what retro bikes are best to avoid if looking to use regularly off road?

[Spanky22b]

I'm biased because i love everything Kona but with you mentioning you used to have a Kona bitd i'd go down that route. Firemountains, Lavadomes and Cindercones regularly pop up from various years Explosifs and Kilaueas less so although there is this what looks to be a 1994 Kilauea in excellent condition up for sale down at the bottom of the country in what looks like a 20 inch frame, so your size. Not sure if you live down that way but if you do it's well worth a punt.
The item number is in the second photo to put into ebays search to find it.
It was up for sale a week or so ago and no one bid on it for some reason, maybe it's the location putting people off
That's the only thing putting me off because it's a 12 hour drive there and back for me otherwise i'd certainly bid on it to add it to my Kona sanctuary

 

[enigma]

Bikes kitted out like that are now cheap. £150 would buy you a good bike.....

I know everybody wants xtr or xt, but tbh....there's very little in it for us mere mortals.

So true, back in the day I could only afford stx rc at best, only ever used stx rapidfire, lx v brakes when they came out..
Often secondhand etc on lower end of range steel frames mostly.
Its all good stuff, the xt 8spd I have now on one bike is smoother no question, the xt v brakes are the best ever in my opinion,
however the avid levers are really nice and fraction of the cost, even now.. ive got old black lx derailleurs on two bikes and I really cant see them ever wanting changing..
Stuff of my teenage years was the pinnacle of well built, functionality and reliability i feel, look at how much is still available in great nick..
For the op I agree £150 on a mint low mile kona or Marin, maybe stretch just a little for an orange. but steel and the bombproof kit, he wont have to replace as its maybe tiny bit heavier but its built to last... never broken anything drivetrain only ever wore it out!

 

[hamster]

Bikes kitted out like that are now cheap. £150 would buy you a good bike.....

I know everybody wants xtr or xt, but tbh....there's very little in it for us mere mortals.

Most people cannot tell the difference between XTR and Deore when riding in the dark.

All the basic Shimano stuff works well, just stay away from their regular daft gimmicks (Rapid Rise, Octalink, parallel push V-Brakes, Uniglide, Silent Clutch, the brake-shifter combi levers, metric chains, Dyna-drive etc)

 

[DrDaveTampa]

Agree re: mid/late 90's. Among other things, some manufacturers, Kona included, were lengthening their rigid forks a bit to 410mm to accommodate the (then) ~65mm sus forks. Those frames will take an 80mm sus fork -- it'll slack out the geometry a tiny bit, which is fine with me, I think those old bikes need a little more slack, ymmv.

I'd buy one with a P2 fork, I'd way rather have one hanging in the shed than to have to find one on Ebay or something. But I would take it off and put a sus fork on there. Probably an XC500 for street or gravel (@Dr-Zocchi has all the parts you need). For single track I'd mod it out with an F80 fork, M8000 rd 1x10, V brakes, some Renthals ... now that would be a fun bike Perfect for those tight twisty trails that make your 29er feel like a monster truck

I'm presently restoring a '92 Lava Dome, great bike for the money but shoulda gone "95 or '96 for the sus fork options. May trade up eventually.

 

[monkfish]

cheers for the bike suggestion spanky but im in suffolk so its still quite a drive for me unfortunately. I was looking at an unbadged random bike with pace forks and xt groupset that i was hopeful was a titanium frame of some sorts as it had small neat welds and had that sort of shade of colour but alas it was magnetic so no.

 

[monkfish]

i would like a kirk revolution for its weird looks and i used to have an empire ap1 cast downhill bike that i loved and regretted selling but i gather the kirk is rather flexy and overall not a good riders bike.

 

[hamster]

Metal, like all materials, fatigues, steel is more forgiving than most, but even the best steel tubes have a lifespan. Aluminium, magnesium and even titanium frames, especially at the welds, can be problematic if they've had a hard active life and been abused or poorly maintained. Old carbon is obviously something you need to be careful with, and the more potential points of failure there are the more you need to check, so suspension forks for example would need to be serviced, and may need new seals, elastomers/springs etc, to make them safe to use.

If you're planning on going down some serious trails I'd look for a bike with frame and components that have as low mileage as possible. I'd also recommend a full strip down, service and rebuild, paying close attention to any bearings before you ride.

And use modern tyres and brake blocks.

Steel has an infinite fatigue life provided there are no stress raisers (e.g. poor welds or badly-sited braze-ons). Hence the number of 50+ year old steel road frames still happily being ridden. But of course you have corrosion to consider.

Aluminium is fundamentally different in that its fatigue life is finite, full stop. No matter how fat you make the material, one day it will fatigue through - the only question is how many million stress cycles. However, I am still happily riding my 24 year old Kona Kaboom. Kona seemed to know what they were doing and didn't lighten things up to the point that they cracked prematurely. But one day it will crack!

Personally I'd consider an Orange P7 and add it to the list. Mine rides like a scalded cat, although the Kona is a joy too. Marins have always been nice as all-day rides and one is the base of my tourer.

 

[monkfish]

i have owned a 1998 alpine trail and a 2005 and 2007 nail trail. i cracked the alpine trail and the 2005 nail trail but amrin sorted me out with a new better swing arm for the nail trail and a whole 2 year newer 2007 nail trail frame after the headtube developed a crack and the newer versions headtube wall thickness was nearly twice that of the 05 model. they are the only bikes that i have damaged so far but marin sorted out any issues quickly although not so useful on a retrobike purchase

i do like konas i refurbed an 2008 kona stab dee-lux for a dh trip to antur-stiniog and despite my novice experience on proper dh tracks i had a great time on it before selling it to a mate and purchasing a lovely example of the empire ap1 cast dh bike (still 26" wheels but a bit new for this discussion -2011).

 

[monkfish]

sorry must be tired.....i got a new swing arm for the alpine trail not the nail trail

anyways despite my better judgement and impatience a clean looking (well as best as i can tell on the ebay photos) gt rts 2 just appeared on ebay and i wanted one back in the day and its local enough to me so i took a gamble. I know the rear suspension will be rubbish compared to my modern bikes but it looks fun and is supposed to have no damage or bearing slop etc but we will see.

 

[ishaw]

Great choice imho. If you need any help with the RTS just shout.