Show me… your retro DH bike.

'96 LTS DH didn't have bearings

96 LTS DH didn't have bearings

Maybe newer then.

Same bike as that, I'm sure. Will have to check now. Looks the same, but he doesn't have the rear disc mounts.

It used bushes but a lot of owners upgrade to bearings using the BETD bearing kit which was a great improvement.

Aye but the kit didn't fit the '96 LTS, only '97 onwards.
if you want to know which frame is 96 and which is 97, the 96 had a Titanium linkage, the 97 onwards had an alloy link with crappy plastic insert holding the ropey adjustable trunion mount the shock screwed into (the threads would turn while you rode)

Aye but the kit didn't fit the '96 LTS, only '97 onwards.
if you want to know which frame is 96 and which is 97, the 96 had a Titanium linkage, the 97 onwards had an alloy link with crappy plastic insert holding the ropey adjustable trunion mount the shock screwed into (the threads would turn while you rode)

" (the threads would turn while you rode)"

Did it on the plastic STS too. Somewhere I've got a pic of a mod to stop this happening to mate's bike in the alps. Basically it involved a load of big zipties so that it couldn't unscrew itself.

Mod was made after an unscheduled trailside service incident 🙂

Nice riding bikes tho, way ahead of their time in terms of sus action.

Sadly no pic – but my first DH bike was a ’92 Orange Clockwork with Pace RC36 forks – a Crud Chain device & purple bits from x-lite & onza – now that’s retro

Heres my beauty.

Enjoy.

a buddy of mine had the scott FX dh with the banana seat – yellow and blue ..

another had the more modern white and blue one with twin shocks and silly seat ….

neither were any good …. first ones headangle was somewhere about perpendicular to the floor … the second one weighed a tonne and cornered like a barge

*Hands up* squirrel, I'm an old skool DH geek (to be fair, it's one of the only parts of my memory from the '90s that's still in tact 😳 )

AI – I spent the last 2 days of my Morzine trip in '97 riding mine with the actual linkage held together with jubilee clips, I bought all the hardware store in Morzine had, each run I'd strap it with 5 or 6 and be lucky to get to the bottom with one or two still holding the bike together. them were the days, eh?

Damn you 8690q, I lusted after one of those well past the point that it was socially acceptable.
Fantastic bike I say.

The LTS DH didnt have a rear disk mount, I just put an A2Z adptor on the back. Rear shock 'popped' on about the first outing in the Alps. Still worked well enough for me. The forks flexed back and forwards more than they went up and down. All the bushings creaked and groaned. But it served me well until the rear shock link bolt sheered through one day in Morzine. Bodged it back together with zip ties and duct tape though. Bought it for £350, and sold it for £450 after much abuse (but was very honest about its condition).

[Geek]the last LTS DH frames had mounts on the seat stay for a disc brake adapter plate GT that sold seperately to bolt to (gotta remember, this was before anyone had settled on disc mount "standards")

"Aye but the kit didn't fit the '96 LTS, only '97 onwards.
if you want to know which frame is 96 and which is 97, the 96 had a Titanium linkage, the 97 onwards had an alloy link with crappy plastic insert holding the ropey adjustable trunion mount the shock screwed into (the threads would turn while you rode)"

No, there was a bearing kit for the 96 too. Not as comprehensive as the later ones but a bearing kit none the less.

hmm.. I'll have to take your word for it then, never seen a '96 with bearings.

4th one down

I love LTS bikes, used to sell them and had an LTS1 (98) as well as the Lobo. Yep – I regret selling that one too…..

🙁

Keep the pics coming folks – great thread. I may even have something to post myself in a week or two 😉

Retro? Pah, I remember when 'downhill' bikes were hardtails with 50-60mm forks!

The sad truth is, someone like Steve Peat could probably beat any of us on such a machine, and us on a 10" current state of the art DH bike!

Check the retro bling on here!

Oooh cheers Captain 😛 . Not been on retrobike for a couple of weeks.

Mama, I'll be looking out for you over there…! 😉

mama – you should enjoy this:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126808

Cool . . . I may be some time 8)

excellent link GW

GW, that one's been in my favourites for quite a while now! Some amazing/scary/brilliant/hilarious stuff in there!

how about one of these

twin disks. oh yeah.

Wonder how many of those bikes were trashed by some joker trying to ride it like that…
[/clown bike]

Not ridden since March though. Hopefully Inners in September.