[Closed] Old bikes that are better than they should be.

My 2002 Patriot which is still my main bike agrees 🙂

06 is not an old bike.

My 97 klein attitude is hugely good fun.

06 Anthem

Old?

06 Anthem

Old?

+1

My 2004 Enduro is one of them. With wider bars and a shorter stem it feels fantastic, despite the steepish (by today's standards) head tube of 69.5 degrees it's a very playful bike that loves the descents.

got a practicaly NOS 05 5 spot about a month ago built up with revs hoops and flows & full 2x9 M770/5 Group .. wow what a bike !!

I can see where you are coming from, without being condescending.

I also have an old anthem and it's a great bike. It punches well above its weight. I can't see how the newer model is going to be that much better to warrant buying one. I can seee where DrR S**** is coming from too. Orange's older models are timeless.

Yup...even good suspension bikes that age haven't really been improved upon.

Don't...don't...don't believe the hype.

Hmm - my main mountain bike is an '06 Scott Genius, and I don't consider that old. It also performs far better than my 2011 Nimbus Muni 😉

People saying "old?"
I can see why many would think an '06 bike should be outdated.
After all every component and frame of every bike has got x% stiffer and x% lighter EVERY year.

According to the marketing dept anyway

In reality - the jump from a good 2006 bike to a good 2012 bike is pretty marginal. You've just got to not get caught up in the 'model year' way of thinking.

I built up an 05 Orange five last year, U turn Pikes, double and bash, 710 bars and a short stem, it's bloody marvelous.

Just want to replace the swinger shock, but not sure whether to go coil or RP2/3.

06 is not old in my book!

took my 98 Gary Fisher out the other day...not bad really, not brilliant, but I still had fun! 😀

06 Anthem

Old?

This

Has it even changed since then!?

My 2005 6 pack has blown me away. I ride it way more than my DW Spot.

It will be off to the Alps. DW Spot will probably be sold.

It still is 2006 in my head. Maybe earlier.

I don't really go by what year something is - bikes and bits either work, or they don't.

Half a degree here and there in a head angle means about the same as a different coloured frame, for all the difference it makes to me.

My Kobe - 2003.

I generally consider anything after 2005 as 'new', 1999 - 2005 as 'normal' and pre 99 as a bit old if FS, but fine if HT.

my newest sus bike is 2004, can't say any of the newer bikes I have ridden feel any better...

Most of the improvements have been incremental component and shock improvements, and they of course work fine on older frames.

My 03 HL 5spot, it's staying til whichever of us dies first, if it's me...I'm taking it with me 8)

1999 Spec Rockhopper, still awesome

What i am trying to get across is that this Anthem frame had lost 75%ish of it's new value. Yet it rode as good as a shop fresh modern one with longer travel.

So the advice often dispensed , buy SH and spend money on trip using it is very sound.

My bikes are a 2003 Bullit & Boxxers and a 2002 (i think) trailstar! Both are great to ride, considering changing the trailstar for a surge though as it feels really twitchy due to the head angle.

2003 S-Works Enduro (£700 off Ebay a couple of years ago) still going very well thanks!

Certainly don't feel at a disadvantage when riding with people on much newer bikes.

Even buying last year's unsold stock returns some stunning savings... My '09 Wolf Ridge was bought for £1,000 off in Aug '10.

Shop around people...

My 1995 first-proper-MTB is soon to be awakened from its slumber. Im actually quite excited 🙂

Purple forks, I've missed you so...

I had a new Focus Carbon Raven Pro (all XO, XTR, SIDS, FSA carbon) pinched, and because I couldn't afford to replace it - my friend has lent me his 1999 Trek 8900...

The Trek is without question the best bike I've ever ridden.

My 91 Carrera is better than it should be. Still rotten though.

Why would there be old bikes that are better than they should be?

Is it not more the fact that many folk get drawn in to the marketing trollocks that the latest greatest ever bike has just been released and you should buy it?

2002 Orange Sub5 which has become my winter bike. I have a 2011 Orange ST4 too but to be honest i'd be quite happy just to ride the Sub5. Very stretched out riding position. I managed to get a virtually full XTR fitted Sub5 last year with tubeless wheels and vanilla forks. The owner had built it up and then put it in his shed unused for 8 years. The only thing I added was an RP23 shock. Orange bikes are timeless.

Its not about the bike.

You can have fun on anything from a £69 BSO to a 5k hardtail.

I think we all get too wrapped up in the tech. No one needs the latest full sus bike, dropper posts, 31.2 inch wheels or whatever the next wave of tech is. Without doubt these things make life easier, but do we really want things to be that easy? Wheres the fun in that?

Rant over.

You cant have fun on a £69 BSO. Not for long, anyway.

Old bikes rule! Old riding gear though...

You cant have fun on a £69 BSO. Not for long, anyway.

I had some of the most memorable rides of my life over in France on a €99 bike from decathlon, I threw it in a skip on the way home.

Old school Sunn Radical?

Fully rigid '90 Kona Lavadome. Laggan Black nae dabs. At no point did I feel that the bike was holding me back.

Kona had hardtail geometry nailed at a time when other MTB's looked like road bikes.

P7 '03 only MTB for last nine years - still gets ridden hard.

Only frame, wheels and cranks still original tho'. Need somewhere special for the 10th anniversary ride.

2000 Patriot LT 🙂 6" trail bike.... perfectly 'modern' despite it's age.

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Other bike is a 2002 Orange 222 which gets ridden pretty hard...

My 2002 Scott Octane. It's lovely, wide bars, 150mm travel, single pivot lushness. It even has a head angle of between 68-67 degrees (adjustable of course). 😀

The angles on that Patriot look fine...nice to see a twelve year old bike still being ridden and enjoyed.

@ PJM1974

Frame works nicely with 150mm 36R forks (TALAS too, which is handy).

Soon to be fitting a 27.2 dropper post 🙂

Out back is a 12x135 bolt-through setup, so there's zero flex.

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2001 Giant NRS.

Now doing singlespeed duites with a Rohloff tensioner. Not ridden much but on a dry summers day it's great.

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'96 Bontrager Race - now built up as a singlespeed with short travel RC39's on it. Absolutely brilliant bike. Probably considered a 'bit twitchy' by todays standards though...

Well this is quite fun to ride a 1989 Marin Pallisades
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But that a young bike next to my 1981 Alan competizione. However many more older bikes are in use over on Retrobike. I suggest the OP who think his 06 bike is old has look over there.

I ride an 03 Orange Evo2
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A mid ninties Kona steel of course
Nowt wrong with old.

Until last year I was still riding a silver 1994 Orange Clockwork. Fully rigid with elegant curved forks & capable of a real turn of speed too. You just had to keep your wits about you or you were off, especially in the rough stuff! Loved riding it in the peaks, lakes & dales. A great bike!

06

old bikes

you're joking right?

'95 Turner Burner is a top notch XC race mount. Modern (ish) parts mind. Circa 2005

2004 enduro, a classic. Loads of fun and dressed in "modern" bits it's just as capable as newer offerings.

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mountain cycle-san andreas

Where are my manners, I forgot to post the mandatory pictures of my bikes..

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^ This was by far the oldest looking bike I saw in Whistler.

this thread has cheered me up, my only bike, a 2003 Kona Cinder Cone got some TLC today, was starting to think I was the only person with a bike older than 5 years:

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98 Schwinn Homegrown USA now as an SS (although yet to be ridden like that)

Another vote for 04 Enduro here. Just rebuilt mine after two years hung bare framed on the wall.

Fab bikes both. Schwinn is very direct and lively and the Enduro is great fun so long as its not bonkers steep.

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Day before yesterday

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Last week
.
I have newer, fancier stuff with much carbon fibre. This bike is the most fun though, the one I'll never sell. It's a 1999 frame by the way, bits range from 1998 to 2011.

Those Marins are phenomenal!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Marin-Shoreline-Trail-Frame-Super-Rad-/230758947914

So are those Enduros judging by the feedback on here (some of which is mine).

Still my benchmark for what an MTB should be like. 2001 Trailstar. Lively (would now be described as twitchy), great balance of weight and bombproofness, cool looking and capable of most types of riding.

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Still my favourite (for now) bike to ride in terms of shits and giggles, although I suspect that's about to change now I've gone back to steel from the ali Mr Hyde and tried to build something that is to 2012 what the Trailstar was to 2002.

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slainte 8) rob