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I had an "Emelle" mountain bike, I would say I got it about the age of 10 in 1990 or thereabouts. I recall it having twelve gears (what's tha' need all them for, I've always managed with my "Sturmey Archer", three's more than enough! - or words to that effect were uttered by my dad). These were the early days of the "thumb switch" type gears, and weren't set to click into place, so you would just move the switch slightly, otherwise clumsy gearchanges often ensued (on more than one occasion I was dismounted after thinking I had engaged gear and proceeded to stand on the pedals to gain momentum, before the sodding thing would jump a tooth and launch me at the scenery!). Other friends around that time had Raleigh Mountain bikes, the one many had featured a green and black paintjob, and was known as the "Raleigh Lizard".
These types of bikes seemed to have a limited shelf life - the gears and brakes in particular seemed fragile, and most of my friends bikes ended up being stuck in gear or nicked (although the "must-have" accessory back then was the supposed unbreakable "D-Lock"). I also thought the "off the shelf" stuff (i.e. Apollo, Raleigh, Emelle etc.) was very heavy and found them quite hard work to ride, especially uphill (bit ironic given they were dubbed "Mountain Bikes") or into a headwind. I eventually got some sort of Raleigh (a "Marauder" I think the name was), before trading up to motorised two-wheel transport in 1996.
Emmelle. That brings back memories. Cheap and crummy bikes with no street cred that would disintegrate under force if ridden off road. I have a feeling that they were a catalogue brand or sold in department stores. There was an even worse brand sold in Toys R Us but I've forgotten what they were called.
The number of gears on your bike was a status symbol for kids back in the 1990s until the revival of BMX towards the end of the decade. I can remember kids at school triumphantly boasting about how they have now moved up to a bike with (5) gears which was then repeated when they moved up to a bike with (15 / 18) gears and two shifters.
Raleigh Max with 20 inch wheels. The first Raleigh kids bike with a twist-grip gear shifter.
The Raleigh Max was a massive range of kids and adult bikes manufactured from the late 1990s to the early 2000s characterised by frames made out of oversized tubing.
Raleigh Extreme. A Raleigh Mustang with fluorescent paint and plastic wheel covers. It was the cool kids bike of the early 1990s but the plastic wheel covers caused the bike to handle dangerously in strong wind. They were also available in fluorescent purple and I vaguely remember that there was a girls version.
Raleigh Extreme. A Raleigh Mustang with fluorescent paint and plastic wheel covers. It was the cool kids bike of the early 1990s but the plastic wheel covers caused the bike to handle dangerously in strong wind. They were also available in fluorescent purple and I vaguely remember that there was a girls version.
I discovered more information about the Sonic bike in #8 from the Brian Mills Autumn Winter 1994 / 1995 catalogue. It was made by Diamondback and had 5 speed SIS gears. The description reads "Futuristic design with tough ABS technology used on the cladding to frames and forks", and the price was £155.48.
The helmet and Sonic Cyber glove must be super rare items.
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