coffeesnob

I'd love to have a mountain bike. I didn't realize how pricey they are.

Darth Lefty 

Well...

carlosponti

do you still have the cannondale M500? thats a mountain bike you know? ride what you got until you can afford more.

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...

davei1980

You can get a really capable brand-new hardtail for $800.

Also, this:

davei1980

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.

Miradaman

Indeed, I've rented several new MTBs over the last few years on trips out to CO. There's no comparison, you'd get killed taking my old GT on some of the trails I took those rental bikes on. Not to mention you'd never be able to do the ascents, you'd be walking up the whole way...

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!

Miradaman

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.

metz1295

I have a '95 M500. Depending on the year and the tier, he doesn't have a suspension fork. By today's naming conventions it would be considered a hybrid commuter or city bike. I still use mine, but only for slow paced family rides to the park or on a paved trail. I can related to his question as I just bought my first "real" mountain bike after being a roadie for the past 6 years.

prj71

Pick any hobby of sorts and good gear is going to cost a lot.

I have photography friends with $5000+ invested in equipment.

Fly fishing is one of my other hobbies. A good fly rod, reel and line alone will cost you about $800. That doesn't include waders which are $400-$800 and host of other miscellaneous equipment. I probably have close to $4000+ invested in fly fishing gear.

Ice fishing another hobby of mine...I easily have $3000+ invested in that.

If you like paddling...a kevlar canoe is $3000-$4000

It's not just limited to mountain biking.

gsa103

Go look at the videos of XC and DH World Cup runs from 1995-2005. Then compare those courses to a modern XC course is far far more technical than those older bikes were ever designed to handle. Most of those old World Cup courses would be greens on a modern trail map, some might get to blue.
There's really no comparison between and old bike and a modern bike with 5+" of suspension, massive hydraulic discs that you can brake with one finger, and 2.5in wide tires.