Staabi
Retro Newbie
Hi,
I started to ride Mountainbikes in January 1987. I would have never guessed where the Mountainbike would take me in my life (working in the bike industry since 1990, now as european product manager for a well known american company). The local bikeshops back then had two bikes on display I really admired. I just could not afford them. These were the top-of-the-line MTBs from Koga Miyata and Longus. With over 2000,- DM they were way out of my range. Bought an 849,-DM Kettler (and later a 1989 Koga RidgeRunner, a 1990 Yeti FRO - which I still own - and many more, but that's another story) Fast forward only 32years and I'm the lucky owner of both MTBs I dreamed of back in the day. Quite interesting how much the ride differs. The Ridge Runner is an aggressive NORBA style racer, the Longus is a comfortable tourer. Longus was the Mountainbike housebrand of german Shimano distributor Paul Lange GmbH from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. One of the first real Mountainbikes in Germany. This near mint top-of-the-line laste 1986 - 1987 Longus Competition Pro ist the latest addition to my "thumbshifter" fleet and actually fun to ride. Amazing how much Mtb technology evolved since then. A modern bike is like coming from a different planet compared to these. It was still fun in 1987 and founded my lifelong passion and profession.
Happy trails!
Michael
I started to ride Mountainbikes in January 1987. I would have never guessed where the Mountainbike would take me in my life (working in the bike industry since 1990, now as european product manager for a well known american company). The local bikeshops back then had two bikes on display I really admired. I just could not afford them. These were the top-of-the-line MTBs from Koga Miyata and Longus. With over 2000,- DM they were way out of my range. Bought an 849,-DM Kettler (and later a 1989 Koga RidgeRunner, a 1990 Yeti FRO - which I still own - and many more, but that's another story) Fast forward only 32years and I'm the lucky owner of both MTBs I dreamed of back in the day. Quite interesting how much the ride differs. The Ridge Runner is an aggressive NORBA style racer, the Longus is a comfortable tourer. Longus was the Mountainbike housebrand of german Shimano distributor Paul Lange GmbH from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. One of the first real Mountainbikes in Germany. This near mint top-of-the-line laste 1986 - 1987 Longus Competition Pro ist the latest addition to my "thumbshifter" fleet and actually fun to ride. Amazing how much Mtb technology evolved since then. A modern bike is like coming from a different planet compared to these. It was still fun in 1987 and founded my lifelong passion and profession.
Happy trails!
Michael
