Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 75 total)
  • Modern classics
  • Mush
    Free Member

    Stuck in the inevitable traffic when leaving work this evening I saw quite a varied selection of commuter bikes shooting past including several Charge Plugs (which I think look rather nice) and started thinking what might constitute a modern classic.

    Just off the top of my head (and having never ridden them) I thought of a few that might fall into this category:

    Cotic Soul
    Charge Plug
    Orange 223
    Turner 5 Spot (HL version)….tenuous?

    I realise it’s an entirely arbitrary classification and a pretty pointless discussion, but regardless, I’m interested to hear which bikes you’d have on your list.

    andylaightscat
    Free Member

    merlin xlm

    viv
    Free Member

    santa cruz bullit
    Iron horse sunday
    spooky metal head
    cotic soul
    zaskar
    santa cruz chameleon
    orange patriot ( and thing from 5 to 7+ – which I have! ) – totally bombing SP tank
    Spesh enduro
    trek fuel
    pashley trials bikes
    DMR trailstar
    intense M3

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    adstick
    Free Member

    The clam shell (04ish?) and the (06) SX style Enduros.

    I’ve owned both, so I might be biased, but still…

    bikemonkey
    Free Member

    Rocky Mountain Blizzard
    Kona Explosif

    oldgrump08
    Free Member

    Sanderson Life

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    2 clean lined steel hardtails for the op, there are loads of others!

    RoterStern
    Free Member

    Seven Sola (I have one)
    Indy Fab
    Spesh Stumpy
    Intense M3
    DMR trailstar

    tankslapper
    Free Member

    Cotic Soul
    Specialized Enduro 2003/2004?
    Orange P7
    Trek 69er
    On One Inbred
    Charge Plug
    Orange 5
    Whyte/Marin – minus the beard / sandles

    Daffy
    Full Member

    Indy Fab steel/ti deluxe

    SC Chameleon

    SC Heckler

    Ibis Mojo

    Whyte 19

    davidtaylforth
    Free Member

    Intense M3

    Surely you mean an Intense M1?

    midlifecrashes
    Full Member

    How modern is modern?

    Pace square framers
    Cannondale Caad plus the Badboy?
    Spesh FSRs
    Langster?
    Don’t own any of them.

    djglover
    Free Member

    NO NO NO NO NO

    This is just a list of modern mountain bikes? No one is justifying what makes them a classic.

    You may as well list eurobox hatchbacks as classic cars.

    For me

    Orange 224 -Ridden by a legend, never used the most up to date design but still had a great following. Was a great bike because it just got the geometry so right, but it was not forgiving if you were having an off day.

    timber
    Full Member

    SC Heckler

    like a porsche 911, it’s continually evolved and is still quite desirable, well I think so anyway.

    Right now there are no stand out bikes for me, just a lot of “look I’m better” full sus designs and “I’m so niche and sophisticated” steel hardtails

    stonemonkey
    Free Member

    Mountain Cycle San Andreas- The first true monocoque, the first with disc brakes, the first with a removable sub-frame.

    Dont see why the Cotic soul is a classic myself.
    GT Zaskar is definatley a modern classic imo, won world cup xc, dh trials
    Intense M1

    thepodge
    Free Member

    i agree with the San An but its not really that modern, well in the whole short lived MTB world anyway

    twohats
    Free Member

    Nomad

    takisawa2
    Full Member

    04 SWorks Enduro w/ brain shock.
    Still rides brilliantly.
    Looks a little dated but, (IMO) they raised the bar for FS trail bikes.

    Even he recognises its classic status…

    shoefiti
    Free Member

    In order to be considered a classic won’t it have to last some time? Not sure you’ll see that many Sundays about in a few years.

    djglover
    Free Member

    no, the opposite is true, as the ones that are left will be rare, like an alfasud

    timber
    Full Member

    surely the epic would be more notable than the enduro, as the brain first appeared on that along with a rather unconventional shock mounting

    mike_check
    Free Member

    DMR Trailstar was the first frame I remember with sliding dropouts and chaintugs to use singlespeed or geared, and has evolved to suit modern longer travel forks, tough as shit and ride ace!

    Azonic DS-1 was one of the first hardtail frames I remember labelled as, and pretty much kicking off, the whole ‘hardcore hardtail’ frame thing. At one point it was pretty much the only frame to have for people who liked chucking their bike around over jumps, street, trials and singletrack!

    I wanted an Azonic but by the time I could afford a new bike I ended up with a Trailstar!

    tails
    Free Member

    this thread all gone a bit wrong surely chameleons, trailstar, pace square, spooky, intense M1 and zasker, are already classic as there old enough to be, have been around the block and then some.

    I would nominate Ironhorse Sunday such a big following, rarely any detractors, awesome downhill frame catapulted to the top by a very talented rider in sam hill.

    Also blackmarket mob frame was at the beginning of all this mtb park riding (whether this was good or bad don’t matter) pushed dirt jumping forward. All the north american dirt jumpers rave about them. also made in USA by SandM which many still feel is better than Taiwan.

    my 2p worth anyway.

    garlic
    Free Member

    Santa Cruz Heckler. Can’t think of any other bike that qualifies as a ‘modern classic’.

    stonemonkey
    Free Member

    Ok i’ll make a date —–post 2000——

    There said it!!!!

    timber
    Full Member

    Spooky Metalhead for the company’s status and rarity

    seven
    Free Member

    stonemonkey – Member

    Ok i’ll make a date —–post 2000——

    There said it!!!!

    Nothing before 2000?

    Well, I still think the Cannondale M800 (Beast of the east)circa 1995 was a classic if ever there was one

    seven
    Free Member

    takisawa – why do you have the shock on that way round?

    timber
    Full Member

    but the title is modern classic, not saying the beast isn’t a classic, just not so modern, I think the stumpy M4 hardtails are pretty classic too for being a great ride, but they are from a different era to the now

    stonemonkey
    Free Member

    yes 1995 would be “modern retro” not “modern classic” 😀

    I had one of the early metalheads around 1996 i think wish i had kept it. Isnt frank the welder building for sinsiter bikes now? Spookys back but i’m not 100% convinced , i like the horror taxi though

    timber
    Full Member

    didn’t think the metalhead was that old, ooops

    stonemonkey
    Free Member

    Thats why i said “i think” must be before 1997-98 ive got some pics of it somewhere i’ll dig them out for you non belivers :o. It was in the sky blue

    adeward
    Free Member

    whyte preston

    myfatherwasawolf
    Free Member

    Indy Fab is a modern classic. It’s a simple but elegant hardtail that harks back to the classic Yo Eddy, which at the time was out of my reach. Pure class.

    Take Spooky Metalhead off the list – some of the worst built frames I ever saw – and I had two! Swapped for a Pitboss which might have been one of the earliest ‘burly’ cross country hardtails around – and potentially a classic (although still dogged by sloppy welding amd stickers that fell off in a week…)

    stonemonkey
    Free Member

    I thought my metalhead was well built, remember the sliding dropouts fitted the painted frame with perfection, welds were ok quickly done but ok

    PeterPoddy
    Free Member

    OK, now it’s just a list of expensive bikes….
    Boutique does not necessarily mean classic.

    Take a look at the car world and check the cars that become classics – VW Beetle, Mk1 Escort and Cortina, Citroen 2CV, The Mini, the Landrover, Fiat 500….

    These are the ones that many people love and cherish, cars that stood for something, or broke new ground (Which in some cases has never been bettered) but not because of how much they cost or how fast they are…..

    So, I’ve got 3 suggestions, in no particular order.

    Kona Explosif – Still in production after what, 18-19 years? Set the standard for hardtails in so many ways, hugely influential, a joy to ride. People scrabble over getting their hands on a decent used one…

    The original Specialized Enduro – A bike that just worked very, very well. They still fetch a good price, there’s still not been a massive leap foreward since then. Still a brilliant bike.

    And the Landrover of MTBs, the On-One Inbred – A bit ugly and utilerian, does anything for anyone at a pinch, hard to kill, cheap, endlessly repairable.

    🙂

    duntmatter
    Free Member

    I like your logic, PP.

    I reckon the Stiffee could be a modern classic. An early ‘hardcore hardtail’ copied by many, equalled by few; can be built up in various ways; essentially unchanged since introduction; holds value well; still shifts out of the shops new; inspiring to ride; distinctive looks..

    Also has minor quirks that fans get by with, like paint made from the dust on moth wings.

    nukeproof
    Free Member

    Yep, I’m with those that said the Spesh Enduro and the Inbred (although the ‘classic’ white ones), P7, Stiffee and Cotic Soul. Also the Trek 69er (the original orange one with the matching coloured forks). I also reckon the Hummer and the ti456 (still youngish but will eventually be a modern classic imho). Also Orange 5 and SC Superlight.

    poppa
    Free Member

    Stiffee.

    mangoridebike
    Full Member

    Dialled PA –

    Relatively cheap ,tough as old boots, rides great and almost universally loved by those who have ridden them. I think the number which have been broken can be counted on the fingers of one hand, which considering the riding that is done on them and the number out there is pretty impressive.

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