I have a retrobike (well one and an unfinished project). Saracen Tufftrax from 1990.
Took it out on Sunday evening. Cost me £30 and is immaculate. Hearing mud destroying my gears hurts less when the whole bike cost the same as a low-medium quality cassette. I’m also less worried if I pop to the shops and leave it outside for a few minutes.
As mentioned before, makes me smile though when people say that they aren’t capable though. Modern bikes are much nicer, and there’s some horrible bikes/ideas from the last thirty years, but older bikes are still good for the majority (if not all but more slowly) of riding I do when riding straight from my house.
My mate has a very nice original condition throughout Marin Muirwoods fully rigid he’s looking to off load if anyone’s interested…sorry for the slight hijack! Email in profile in interested…
I love bikes from the late nineties because that’s when I started riding. I’d love to track down an old Spooky Metalhead frame.
I’m on Retrobike too but spend most of my time on the modern section because I’m not that fussed about the really old stuff, but do appreciate that there are some amazing restorations on there.
I have an old 93/4 Cannondale Beast of the East that I inherited from an uncle who passed away (he was partly responsible for me getting into cycling). I have (very) slowly been in the process of converting into a singlespeed with bits from the era that I started cycling – XTR V’s, AC Lo Pro cranks etc. I’ve hung onto all of the original bits just in case – Pace RC 35’s, USE bars and posts. This thread has reminded me to get off my bum an finish it!
I had a Trek Y5 once. It was shite, but hey you carry on Son 😆 Retro it most certainly wasn’t, just a heap of wobbly junk.
I have had thoughts of getting hold of a Klein Attitude again, I once had one for 2 years before I sold it. However nice I have memories of it, and a work of Art it certainly was, I feel if I did own one and got it dirty I’d probably cry.
So, looking at nice pics of retro bikes is a good thing, owning them all over again might not be.
I’m retro by default inasmuch as I’m forty-something, was raised onskinny-steel and still prefer skinny steel more than budget allows. Modern bikes appear in stable more by accident than design, but mostly because disc brakes. Often wish had retrofitted my old Cinder Cone with discs.
Pic below from 1997 M-Trax 150 with retro-fitted earlier XT drivetrain w/thumbies. Couldn’t resist polishing the cranks which is a chore as my 2011 MTB needs nothing other than a hose-spray and oily rag. The newest bike before that was a 2001 F500 which is arguably retro nowadays.
Back to the M-Trax – it works and rides lovely tho, slikety-snik.
I had a (very) brief dalliance with an early 90’s Marin Bobcat Trail, like this:
It was very smooth to ride, felt a lot lighter than it was, but having impulse purchased it, I soon flogged it on as it just wasn’t going to get ridden. Nice idea, but I’d rather actually ride modern bikes.
If i had a big enough house with room to display a retro bike I’d definitely search out one of those Specialized’s like they have in the lobby at Coed Y Brenin!
A workmate gave me his knackered Orange Clockwork, wrecked rear wheel, derailleur hanger bent at 90 degrees, I stripped it down and rebuilt with more modern components (the old crap sold well on retro bike and eBay, almost enough to pay for the rebuild), I wasn’t aiming for a authentic early ’90’s just wanted to give it a new lease as our shop bike, cheap powedercoat in homage to the orange-white-orange fade. Does the job but I wouldn’t want to ride it off road. At 14.5kg it’s good for keeping fit, a kilo heavier than my full-sus!
If anyone wants to buy a Trek 8000 frame 1996, I’ve been trying to sell my original MTB for a while, only have the frame left now
My daily saddle is retro. Kept it with me but changed bikes a few times under it.
’92 or ’93 Flite Ti
Though I have replaced the leather on it after it disintegrated.
I dip into retro stuff now and then but am quickly reminded new stuff suits me much better. Built up a carbon copy of my mk1 Chameleon which was nicked back in 1998 or something. At the time it was the best thing ever – the “new” one I built was rubbish.
Didn’t have Pace forks though. It had a really nice pair of uber light straight bladed forks that came as spec. I took it into my then LBS for a new drive train. They took the forks off and sold them to some guy (USAF – going home, saw my forks, shop sold them to him) and plugged in a pair of crap bouncers. When I picked it up they said ‘we put your new forks in…..’ Long story, didn’t get my forks back….
Anyway, I built the bike up for my Dad a few years ago. He has it in his garage but is too old to ride it any more. I guess it will wend its way back home in the end.
I still have the stem – crazy long and the bars were secured by one bolt! The thing is, the bars were so narrow there was no leverage on them!
Did it ride like a Ti bike? No. Ti gas pipe I reckon, heavy, stiff as hell and handled like a dog. Other than that…..