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Also a Klein Droit. Saw one hanging in Battersea Cycles in the early nineties in that fluorescent orange and green livery and it became instantly my object of desire. Then later the San Andreas from Mountain Cycle. There used to be one hanging on the wall at a local tea shop in Taiwan with HED carbon wheels. I was lucky enough to ride one as my BIL had one with the original Bombers on the front!
I had a zaskar and was able to get an STS1000 with all its noodly Judy duel crown forks and AMP cable disk brake, (front only)
I always liked the look of the kona stinky/Turner Burner.
I did end up with a 5spot, ride that for about 10 years, it was brilliant.
The LBS had an original spec Pace rc100 hanging on the wall for a while. Lovely looking thing!
Always wanted a Turner Burner, but could get a original Santa Cruz Heckler and a Pace fork for the same money, got it from Stif in Headingley
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">Full xtr 8 speed with v brakes and 3 spoke spin wheels with ceramic rims, lovely bike but really wanted the Turner!
Later on I got a Turner 5 Spot, really disappointed, didn’t gel with it at all, sold it on after a couple of months </span>
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">Used to lust after the Kleins in the shop in Meadowhall in the early 90’s, bought a Proflex 955 instead☹️ </span>
Theres a lot of bikes listed here that I definitely wanted but I'm not sure any fit the OP
Klein Adroit is pretty close, but I stopped wanting one after riding one so dont think it counts. That was the first bike that made me think "a bike can be too light"
GT Zaskar, well, I had 2 of those (US made ones too) and is one of the few I really want again in a way.
I think, beyond childhood (which would simply have been the first bike I saw with bouncy forks, Raleigh of some description) bikes, it must have been an aluminium Orange of some sort. The first full suspension bike, I'm not sure of the brand, italian, xtralite!?
Edit, Extralite F1, but having found it, could be superseded by an Ibis Bow Ti
Edit again, Orange E4
tbh probably one of the bmx bikes from e t.
i remember trying to win one in a comp in a magazine (cannot remember the mag unfortunately,was a kids mag from early/mid 80's)
never won it though lol
edit i think the magazine was called look in.
Despite being 50 yrs old, the bike I wanted but never got was/is an Ancillotti Scarab 29er. I’ve wanted an Ancillotti since the mid 2000’s when I got to ride a DH down the Pleney; it was amazing – the suspension was way ahead of anything I’d ridden, and felt glued whilst still playful. I was blown away.
I remember seeing those in coverage of NPS races in the early 2000's and wondering WTF these bikes were when half the field were on 222's and the other half on Ancilliotti despite there being no pro team, not available in shops, no adverts in the magazines.
They just seemed to exist, usually under some privateer on the 5th step behind Peaty, Longden, Atherton (on a badged up M1) and Fairclough.
The bike shop my dad used to take me to was a Klein dealer but he very rarely had anything MTB in stock as they were more road-biased. But one Saturday we went in to get a new set of brakes blocks for my bike and sitting there waiting for it's new owner to pick it up was a Klein Attitude in a crazy metallic green that looked like liquid metal (I now know that's called Sea and Sky). I was 13 at the time so would have been 1994, looking at it in the online catalogues now it's exactly how I remember it. The guy who ran the shop let me have a catalogue to take home which I left everywhere in the vain hope the parents would take the hint. Sadly we were pretty poor back then so I had to make do with a Raleigh that Christmas and birthday (they're a few days apart so presents were combined).
Would still buy one now if the price was reasonable but they're not.
Kona Explosif
The first bike I truly lusted after was the 90s Cannondales , I still love them but I 've never seen one without the tubes being dented.
I think my absolute favourites though, for some reason , for the la st 10 years is a Rocky Mountain Slayer or a Sunn Charger Finest, tbe ones with the Hammerschmidt overdrive box thing . Absolutely beautiful.
Really wanted a Diamond Back Harry Leary Turbo. At the time I had an Ultra Burner, which was pretty good, but always dreamt of owning a “proper” BMX
1989 Marin Bear Valley
Just the black with gold logos really appealed at the time. Shortly followed by pretty much any early 90s Yeti!
A Merlin XLM. I used to spend ages with the M and P catalogue that came with MBUK ('93/94 time) kitting one out. Still want one but can't justify it.
Bought my first MBUK in 1992 and it had a review of a Breezer Storm. I really lusted after one but my paper round money only ran to a GT Tequesta.
I have the Breezer now 🙂
There’s two that stick in my mind as my unicorn bikes:
Cannondale Delta V 2000. I lusted after one in the 90s. That black / purple / orange paint job was jaw droppingly good.
The second was a Dyna Tech Torus (or the identical X-lite equivalent). I still have an eBay saved search on the lookout for one. Prices are bonkers at present though.
Shop opened in Christchurch NZ, back in about 1990- only sold high end MTB's, no road bikes or local stuff, Chaingang cycles I think. Opened by a guy who I think had ridden with Gary Fisher and repack crowd, then come back home. Had a Schwinn that had been Gary Fisher's on the wall iirc. When it opened it made the local papers due to the outrageous prices of the kit it sold- pink/white/green Adroit was 5000 NZD I think, a huge amount back then, but what really caught my eye in the shop was a sloping top tube Cannondale 3.0 series, loved the look, really wanted it but couldn't afford it. I ended up going to another local shop, which supported racing by offering 12 months interest free, but they could only get the 3.0 series frame with a flat top tube. Had it built up with pretty much top end kit at the time, still cost best part of 3k, but everytime I got on it I wished that I'd been able to afford the cash for that so desirable sloping top tube....
So many, I don’t think I’ve ever had a bike that I wanted, only ones I could afford. I’m 38 now so in no particular order
RTS Team - I know the LTS was better but the RTS looked better to my eyes and at the time that was more important.
Mountain Cycles San Andreas
JMCs Specialized FSR
Proflex
GT Zaskar
Cannondale Beast of the East
STS DH Lobo
Dr Jekkl
Santa Cruz Heckler and Chameleon late 90s versions
Orange 5
Not sure what I want now tbh, too much choice these days and they’re all too good for me.
A Haro Freestyler, Bob Haro and a Haro Freestyler were BMX for me. I had a Puch and a Burner and later on a Redline but I never got a Freestyler. I did have a green and white Haro brake cable mind you.
I've now owned most of the mountain bike ones via Retrobike or at least had a go on them. And the road bike ones too(I've a PDM Concorde and a Colnago Master X lite).
My mind is somewhat changed these days as I'm older and as much as I enjoyed the bikes its the pals,trips and days out I remember most fondly. The hankering for stuff isn't anywhere nearly as strong as it was.
There were a couple from the time I really got into MTB but had no cash (for me it was an era of homebuilt klunkers mashed together from Police auctions).
Pashley 26mhz.
Spooky Metalhead.
First frame I coveted and actually managed to own was a 2000 Trailstar. Still got it. Along with a couple of other rufty tufty hardtails (BFe and Transmitter) - funny how our early MTB experiences can shape our view of the sport for years...
Probably a Fat Chance Yo Eddy in that green & blue. No chance on paper round money though.
Sometime after i'd stopped fantasizing about Raleigh Burners, there was bike shop in Lincoln in the early '90s that had mountain bikes that seemed out of this world.
They had a Fuji (i think) that was lustworthy and i'm pretty sure they had Klein as i remember loving the paintjobs. There was also a brand that had what looked like a face moulded into the front of the headtube. I thought that was the mutt's nuts.
A mate ended up competing very well as an U16 year old on one of their Fujis, and his Dad bought the unicycle in the window as well. He took it to Malvern to show off and ended up getting a spread in MBUK doing tricks on it.
Specialized Enduro/SX Trail, a Ti Charge Blender and a Transition TR450 (the wife had one and it was awesome. And probably a Bottle Rocket for a short while.
And a Curtis Hardtail.
I can’t really remember much about bike brands before 2005.
Only really got into mountain biking in my first year of university but the two bikes that I remember really grabbing me sat in bike shop windows on Bristol. Psyclewerx had a Rocky Mountain Slayer with a maple leaf paintjob which I lusted after and also the shop at the top of Whiteladies had one of the early monocoque specialised enduros which just looked cool.
I could afford a marin hardtail but hey.
The opposite of wbo back there, saw and had to buy a Pace rc100 but was smitten with a blue/green Yo Eddy in my LBS.
A Bontrager, I've had a Privateer for a few years but always wanted a 'proper' one, since reading articles about/interviews with Keith back in the day. Finally picked up a Race frame a couple of weeks ago!
Pace RC200 or a Proflex 856, was lucky enough to to have a 1997 Kona Explosif which I still have.
When I was 18/19 in the late ‘80’s I worked in the LBS in Morpeth, where my parents lived. It was run by a cool guy called Frank and he sold some really high end bikes (didn’t last long!) like Funk’s, Klein’s, Pace. I had a Rockhopper but rode a customers Pace RC100 in a couple of race. Fabulous bike for the time. I got an original RC100 / Suntour XC Pro last year which is being repainted at the moment. Never got the Funk though.
Overbury's Pioneer. I would have bought one had it not been for the fact it turned out they didn't open on Wednesdays. I was with friends camping and persuaded them to take a detour only to find the shop closed. So instead I ended up getting a White Spider frame made by Robert's and transferring all the parts over from my Rockhopper.
First “lusted after” was a Xizang.
Worst bike I ever owned.
Sintessi thruster
Bottlerocket for me too. Then the NS Soda which is pretty similar I guess. I love those bikepark style bikes. Ended up with a Scott Voltage which is probably a bit more DH inclined but still managed to lug it round some big xc routes 🙂 don't feel like you see that style of bike so much now, it all gets lumped into the boring serious enduro category.
I wanted so many different bikes. I lusted after dream bikes but never really wanted one because I knew deep down I couldn't afford it, the ones I truly wanted were the bikes that were just out of my reach, affordable but just a bit too much money for a junior office boy.
The one that really got me though after seeing them in the flesh during a trip to the lake district in 1995 was an Orange P7 with a nickle finish, full LX and RC35's. I still remember seeing it at Biketreks, it was like that was God, Biketreks was the church and boy did I worship that bike. Took another 9 years before I had one. Loved it and still miss it to this day. The only other one that came close to my love for that bike was a 95 Kona Cindercone with a pair of Judy XC's in the bronzey/brown, gorgeous bike.
Both of them forged my love for a steel mtb still to this day.
Also when I was bmxing I always wanted a raw T1 Barcode!
GT Xizang - lovely looking bike in the flesh
Diamond Back Axis TT stuff of dreams!
Another one who just couldn't afford a Scott Endorphin back in the 90s. Ended up with a Principia Mac B which was probably better anyway.
Then it was a Rocky Mountain Pipeline. I musta thought I was some kid of freerider 😆
I think it was probably one of the 90's era Marin full-sus bikes. I'd come from riding Dawes/Emmelle hardtails and the change from those to something with suspension was like stepping forward in time.
It never happened though. I took the Cortina XL to uni in '92 and it came home with me in '96 being replaced by another, more modern hardtail in 2002 or something.
Klein Adroit MC2 with the boron overlay in Gator Linear Fade.
I can still remember seeing one in a bike shop and the mechanic was stripping off the XTR cassette, which came apart in many pieces. I was amazed how it all worked back in the days before I knew anything much about spannering. I was dropping off a wheel ahead of my first ever race which I had stupidly decided to pull apart and regrease only to have what seemed like hundreds of tiny bearing roll out all over the garage floor!
What I wouldn't give to find a NOS now......
Way back when (mid 90's) there was a few I would have quite happily sold a kidney for. Marin Quake 9.0 FRS, GT STS DH Lobo, Team MBUK era Santa Cruz Heckler. Mainly though it was the Mountain Cycle San Andreas.
Recently I lusted after the original 26" version of the Cotic Rocket, tested one in the Peak district but by the time I had the funds together, well I think we all know what happened. I did buy a 27.5" Gen2 one eventually.
GT Lobo
Rode one once, was a spectacle.
Like a few others I lusted after the early pace F100/F200 series hardtails. The GT Zasker the Proflex 856 which just looked so futuristic back then the fact that Caroline Alexander rode one might have helped a tad too. Other worthy mentionables go out to Orange P7 and anything by Moots in titanium.
This,
And some time later this.
Never owned either, and would probably disappoint now, but I can still look and lust 😛
I also really wanted a Chuck bike at some point in time, not sure if they even made it over to these shores. Was in a mag though and I thought Yeah!
Can only have been the hardtail.. the full sus is a bit... hmm
https://ridemonkey.bikemag.com/threads/chuck-cr-fs.220602/
Banshee Morphine...
Sometimes it's good not to get what you want.
A GT Lobo - wow. They were megabucks. I always wanted a Cannondale Beast of the East. They weren't even that great or expensive, just looked cool.
Ibis Bow-Ti for me