Got a theme going on with a mate to build up some retro kit… give us some inspiration of real retro builds or restorations…

Trying Googling Retrobikes for all things MTB andf yester year. Some great/mad stuff from the past.

Here's mine:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16009

1995 Kona Kilauea with mostly period parts on it (Pace forks are 2001ish)

SPeaker – it's just nice to see some retro stuff that STW'ers own.. I used to have a muddy fox courier comp and a cannondale M500 (iirc)..

Old bikes are old bikes, just like new bikes are new bikes, except old bikes are older which makes them old bikes unlike new bikes which are newer, than old bikes which are older, than new bikes which are newer, just like new bikes are new bikes, except old bikes are older which makes them old bikes unlike new bikes which are newer, than old bikes which are older, than new bikes which are newer, just like new bikes are new bikes, except old bikes are older which makes them old bikes unlike new bikes which are newer, than old bikes which are older, than new bikes which are newer, just like new bikes are new bikes, except old bikes are older which makes them old bikes unlike new bikes which are newer, than old bikes which are older, than new bikes which are newer, just like new bikes are new bikes, except old bikes are older which makes them old bikes unlike new bikes which are newer, than old bikes which are older, than new bikes which are newer, just like new bikes are new bikes, except old bikes are older which makes them old bikes unlike new bikes which are newer, than old bikes which are older, than new bikes which are newer, just like new bikes are new bikes, except old bikes are older which makes them old bikes unlike new bikes which are newer, than old bikes which are older, than new bikes which are newer, just like new bikes are new bikes, except old bikes are older which makes them old bikes unlike new bikes which are newer, than old bikes which are older, than new bikes which are newer…

Urgh… don't go there… It's an endless nightmare and it all starts with the great idea of building a retro ride.

1985 Saracen Conquest.
Album link

messiah – I have just done my wife;s circa 92 Marin, just finishin off a few bits. total cost for the bike and restoration £40 🙂 it's not a genuine rebuild but it is shiny and goes well. And I love to build bikes! it's all good fun!

How old does the frame have to be before it's retro?

Brighton Big Dog Retro rules say 1995 or older.

How long until my 1999 frame is retro? Or is it going to "modern" for the foreseeable future as it can take 3-4" travel forks?

I see retro as pre-disc but everyone will have an idea of retro. Even in 15 years time modern frames wont be retro, I think the 1st MTB's are exactly that and as such are still liked for being the 1st of their kind, I cannot see modern mass produced bikes becoming retro.. for me the orinal marins, Klein's, Orange's and muddy fox are all retro from around 1992 and before

Here's mine, 96 Dekerf Generation

1993 GT RTS team.. mix of old and new components..
in bits at the moment though awaiting a possible rebuild

The guy who runs my LBS is a real retro fan. He's got a Zaskar with full 1994 XTR groupset and RS Judy's and he's currently sorting out an immaculate Pace RC200 F5 frame and RC36 forks (the ones with the gold ano stanchions, they're also immaculate).

Two peas in pod.

Zangolin
If I had spare ££££ I'd make you an offer for that!

My Humu probably isn't retro (or restored for that matter) but it's getting there.

And I found this on my website the other day, forgot all about it. Got it in bits, ditched a load and then rebuilt it.

Mid 90's Kona.

What more do you need? 😀

My 1993 Orange Prestige wearing a new coat of paint.

Its all done now complete with 150mm Stalk stem…….steers like a barge!!!

Mid 90's Kona.

What more do you need?

How about a frame with good clearance for 2.0" tyres?
How about a frame that has good cable routing for the gears?
How about a frame that has good cable routing for the rear brake?
How about a frame that doesn't have a habit of breaking at the driveside dropout?
How about a frame that can take a suspension fork with more travel than 63mm without ruining the handling.
How about a frame that can take a riser bar without feeling silly flexible along the top tube?

Where have you been since 1994?

mtbfix is winning at the moment. 😀

Where have you been since 1994?

Having fun on bikes.

You? Melting credit cards in your LBS per chance? 😉

mtbfix – the bike I was referring to is a Generation too!

In or out?

Stick on amber wall tyres, flat bars and bar ends it'd look as retro as mtbfix's, but stick Maxle rebas and a K18 on the front and you'd be struggling on the retro front, but probably having more fun riding!

How about something really rare?

I love old bikes… 😀

😯 … 😀

Those Bombers where built for Pwning!

ok ok this was never meant to be a which is better or can old school handle the modern world…. I love my modern all singing all dancing intense, but I still love the old original kit regardless of how well it rides! that said it worked back then for epic rides and still can.. just not as easy 😉

Yeah, sorry Spank, I was hijacking your thread with my own hangups and longlasting indecision regarding my bike!

mtbfix – the bike I was referring to is a Generation too! In or out?

I guess 96 is on the limit of what is currently considered retro. Go on the vintage thread at MTBR and it would be flamed as way too new. FWIW – maxle Rebas would knacker the handling and make it look weird (IMO).

I guess 96 is on the limit of what is currently considered retro

fair enough, especially as they produced the same frame for another few years after that.

Agreed Rebas would be odd at 120mm, I'd spacer them down to 80mm or 100mm or somewhere in between. Those bombers are actually 105mm* and the bike handles OK. They're just twangy. The other choice is SIDs, and that would mean I could keep the Vs and the front wheel.

*I posted a "criticise my bike" thread a while ago. I was bored and rectified some of the complaints – saddle height, cranks and locked down the travel.

Iv'e got an original spec Alpinestars cro-mega DX in my mums garage, bit dusty and a little bit of rust, but nothing a bit of TLC wouldn't cure.

For sale for the right price. Looks kind of cool (for an old bike) but i'm never going to ride it.

As posted the other day, dug this out of my mums barn at the weekend. A 94 Hardrock Ultra in mint condition, apart from a failed attempt to convert to V Brakes (didn't realise at the time that levers weren't compatible) its all original – (have found the old canti's) and will be my new pub/shopping bike

Mine is a bit of a fail, as it's '97 and has risers. Some people who see it love it, some (only on here, not in the real world) hate it, so a bit of a marmite bike.

I call it my rasta bike due to the rather bold colour scheme – tried selling it a couple of times and although I got decent bids, somehow it's still here. Just use it as a pub/spare bike – in fact my mate with a busted shock will be riding it Thursday.

I do gain a few retro points back though, for a DCD and red anodised brake booster. The front wheel is original too and never stripped/serviced.

Oh, (edit) – it's 7 speed too.

Ned, that truly is a shiny bicycle. No idea where you got the idea of K18s and Rebas on a '96 Generation from. 😀

Clubber,
you ever thinking of selling your Kilauea?

Messiah,
On your Explosif, are they a set of XTR cranks circa 98 with a middleburn single ring…

ok, i've been down in the cellar and dug out my housemates bikes….

note the hub brakes…. surprisingly good!

and the bars

I think you were right to post the Humu, Retro means styled in the past, not necessarilly old. You don't hear of a retro house, it's an old house – for example. Retro is styling something in the past – er stlye. 🙂

My apologies for being pedantic.

Lovely bikes – mostly.

My project that never got finished:

Here's one I restored:

ref sheppie hills cannodale..

id dont get the older cannondale frame and new halo rims??
sorry but why mix old and new?i dont get it. sorry.
can understand restoring to original spec or riding a new bike,
but mixing both?? 😕

That Killer V is **** lush innit. Good effort with the Amp.