GOOD OLD DAZE

ANTHONY DE HEVENINGHAM INVITES YOU TO BURN YOUR BONTRAGERS, STAMP ON YOUR SCHWINNS AND CHUCK OUT YOUR CUNNINGHAMS. THE TIME FOR RETRO IS NOW.

WORDS BY ANTHONY DE HEVENINGHAM

Every few years mountain biking seems to be gripped by retro fever, whether it’s updated lookalikes of classic bikes, in-depth magazine articles, or Facebook groups full of pictures of mushroom-hatted riders jumping out of the bomb hole at the Malverns Classic. One of the things I like about this particular point in human history is how accessible the past is. I love exploring the culture of years gone by, cackling over kitschy vintage adverts, watching films where the thrills are provided by unconvincing stop-motion animation rather than unconvincing CGI. My living room is dominated by a stack of dogeared vinyl. But as far as I’m concerned, the endless reminiscences about Flexstems and pictures of Paul’s Components rasta mechs can do one.