Originally Posted by c0rbin9

Any thoughts on early vs. late rigid MTB geometry? The shift to more aggressive angles came about in 1987 or so, when you started seeing bikes built for racing with really long top tubes. At first glance it seems like the earlier more relaxed geometry would be better for the kind of general purpose riding most do on vintage mountain bikes these days. On the flip side, the later bikes are often significantly lighter with heat treated and thin-walled steel frames... arguably some of the nicest steel frames ever produced. I have seen people complain about the stretched out riding position of the early 90s bikes... couldn't this be rectified with the right stem/handlebar setup? I'm wondering how something like an '85 Cimarron compares to a '93 Trek Singletrack 970.