What retro FS?

[captain8track]

I might need, or well I'm the mood for some FS bike from the good old days that still would be a good choice for xc racing with v's and around 80mm up front tops.

I have been thinking of the GT i-drive, the sts, Cannondale Super-v ,Specialized FSR and so on..

anyone got any ideas or thoughts? reliability is a keyword to. I'm sub 70kilo rider, and well have been thinking of this for a while...

Affordable rides would be appreciated to, lightweight, no bob and stiff!

 

[Crell]

Something a bit more left field :?:

 

[captain8track]

re:

that is a great looking bike and works about the same as the strange looking klein right?

This Nishiki is about the same as the CyclePro version sold in sweden, it just had some red pain insteed. Really good suspension but it was a bit on the softside while standing up, had a Santa Cruz superlight last year it felt around the same to be honest...

mine had a 150mm's stem and an Vetta saddle offcourse costed in 93 a whoppin 2000 dollars in the us, can't imagine what the price for the fs would be in sweden, my parents got it for me in 95-96 or somehthing on sale but it was still damn expensive...

 

[DoctorRad]

Each to their own, but aren't URT's dead for good reason? And I seem to remember that i-Drives were so unreliable that we were making jokes about how rarely they were 'seen in the wild' ten years ago...

Personally, while I don't have a huge amount of experience of full suspension bikes, I'd not be without my '95 FSR. 95% of the time you just can't feel it working, and the other 5% you can tell it's being beneficial.

Longevity is an issue, mind you, but I'm hoping to get BETD to come up with a long-term solution over the next year or so...

Dr. Matt...

 

[captain8track]

re:

the fsr should probarly be a good bet.

but my friend raced a I-drive as a 4x (called dualslalom bitd) and it worked for two seasons, think he got a new bike that he didn't like. he was a factory import racer and this bike did not ever fail, that's why I had it on my list...

but it was some time ago, can't really remember how they did perform. It might have been that he's was a 16" or something that it held up.

 

[MJN]

I've still not found an FS bike I like for xc (and I've been looking since 1995!) My favorite so far has been a Santa Cruz Superlight in the late 90's but I think I gonna give up searching,I'm about to strip down my Scott Spark team edition and sell it leaving just hardtails in the stable FS just sucks all of your power and makes you lazy :cry:

 

[captain8track]

re:

well the superlight is to flexy I had a 2000 version with a really nice kit on it, it's light and gorgeous but, I sold it almost instantly... but mine had an rc shock with lockout, that was pretty good.

so we have the FSR and the super-v?

 

[fingers]

I ve XCd my GT LTS 1 and that seems nice and whippy, without sapping power too much...

 

[Dave_H]

My recommendation if you want to try full suspension is to go modern. Even the cheaper end will offer a far more usable ride than the majority of retro full suspension bikes.

However, retro rides are more about a heart rather than head purchase so I honestly don't think anyone can recommend you a reto ride. It has to be a mix of what you fancied BITD, what's available at the moment and what you can afford.

 

[bwhsh8r]

I rode my ex-girlfriend's cannondale super v and liked it. its decked out with magura rim brakes and is the purple one with the aluminium front and the carbon fiber rear swingarm and headshok, i liked it. i still prefer my proflex, but it was lighter, and probably performed better (hers is a bit undersized for me, so take this review with a grain of salt)