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Your first "real" bike

jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
86,058
24,587
media blackout
CHepler said:
Stock Mongoose 1979
Bought it that day raced it that night. Rockin' reflectors and an open face. That was the start of spending everything I made on my paper route for years to come.




my buddies falcon and the bike shop van in the backgroud
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nice. nothing beats getting a brand new bike then immediately thrashing it.

when I got my Xprezo last year, as soon as I was done building it, I went straight from the factory to opening day at Bromont.
 
Quo Fan

Quo Fan

don't make me kick your ass
Mar 31, 2006
5,909
36
Here. I'm just not sure where "here" is.
First "real" mountain bike was a 1997 Marin Bolinas Ridge. Fully rigid, cantilever brakes, low end Shimano drivetrain. Swapped out the fork with a Rock Shox Indy XC, LX cranks and rear derailer.

Got worse from there. I'm about 10 bikes past that now, of which I still have 4.
 
buildyourown

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
My dad went to a bike swap one year w/o me and brought home a used Trek 990, with full XT. Highest end steel bike Trek made. Made in Wisconsin with proprietary lugs.
I paid him $5/week in paper route money to buy the thing. I was about 14.

It ended up in the scrap bin because I ovalized the headtube. Should have never let it go. It was an easy fix with the proper tools.
 
Leppah

Leppah

Turbo Monkey
Mar 12, 2008
2,294
3
Utar
I got some weird haro that had gray tires and front suspension. It was a 1995 or 1996 bike. No idea what it model it was.
 
johnbryanpeters

johnbryanpeters

Hero
Sep 27, 2001
36,126
16,592
Making moss sad in New Haven, Vermont
buildyourown said:
My dad went to a bike swap one year w/o me and brought home a used Trek 990, with full XT. Highest end steel bike Trek made. Made in Wisconsin with proprietary lugs.
I paid him $5/week in paper route money to buy the thing. I was about 14.

It ended up in the scrap bin because I ovalized the headtube. Should have never let it go. It was an easy fix with the proper tools.
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How does one properly repair an ovalized headtube? I have a bike I would very much like to rescue.
 
buildyourown

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
johnbryanpeters said:
How does one properly repair an ovalized headtube? I have a bike I would very much like to rescue.
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Fill the low spot with bronze filler, and ream/face. It ruins the paint, but it will be as good as new. Steel only of course. Works for BB threads too.

If the frame is alum, epoxy in a King Steelset. It will never come out, but it will never need to.
 
loco-gringo

loco-gringo

Crusading Clamp Monkey
Sep 27, 2006
8,887
14
Deep in the heart of TEXAS
Jim Mac said:
Mine was more basic than this one - 1 piece crank, etc. But I did feel "awesome" as I had ACS hubs built up on composite rims. Looked cool , braked like crap! Sold it for cash towards my 1st car - and by doing so, it became one of my many regrets of selling off my childhood piece by piece.
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I want some Z rims so badly I can taste it.
 
hydro422

hydro422

Chimp
May 15, 2007
68
1
Ogden City
My first real bmx bike was 97 Dyno Zone, only I put Spin 5 spoke Thugs on it. 4 pegs, front and rear brakes.

Didn't start riding a big bike untill 2003, Watched "Down" and immediately went to LBS and bought this.
 
maddog17

maddog17

Turbo Monkey
Jan 20, 2008
2,817
106
Methuen, Mass. U.S.A.
i started BMX racing in the early 80's. first real BMX was a Race Inc. then i moved to a Red Line Pro Line II. i got the roadie bug after watching Lemond win the '89 TdF. bought a Centurion roadie. used/raced that for a year then bought my Concorde Squadra and then my Wojcik roadie. my first MTB was a Bridgestone MB-3 hardtail. my first FS was my Northface (re branded Ironhorse Hollowpoint). now i have my Diamonback Sortie 3 and in the process of building out my Spooky Darkside. no more road bikes right now. i'd like to get one built out of Columbus Max tubing since it's come back onto the market in small qty.
 
J

jasride

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2006
1,069
5
PA
rode bmx til about 1992. didn't ride again until 2001 when I was introduced to mountain bikes through a local bike shop and picked this bad boy up to commute back and forth to work cuz I didn't have a drivers license for a few years. been riding ever since. This thing went with me daily 7 miles a day for 5 years straight even through some pretty sh***y weather. Might not seem like much of a distance to some but it made me feel good at the time while I was battling some personal demons. Still have her today and yeah it had a post and seat when it was in action. The lame ass fatty head shock failed with in a year and stayed in a compressed position since. The bike shop couldn't even figure out how to get the fork out of the head tube so after a few times taking it there I just said eff fit and rode it like is. locked out and compressed. haha

 
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eric strt6

eric strt6

Resident Curmudgeon
Sep 8, 2001
23,352
13,650
directly above the center of the earth
well back in 1960 I got a Schwinn Typhoon that I rode everywhere in in town and on trails

then came the stingray in 1967 complete with the 5 speed stick shift , banana seat and Butterflly bars

followed by assorted 10 speeds

but what really hooked me was buying a custom Colnago road bike in 1980 and starting racing, C record, Mavic Gp 4 rims on record hubs, Sew ups mine was blue


Then Mountain bikes came out in the mid 80's and I bought a fully rigid Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo with friction Thumb shifters, V brake up front, U brake under the chain stays in the back. The tires were 1.5s and the frame was true temper steel.
I was hooked rode that damn bike until 98 when I bought a Specialized FSR Then a Schwinn 4 Banger and now todays Sette Flight and my 2003 Colnago Master Light X road bike....

oh crap I guess I have been riding continuously for 50 years
 
Wumpus

Wumpus

makes avatars better
Dec 25, 2003
8,161
153
Six Shooter Junction
My first BMX bike was an early 80s Mongoose replaced with a Redline PL-20.

First mountain bike was in 1989 -- Specialized Stumpjumper Comp w/ Deore XT -- indexed thumbshifters, cantis, rigid fork, BIOPACE

Like this except black:

 
J

jwhcowan

Chimp
Jan 14, 2011
7
0
Oh the horror. After really getting into mountain biking on a KHS rigid in 93, I bought the Proflex Animal DH in 96. With dual suspension and magura hydraulic brakes it sounded pretty good. But MCU shocks and a J-path fork with noodles for legs soon showed its limitations.

Over the years I upgraded the MCU's to Noleen coils and put a z1 bomber on. Luckily 3 years later I cracked the frame and was finally rid of it.

This is not my bike (but same model), I did not get the optional HED rims.

 
Demomonkey

Demomonkey

Monkey
Apr 27, 2005
857
0
Auckland New Zealand
1995 Specialized Rock Hopper with various Specialized components including the Future Shock fork which blew up after a few too many hucks (read 4') to flat.

1997 Santa Cruz Heckler with 4" of falling rate suspension and mix of Deore, XT, Sun Ringle, Azonic bar and an original Nuke Proof stem was my first real bike. Took it to BC in 1999 and was introduced to the "Shore". Jesus I crapped myself on the first day but came back to NZ a year later a much better rider. Bike was rooted though.
 
jimmydean

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
41,266
13,383
Portland, OR
stevew said:
was this before the twin top tube torker frames?
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It was about the same time. 1978 was the year I got the R&R, built it up light as hell. It had about a 10" seat tube with crazy standover clearance.

I remember seeing the Torkers in the shop with the cool top tube pad.

<edit> Did the torker use the same single bar for top, seat stay, and chain stay? I forget if it was a loop tail frame or not.

<edit2>
Nope, but same year I think.

 
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jet

jet

Monkey
Jun 10, 2002
856
0
Woodstock GA- I'm half drunk and on a roll...
This was my first bike in 1974. I rode this thing for about 8 hours one day on my patio in figure 8's for about six hours. When I fell down, I felt like I was falling out of the sky.

After that i had a Murray chopper, Huffy Thunder Road, A "goose something or other", a Ross MTB, Motobecane, 2nd year Pepto pink C'Dale (still own).
'96 got a GT and did a race and got hooked. After that, got a Rotec hardtail (1of 4) slalom, Rotec DH (hindsight-not a good purchase-but fun), then a bunch of specialized.
 
insanitylevel9

insanitylevel9

triple nubby
Jan 7, 2011
2,001
5
hopkinton ma
some old 24 inch special-ed i pulled off a dumpster in 5th grade, missed the bus for that bike and it was totally worth it. i beat the living **** out of that bike 3 wheel sets in one summer(no joke my parents were ready to kill me). my friends and i would spend all day jumping over rows of stuff of our little wood ramp. i never had a pic of it so i cant post one sorry.
 
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