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

[monkfish]

Thanks very much ishaw you've already been of help as i was quickly scouring the old messages to learn what i could before buying so i already know that its a non US manufactured 7000 series frame with with the alloy rear end unlike the early 6061 main frame and cro-moly rear models with the flat gt top tube badge.

im perhaps getting ahead of myself here though as i better collect it and see if all is well first but........

if i may ask a question:

I see that the frame has around 2.5" of travel and the front fork currently fitted to it is i suspect a slightly later indy c do you think there would be a better fork to fit or should i leave as is. I was thinking of a Judy or i have seen some with a manitou of the same period but wonder if there is much to gain as the judy seems to have the same sort of elastomer spring setup and the same travel and very similar weight except for the dh version.

 

[madjh]

Avoid?, any dual suspension. They are a nightmare to service if they dont have BB and comes from the 90s. Or that bycicle with special parts. Pressfit first gen in Klein ... I don´t know were to buy the bearings if they are not standsr ones

I rode a Indy C back in the 2000s and it does little, better the Z2 specially if you are around 60-65kg like me . Manitou, the Mach 5 do a little bit better but you have to change elastomers to soft ones.

 

[greencat]

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.

Opinions, or perhaps years, differ on flexibility. I had one back in the day and it seems no worse than other bikes of the time.

I would not recommend one as a regular rider. The bonded inserts (on dropouts, bottle cages etc) are points of failure. Speaking from experience you don't want one of the dropouts to fail when riding fast downhill.

For similar reasons I'd steer clear of titanium/aluminium/carbon of the era. It was early days for most of these materials being used in mountain biking. That really leaves steel. I would be a little wary of the lightest steel frames too. I was advised by my bikeshop that, for example, 531 forks were not up to many years of hard riding.

 

[monkfish]

the bike had a small crack in the chainstay where it mounts to the rear dropout piece....i still got the bike as it was much cheaper than others and have orederd a cheap rts 3 frame for its steel rear triangle which i notice does not have pivots so is more of a flex stay design. unsure if i should pursue another alloy one if its likely to fail again at this weak point.

 

[Black_puma]

But real steel, proper steel. Not pig iron

Don't be taken in by what's hanging on it. That can all be replaced.

E.g.

Colombus Cromor OR, Max OR, Nivacrom etc

Reynolds 531, 631, 653, 853.

Tange MTB, Prestige, Concept

Other decent tubesets are available.

Go for handbuilt over mass produced, pedigree over bling.

And buy Buy BUY!

Don't forget True Temper AVR, OX, GTX etc.

 

[bikeworkshop]

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.

Kirk revolution:

strong, light, cheap...
pick none

At least they are cheap now, but also most are cracked or cracking.

Horrible dead heavy feel to ride, and flexy in bad ways too.

Nasty thing.

 

[d8mok]

Don't forget True Temper AVR, OX, GTX etc.

 

[madjh]

I have finished something with this:



I have to say: If you want confort avoid super race ... hiper racing etc words of the 90s bicycle because the front end is too low like the marin Team Issue etc BUT this tubes are from a Pro racing from scott. And the AT2 handle bar is so nice ... and a stem of 15º and some spacers + a Z2 fork makes this bicycle ride like I have always dreamed.

Amazing. But with rigid fork, not bad but ... too many vibrations etc. The Z2 do something and I have added 2 more spacers to rise a little bit the handle bar to feel like a dream. I love it. Saddle leveled with the handle bar.

 

[DrDaveTampa]

Depends on what you're up to. My current favorite off-road bike is an old steel 26er I modded out, in fact I like it so much I sold my 29er, now granted that was mainly to free up room and money for more vintage bikes ... but still, for the particular off-road trails I'm riding these days (short, tight and punchy) I kinda like having a steel 26er. It's fun.

Thing is, I would absolutely not want to ride those trails on an early 90's rigid race bike, feel like I'm taking my life in my hands -- on not particularly difficult trails, the blues are VERY tricky on those old frames. To me anyway, and it's probably just me, but still, I found myself on a late 90's frame, one that came with a sus fork to begin with. I was able to squeeze an old Fox 80mm fork in there without screwing up the handling. Decent wide range clutched 1x, saint shifter, XTR brakes, MX handlebars raceface cranks. About the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

I'm personally on a Trek 930 which is pretty decent steel all things considered. Do it all over again, I mighta based that build on a kona lava dome or better from the same era, although those TIG welded 900 series Treks sure give a lot of bang for the buck

I wouldn't much want to dip into the 2000's models, not a huge fan of that era, exception being the on-one steel 26er frames, yall remember those? I had an on-one 456 bitd, that frame was schweet! "We thank you please" lol. Not a fan of aluminum, which feels harsh to me and is prone to metal fatigue.

Wouldn't want to go much older either; among other things, 80's bikes tend to be heavier and I'm not a huge fan of lugged frames off road (potential point of failure). With exceptions; my '87 ritchey would make for a fine off-road bike but believe me, that thing isn't going anywhere near a molecule of dirt (plus I've gotten myself used to running a decent sus fork and it's darn hard to find em with 1" steerer tubes)

 

[minor_LEGEND]

I'd simply recommend something that was good quality 'then'. It still will be now.

Always plenty of Eldridge or Cinder Cones to choose from as an entry point.