Info on a Giant Chinook
04-26-11, 09:56 AM
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Info on a Giant Chinook
I submitted this question to the Mountain Bike forums, but didn't get any replies, so I thought I would try here. I am new to bike forums, so still trying to figure it out.
I am thinking about buying a Giant Chinook (complete bike, unlike in photo). It is an old steel 26" wheeled mountain bike. I want to use it for touring and commuting. It has long chain stays. However, I have no idea about the quality of the frame, the frame materials (hi ten, cromo?), or whether Giant bikes of this era have a good reputation.
It would be nice to know approx. the year this bike was made. I would be grateful if you have any wisdom to share. Thanks.
I am thinking about buying a Giant Chinook (complete bike, unlike in photo). It is an old steel 26" wheeled mountain bike. I want to use it for touring and commuting. It has long chain stays. However, I have no idea about the quality of the frame, the frame materials (hi ten, cromo?), or whether Giant bikes of this era have a good reputation.
It would be nice to know approx. the year this bike was made. I would be grateful if you have any wisdom to share. Thanks.
04-26-11, 12:27 PM
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Giant is the largest bicycle maker in the world, and their frames are excellent. They made most of Schwinn's bikes in the 80s, and many brands of bike frames today under contract. This would make a great commuter.
04-26-11, 04:54 PM
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Believe that the Chinook was one level above the Iguana in the late 80's. It was 4130 Chrome Moly. Here is my Iguana which has similar graphics and color. If the bike is your size grab it. Giants are good bikes for the buck. I currently have 3.
Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Last edited by wahoonc; 04-27-11 at 04:28 AM.
04-26-11, 05:03 PM
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OH I thought I was going to see a big fish 
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“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
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“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
04-27-11, 04:28 AM
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I still see those on occasion, but living near Fort Bragg you get to see just about everything that flies...sooner or later.
Now I am wondering why they named the bike a Chinook...
Aaron
Now I am wondering why they named the bike a Chinook...
Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
04-27-11, 08:42 AM
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Thanks for your responses. Exactly... why the name Chinook? That is one ugly fish!
Aaron, that is a nice looking Giant Iguana... I look forward to setting this thing up for touring!
Aaron, that is a nice looking Giant Iguana... I look forward to setting this thing up for touring!
04-27-11, 12:15 PM
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05-30-18, 01:39 PM
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1970 chinook
I saw this old Chain here and wanted to comment because I just bought a mint condition Chinook. The old guy I bought it from said he bought it in 1970, which I have no idea if they really went back that far but that’s what he says. This bike has everything original on it and clean the tires and is 100% perfectly mint...time capsule ... Even has the original tires on it and it still holding here after I filled it. I’m almost afraid to ride it lol
I’m posting this because I got it for 30 bucks on letgo.
cheers!!
I’m posting this because I got it for 30 bucks on letgo.
cheers!!
05-30-18, 03:43 PM
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I saw this old Chain here and wanted to comment because I just bought a mint condition Chinook. The old guy I bought it from said he bought it in 1970, which I have no idea if they really went back that far but that’s what he says. This bike has everything original on it and clean the tires and is 100% perfectly mint...time capsule ... Even has the original tires on it and it still holding here after I filled it. I’m almost afraid to ride it lol
I’m posting this because I got it for 30 bucks on letgo.
cheers!!
I’m posting this because I got it for 30 bucks on letgo.
cheers!!
05-30-18, 04:11 PM
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If this is American market, then it should be 1988-1989.The serial number will tell us the exact date. I believe that the model above the Iguana at this time was the Sedona (DB CrMo + CrMo stays and forks). It might be named after the chinook winds of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
05-30-18, 11:18 PM
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The word ‘chinook’ originated in the coastal Pacific Northwest. A native word for warm, wet winds that arrived at the end of winter. It became a Rocky Mountain thing after that. It’s applied to a lot of different things, nowadays. A fish, a bicycle, but never a fish on a bicycle as far as I know.
Last edited by Lascauxcaveman; 05-31-18 at 02:37 AM.
05-31-18, 04:52 AM
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I saw this old Chain here and wanted to comment because I just bought a mint condition Chinook. The old guy I bought it from said he bought it in 1970, which I have no idea if they really went back that far but that’s what he says. This bike has everything original on it and clean the tires and is 100% perfectly mint...time capsule ... Even has the original tires on it and it still holding here after I filled it. I’m almost afraid to ride it lol
I’m posting this because I got it for 30 bucks on letgo.
cheers!!
I’m posting this because I got it for 30 bucks on letgo.
cheers!!
............
Well of course is not a mountain bike as we know it today because it was in the 70s LOL ..... and I didn’t actually say it was for sure purchase in 1970 that’s what he said but you could tell it’s from the 70s by the components and the style .... And it truly looks more like a hybrid that A mountain bike and it’s super comfortable to ride... now the old guy called a mountain bike because that’s probably the only term he actually knows nowadays .... I would consider to be more along the giant comfort bike line honestly..
regardless the point was this thing is been kept indoors for close to 40 years and was momg
but I definitely appreciate your giant history good to know
05-31-18, 05:11 AM
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If the previous owner bought it in the USA, it is no older than 1988 as that was the first year that Giant marketed bicycles in the USA, under their own name. I went back through some of my old literature and 1990 was the last year year for the Chinook in the USA, being replaced by the Attraction. Again, if you're interested, the serial number will tell us the exact date, down to a fortnight. The Chinook was the lowest model in Giant's ATB line.
05-31-18, 06:34 PM
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The Chinook (code named Sh**hook at our shop, courtesy US Army) used the base AT710 frame from Giant. The last year of production the brakes howled nice and loud when applied. Other than that one issue, the bike was solid. We sold a ton of these bikes as they represented a solid value in the market.
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