Originally Posted by
davei1980
Yeah they have come a long way!
Older, steel MTBs are enjoying somewhat of a renaissance right now for a different reason: They're plentiful (they made a gazillion of them), inexpensive, made of steel (durable), have upright riding positions and clearance for very wide tires. For all these reasons they make GREAT city bikes with very few modifications (fenders, decent tires, etc). Crust makes a fork to convert these bikes to accept a 20" front wheel so that you can haul a decent amount of cargo (like an 18 gallon plastic tote) over the front wheel. I have a Peugeot Crazy Horse hanging in my garage, as we speak, just waiting for me to get bored enough to turn it in to exactly this!
Most definitely. I've ridden 80s/90s era rigid steel MTBs/ATBs for the majority of my adult riding career. You simply can't beat them as everyday all-rounders, particularly in a city. Put street tires on, fenders, a rack and a couple of Wald folding baskets and you're good to go. I put 10,000+ miles on an early 90s Mirada Sport over 15 years of urban commuting/errand running/recreational riding with only the occasional trail ride. My current Mirada is pushing 3000 miles under my ownership over the last 8 years. Had a second duplicate Mirada at the same time when my kids were younger with a child seat mounted and then later used with a tandem attachment. Had a 90s Raleigh too that was a super fun ride that I ended up selling last summer during the COVID bike boom.