upgraded that to a lynksey rocketdog 😆
extra points for the ubiquitous fire xc, and irc mythos
On one's (in particular the rigid framesets)
Seemed every other bike was one 15 years ago, and as they are indestructible I wonder where all the inbreds and 456s are now.
@tomhoward Yes! I meant vertical dropout. Fanny.
@onzadog Tora had a nice e-stay prototype, not sure if they ever took it into production.
On where are they now?
I have a Pitch as my trail bike, a Ramin 1 for longer distance rides, a P7 sitting doing nothing (supposed to be a commuter but I don't do that any more), a Chameleon 5 and 2 Trailstars (Mk1 BMX and LT) in bits, my missus has an Inbred and my mate has a P3 and a 5.
I wonder where all the inbreds and 456s are now
My 456 is still in semi regular use by my son. It was bought originally because it had rack mounts and I wanted to take him cycling and I could fit a Topeak rack and seat. Both travelled on the back of it and now both are big enough to ride it!
The parts were mostly acquired/taken from a Specialized Enduro that I mostly didn't get on with in the 6 years I owned it.
Other things you don't see brown Puch bikes with green metal mudguards and a Sturmey Archer three speed hub gear (thank goodness).
How could I forget Mavericks...... I cycles pot de bales, perysoude, Cole de aspin and tourmelet on a ml 8 called cossete from Les mis.
Great bikes.
Owned a lot of bikes mentioned here but never got a de kerf.
Fat bikes... Once everywhere now gone
Semi fats like my trek stache - keeping it going but format dead
69ers - like my old school inbred - dead
650b/27.5 or whatever plus bikes - dead
Analogue bikes - where you have to pedal - dead, all e-bikes now
How times have changed.. Good thread.
Yeah fat bikes are back to being weird, I approve.
Lapierre Zestys and Spicys though, they were everywhere for a while but they've been erased from time now. I'd have killed for a Zesty 914.
I think most have been mentioned already. For me I think Orange is probably the biggest one, at one point you couldn't go riding anywhere without seeing one, but I can't remember the last time I saw one in the wild.
In the vein of high end boutique bikes (I see Dekerf has been mentioned) - Independent Fabrication. They used to be a dream bike, and I believe still exist, but I can't remember when I last saw them mentioned on the forum. I had one made in 2008 (ordered through Sideways Cycles - what happened to them?) and absolutely loved it, still ride it now (but mainly as a pump track bike, previously I was commuting on it). It still brings a smile to my face.
I wonder where all the inbreds and 456s are now
The 45650b I got on C2W 10 years ago is still in regular use by MrsFlyingOx
I always lusted after one of these:
but by the time I could afford one they'd stopped production.
Mentioning Indy Fab reminds me are Spot still going ? I seem to remember they were sold through Sideways Cycles ?
I have always tended to keep my bikes for quite a while to the point that they are unsalable when I replace them. So the back of the shed includes a c2001 Santa Cruz Superlight and c2009 Yeti 575. Mrs BH is similar and has a 2005 Superlight and a first generation Cotic Soda (probably still her favourite bike). Inexplicably I threw out a 1998 Voodoo Bizango which was based on a hand built frame. Maybe 10 years after purchase I was riding along the Isle of Wright downs and met a rider on a near-identical machine and we stopped and chatted, comparing builds. Mrs BH said it reminded her of two dogs meeting up and sniffing each other’s bottoms. 🙂
I’m always wondering what happened to all those old bikes that used to be popular. Surely they’re just hiding in the back of a shed rather taken to the tip?
I mentioned in another thread a few days ago that trail centres are often good places to spot retro MTBs.
Have a look for families, particularly Dad + kid(s). There's a fair chance either that the Dad will be on something from his past MTBing days or that an older kid might be on a hand-me-down.
A former commute route of mine (tarmac cycle path away from the road) was well used by local school kids. Most were on the usual BSO stuff but there was a schoolgirl, maybe about 14-15 years old on a really nice Kona Lava Dome from the mid-90's. Obviously a hand over from a parent. Saw her a few times along there.
I had a few comments from people who saw my old Cove Stiffee - I rode it at Leeds Urban Bike Park and Dalby with my nieces a few times. Once at LUBP, outside the cafe, it drew about half a dozen people all looking at it, was actually a bit embarrassing.
Charge bikes? Their hardtails were pretty popular for a few years but then focused on commuter/fixies, didn’t they?
Chumba HX hardtails. I bought one after the Singletrack review.
https://singletrackworld.com/2011/03/new-chumba-hardtails/
Ibis Mojo - used to see a fair few, can't remember the last time I saw an Ibis now. To be fair, I don't ride at many trail centres during daylight any more so generally don't see many other bikes full stop ?
Any Kona.
Charge bikes? Their hardtails were pretty popular for a few years but then focused on commuter/fixies, didn’t they?
@northwind complimented my duster skinny* once.
Then i remembered he had owned an ellesworth so i a not sure i should read much into his aesthetic taste.
DeKerf
Never had one but always wanted one
good shout, always wanted the dekerf softail. ended up with a moots YBB softail tho so cant complain (long gone now tho).
I wonder where all the inbreds and 456s are now
I've got 2 (geared inbred, 456 summer season) a guy i work with has two (SS Inbred, TInbred) and i see a couple of 29ers and a 45650b locked up in the bike sheds here.
They're all rusty, except the Ti. Obviously.
My lad still has an Inbred, built up with 3x9 Rapid Rise XT...
Too small for him now, but works for canal pootling type riding.
are Spot still going
Churning out carbon full bouncers in the US I think - a far cry from skinny steel singlespeeds...
Wonder where all these nice old bikes went to? They can't all be in use still - surely there must be lovely boutique bikes thrown in the back of sheds all over the place etc. Think my mate who has lived in Oz for 15+ years still has his loaded titanium Airborne in the back of his parent's shed...
I appear to have owned most of the bikes named in this thread! Turner, Cove, Inbreds + 456s etc. Of all of them, I'd probably have teh 5 Spot and Hummer back, if only to look at.
I'd add DMR- when I use to ride at Chicksands, there were loads of Trailstars and the like (I had one). Not seen any for years. I also had their more XC orientated Switchback, but I don't think I ever saw another one.
Spot are still going- different owners now but they make the Mayhem FS with a funky titanium leaf spring.
Another name that seems to be gone is Ellsworth. Remember all that patent stuff with Turner and Horst links back around 2000ish?
Not mine but I did have one. It was awful.
Yeah, that Cove is why we're all on 29ers now. I loved Cove bikes back in the day, I thought the the machined linkage on the G-spot was the coolest detail ever
TheFlyingOxFull
I always lusted after one of these:
but by the time I could afford one they’d stopped production.
I built up an El Guapo not long ago, from a frame a friend bought off On One but left in a shed unbuilt for about ten years
Yeah, that Cove is why we’re all on 29ers now. I loved Cove bikes back in the day, I thought the the machined linkage on the G-spot was the coolest detail ever
I came close to buying a G-Spot back in the day. Was working P/T at a bike shop in the Lake District (a Cove dealer) and they organised a demo day with various staff members guiding different loops so I "borrowed" the G-Spot which thankfully had air suspension F&R so I could easily set it up for me. I took it round the Borrowdale Bash and it absolutely steam-rollered all the descents. And it just looked really cool, a properly sorted suspension bike.
All I'd ridden up until then was XC full-sus bikes or my HT Cove so this was like going from a sports car to a monster truck! I did see sense before parting with the cash though, it was way too much bike for me.
Had an azonic ds2. Don't think I have pics but spent pretty much my teenage years hopping that thing around with mates. Got stolen in the end 🙁
Anyway, haven't seen an azonic frame for years but I googled and they don't make them anymore so that'll be why
Wonder where all these nice old bikes went to? They can’t all be in use still – surely there must be lovely boutique bikes thrown in the back of sheds all over the place etc.
Willing to bet that many of them you simply can't get parts for any more, especially suspension innards. Decent 26" wheelsets are few and far between now too.
I sold my Cove Stiffee on ebay about 18 months ago; it ended up being bought by a self-confessed bike collector / fettler who seemed to have a hobby / sideline in stripping and rebuilding all sorts of random bikes. Nice guy. Anyway, I was fully aware on the few occasions I rode it that if anything broke, it'd likely mean a very time-consuming list of repairs simply because everything was obsolete.
ISIS BB and cranks, 26" QR wheels, 3x10 gears, one-piece brake/shifter units so if the gears went, I'd need new brakes too... TF Tuned - who used to service all my suspension back in the day - had long before warned that my RS Psylo's were on probably the last service they'd manage because they were wearing out and even TF could no longer get the parts...
I built up an El Guapo not long ago
Still a thing of beauty in my eyes
Was going to mention Azonic, (who are still going, who knew?!) had a DS1 Evo that was stiffer than an Amsterdam window cleaner, but was my first non-BSO bike. Would have been 2002/3ish I think.
Sold it to a family friend to get a Kona Stinky.
No "fashionable on the forum" list is complete without the Yeti 575
Cotic Soul surely, it seemed to be the most popular 26er HT, certainly on here, for many years
Willing to bet that many of them you simply can’t get parts for any more, especially suspension innards. Decent 26″ wheelsets are few and far between now too.
Plenty of serviceable (if not high end) forks out there though. Open bath era Marzocchis will still be going in another 20 years as long as they're treated well (but fatigue will catch up at some point).
Wheels actually have options, there are still good rims out there, just not as much choice or as cheap as they once were.
But yeah, it's the daft bits that will get you. When I got my Pitch I was all for setting it up as 2x until I couldn't find the special type1/2 derailleur mount anywhere. Similarly I got the only set of (available) derailleur dropouts in the world from the US for my Chameleon as it only had the single speed dropouts when I got it. Still in their packet, of course. Trailstars are less of an issue, they still do the Mk2 APS mounts.
@alex pretty sure the Switchback was also released as the Kinesis Virsa
My Raleigh Dyna-Tech Odyssey...c 1991. VERY rigid. (It ended up being taken in part of the 'settlement' by my first wife together with all my camping kit...I managed to keep the negative equity and the house....not bitter....)
Replaced with a Marin Team in early 94 (It was toss up between the Marin and a KHS Montana Pro) that did countless Polaris/Trailquests...who needed suspension!
There’s been definite phases of bikes that were in vogue.
When I started riding in the late nineties, then through to about 2003, it was all Marins. They were cheap and light and simple enough that they worked well in the UK. Now you never see a Marin.
Then it seemed to be Specialized Enduros.
That then moved to Orange Fives. You couldn’t move for them around 2010. And now, you’ll not see an Orange.
Since Orange went out of fashion, Santa Cruz seems to be the brand. And at some point, they’ll either forget what made their bikes appealing (like Lapierre, Orange, Cannondale and Marin) or rest on their laurels and no longer be the latest and greatest thing (like Specialized Enduros and Commencal Metas).
Plenty of those are location specific though, you'll still see plenty of Orange and Marin around here but local shops sell them so that'll be why. Santa Cruz defo seem to be on the decline though compared to the days when every other bike was a 5010.
Not sure there's properly dominant brand where I ride atm, maybe Nukeproof? I real mixed bag.
Ragley would have been on my list as they were everywhere when the original Blue Pig came out but declined to the point they weren't mentioned, until the CRC fire sale brought them back in to focus.
I imagine plenty of the mentioned brands are UK specific as either no one imports them or the distributor doesn't advertise or get the bikes in to shops. Salsa suffer from this as they had plenty of interesting bikes when I was looking but virtually no stock in the limited suppliers they had. Transition seems to be going in a similar direction.
Specialized Enduro Expert, my first full suspension bike. Bought it to go on my first Alps trip with the Singletrack Girls week in Verbier. Loved it
Orange is probably the biggest one, at one point you couldn’t go riding anywhere without seeing one, but I can’t remember the last time I saw one in the wild.
As above, Oranges are still quite popular here in Lancs and I also see them when I'm over Hebden way (closer to the source obvs).
Mine may have been the only one I saw on a recent weekend in the Tweed Valley though. And I was surprised that a teenage lad was admiring it like it was something exotic.
Nukeproof probably the most popular brand here too, initially because Nigel Page & Elliot Heap were local but also 'cos they've been so cheap in recent years I guess.
When I saw the title I was gonna say Lapierre. The Zesty was such a feelgood bike and so popular. I know quite a few broke, but still quite something to lose that much market share.
Colin - I think you would really like my Marz Z1 coil fork - it's ridiculously smooth.
Certainly don’t see many MTBs with Toe clips anymore!
We had someone turn up for the Bottles & Chains Christmas ride on an original Trek 69er.
All alloy Yeti's will be recycled or on the garage wall by now. My SB66 is.
I sold my DMR Switchback last year. Short, high & steep, but seemed fine 20 years ago. Even without a dropper.
I still have a 90's Salsa Ala Carte & a DBR Axis TT.
Agreed. Mine were ditched after the Verbier visit. Removed after the first day as I couldn't get in them.
Specialized Enduro Expert, my first full suspension bike
same here, I replaced it with an Orange 5, and also had a Cotic Soul - I must have spent too much time on here....
Fat bikes.
Keep up qwerty thats first page stuff.
Raleigh Activators!
