Retro MTB Tribe

[singlespeedscott]

By the way did any one on here grab this bargain in Melb?

Man that went cheap.

Considering all the mtb riding in Brisbane nothing really great comes up on ebay or gumtree here.

When it does it goes for a fortune.

[Slow6]

yeh older eBay mountain bikes in Aus are odd. It seems completely random. Selling is a gamble too, sometimes you'll get top dollar but then I've sent out more 99c parcels than I care to remember.
maybe it's based on if the three Australian retrobikers are on line that week

All my fave bikes have been from Gumtree so far.

I did try a ring around bike shops in country towns once.. I must have been in a mood as I usually hate the phone but I just went through google maps and called any established bike shop I could find in a small town and asked if they had any gear out back from the 90's.. spent maybe an hour solid on the phone and ended up with a few cool sets of tyres, a couple of hite-rites and a few other bits.. now I think about it it was probably time well spent compared to an hour wading through tripe on ebay.

[floody]

I <3 the Real levers, feel a bit sad seeing them and the Magic grips in the dirt though

[Slow6]

Quick pic from gumtree tonight.. I'd buy any of these for the asking prices if I wanted a bike and they were close and my size.


Not into DH bikes but I like this KHS in WA makes me want to try. Love the one piece top/seat tube.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/kallaroo ... 1016822621



Might be worth it in Melb for the bombers.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mckinnon ... 1016896175



Hard to see what it's like but a cheap atx is always a good beater (Vic)

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mckinnon ... 1016895987



A cadex in Briz with maguras and a nice stem

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/petrie/b ... 1014927913



Kona in Stkilda with some old school marzocchi forks

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/st-kilda ... 1015865165



Nice old dale in Katoomba. Don't generally feel the Dales but I like this.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/katoomba ... 1014715121

[Slow6]

I <3 the Real levers, feel a bit sad seeing them and the Magic grips in the dirt though

Placed ever so gently

[singlespeedscott]

I prefer the older steel ridged forked MTB's.

Mind you I do have a soft spot for Marzocchi bombers. I so wish I had kept my old lime green Z2 Atom Bombs. Best fork ever IMHO. Flogged the crap out of them and never done a seal. A lot to be said for coil sprung forks.

I still run a set of 2004 bombers on my 29er On One. I've only had to so the seals and the oil once since I have had them.

[Crowz]

Lovely KHS on the bay at the moment for what looks like a cheap asking price. mmm tempting.

[Slow6]

I prefer the older steel ridged forked MTB's.

Mind you I do have a soft spot for Marzocchi bombers. I so wish I had kept my old lime green Z2 Atom Bombs. Best fork ever IMHO. Flogged the crap out of them and never done a seal. A lot to be said for coil sprung forks.

I still run a set of 2004 bombers on my 29er On One. I've only had to so the seals and the oil once since I have had them.

Love the Z2's I stupidly sold a set of BAM's that would have been perfect for the KHS.

Always looking for the '90 prairie breaker that I couldn't afford as a kid.. loved my trail breaker to death and I'll never forget picking it up and spending the full day in the parkland behind the house on the granny ring..Eureka!

...but the prairie in back of the catalogue.. ooph.

[Slow6]

Very cool Kona with P2's for a short arse.. or a lucky son/daughter

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/thornbur ... 1016927410

[frog]

My mountain bike projects:


Peugeot Mountain Bikes by tyro.chris, on Flickr


Peugeot Mountain Bikes by tyro.chris, on Flickr

The Hurricane will need some TLC to get it running, I bought it as a bare frame on gumtree for $25 a few months back. The dropouts are out of whack and there is a fair bit of rust under the top tube where it's rubbed against something in the weather for years.

The Trail I bought for $15 (I love gumtree) as a whole bike with rusty french bits everywhere.

[mr626]

This seems like a good place to ask- a friend of mine knows that I am looking to get into MTB riding, and has offered me one of his old bikes for free.
I've only spoken to him briefly about it over the phone, he said it's a 'Suzico Wolf' and its in perfect condition.

I can't find much about it on the net so far. Does anyone here know anything about it? I've found a few references to Suzico being a good Taiwanese brand from the 90s, but that's about it.

[singlespeedscott]

I prefer the older steel ridged forked MTB's.

Mind you I do have a soft spot for Marzocchi bombers. I so wish I had kept my old lime green Z2 Atom Bombs. Best fork ever IMHO. Flogged the crap out of them and never done a seal. A lot to be said for coil sprung forks.

I still run a set of 2004 bombers on my 29er On One. I've only had to so the seals and the oil once since I have had them.

Love the Z2's I stupidly sold a set of BAM's that would have been perfect for the KHS.

Always looking for the '90 prairie breaker that I couldn't afford as a kid.. loved my trail breaker to death and I'll never forget picking it up and spending the full day in the parkland behind the house on the granny ring..Eureka!

...but the prairie in back of the catalogue.. ooph.

Funny you should say that. I have a 92 Prairie Breaker Expert sitting in the shed. Unfortunately not the nice Tange Prestige Team with the Camo paint job though. Just the basic DB cr-mo model in pink. Pretty average parts but its my size.

[singlespeedscott]

My mountain bike projects:


Peugeot Mountain Bikes by tyro.chris, on Flickr


Peugeot Mountain Bikes by tyro.chris, on Flickr

The Hurricane will need some TLC to get it running, I bought it as a bare frame on gumtree for $25 a few months back. The dropouts are out of whack and there is a fair bit of rust under the top tube where it's rubbed against something in the weather for years.

The Trail I bought for $15 (I love gumtree) as a whole bike with rusty french bits everywhere.

I love the early Pug MTB's. I've now got Gordy's Kings Canyon pictured early on on this thread. I think the frame and paint on it and the Hurricane are identical.

I only wish it was a bit bigger. It's to small for me but in to good a condition not to keep.

[LugNut]

I just purchased a '93 Marin Bear Valley SE on the 'Bay, model pictured here (borrowed from Retrobike UK).
Full STX-RC (Deore) groupset, and a lovely Tange frame.



It's a little bigger than that. Also, mine is missing the blue Marin Lite canti's, and the Marin Lite stem, but despite the anodized 90s awesomeness, it is rumoured that the canti's were pretty bad anyway.

I plan on building it into a tourin' dirt dropin' gravel chompin' everyday hackin' beast! I have been looking for a Tange touring frame to turn into a 650B for a while, but nothing has surfaced, so this is my next option.

I'm thinking dirt Drops, road brake levers with period XT Canti's , 8 speed bar end shifters, Brooks saddle, saddle bag, mudguards.

Hopefully it will work out, I'm using a fairly similar build that a friend did as inspiration, he used an 80s Malvern Star Bushranger (Same one as featured on page 1 of this thread), and it turned out to be totally rad. Anyone done something similar?

The Marin build has got me very interested in Retro MTBs, and I've been catching up on an area that I hadn't previously explored.
Forgive me if this is old news, but I came across this great interview with Tom Ritchey about the early days of mountain biking a couple of days ago, and it's well worth a watch.

47207697

Also, most of you would certainly already know this, but I was struck by the Retro MTB bargains that are to be had on eBay. My mum has been asking me to find her a bike more appropriate for rail trail rides than her Mixte, so I kept an eye on a 90s Mongoose IBOC Pro with full Deore DX that I spotted earlier this week. Bought it tonight for the opening bid of $45 New tyres and cables and she's a beauty! Will post pics of both when they are rolling.

[singlespeedscott]

If your going dirt drops you really need to find a larger frame than you normally would ride as most MTB's have a larger saddle to bar drop than a roadie. That's unless you can get hold of a old LD stem.

Looking forward to some piccies if the IBOC. They were an indestructible tank in their day.

[LugNut]

If your going dirt drops you really need to find a larger frame than you normally would ride as most MTB's have a larger saddle to bar drop than a roadie. That's unless you can get hold of a old LD stem.

Looking forward to some piccies if the IBOC. They were an indestructible tank in their day.

Damn, I'm not sure if larger frames than I normally ride exist. I will have to measure it, but it's 19" or 20" by eye which is a 'good' fit for me, I'll do a mock up when I get my hands on it and see how it might go. Thanks

*Edit*
I've mulled it over for a day, done some reading, shopped around and you're right, bar height to saddle height is a real spanner in the works for me and this bike. I will be leaving it with flat bars as a gravel grinder, (which is what I originally bought it for, the wild ideas started flying later, no harm done) and will continue my eternal search for the holy grail commuter.

[mr626]

Just as an addition to my previous post, I found a pic of a Suzico bike (different model to the one I'm being given) and it looks promising

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... 1#p1256137" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm dying to go and check out my friends bike now!

[Slow6]

Just as an addition to my previous post, I found a pic of a Suzico bike (different model to the one I'm being given) and it looks promising

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... 1#p1256137" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm dying to go and check out my friends bike now!

Looks very interesting. Be sure to share pictures when you get it.

[Dimitrizee]

I'm in the middle of doing up a fair few old MTB's all of which have the U brake behind the BB, there's an older Graecross Summit, and Shogun Trail/Prairie Breakers that will need tyres. Anyone heard of any manufacturers that are selling any skin walled tyres? Google and asking many bike shops reveal zero!
Any help will be appreciated!
Will be posting up pics as soon as I'm able to.

[mr626]

Just as an addition to my previous post, I found a pic of a Suzico bike (different model to the one I'm being given) and it looks promising

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... 1#p1256137" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm dying to go and check out my friends bike now!

Looks very interesting. Be sure to share pictures when you get it.

As promised:








It isn't perfect and obviously needs some work in places, but everything seems to function. Components are better than on my other bike at least.

Still very hard to find anything about the brand (let alone the model).

[singlespeedscott]

I've mulled it over for a day, done some reading, shopped around and you're right, bar height to saddle height is a real spanner in the works for me and this bike. I will be leaving it with flat bars as a gravel grinder, (which is what I originally bought it for, the wild ideas started flying later, no harm done) and will continue my eternal search for the holy grail commuter.

Here's some cool MTB drop bar piccies to inspire your future builds. From the masters of MTB drop bars Charlie Cunningham and Steve Potts of WTB fame.




The elusive LD stem






OTTO the greatest drop bar MTB of all time. Built by Charlie Cunningham for the legendary Jacquie Phelan. She raced this bike at national level for 9 years. Does prove that aluminum can be built strong

[apollocreed]

As promised:
sweet photoss

Love that paintjob. I want to see it stripped down, freshened up all nice and clean and kept all original. What year is it ? Might have missed that earlier

edit: get rid of the god-ugly saddle and new stem-handlebar combo would set it off nicely too

[LugNut]

Here's some cool MTB drop bar piccies to inspire your future builds. From the masters of MTB drop bars Charlie Cunningham and Steve Potts of WTB fame.

Those L-D stems are fantastic. Even better is seeing C-Record brake levers on a MTB. Thanks for the perk up, those are some rad bikes. The Marin actually turned out to be an inch or two too small for me, I measured it to be a 19" frame. Luckily my girlfriend loves it and it fits her well, it will be her new daily ride after a tart up.

OTTO the greatest drop bar MTB of all time. Built by Charlie Cunningham for the legendary Jacquie Phelan. She raced this bike at national level for 9 years. Does prove that aluminum can be built strong

Speaking of Jacquie Phelan and WOMBATS - I may even go ahead and see if she can be persuaded to ride dirt drops on the Marin anyway - It would work well for her height.

[wurtulla wabbit]

Newest bike I have ever owned!! but still suitable for this thread I think. A local mate rides the hard tail version of this and I have wanted one ever since taking a quick spin on his.

KHS Team ST Not sure if it's a '02 or '03. This is a quick single speed build so I can take it our this weekend. Think I might go 9 speed for the first time in my life.. ooer.

Unsure of the amps with this frame.. thoughts?

Love this bike, very pretty and clean.

[mr626]

As promised:
sweet photoss

Love that paintjob. I want to see it stripped down, freshened up all nice and clean and kept all original. What year is it ? Might have missed that earlier

edit: get rid of the god-ugly saddle and new stem-handlebar combo would set it off nicely too

No idea on the year sorry- no-one seems to know much about these bikes.

We'll see how I go- I have no experience with working on this kind of thing but I'm trying my best to learn. Budget for this is basically non-existent, but I'll hopefully be able to scab some cheap second hand parts from somewhere.

At a glance, here's what I think it needs:

-New front tyre (its pretty worn in places).
-New front spokes/rim? (most of the spokes have rust on them- hopefully its just surface rust and I can sand them back)
-New rear spokes (one of them is bent, but they are mostly okay)
-New brake and shifter cables
-New grips (on one side where the end of the grip has perished there is the remains of a wasp nest in the handlebar )
-Paint touching up in a few places
-Overall clean / lube