MTBs you covet but never owned

Had a Proflex Animal, wasn’t the worst bike in the world, but was far from brilliant, haha.

A guy on here used to have a brown and cream custom built 853 MTB frame – just lovely it was with really clean and simple lugs.

Made by a one-man band frame builder who for the life of me I can’t remember!

A kid round our way had a raleigh Lizard, I was well gel!

Also always wanted a Mongoose Californian but OP says mtb.

😥

Always* wanted a 650b Five, despite many many people thinking they are ugly, I love the lines.

*Well, since they added the seat tube brace and profiled the swing arm – 2016 I think.

Impractical for my local riding (no bottle), expensive new and warranty-less cracking fears second hand has meant its not to be.

Still give an admiring glance whenever I see one, my preference is for a brightly coloured frame with all black components.

A friend had a Cannondale Raven in that pearlescent green with Spinergy wheels and Magura brakes – it was a lovely piece of kit. And I’ve always liked the way the seatpost is clamped on these, a very neat bit of design!

Looked similar to this…

Speaking of Orange, the 322 with the shock mounted through the downtube.

Surprised Orange arent making DH bikes at the moment, the trends towards longer wheelbases and lower weight should be suiting the.

God, that pic of the Raven takes me back. Can’t say I ever really lusted after it, but I wish there were more of them around these days.

I used to have a weird fascination with the K2 Razorback and its pull shock

At the time it seemed to make sense. But check out how narrow those bars are!

Spooky Metalhead

If I knew then what I know now I should have bought a Kona Cinder Cone as my first MTB. As it was I bought a cheaper Muddy Fox Courier in the sale. No real regrets on that though, I loved the paint job and a MF was a rite of passage for many in the 80s.

Raleigh Maverick circa 1985

Muddy Fox Explorer circa 1998

Trek 69er single speed

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Speaking of Orange, the 322 with the shock mounted through the downtube.

Surprised Orange arent making DH bikes at the moment, the trends towards longer wheelbases and lower weight should be suiting the.

Orange DH bike, available from your local dealer now!

In no particular order, these were what I fell in love with when I started biking-

Cannondale Raven 2000

Specialized DH Team FSR

A late Klein Mantra

The Trek VRX with Boxxers.

Now, I really hanker after an Evil Offering but doubt I’ll be able to afford one.

Brooklyn Machine Works, either the Racelink or some of the more mental stuff.

Evil imperial, double top tube huck hardtail.

Would love a go on a PRST-1 too

Karate Monkey (the rust coloured Ops one)
Ti Hardtail (Kingdom, Nordest or Stanton)
Swarf Contour

/high fives reggiegasket

GT Zasker (from mid nineties)

Been there, done that (recently with a 1996 Zaskar LE). It’s a nice bike but there’s no way I’d choose to ride it over my Switchback!

Hmm… bikes I covet but never owned… Probably a Standard Shorty BMX. Waaay too expensive for me at the time (mid to late 90s) and still waaay too expensive now if you can find one. Oh, and the Orange MsIsle, in raw ally please. When it came out I was into the whole dual slalom thing and I think Missy is awesome.

AMP Research Amplifier

If by that you mean the Amp Research B4 (with the funky F4 fork) then +1. I was seriously tempted but heard they were, er, a little fragile…

https://images.app.goo.gl/ZvzmLzz13BVPHCeh6

Back in the late 90’s (when they didn’t have an Uk importer) I tried to order a Lynskey something or other (Pisgah?) from them direct but they would only send it to a bike shop…

When I started out I lusted after a Marin, the ones with the gritty Matt grey frame and dayglo forks… Indian Trail Pine Mountain mebbes?

The only thing I’m covering at the moment is some chunky tyred gravel bike for a planned Camino tour next year…

I could write a book on the Retrobikes I fancy, I’ve owned a considerable amount mind you so I don’t feel I’m missing anything.

Modern bike wise it’d be a Jones and a Stooge. They both transcend the need and fall into the want category. I’d probably never fork out for a Jones but I regret not buying a Stooge. I remember the thread on mtbr where Mr Stooge set out his stall. Really won me over but in the end I plumped for a Singular Rooster. Really wish I’d jumped on the the Stooge bandwagon. Liked everything he’s done since too. Too many rigid bikes (that I’m not riding) to buy another but I do keep and eye on developments.

A mate used to be the importer for Fat Chance so rode them all. I could never afford them though, but I still love them.

Trek Sawyer Singlespeed

Maybe I’ll hunt one down, when I can spare the cash

Klein 2 tone paint jobs….

Always wanted one of these, but my sensible head overruled my heart.

Dekerf
Fat chance
Moots softtail
Turner stinger
Schwinn straight eight

Chromag…surface but any really
Knolly…
Pole evolink

So many that I bought but sold on almost immediately, Pace/ Cannondale raven/ Nicolai/ santa Cruz blur as someone made a offer and I went yeah ok, choices eh.

Ellsworth Epiphany for me. Lust(Ed) after one for an age

the K2 Razorback and its pull shock

IIRC, that was based on a Turner.

Also…

I came dangerously close to buying one of these when I worked in a bike shop.

(not my picture, found on Google Images)

Thankfully never did but as it was I ended up being given an S-Works FSR XC on a part-sponsorship deal a couple of years later which was much more my style which was very much a coveted bike, never thought I’d be lucky enough to own one!

And in my early days of MTBing, I always wanted one of those Manitou full sus:

Orange P7 nickel finish, any of the Pace square tubed bikes, Scott Endorphin, Mountain Cycles San Andreas, Amp Research B4, one of the last Intense Al frames in candy red but can’t remember the model, any of the original Cannondale V frames, Klien Mantra, Independent Fabrication Tungsten Electrode (not sure on the model but it was a DW-link Ti Full Suss). Pretty certain most of them except the IF and Intense would be awful to ride but would still love them in the garage.

Dekerf. First ever internal cable routing?

Then probably some Kleins.

Hmm… bikes I covet but never owned… Probably a Standard Shorty BMX.

Ooooh now you are talking!
I had a series of BMX’s trying to replicate a shorty – Dragonfly Double Dynamite, KHE premium lagger, WTP Pony but all I really wanted was a full Chad DeGroot spec Shorty – baby blue with chrome parts – Standard 4 piece bars etc, skinwall Primo V-Monsters, Graveyard rear freecoaster etc etc.

I really should not open my eBay app now.

Looking at them now, the geometry of some of these bikes is… eye-opening.

Ellsworth Epiphany for me. Lust(Ed) after one for an age

Whatever happened to Ellsworth? They were everywhere in the bike mags for a while.

I read an article in the last year or so about riding a Klein Mantra now. Apparently it’s absolutely lethal, in terms of the suspension movement and what it does to your riding…

I only ever coveted one bike and I owned the frame for a day until I realised when building it up that the seat tube was not round, so swapped it for arguably the much better paint job anyway.

My bike…
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The frame I wanted. (Not my pic)
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Would still buy one now if I could.

1995 Kona Hot in bright red.

I went to Whistler with two great mates in the summer of 95 with my Kona Cinder Cone. My parents had given me a credit card for emergencies.

One of the bike shops had a Hot behind the counter on the wall. It was exactly the same amount as the credit card limit…I’d have been in trouble but it was sooooo tempting.

I walked away and still have the Cinder Cone so it’s not all bad. But still…😟

Anchilotti….. I need clean pants!!!
Anchilotti, Brooklyn machine works and a early Klein would be my dream garage.

My dad had one of those (it was a burgundy red) so it was the first bike I rode a lot off road as a hand me down. The stem on his was almost vertical over the steered.

Why did it take 30 years for bikes to get back to short stems and slack angles?

Spooky Metalhead

Yea!!!!!!

Whatever happened to Ellsworth? They were everywhere in the bike mags for a while.

Still falling from the ugly tree, but now in carbon.

Reggie gaskets Kona and the manitous winning for me so far.
A Trimble with a disk drive?