Best RIDING pre-1995 full-suspension XC frame?

[Splatter Paint]

What is the best full-suspension frame pre-95 for XC racing?

I would think off the top of my head this would be either a Pro-Flex with a Noleen coil-over-oil shock upgrade or Mountain Cycle San Andreas.

What else would challenge these on the race circuit? NB: I don't give a toss about looks, it is all about the performance!

SP

 

[jimo746]

Re:

What race circuit? A "retro" type of xc circuit? Or a modern xc circuit? They can be quite different.

A very subjective question, but I'll go with an Orange Prestige with front sus forks

It's more about the rider though tbh

 

[Splatter Paint]

Re:

Sorry, I've edited the thread now, I'm wondering about full sus. My weight weenie rigid Explosif is very quick - up until it gets really bumpy, where the heavier Diamond Back Axis TT with Pace RC35 forks wipes the floor with it. Now I'm thinking I should get some retro bounce up the back to compliment the front. More (quality) bounce = faster on the very rough stuff.

The bike will be for modern XC racing.

SP

 

[al]

Re:

Non of mine...




al.

 

[jimo746]

Full-sus wise I found the Proflex 857 I had was a pretty capable xc race bike, even now (if you take into account it's still a retro mtb), outside your 95' cut-off, but I don't see why something like a 955 wouldn't work as well.
Mongoose Amplifier would be another one I'd think about.

 

[superstar1]

Full-sus wise I found the Proflex 857 I had was a pretty capable xc race bike, even now (if you take into account it's still a retro mtb), outside your 95' cut-off, but I don't see why something like a 955 wouldn't work as well.
Mongoose Amplifier would be another one I'd think about.

Didn't Proflex works team back in the day remove the elastomer and replacing it with steel tube painted yellow during Hinrik Denieses world cup wins so it was locked out permanently?

 

[amedias]

Re:

Cannondale Super V with a decent shock would be my go-to choice.

Decent functional single pivot, stiff, robust and reliable, just enough travel to be useful and with a good shock very well controlled, perfect for XC.

The pivot is a bit high and forward so you get a fair bit of feedback in the smaller front rings, but that cans be handy on scrabbly climbs and if you're racing properly you'll be mashing round in the big ring mostly anyway won't you? ;-)

The 1995 cut off is the tricky bit in your requirements, add a few years and there are a lot more options, but a lot of the early sus bikes suffer on longevity and reliability even when their performance isnt that bad, this is especially true of older multi-link bikes with bushings/bearings made of cheese and flexy as anything. It's for that reason is be looking at short travel single pivots with decently stiff frames and sensible hardware.

 

[ishaw]

I'm a suckered for the gt rts. That said, amps are what a lot if modern bikes were based on. Many and various manufacturers turned out bikes with an amp rear end, fat, litespeed to name a couple, and the specialised bikes were based on this design for many years. If you fancy a mint litespeed obed fs, I have one that I've been saving for a rainy day, but an employment related injury will be seeing a lot of my stash up for sale.

 

[pete_mcc]

Re:

With your 1995 cut off the great thing is that Turner started in 1994 so I would say the best rider is a Turner, every time! It was the benchmark for all others and the design was copied and is still copied today - no other bike has that level of longevity!

http://www.turnerbikes.com/about-us/turner-history

 

[Twisty]

What about the Amp B4, from what I understand it was a good suspension design which still lives on in the Specialized FSR, although maybe a bit flexy due to being lightweight.