whats the best year for retro mountain bike manufacture?

[BoyBurning]

Re:

Heart says 1993:

• best year for the top groupsets by the 3 big guns [XTR / XC Pro / Record OR]
• best year for CNC exotica and anodising
• final year for threaded / quill before threadless took dominance
• classic geometry before suspension-adjusted took over and things started to get a little ugly
• best year for innovations, with loads of ridiculous bits and bobs cropping up in garages
• Umma Gumma
• Final year before the spate of takeovers and breakups / downs

However, spare bedroom would seem to suggest otherwise - albeit only marginally - and a few 'cheated' builds with non year-correct groups have helped to avoid the need to move to M910 for the '94/'95 bikes...

90 - 2
91 - 6
92 - 10
93 - 8
94 - 3
95 - 2

Trying to get my heart into gear for a semi necessary cull is proving hard work - dare I say I'm tackling it very half heartedly...

Zero interest post '95.

 

[Titiritero]

Re:

My first and still owned mtb is from 1992 so I'm a bit partial to that year. But only reason I bought it then is because I was 16 and it was a combination of my bmx becoming too small, having finally enough savings to get a decent mtb, and being already tall enough that I wouldn't need a bigger bike in a couple of years.

But in reality, my favourite period, also when I search now for used bikes, is 1990 to 1994, because:
-most bikes still quality steel
-top range models still with rigid fork
-most brands already realized U-brakes were not a good idea for offroad
-oversize headset diameter was standard for most brands
-classic geometry in most bikes. Not so relaxed as in the 80's, not so ugly (although comfortable) as today's
-cantilever brakes reached their peak technical development
-most of them have standard measurements/components still current today (if we exclude the recent wheel size craze). If something breaks, you can buy a replacement without hassle in any shop.

 

[Ductape]

Good question. No doubt we all have different opinions.

For me personally it is the era just before the Asian invasion of mass produce mountain bikes. That very short time where every bike was custom built, cost as much as a down payment on a house, and was unique to the builders vision and to itself. Now I understand that my choice is not with the mainstream here but these are the bikes that turn me on.

I certainly give a nod to the late 80's custom frames with quality components that still work great by todays standards. Steep angles, long stems, and The clean lines that only a fully rigid mountain bike can express.

Then the early 90's. The decadence of colorful CNC components, or the beauty of Shimano's M900 group set. This was the era for the small builder and crazy ideas. Suspension parts that were more heavy than effective. I believe this is the era that most people seek out when it comes to restoring their first old steed.

By the mid to late 90's the geometry got a bit more relaxed, suspension became effective, V brakes took over where once just canti's prevailed. This is a great era to find a custom frame from to do a resto mod. If you can live without disc brakes, tons of front suspension, and a million gears out back, these bikes are very light, functional, and a blast to ride. This is also the era where the mountain bike craze died out. The complexities and cost of creating full suspension? I don't know. Mountain bikes lost their soul, each new year made the previous obsolete. where once 120mm of suspension was considered decadent, soon it became 140, 160+. You needed a different bike to ride XC than to shuttle the downhill, and don't forget the Freeride bike when you just wanted to go get loose with your friends.

 

[feetabix]

1991........thats it...........1991...........

 

[Retro Spud]

1991........thats it...........1991...........

fair comment Darren, but then you are a few years older than me, being in your late 40's
I guess the whole MTB thing happened a few years earlier for you

 

[munkey_bwy]

Re:

Any sloping top tube year.

 

[Ceefax]

Re:

I like the V-brake era - but before aluminium totally replaced steel.
I also prefer threadless headsets and compact frames.
So it’s Kona, Sunn, Voodoo etc. from 97/98 for me.

But yes it could be romantic yearnings for those times when I was young, delighted to be getting into mountain bikes, looking through the magazines, and out cycling with my mates every weekend.

 

[Ductape]

Re: Re:

Any sloping top tube year.

I think Charlie Cunningham did this as early as 1979? Sloping top tube with a custom seat post?