It still wasn't enough, I found.

I got a Nomad coming my way now.... it's only getting worse.


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## Bigwheel (Jan 12, 2004)

number2 said:


> 1982 Ross Mt Hood, back in the day when you could ride a bike anywhere you wanted to. Ah! those were the days.


Ha, mine too Marty.

Bought it with an unemployment check and 2 weeks later (next check) bought another one for the wife.


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## Stinky Wiz (Jan 27, 2004)

*1993 Giant Sedona*

Steel, no susp, alivio bits. Bought due to DUI.

Then on goes the barends, Hyperlite bar, controltech stem, LX tranny (trick!), bonti saddle, toeclips followed by clipless and the piece-de-resistance....a Marzocchi XC-500 fork.

Man, I spent soo much on that bike, but I actually discovered MTB at the age of 23 on that thing and thank goodness for that. I've been consumed by the sport ever since. I was all internal combustion prior to that. I still do have an unhealthy interest in performance motorcycles (sportbikes) though.


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## kramonut (Jul 6, 2005)

First MTB was a Bianchi something or other...can't remember the model.

First MTB I bought new was a 90-something Trek 930 Singletrack.

Traded the Trek (after taco'ing both rims) for a '90 Schwinn KOM S-7 which I still have & plan on restoring as a SS.


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## Schwinng (Jan 21, 2004)

*Oh gosh, the list ...*

Started out with a 1993 chromoly Mongoose Rockadile SX, then switched out the SR susp. fork for a Mag 21 ... sweeeet. Then ...

1995 Mongoose IBOC Comp SX hardtail

1996 Mongoose AMP Comp dualie

1996 Diamondback V-Link 1.0 dualie

1997 GT Pantera rigid, installed a RS Quad 21 susp. fork ($399 from Costco when MSRP was about $700)

1997 Specialized Stumpjumper M-2 hardtail w/ Manitou 5 susp. fork, used

1997 Cannondale F-700 hardtail w/ HeadShok

19xx Cannondale Beast from the East rigid (used, black with orange specks)

1998 Haro Escape A-4 hardtail with Easton frame
1998 Haro Escape A-3 hardtail with Easton frame
1998 Haro Escape A-2 hardtail

2001 Schwinn Rocket 88 Disc dualie

2004 Schwinn Moab DS-2 dualie

The bike buying really slowed down after having our 2nd child in 1999.

Schwinng


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## jonsou (Jun 7, 2005)

1988 Schwinn High Plains. Got stolen so parents bought me a 1991 Trek 800 Antelope. Then I got a car, I bought a Trek 4500 later on but never rode it, so I sold it for $150 Started getting back into riding in 2004, bought a GF Wahoo, sold it then got a 05 GF Tass, with some upgrades. Been riding it ever since.


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## jkish (Dec 11, 2004)

My first MTB was an '88 Rockhopper Comp that I paid $625 for. I quit drinking for a month and bought it with the money I saved.


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## KuNgFuDeViL (Jul 25, 2004)

This is a very difficult question...

I had the one speed "BMX" style bikes my parents got me in the late 80's early 90's...but

I saved up for a weak ass hybrid bike for myself in '95 or 6. Quickly lost interest in this bike and bought a Trek Mt. Track 820 (think that is it) This was the middle school to high school bike (replaced finally when I learned to save money in college  ) The toe clips and many trips through fields/ditches/trails I ride now make me wonder how I did it back in the day....


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## Ridin'Dirty (Jun 4, 2004)

*since the thread has come back to life...*

The tale of Joe Average:

*94: Giant Iguana* - rode mainly around college campus. I don't think I ever actually took this bike on any trails. Didn't now much about the sport back then.
*98: Gary Fisher Aquila* (now my SS) - My first time on a mtn bike trail was on this bike. I went with some guys I worked with that rode regularly. I had to stop half way through the trail and lean against a tree for a couple minutes. I was positive that I was about to black out and still don't know why I didn't. I swore I would never do that again on the drive home. A week later I went out to a local trail by myself basically because I was bored. I have been hooked ever since. 
*01: Giant NRS2* - I got a good deal on this bike and was serious enough about riding to feel like spending $1,200 was a savings by any definition. 
*04: Specialized Enduro Expert* - Wanted to try some of the drops and jumps that used to scare me when I first started riding. I was sure that I would never race because I thought that it would zap all the fun out of this hobby that I was passionate about. I started racing. I crashed (twice) and finished towards the back of the pack. I was frustrated the whole race and wondered what the hell I was doing out there. On the drive home I was laughing and trading stories with another guy who raced with me and talked me into giving it a try. I couldn't wait until next race. 
*06: Titus Racer X 100* - By the time I sold some stuff on ebay that I had accumulated, I ended up paying about $400 out of pocket for this beautiful new frame! A great bike and perfect for my style of riding. Still a newb by many folks standards but just as addicted as the next guy (I'm sure you know how it is). Who knows how long this list will end up being. To be continued...


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## festus (Jul 26, 2004)

*1979 Schwinn Spitfire*

slowly upgraded over the years. 5 spd drum brake hub in the rear, motorcycle brake levers, motorcycle bars, Tuf neck, Tange forks. etc. Steel is real. real heavy that is...

I grew up in the south bay riding Stevens creek, skyline, page mill, montebello etc.
I was a poor boy and always envied the rich Marin guys like the guy with the custom from San Anselmo. I'm over it now. no more envy.

Festus


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## Tacoma4.0 (Dec 2, 2005)

1992 Nishiki Colorado. It had a Suntour SR Duotrac front fork with elastomers but no adjustment for rebound. The frame wasn't "fork specific" so the handling was a bit..gawky. 
I rode everywhere on that bike. San Juan, Noble, Mammoth (yes the Kamakazi..I nearly died..), Big Laguna, Twisted Sisters, Backbone....and every two-bit trail in San Diego and Orange countys. At the time I started riding I smoked a pack a day. Man the people that taught me to ride were so freaking patient...

My first ride was a Nishiki as well the _Grand Tour_. In 1978 I bought this monster with proceeds from selling cheap grass to my co-workers at our summer job- Youth Conservation Corps. It cost $475.00..a staggering amount back then. I rode it all over the Finger lakes region in up-state NY. It had eighteen speeds....which was also unknown back then.


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## Colonel Flagg (Jan 7, 2006)

*Rockhopper*

88 Rockhopper
89 Rockhopper
92 Paramount Series 70 (great bike, lugged steel)
96 Bontrager Titanium
01 Rocky Mountain Instinct
04 Santa Cruz Blur
05 Turner Flux


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## SLX (Aug 15, 2005)

Nice hearing about every ones first rides. I havent had many rides but recently i have joined the university race team and its a blast (now if I can win)

1990 when I was 10; Rode a small bmx bike my dad bought me at a swamp meet with training wheels, was one sweet bike. Single speed of course. Rode it down the the school parking lot so hard I broke off the training wheels and scraped up my legs. Hydrogen peroxide hurt worse.

Several years later I got a huffy with a shifter in the middle near the stem shaped like a joystick had a bmx riser bar with a windshield thing. It was pretty cool. Tricky trying to shift the rear 7 gears cus you had to reach down. with 1 hand.

1996 I got a Roadmaster Tecro? This one was shaped like a mountian bike. had 21 speeds. not that fancy and the tires didnt stick to the road well; I took a turn at and the tires just lost traction and skidded down the road on the side. Skinned my leg so bad paints stuck to the side of my leg cus of the yellow puss. The scars faded by the time I graduated highschool. Piece of junk but it actualy held up well for a Kmart bike and was around 30 pounds. I still have it, took a look at the tires the other day and noticed no side knobs, either that or I balded them out. 

2004 I got a SPecialized 2004 FSR XC, now upgraded with fox/cane creek air shocks/fork new rims hubs and tires and hayes HD discs. And Ritchey every thing else. Went 2 fast with and got my 2nd and third worst falls ever; one I brused my leg at the bone.

2006 I decided to buy a used frame specialized P2 strip the paint and build it up and go urban hopping, going to take it easy however ( I need my teeth to get a girl friend, either that or eat roast beef).


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## SprocketHead (Dec 23, 2004)

My first mountain bike was some Chinese special, I have no idea what brand it was. My dad got it for me because he "knew someone". It was a blue rigid and it must have weighed 45 lbs! I broke the chain after my 2nd ride and walking back home was no picnic. It was at this point that I decided to buy my own bike. My first real mountain bike, well so I thought, was a '93 Nishiki Backroads, fully rigid with Shimano shifters. I thought it was the bomb.

In '97, I purchased my second bike, GT LTS-2. My first full suspension, what a bike. It was a fantastic machine, but I hated the squeaking. So in '01, I bought a bike with sealed bearings, an Ellsworth Truth. Definitely one of the best bikes I've ever owned. Not only did it make me a better ride, but a comfy one at that. This year, I was lucky enough to win a raffle. I won a Santa Cruz Heckler, but I traded it up for a Nomad. So far so good. I'm amazed by how well this bike pedals and inspires confidence.

That's my bike history.


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## Brandon (Dec 30, 2003)

'93 GT Outpost Trail.. 23" frame, rigid....

Bought it with Acera-X components (15 speed)

Sold it with LX/Suntour mix (21 speed)


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## wiruth (Feb 17, 2004)

*still have it*

i love the way it rides.


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## oldskoolbiker (Jun 2, 2005)

Here is my MTB History

1992 Schwinn Highplains (Sold It in 1995)
1995 Iron Horse MT-400 (Trashed the frame, moved the parts to new Jamis Frame)
1996 Jamis Dakar (Built from frame up, Got Stolen in 1999)
1998 Jamis Dakar Expert (Built from frame up, and still upgrading. I still ride this as my XC bike and I love it. You'd never know it was a 98 because it's got all updated parts on it. Only clues is it doesn't have disc brakes, and I'm still using my old Rock Shox Judy.
2005 Yeti AS-X (I started DH/FR last year and got this bike to handle my agressive riding)


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## twouareks (May 13, 2004)

Well, I only started in 2000, and my first bike was a 21" Gary Fisher Marlin, ridicuously too big for me, and I remember going down to the shop, and the lady had no idea what she was talking about, and she sized me to a damn big bike. That was before I knoew what I was doing too.


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## yakswak (Apr 17, 2004)

1992 Diamondback Outback

Fully rigid. Special because it was my first "real" mountain bike and I bought it with my own money when I was 11 or 12 so I was really proud of it. I remember being jealous of the kids that had some CNC'd colored accessories, but my bike had all the right parts for me at the time. Sold it two years later for $20 less than I paid for it to finance a Trek 830. I then sold that for a Trek 8700 (used) from a bike mechanic that came with a softride stem. I sold the stem and bought a manitou EFC. I'm not sure who's idea that was to suspend the handbars only and not the wheel with that stem...didn't work too well, that's for sure, but I got $100 for it. 

Several bikes later and I'm riding a Turner Burner (Supergo deal) now. Not that I'm going to, but I can get any CNC'd colorful bits and pieces I want now so I won't be jealous of those "other" kids.


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## live4mtbing06 (Feb 9, 2006)

*Mongoose*

I started off 5 years ago on a Mongoose dual suspension bike. I bought it from Costco, and I thought it was the best. I rode mostly rail trails, then I got into MTBing and I rode it on the trails too. It had a huge coil rear suspension which squeaked so bad that I tightened it up so much to make it a hardtail. The thing was a beast weighing in at 42lbs. Two years later, I bought a Trek 4300 which was awesome. After riding trails the whole year and getting serious, I had it pretty beat up, but it still worls decently. Then I upgraded that winter to a Tomac Revolver. The frame was sweet and I had the bike at 27.5lbs. Somehow, the top tube(which has a hanging seat tube) bent, so in for warranty it went. Tomac went out of business, so ABG sent me a Litespeed Niota with a RP3 rear which was a much better bike. I gave the Litespeed to my dad and bought a Yeti through my sponsor(REI). Now I have my 21.5lb Yeti ARC hardtail that spped me through the woods and expert races. Then I went on to buy a Bianchi SASS to rip it up SS style, but it is 24lbs. It is amazing how it all evolves, and I still have all the bikes.

Even better, my mom went from a Costco 40lb bike to a Trek 6700 to a Santa Cruz Blur XTed out all in a matter of 9 months!!!


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## ryan.cycle (Feb 15, 2006)

my first mountain bike was a used, GT avalanche. steel frame, rigid fork, and a cow paintjob. it was a legend in it's own right. it was dubbed the mountain cow. it was heavy, slow, and terribly ugly but it was a sturdy as all getout and a good bike to learn the better aspects of mountain biking on. I wish I had pictures of that beast.


ryan


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## Sk1nnyGuy (Dec 23, 2005)

Nov 1990 Bridgestone MB-0.

She was pearl white, 24 lbs. Mavic hubs, bottom bracket and crankset.

Jan 1992 Bridgestone MB-3.

Purple. Purple everything (who remembers that craze?  ) Converted it to touring with a lowest gear ratio of 22 x 34. She was heavier than the MB-0, but more ruggard and has lugs for front and rear racks. Took her on a 400 mile 3 day epic in Malaysia and 1000 miles in 3 weeks in Indonesia (even rode / pushed her up a 9184 ft mountain (Mt. Bromo) there).

Man, those were the days...


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## MtnBikerDan (Aug 9, 2005)

*Riding History*

1970 - Schwinn stingray? West Virgina, riding country roads, snow, mud puddles
1973 - Huffy Moto bike - moto handlebars, knobbys, quilted Moto saddle - Riding Dirt, mimicking Motorcycles
1977 - R&R CR-1 REAL BMX bike - Frame up construct, my first - loved it - stolen, replaced with a Full suspension BMXer - forgot the name. Major Air time on that one.
1978 - Mongoose BMXer - started racing
1979 - SE racing PK ripper, Panda Pro-am,
1980 - Riverside Redlands Schwinn custom with Eccentric BB and canti's - High School 
1981 - Specialized Stumpjumper sport - my first MTB after drooling over MountainBikes, and Breezers. Rode all over in parks that are now illegal. Then took it overseas in the AF.
1989 - Trek 950 Singletrack - mangled in a commuter vs. car mishap in 1992. 
1993 - Cannondale Delta V-700 - Headshok suspension!!! - Loved it, max upgrades
2002 - Santa Cruz Superlight - Full suspension dialed and finally worth it. Revived the fire in me. Too flexy for me at my then weight of 210lbs.
2004 - Santa Cruz Blur - the bike that neared the pinnacle.
2005 - Santa Cruz Blur LT- my current forever bike.

on deck a Gary Fisher Rig 29er SS - Purity made affordable


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## Gimpy00Wang (Jan 23, 2006)

'99 Cannondale F400. The bike served me well. Upgraded it a ton until I finally just built another bike which was also a Cannondale, a CAAD5 frame. Now I'm on an '06 Fuel EX 8.

- Chris


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## alias (May 9, 2005)

Aside from the bmx and transitional days....my first mountain bike was in 86, a Diamondback Ascent EX, turqoise, 15 speed suntour friction shifting. 'sealed hubs' and related paraphanalia. My favorite were the riser bars that were on it. I have only ridden a flat bar briefly in about 94 when Scott had some wierd ass aero/mtb bar.....but what can I say, I think we were all confused at some point during the early 90's Mountain bike boom.  
Other than that I have always ridden on a riser, it makes me chuckle when people comment on 'the new riser bars' that people are 'starting' to ride on......

peace


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## Dakar97 (Apr 7, 2004)

I think I will pipe in with my litany of bikes...
1985 Jamis Dakota with 15 speeds, shoulder strap for carrying, and panyards (sp?) for carrying lots of "stuff". Weighed a ton but I thought it was the ultimate bike until SGLTRK sold me a 1988 Jamis Dakar. Prestige tubing, biopace (ha!), rigid, light and 18 speeds!

Since then...1993 Jamis Dakar rigid, ritchey logic with Serrota's name on chainstay (??)
1995 Proflex.. too heavy compared to 93' Jamis.
1996 Jamis Dakar full suspension...too little travel.
1997 Jamis Dakar Team...I still ride this today, awesome frame and light.
2003 Jamis Dragon... single speed, allows me to recapture the 93 I regrettably sold.


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## dtrek4500 (May 7, 2004)

This is what I started riding on, a 1998 Ross Mt.Hood, and I still have it. It origionally had a rigid fork, but I swapped that out for a Rock Jett in 2000. It was a good bike for me when it fit me, but now it is a bit too small.
Dave


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## C. Alshus (Jun 29, 2004)

Started riding in 1995. 

Bought a Cannondale M900 in purple.


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## pinguwin (Aug 20, 2004)

*1983 Schwinn High Sierra*

First mtn. bike I rode was my brother's 1983 Schwinn High Sierra in smoked pearl color. I took it out for a night ride in August or September and was absolutely hooked from that first ride. The following spring, I bought a 1984 model.

Few years later, itwas stolen, still wish I had that bugger.

Penguin


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## scooterendo (Jan 30, 2004)

*What a bike!*



slocaus said:


> 1979 - Custom welded by Jeffrey Richmond from the Bike Peddler,
> 
> Whoa. That's the ticket. What ever happened to that bike? Is it still
> in Marin somewhere?


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## Sway? (Feb 22, 2006)

*Ahhhh the memories*

1980something... Mongoose FS-1... Same color and everything. haha, and to think someone actually took the time to put this pic on the net.. Priceless!

First true mtb was early 90s Cannondale m400

EDIT: Great thread!!!


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## ctkona75 (Apr 11, 2005)

*Kona Fire Mtn Lite*

Wow I miss that bike so much....except for not having any shocks whatsoever!

Sold it to a buddy for $100 when I got my Nunu.

I don't even think he rode it.



-- ctk


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## Camelbacksucker (Dec 19, 2005)

*I started on...*



todd_freeride said:


> hehe... I was just wondering what you all started riding on ? and I mean when you started to get good and actually learn something.
> 
> I started riding in 2003, so I thought I was all extreme buying a Motiv Vortex Disc .. I was all like "YEA !! a disc brake in the front ! its basically a mini Kona stinky !" the frames design was the same as the 04 stinky. it had a Mozo M30A fork in the front with 70 travel  SrSuntour cranks and shimano Acera drivetrain. I thought I was some awesome freerider with my $235.00 Costco bike.
> 
> ...


A Specialized Hardrock with mechanical disk brakes. Yeah, it was heavy but it took a helluva beating and fueled my passion for actual mountain biking. Dude, every beginner hates the climb to the top- at least from my experience. Most of my MTB buddies got into it for the thrill of the descent. Eventually, I upgraded to a Specialized XC, then to an Enduro. Both bikes kick ass for their purposes- I don't think I have to explain what each is used for, right?  By the way dude, just my two cents...why'd you sell a beat up jumper to a "friend"- that's not cool! Don't you know that the results can be catastrophic?!


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## mistermoto (Jan 22, 2006)

*June 1992*

Specialized Rockhopper with a Rock Shox Quadra, Exage rapidfire, cantibrakes and 21 speeds. Rode it for several years. Sold it for pennies. Learned lots on that bike.


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## BBW (Feb 25, 2004)

todd_freeride said:


> hehe... I was just wondering what you all started riding on ? and I mean when you started to get good and actually learn something.
> 
> I started riding in 2003, so I thought I was all extreme buying a Motiv Vortex Disc .. I was all like "YEA !! a disc brake in the front ! its basically a mini Kona stinky !" the frames design was the same as the 04 stinky. it had a Mozo M30A fork in the front with 70 travel  SrSuntour cranks and shimano Acera drivetrain. I thought I was some awesome freerider with my $235.00 Costco bike.
> 
> ...


It looks that you just fuk a friend... does it? trashed and sell it 30$ less than new!!!!


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## Just J (Feb 14, 2005)

*hmmm... Let me think...*

3 Wheeler Raleigh
Raleigh Chopper
Raleigh Burner BMX (Mag Wheels)
Orange Clockwork DX Fully Rigid
Marin (Can't remember, but it sucked)
Giant ATX Team Custom
Giant DS1 NRS Custom
Intense Tracer Custom
Cove G-Spot Custom
Salsa Ala Carte Custom
Transition Preston FR Custom
Another Transition Preston Custom
Intense Tracer Custom
Intense Uzzi VPX
Dekerf Implant Custom SS
Transition Vagrant
Transition Gran Mal
Transition DirtBag
Transition Trail or Park
Ventana El Salt Coming soon...

The moral of the story is, having the most toys doesn't make you the best rider!


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## Hangtime (Jan 25, 2006)

BMX Days
1980 Norco BMX w/Skyway Tuff Wheels
1982 Kuwahara Laser lite BMX 

Mountain Bikes
1988 Trek 820 Antilope
1992 Rocky Mountain Blizzard
2005 Turner Five Spot


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2006)

*Thank you my old friends*

1989: Bridgestone MB3 Loved it.
1992: Bridgestone MB2, Suntour Pro, Had to have it.
1995: GT Zaskar, XT and a Mag 21. Gotta try it. Da Bomb!
1998: Broke GT Zaskar frame & scored a buyer for the old kit. Leaving me with a complete new & shinny.... Zaskar
2001: Waterford 2400. Love of my life hardtail. Lucky, road many other bikes many times just didn't have to buy them. Dumb luck.
2006: Ordering Yeti, ASR-SL / 575, TBD Got bike fever and can't wait....

Good times. Good times on each and every bike, broken bits and pieces, and broken bones included.


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## mud'n'sweat (Feb 16, 2006)

My first "Mtn. Bike" was an '87 Schwinn Frontier. Before the days of ANY suspension. Old steel rigid with the old school shift levers.


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## surlyVEE (Jan 26, 2004)

Pretty cool seeing everyone's personal bike history!

Started on a red BMX bike from Consumers (any Canadians out there remember this place?) - rode that everywhere...

I wanted a Sears brand MTB, but my Dad (Mr. Quality) insisted I go to a shop and so we bought a lower end Raleigh MTB - the alloy rims were huge improvements in speed (thanx Dad). That got stolen and so we bought another Raleigh with clicking six-speed shifters (upgrade!) and this is the bike I really began riding offroad on, way too big for me, but what did I know - I was 15, rode in jeans, Metallica tees and ballcap. 

First real MTB was a black with neon green splatters Cannondale SM700, first gen Shimano push button shifters (the push-push kind), Ritchey Logic fork, 7-spd, bought on closeout in 1991 after much reasearch (still have vintage MBA's) - loved that bike, explored the local woods, raced on it, later commuted on it when I moved to Toronto - too many memories big and small connected to that ride - stolen in 2000 (grrr)

Now I ride a Surly 1x1, bought on impulse a few years ago, but I also have a Trek touring bike (eBay!) and lower end Bianchi - both are vintage I guess - from 1993 and both are lugged steel - before that became chi chi.

Here's a pic of the Cdale from the web (not mine - too big)



Thanks for reading and keep on posting those histories!


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## Radney (Mar 30, 2006)

The first thing that got me on the dirt was a Huffy Diesel. I grew up working on bikes so I had a oversized front sprocket so I could go faster than the other kids. I found some abandon 4-wheeler trails in a large field so I built some ramps. I soon realized that street tires didn't work in sand (it flooded there sometimes) so I put on tires that looked exactly like the ones you would see on a motorcycle. It was a lot of fun. My first mountain bike adventure was on a Mongoose DXR (a wal-mart bike) and it held up except for the last day. This ride lasted for a week. I had my right grip shifter break on me. That was 3 years ago and just last week I purchased a Giant Yukon. I've already gotten my first flat, but I haven't changed it yet. I've been sick and I'm just now getting over it. I also have a test tomorrow so I haven't had any time to ride. Tomorrow will be a different story!


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## cmeride (Sep 10, 2004)

1992 Giant atx 860 w/ upgraded Rock Shock XC and the Kooka cranks that had the rainbow affect on them, i swear the the bike shop was tyring to push all that colored ano. parts that were so huge back then. Still have the frame today. You know back then, all my friends ( inculding myself ) were drooling over that Trek Y . Huh...anyways, then in 98 i got an Intense Uzzi Sl. Great bike, beat the hell out of it...then in 2004 got a Foes Inferno and yesterday I just picked up a Foes FXR. Whew...I think im done, for now.


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## Crank'nStein (Jan 23, 2006)

*'been forever it seems like*

Of course we all rode our pre- bmx bikes back in the '60's. Stripped off those banana seats for a nice sadle, moto grips, about 20 paint jobs......First real MTB was 1983 Schwinn Sierra, double crankset with 14-38 freewheel, riser bars.... what a blast.

Latest is a 2006 Titus Motolite under construction.... can't wait to ride it!!


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## Robt500 (Apr 10, 2009)

First bike Mongoose Expert. It was stolen.:madmax: First mtb Diamond Back (when it was still two words) Sorrento, rigid. Actually rode it for awhile and have replaced the rear derailer a couple times and upgraded the wheels. Still in the garage with original biopace cranks. Yes.


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## dana109 (Jul 15, 2008)

my first mountainbike was a 2000 Specialized Rockhopper. It was stolen after 2 years. I learned a lot on that bike but I was in university and I didn't have enough money to replace it. I bought a 2008 Rocky Mountain Fusion last year and I guess that was the first bike that really really made me passionate about biking an that I really improved on.


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## nagatahawk (Jun 20, 2007)

I came from road bikes and always rode the drops. My First mt. bike was:
1986 Gary Fisher Hoo Koo Eku, no suspension. bent the forks on this bike a couple of times. 
2004 NRS carbon. first time on single track. 

It's taken a while to unlearn my many years of roadie style riding.


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## Hollis (Dec 19, 2003)

just scanned a pic
1997 Gary Fisher Mamba with a Rock shox & Shimano Alivio 
Paid $450 and I had to buy it on Lay-A-Way


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## Trail Traveler (Mar 10, 2009)

1991 Diamond Back Sorrento. It was my first mtb as well as my first "bike shop bike".


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## Dirt Bringer (May 10, 2006)

2001 trek 4300. The old thing soldiers on as my old mans mtn bike, after some upgrading on my part.


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## q_at96 (Feb 22, 2006)

1984 Raleigh "Grand Teton" 15speed 2 sizes too big...

Cheers,
Q


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## Bulldozer (Jan 14, 2004)

Holy three year-old thread Batman! 

1996 Giant ATX 970 and it was bright yellow. Yellow is faster than any other color.


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## thomasali (Nov 13, 2004)

*2002 Giant Terrago*

Deore bits, 75mm travel suntour xcr fork and 27gears! It felt so fast and comfortable compared to my old bmx that I had been riding for 4 years (before I saw the light!) still got the old frame. Have 10 bikes now all totally that are all insanely specced (Chris King,Thomson, custom Ti stuff.... etc) I have come a long way since then!


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## yangpei (Apr 18, 2004)

I started mountain biking in 1993 with a '93 Cannondale M700 with the Pepperoni fork. That bike was a blast to ride, but was a really stiff ride. I found a pic of a '93 M700 (not mine, but it looks just like my bike did except my bike was set up with a rear derailleur and gears).


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## rbrsddn (Dec 3, 2006)

1991 DB Axis. Day Glo Orange.


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## nuck_chorris (Jun 6, 2008)

1998 haro del sol WOMANS bike.... im so ashamed *sob sob*


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## yourideit (Jan 18, 2009)

1986 i had enough money saved up to get a trek road bike. that's the bike that really got me started. in 88 i got a gt avalanch and have been in love with mountain bikes ever since. i think those dates are about right.


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## GPRider08 (Aug 22, 2008)

Wow, now I feel like my old bike wasn't that old... I started last year on a 1995 Specialized Sportrock, complete with thumb shifters and Altus drivetrain. My parents got it for me as a kid, but I didn't actually take it off-road until last year. Just didn't know what I had until too late.


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## desertking (Apr 9, 2009)

Stingray (stolen)
unidentified bike-sold it 
Montgomery Ward 10 speed-loved it, broke the frame
Raleigh Supersport-loved it (stolen)
17 year hiatus
Giant Rincon-gave it away
Gary Fisher Excalibur-gave it away
Litespeed Lookout Mtn.-smashed by a Cadillac
Redline Flight-on the way


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## Dazed (Feb 7, 2004)

Ah. I'll play! Not listing kids bikes, hybrids, road bikes or anything but mountain bikes:

It started with a DBS (Norwegian brand) Offroad 500 five speed citybike/MTB with drum brakes and a Sachs Huret derailleur that I converted to a 15 speed. This was about 1986, I guess. I must admit I didn't use that boat anchor on trails. In the fall of 1989 I got my first proper mountain bike, a 1990 Fisher Montare with a DX group, and it went on from there:

-1990 Fisher Montare
-1991 Alpinestars Al-Mega XT
-1991 Anlen Supermontare
-1992 Fisher Paragon
-1993 Anlen Sable
-1994 Wilier Ritchey Logic WCS
-1995 (?) Kästle 3.5 
-1997 Sintesi Fuego
-2000 Sintesi X-Wing
-2003 Sintesi Moab
-2005 Sintesi Slickrock
-2006 Haro Zero Eight
-2007 Ventana El Ciclòn
-2008 Banshee Viento
-2008 Haro Mary SS 

I still have the last three. Some of these were just "commuters", and I've more often than not had more then one at the same time, but there they are. I think that's all of them.


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## smokechaser (Jun 25, 2006)

1985 Rockhopper. I still have it.
Wouldn't part with that bike for nothing.


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## rabidchicken (Apr 16, 2009)

1993 Trek 800 Antelope.


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## Duke of Earl (Apr 29, 2008)

A 1988 Miyata but I do not recall the model name. It was a fabulous bike with alloy main tubes and stays with an alloy fork, XT top mounts and the standard gearing of the day (48/38/28 with a six speed cluster, if I remember correctly). The main tubes were bonded to alloy lugs while the seatstays were bolted to the seat cluster and the chainstays were bonded to the BB lug. The ride was nice but the paint job was the coolest. Had a red fork, polished main tubes and blue rear triangle. That thing was the bomb! Rode it all over the front range until the next bike. 

Sorry for the lack of specific details but not only have a lot of bikes come and go since then but a lot of things have passed between my ears that makes the recall a little blurry  . I do wish I had the foresight back then to take a picture of it! I miss that bike, actually, lots of good times were had on it!


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## AustinShredman (Aug 17, 2008)

1997 Specialized FSR Ground Control, 747 clipless, WTB Kevlar seat, hell~bent riser bars, turbocat headlight. What a great ride!


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## Cayenne_Pepa (Dec 18, 2007)

1996 Specialized Rockhopper A1 FS. Rode it three times, and traded it for a $50 sack of meth. I never touched a bike again until I got into rehab, in 2006. The bike that got me hooked again, was a 2004 Gary Fisher Zebrano comfort/hybrid. I put knobbies on it and hasn't stopped riding since. My current steed is a 19-pound 2005 Cannondale XC race bike. 

The bike helped me lose my post-rehab layer of fat, to the tune of 70 pounds. When 25-year old women start noticing a 45-year-old man...I now realize I'm riding for life!


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## ikarus189 (May 11, 2008)

1993 Specialized Hard Rock Sport.


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## Luigiugueto (Oct 16, 2007)

My first mountain bike I got at about 9, It was a Marin Hawk Hill. My dad was a XC racer so I got to ride A LOT and my bike got completely upgraded with some pretty expensive parts. I still have it here in my place (I'm 18) and my brother still uses it, it's still riding strong. Then I got a Schwinn Moab 3, to which I passed a couple of parts from the Marin and got to race it a couple of times, went strong ´till october 2007(well, it still is), when I got my Jamis Dakar XAM 1.0 (my current bike). 
Before the Marin I had a Huffy at about age 4 and then my first Walmart mountain bike at about age 6. Most of the bikes are still here, i've passed them on to my brothers, the Huffy and the Walmart MTB I've donated to poor children.


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## BikeMedic (Sep 30, 2008)

I remember as a kid getting Huffys and what not.
They were named mountain bikes, but never saw anything more than the gravel.

my First real bike was the 2009 Trek 4300 w/ Disc.

I still have it along side my new 2009 Trek Fuel EX 8


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## sgtgeo (Feb 18, 2009)

Early 90's Specialized Rockhopper

Put a Trek DS2 suspension fork on it. Remember this was VERY early for suspension. The fork actually got lots of attention. I probably paid more for the fork then the bike


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## dances_on_pedals (Sep 17, 2004)

*Don't recall the name...*

but it was black with a long banana seat and had a cowboy on a bucking bronco painted on a plastic yellow gas tank. A few years later, 1981, I think, I got a Mongoose BMX bike for Christmas and I sold the cowboy bike at a garage sale for $15. F*cking Stupid. I'd give anything to have it back.


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## New World Man (Jun 21, 2008)




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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

I had a 86'Lee world mountain-sport 18 spd full Sr suntour kit...... I still have the frame!


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## callmetheNewGuy (May 19, 2008)

ugh do you really want to know? 2001 Mongoose XR-150, the epitome of walmart shat. quite literally rode that thing to pieces. durable frame, but all the components (especially the shimano stuff) were worth their weight in dirt. learned a lot on that bike, mostly the basics about brakin/turning/shifting weight/climbing/dh'ing/jumpin'...

now i ride the bikes in my sig.


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## mtnbici (Nov 10, 2008)

I think it was 1990 and my first MTB was a Specialized Hardrock Sport. It came with Suntour index shifters and my thumbs still pop because of those things. I rode 100's of miles on that bike. The frame is still in the garage. Good times.


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## bullzeye (Aug 2, 2005)

I started in 1979 with a Huffy BMX ( if you could call it that)... Yellow frame and pads, and YELLOW tires... Various other BMXers for the next 10 years.
1987 A steel Montagna with 15!! speeds, friction shifters, and U-brakes. Fully rigid of course. First bike with 26 inch wheels. Cracked the frame at Emma Long Park in Austin 
1991 - A GT something, can't remember the name, but it was a good bike.
1995 - Cannondale Caad 3... still have it, still ride it!
2001 - Seven Cycles Sola... still ride this one alot
2006 - Titus Racer X - Love it!!!


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## 4mula1 (Oct 31, 2008)

My first MTB was a 1993 Trek 800 Antelope. 20" frame IIRC. The frame was fine for the road, but a bit big for the trail. My brother also had an 800 but picked up a Jamis Explorer XR later in the season and loved it. I rode it and liked it, especially the 17.5" frame. Our LBS only had two, he got the funky pale purple, mine's the exquisite bordeaux.

The first major change was the addition of a Rock Shox Mag 21, but that created a weight problem. After that I started buying a lot of new components to take weight off. What started at 25lbs grew to 28, and came back down to 25.

I had a hiatus from riding of 14 years, you know, those awkward years where you go to college, meet a girl, get married, and unleash your spawn unto man. When my daughter was old enough to ride (with training wheels) we rode the local greenway which cuts through where I used to ride. The first piece of singletrack I saw made me curious as to where it went, because there were a lot of trails made after I stopped riding. That was the bug that bit me and got me back out on the trusty Explorer.

Now my daughter is is training wheel free and riding the trails with me. Life is good.


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## pointerDixie214 (Feb 10, 2009)

2009 Trek 3900

Still riding it and loving it. Not the fanciest rig on the trail, but she gets the job done.


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## Zoke2 (Nov 16, 2007)

1988 Peugeot St Laurent ... it has 6 speed index shifting on the rear and friction shifting for the front ... and yes I still have it


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## BCTXFool (May 16, 2009)

Started w the one I ride now, as far as mountain bikes go.. Had several bmx bikes growing up, from cheap-o's (Huffy, and some no names), a Diamond Back built from frame up, to a real nice shop bought Haro racing bike (best one I had).

Im on a cheap Supercycle (Canadian Tire special) "Burner" (lol) now, but am workin on gettin somethin better.. Got a nice new full suspension frame, for FREE, so cant wait to get the up and runnin'.... and no I didnt steal it.  

Just getting into this sort of riding.. Wish it would stop raining so I could take my neighbors Haro out.. He wants me to test ride, so I gotta take him up on that. I havent been on anything nice, yet.. Same dude just gave me that full suspension frame / handlebars for FREE.. Just met this new neighbor, and likin the dude a lot. What a dude.

I have a riding junkie itch.


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## bobdole (Mar 13, 2008)

I had a gary fisher HT for about 10 years (still have it in fact, thinking about putting some "road" parts on it and making it a high speed bike). a year ago I upgraded to a Prophet. Horreh Crap what a world of difference.


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## Mike E (Apr 16, 2008)

2nd hand 1990 Spec. Hardrock fully rigid. Rode that thing everywhere and beat the sh!t out of it. Then it got stolen and I didn't get another for 9 years. Now I'm on a Fisher Tassajara but looking to get an Ibis Mojo


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## BeanMan (Jul 6, 2006)

1984 Specialized Rockhopper. Man I loved that bike.


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## SnowMongoose (Feb 18, 2007)

Caught the bug and jumped right from borrowing my stepmoms trek
(one of the few upsides of not having been full grown at that point)
onto a brand-spanking used Speccy Ground Control.

Whopping two inches of travel in the back, straight up elastomers in the front, so extra squishy in the summer, no travel in the winter...
loved that bike!


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## BCTXFool (May 16, 2009)

Ok, I either deleted my own post, by going to my email and unsubscribing to this thread (tried that so I wouldnt get an email every time someone posts in a every single thread I post in...), leading to deleting my post... Or, I accidentally said a cuss word or somethin, and my post got deleted.. If thats the case, sorry 'bout that, Im new here and didnt use my head (cant remember if I wrote anything, or not... ..and not sure how serious that is on here... Hopefully someone can / will let me know).



I dont really feel like going into detail, since I wrote quite a bit earlier, already, and its gone, so I'll just say, I ride a piece of crap bike, right now, but, a new neighbor / probable friend has given me a full suspension frame and handlebars, plus some more parts, and says he'll put it together for me, mainly using parts from my "Supercycle". I cant wait to ride that, and eventually switch out other parts to better suit me..

This crappy one is the 1st mountain bike Ive had / ridden. Its a "full suspension" thats really not a full suspension, pretty much.. lol ..It has a rear shock thing that I assume is just for looks, considering the beginner level full suspensions that Ive seen are at least 14 - 1800 dollars... This one was bought new @ like 200 bucks.. I got it for 20 bucks, originally, then the dude just said, "man, just give me a ride (in our car) to my dads and its yours...", so I definitely didnt lose on the situation.. It gets me around, although sort of bouncy, but has turned me onto mountain biking, with a dopefiendish itch. The new bike is gonna make me like it even more, cant wait.


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## mtnbiker-x (Apr 24, 2009)

My first mtn bike was I think an 84 maybe 85 Schwinn High Sierra. Then a Specialized Rock Hopper with bio pace chainrings.


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## Mr Cabletwitch (Apr 16, 2009)

fanghasyou said:


> 1999 Giant Eddie Bauer. Wow, an Eddie edition bike, im so cool. Parents got it for me, my first non-walmart mtb. It'd did good. NIce italic eddie bauer logo across the down tube. Rockshox Jetts, full Alivio drivetrain. I still have it as my downtown commuter, the thing can take a beating, all original parts including tires except for the brake pads. My current rig prolly costs almost 10 times as much but my heart is always with the eddie.


Same Bike here. Mine was red and black, my buddy had a purple and silver one. I rode mine for a couple months and upgraded to a Schwinn Moab, but my buddy rode his for 1.5 seasons and it never let him down.


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## AdamD79 (Apr 12, 2006)

1985 - Grifter - crazy heavy beast - Stoke woods, Exeter Devon, England
1986 - Road bike - why, why, why???
1988 - Schwinn HT - riding woods in Wet Virginia
1990 - Red steel no name HT - riding trails in SW England - I wanted to be John Tomac & the GT RTS 1...
1993 - Steel Mongoose HT - bent 2 sets of forks on dirt jumps!! - SW England
1994 - Steel HT GT Tequesta - converted into commuter when lived in London
2005 - Iron Horse FS - Riding trails in So Cal
2006 - Giant Reign 1 - AM/ FR/ DH riding in So Cal
2007 - Trek Session 10 - DH/ FR riding in So Cal
2009 - Iron Horse 7.5 - Gonna try it out after work today on a shuttle run...
2009 - Black Market Mob - test riding this in Santa Cruz/ Aptos this weekend, hopefully won't break the forks!


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## kawsakimx6 (Apr 20, 2006)

I had No wait, have my old Trek 4500 (1998)


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## onbelaydave (May 10, 2006)

I was riding my old SS on ST trails in the 60's. I won a road race on my 3 speed competing against 10 speed riders in '72. 

Short story, I've riddin all of my bikes off pavement/ on singletrack since the 60's. MTB'ng has been around for longer than you think


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## mikeridesabike (Feb 16, 2009)

*1987 Bianchi Grizzly*

Paid $425 for it at the time. This thing had under the chainstay Roller-Cam brakes, which I am convinced are the worst invention ever. They attracted mud like flies to poop. No idea what components were on it. Some Shimano stuff I suppose. Did a lot of great rides on that bike.


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## jabbercycle (Apr 24, 2009)

Dad's knee.


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## RiceKilla (Apr 21, 2008)

I first jabbed at MTB'ing a few years ago with a buddy cannondale m200, did it twice was kinda hooked, knew I liked it. Never bought a bike until a year ago.

My first MTB - Spesh HRXC Disc









Current one - Turner 5 Spot, and man this thing since day one has made me a better rider.


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## SLOboy (Apr 6, 2006)

Started Mtb in 04 on a 2005 Hardrock Sport. Rode it for 3 years before upgrading to a trance X2 in 2008.


Started seriously riding in 1999 on a Mongoose Expert Comp bmx race bike. Then upgraded to an S&M Sabbath for street and park riding, got into way too much trouble on those bikes...

Just pulled all the upgrades and parts off the hardrock in order to build a Sette Shadow jump bike as a single speed. Like bmx for big kids


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## motoxkfx123 (Apr 28, 2009)

My first bike was a trek 4300 i rode the heck out of it loved it to death with the crap rst front shock and a bent crank but at the time that was all i had and i could not go with out ridding finely got a new one. Titus ML-1 YEA!!!!!!


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