My 1st mountain bike was a $1600 Mountaingoat Whiskeytown Racer(1989?) w/XT and a Bullseye 2-piece crankset(Just like the current "Shimano" design) and a set of Road Mavics(700c) that Keith Bontrager cut down and re-rolled to 26". It was a sweet bike ,but I had been a roadie for years and knew that I wanted that bike.My current mountain bike , a custom 2003 Jamis Dakar, is both the cheapest and best riding mountain bike I've ever owned . Todays $700 bikes are better than most bikes of the 80's+ early 90's.