Originally Posted by
dahut
This. Im one of those who dotes on this sort of bike.
I'm always on the hunt for large frame ATB bikes, in fact, from the late 80's through mid-90's. Names like Specialized, Trek, etc. are what I look for, mostly because I'm accustomed to them. Out fitted with thinner, high pressure tires and a few upgrades as needed, these bikes make outstanding commuters.
The one problem is that I don't see many of them locally.
We are over run with bikes like this... my touring bike is a Kuwahara Cascade ('87) that shares the same geometry as my Shasta, is the same colour, and differs in that it has a slightly heavier and stronger Ishiwata quad butted frame while the Shasta has lighter Ex tubes.
It is a truly expedition worthy bicycle and has carried me at least 40,000 km since I bought it 4 years ago.
Both these Kuwaharas fall into the range of upper end hand built models so they are a little harder to come by than many others that were more widely sold like Trek and Specialized.