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.
I worked in the biz in the era you're talking about and I'm still riding a 1987 Schwinn Cimarron as my primary mountain bike. Let it be said I'm not tall, so my impressions are of the smaller sized bikes, like 17" or 18". Larger frames may vary.
The 71/73 bikes with the 16.9 chainstays (which was pretty much everything from 1988 on) all seemed to push the front end in corners as initially set up. The usual fix, if someone cared about it, was a longer/lower stem to put a bit more weight on the front wheel. Bontrager's original rigid fork proposed to do the same thing by having a bit less offset (rake) which had the side benefit of increasing trail for stability. The stem fix obviously only worked when it was also something the rider needed to fit the bike. We sold a decent amount of 150mm Tioga T-Bones.
What I knew on the Cimarron was that I was always the first one down the hill. If my friends with their 'modern' bikes would wait for me at the top of the hill, I'd wait for them at the bottom.
In 1992 I had a sponsorship deal (skinny tire racing) that included a weekly massage. My masseuse was talking about riding with her friends. "I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm always waiting for them at the bottom of the hill." "
What kind of bike are you riding?" "Oh, it's an old Schwinn." "
Is it red?" She also had a 1987 Cimarron, same size as mine.