luker

Sure, old steel road bikes are the catz pajamas. And ancient, crusty track bikes are fascinating, if unfathomable, and big ballooner bikes remind us of our childhood, but what about Mountain Bikes? Is anyone out there assembling a collection? Do you have an original Moots, or Ritchey with hand-rolled Bontrager wheels? Still have the bike that you won that NORBA National on?

We need to see 'em. Come on, don't be shy. Post us a picture of your vintage MTB.

number6

I will have to dig one up, have two mtb's. A Ritchey, resprayed looks normal with correct decals but its aquamarine, as my son says. Other is An Amp engineering B-2, not vintage yet just not sprung enough for today's desires.

wildjim

1993 Specialized Hardrock

It's the oldest Mountain bicycle I own. Is it vintage?

I purchased it for $20 but it was ridden honorably to near death. The BB spindle was grooved so that it was ready to break.

All the parts disassembled easily; which made it enjoyable to repair. So I completely disassembled it and greased all the bearings, stem and seat post.

The original headset seems to be in fine condition, easily adjustable and smooth turning.

I trued the original rear wheel straight but it required some uneven spoke tensioning and many of the spoke nipples were rusted and required replacement so I decided to replace the wheel instead.

It appears to have been kept indoors as the paint is chipped from usage but there is no rust inside the frame. The frame appears to be in good shape overall. The paint appears Blue and or Green depending on the lighting conditions.

I have replaced the Rear wheel, Seat post, Chain, Cables, BB, Freewheel, Handlebar grips and Pedals. The seat is torn at the edges but it's functional.

The price of restoration to this point is $112 in parts.

It rides smooth and quiet with a reborn spirit. . .

mswantak

By MTB standards, it's vintage. I presume you guys know about mtbr.com; I've been working with some guys there on some MTB decals, and they've got a big gallery section.

Poguemahone

Here's one for you lurker. 1984 Trek 850 MTB, reynolds 531 frame. Second year of Trek MTB production, I believe. Thrift store find for 25$.

nick burns

I have a 1985 Cannondale SM600 with the 26" front 24" back wheel setup and a 1987 Raleigh Mountain Tour. Both have been modified a bit, the Raleigh is my snow/ice bike, and I've kept all the original parts for the C'dale.

I try to get some photos up soon.

BobHufford

1984 Ritchey Mt. Tam (I no longer own this one)



More pics here:

https://www.geocities.com/myritchey/myritchey.html

1984 Fisher Everest (I no longer own this one either)



More pics here:

https://www.geocities.com/myfishermou.../myfisher.html

I sold them to pay some bills and buy this '86 Ritchey Commando (it basically was a free bike, or so I rationalized to my wife):



More pics here:

https://home.mchsi.com/~lhufford/86commando.html

I also have a pretty nice '87 Schwinn Cimarron that I recently took delivery of, but I haven't cleaned it up to take any pics of it. The tubing is ovalized and fillet-brazed at the headtube and lugged at the other junctures. Shimano XT components. Here is a quick and dirty that I just snapped:



More (and better) pics here:

https://home.mchsi.com/~lhufford/87cimm.html

The other oldie is a '91 Trek 990 (sorry -- no pics), but here is what it basically looks like. Lugged, True Temper OX, Shimano XT. I have a different rigid fork and different (silver) rings on it.

https://home.mchsi.com/~lhufford/990_page.jpg

Oh, and an NOS '87 Schwinn High Sierra frame built into a single speed townie (no pics of that right now either). It fillet-brazed at the front like the Cimarron, but TIG'd elsewhere instead of lugged.

Oh, wait -- an '84 Bridgestone MB-3.



I think that's it ...

Bob Hufford
Springfield, MO

luker

Wait! there's no such thing as an obsolete bike, is there? If a bike is obsolete now, will it still be obsolete when gasoline is $4 a quart?

chinitonorte

Fat Chance "Kicker" - 1985 (86?).

Huffer

What a fascinating thread! I'm amazed at the range of geometries, fork styles, tubing styles, etc. seen here so far. My amazement can be explained by my ignorance of most things MTB. I just learned that there was such a brand as Bridgestone and Miyata and Lotus and many others in recent months, so I look forward to furthering my education in this thread. It's interesting to see what passed for cutting-edge technology 15 and 20 years ago - and to know that it still works just as well today, in most cases.

luker

Patti's new (um, probably a '91) Klein Rascal. She plans to commute on it, thus the tires and the singlespeed. It weighs just a smidge under 19 lb. If I can get her to lose the gel saddle monstrosity, it'll weigh under 18 lb.

mollusk

I had a KHS Montana Pro until late 1994 when I broke the drive-side rear dropout. It was the only new bike I ever gotten for a birthday or Christmas. My wife bought it in Gainesville and had it shipped to Cincinnati where we were for Christmas. I'm guessing 1984. I gave it to the machinist where I work and he welded it back together and gave it to his son.

jhota

that Fat Chance is pretty. i always wanted one back in the day.

here's my baby:

1991 Trek 930 SingleTrack



7-speed SunTour X-1, still mostly original. i bought the purple pulleys back when they were cool. even the bashring is 13 years old.



handlebars. the bars are actually older than the bike - i had them on another bike for two years before this one. SunTour X-Press Accushift Plus shifters, yo! hydro front disc is a sop to modernity.



still can't decide what i want to do with the rear brakes - leave as-is isn't really an option, 'cause pads are hard to find. been considering Magura hydros, but i'll probably just get a good quality canti or v-brake. need to get better pads though so i don't eff up the finish on new wheel when i put it on. i'd go disc on the rear as well, but i don't have the money to have a framebuilder add the mounts and get the bike painted, and i don't want to damage the bike with one of the hodge-podge adapter systems.

considering going back to a rigid fork, but i'll want/need to have one custom built (as i want to keep the disc brake). but i really want to be able to reinstall my front Blackburn rack as well.

Grand Bois

I agree with you. I just "discovered" vintage mountain bikes about a year and a half ago and I already have three. I'll have another one soon. I missed out on an '84 Trek 890 yesterday, so I consoled myself with a $25 Trek 930. They're much more interesting to me than road bikes.

luker

back in the day! I still want one. There was one a while back on eBay, factory repaint -
on the downtube was "Fat F**king Chance". Apparently Chris had done one up special for the owner -
I ended up way not being able to afford it...
....
I can't believe how much difference there is in the DiaCompe cantilevers that I put on Patti's bike and the XT Disks that are on my current mountain bike...I usta trust my life to brakes just like those cantilevers every day! They look cool, tho, and are just a snap to set up...

TheOtherGuy

My '94 "KGB" polished Ti bike with RS Mag 21 SL/Ti fork & Shimmie LX. A pic with it nice & clean, then the first ride in Whiting Ranch...and my nicely bloodied knee:

jeff williams

'90 Ritchey early P-23 prototype built using heavier Logic tubings for frame.
Incline geometry that took 91-93 NORBA wins.
Mine for 3? yrs, now a modded rigid working ATB.

..well, except I destroyed the bb. Fun summer riding though.
In the shop Monday...today.

bidaci

1987 Dave Yates ATB from Europe. Used as a townie by my wife right now. Will go through restoration over the winter. Back to the original rigid fork and MTB tires.

DynamicD74

I'm not sure if it's considered vintage, but here's my baby. She's a 1994 (I think....that's when I think I bought her!) Schwinn Sidewinder. I've never used her as a mountain bike, just on trails, streets, etc. The only changes I've made are the bottle cages, pedals, rack and the British Racing Green Brooks B-17 Champion Special Saddle with copper rivets. The saddle kind of adds a touch of class, don't ya think? These days, I ride her, still on the streets and trails, but with two angels in tow in the Chariot Caddie that you see. This bike has always just fit me, and it still does. It's a great bike (from the days when Schwinns were sold in bike shops exclusively....<big sigh>)!

DynamicD74

Wow! What a cool bike in that last thread! Wish I had one of those! Oops....whatta ya know....I do....it's my bike! I guess that would make me one lucky lady! :-D

mswantak

And modest, too!

Bekologist

Here's a pic i recently dug up- early eighties, classic Marin county frame geometry, bullmoose handlebars, but a cheap cottered crank I think, maybe eighteen speeds? I didn't have enough $$$ for a Ross or a Ritchey, but I got this piece of shiz bike though, a real gaspiper, one of those 1982-84? maybe no name mountain bikes multiplying like rabbits in the bike world.

I used it for thousands of rides, replaced the wheels with some handbuilts on American classic stout hubs, many miles of backwoods touring and camping trips on it back then. I even broke that set of Bullmoose from metal fatigue, they pulled off the stem while I was riding it one day. It eventually died the cheap bike way, neglect.

SpokesInMyPoop

LOL the angle of that picture is decieving. I was about to ask you "why tf do you have a crank on your top tube??? and why is a pedal floating midair above your front wheel??!"

Maybe I should've gotten more sleep...

SpokesInMyPoop

[QUOTE=BobHufford]1984 Ritchey Mt. Tam (I no longer own this one)



interesting stem... I like your blue bridgestone, too.

and to all: veddy pretty bikes... even the bloody knee is pretty. I guess that's what you get for messin' wit' da KGB *snicker*

Bekologist

That's the one piece Bullmoose stem-handlebar!

Loved eighties mountain bikes. Everything up to suspension shocks in the turn of the decade, the 80's was the golden age of mountain bikes.

The guys that wrote The Dancing Chain point out some obvious linkages between classic Marin geometry, the Schwinn stingrays, and the French Standard bike design of 1946. They point out the early mountain bikes were closer to the French Standard classic touring bike geometry and suitability for rough road touring than the 'alpine geared' ten speeds of the 1970s.