Sanny dusts down his old ‘90s race bike and takes on the quintessential Peaks route. Was the bike as good as he remembers, or is it a case of distance lending enchantment?

WORDS SANNY PHOTOGRAPHY MARK

UK ADVENTURE

Cast your mind back. What was your first mountain bike? Mine was a Raleigh Maverick in a deep burgundy colour. With fifteen of Sach’s finest Rival gears, Weinmann alloy rims, riser bars and a stubby BMX stem, I thought it was the absolute business… right until I broke it after many happy rides. By the time I came to replace it with quite possibly the best twenty-first birthday pressie ever, an Orange Prestige with full Suntour XC Comp groupset, the mountain biking landscape had changed dramatically. Developments and innovation were firmly aligned with the burgeoning race scene. Stems got longer, frames and equipment got lighter almost to the point of fragility (hard to imagine that the idea of drilling out cranks to save weight seemed like a good idea), while a whole raft of small companies got in on the act with ever more blingy and, of course, expensive parts. Looking back on that era from the comfort of my modern IKEA sofa, a thought occurred. With a burgeoning retro bike scene where the truly dedicated (or slightly deranged?) slavishly recreate classic bikes of the era, were the bikes actually any good?

Given how much technology and design has advanced, can one of the blingiest bikes of the ‘90s hold a candle to today’s machines? Or are we merely looking back with misty-eyed fondness to an era when we were making memories despite the bikes we were riding? Only one way to find out.

That’s a whole slab of retro, right there.

150mm Syncros tiller stem is so aero.

Grafton Speed Controllers!

Ringle hubs! Purple!

A classic bike demands a classic route.

But where to go and who to ride with? In order to do justice to my idea, I called upon the writings of one of the mountain bike guidebook writers of the era, Tim Woodcock. Chances are, if you read MBUK or MTB Pro back then, you would be familiar with his work. To say he was prolific would be an understatement. Through a series of books published by Wheelwright, Tim had you covered from the deep south of Dartmoor all the way up to the far reaches of Scotland.

Perusing through my collection, I hit upon the perfect route: Ladybower. Eighteen miles long with three big climbs, classic Peak District descents and big sky views, it jumped out from the page. Images of riders enjoying themselves in early evening sunshine on dry and dusty trails proved irresistible. As for the who, that was easy. Ask pretty much anyone of a certain vintage who the big name riders of the time were and you will almost certainly hear the name Nick Craig repeated over and over. When it comes to mountain biking, Nick could write the book. An Olympian, World Cup racer and multiple Three Peaks winner, Nick lived and raced through what many consider to be the golden era of our sport. Now working and riding for Scott (and still one of the fastest people on two wheels), his easy-going charm and good humour make for an excellent riding partner. A ride with Nick is always guaranteed to leave you with a big grin on your face.