Looking for info on this MTB - Griffen?

[DesertRyder]

This for sale locally. Looks interesting. Seller is seeking offers.
Any information on this builder? Has a USA flag on the fork. US builder?

 

[Double-E F]

Forks are AMP (B3, B4?).
If you do a search on 'Griffen' on here, a few threads will pop up.

 

[joglo]

Hi, Griffen was a Texas-based bike brand
https://griffenbicycles.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/what-really-happened-to-griffen-bicycles/https://griffenbicycles.wordpress.com/
Not sure about the frame quality and if Griffen was a sexy brand or not, but the parts like the Ringle stem, AMP fork (therefore the US Flag), Answer Hyperlight bar etc. seem to be quite nicely selected.

 

[ishaw]

Looks like a nice build with some choice components. Amp F3 I think forks, ringle stem (watch for cracks), hyoerlite bars, ritchey saddle, raceline brakes, maybe cooks cranks, can't quite tell, maybe topline or similar. Probably talking £400 plus for this alone if bought separately. not that you want your seller to know that

 

[fennec]

I know ive seen Griffen single speed frames in the fixie circles, they made decent track bikes is the only thing i can think of with them.
joglo pulling their website it seems they moved away from MTB's pretty early on, though its probably a pretty decent frame. Downtube gusset and the... not bad but not good welds going on there makes me think its a pretty thick aluminum frame.
And then based on the components, this is someone who knew what they were building, and ordered a custom frame to begin with, its reasonable to assume its a decent bike.
If the price is right, id jump on it. Finding someone else's era built retro bike is not that common.

 

[DesertRyder]

This is the info I found out about Griffen.

"Tony Free and his son were the founders of Griffen. They started in Irvine, CA. The frames are made of a composite, boron ceramic carbide. Tony always said it was the same material that was used in Apache Helicopters. They supported the mountain bike team that John Kemp managed, Rock Shox Development team that had all juniors on it."

Seller responed. No info about how it's spec'd except "it has a lot of antique parts". I asked what a ballpark figure he was look for and he said around $600 USD...I don't need it that bad.