Originally Posted by
Miradaman
Me too. I'd love to have a "real" mountain bike but I can't justify the cost, given I live in the flat Midwest and my old GT hardtail is perfectly adequate for all the local forest preserve singletrack...
Old MTBs are great but they are so short, if you get into ANY sort of technical descending, the longer wheelbase and slacker geometry of today's bikes makes a HUGE difference, you no longer get that "I'm going to endo!" sensation.
Add in dropper posts and better disc brakes and today's bikes are so much safer and more capable, it's worth the jump. I ride a rigid MTB and I would put it against any full suspension bike made 20 years ago.