wallonie11
Retro Guru
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Back in the day ('94 ish) I wanted a Saracen Tufftrax (I'd hired one and had great fun), but was very lucky to receive a second hand Scott Expression. Lovely bike, with geometry ahead of its time, but despite its superior groupset, as a mostly road cyclist I found the super-sloping top tube looked wrong wrong wrong.
I still have that frame, and with a hankering for some retro fun on my teenager bike I built it up. Despite it being a 19" it was way too small for me now, and my son decided he liked it instead.
However, I now had an itch I needed to scratch. Fortunately retro MTBs don't seem to have quite gone the crazy way of road bikes. A Yeti would be lovely, as would a mid 90's Sunn. But it was the Tufftrax I'd wanted...
This 97 model came up on marketplace, in what seems almost totally original, mostly STX, state save headset, grips and bar ends, and at a very nice price. I assumed I'd swap some parts out, like the Dia Compe v-brakes, but having been out and got it muddy today I'm actually suitably impressed. It is a skittery to ride as an old bike should be, and great fun.
Meanwhile my daughter announced she was unhappy that big brother was getting the Scott, just as this awesome coloured '90 Traverse came up locally. It arrived in very average state and with junk non-original wheels, replacement bars and saddle. I stripped it down for a deep clean and the LX transmission was all in ok condition, although the sti units were far too heavy to push for smaller hands, so I had to swap them out. I added the forks using spares from the previously mentioned Scott.
Neither bike is the lightest, or high end, but the traverse especially seems very cool.
Thoughts on 'upgrades' vs period correct spec most welcome.
I still have that frame, and with a hankering for some retro fun on my teenager bike I built it up. Despite it being a 19" it was way too small for me now, and my son decided he liked it instead.
However, I now had an itch I needed to scratch. Fortunately retro MTBs don't seem to have quite gone the crazy way of road bikes. A Yeti would be lovely, as would a mid 90's Sunn. But it was the Tufftrax I'd wanted...
This 97 model came up on marketplace, in what seems almost totally original, mostly STX, state save headset, grips and bar ends, and at a very nice price. I assumed I'd swap some parts out, like the Dia Compe v-brakes, but having been out and got it muddy today I'm actually suitably impressed. It is a skittery to ride as an old bike should be, and great fun.
Meanwhile my daughter announced she was unhappy that big brother was getting the Scott, just as this awesome coloured '90 Traverse came up locally. It arrived in very average state and with junk non-original wheels, replacement bars and saddle. I stripped it down for a deep clean and the LX transmission was all in ok condition, although the sti units were far too heavy to push for smaller hands, so I had to swap them out. I added the forks using spares from the previously mentioned Scott.
Neither bike is the lightest, or high end, but the traverse especially seems very cool.
Thoughts on 'upgrades' vs period correct spec most welcome.
