Mountain Bikes

I've been mountain biking since I was about 16, but I started taking it a bit more seriously since I joined Nottingham Uni Cycling Club (NUBike) a couple of years ago. Since then I've been out to the Alps a few times, taken part in several 24 hour. races and four BUSA championships (cross country and downhill). I guess I'm slightly unusual in that I wouldnt really call myself a cross country rider or a downhiller, I prefer to think of myself as just a mountain biker. At the end of the day its all just riding bikes.

My bikes

I ride a Santa Cruz Blur and an Orange 223. The Blur is an evolution of my old Orange EvO2, which died and went to heaven (well.... the San Francisco Bike Coalition anyway). Just before I left for the US I discovered I'd managed to ovalise the headtube, so I picked up a cheap as chips Kona Caldera frame in metallic orange. After many, many years of riding bikes which are too small for me (but a LOT of fun) I now have a bike which fits me properly - I love it. Fits like a glove and its definitely the prettiest bike I've owned. I decided it wasn't worth bringing the EvO2 frame back with me, so at the suggestion of a mate I donated it to the SF Bike Coalition who'll use it to teach kids to work on bikes.

My Patriot got stolen in March 2005 (RIP), but luckily it was insured and with a little of my own cash I've now upgraded to an Orange 223. The timing was good and bad really - I didn't really want to spend the money right, but at the same time I didn't really use the Patriot for XC anymore so a proper DH bike made a lot of sense.