realestvin7

^^^They're both too big for you.

Soma Roark

I really like the design of this bike, kudos! What is it? =P Lately I've been missing the 35s I've been riding on with my last frame (now on 28s... but actually 27s) so I've been looking for a "beater" bike with lots of clearance. I've also noticed that a lot of people tour with mountain bikes and it certainly makes sense to me. CV MB seems to fit the bill perfectly except I have no idea where to start so this was the perfect thread! A big plus that I don't think it has become popular around here, that I know of, and the prices seem pretty low at this point. If anyone has any more lugged steel MBs I should be looking out for let me know. =)

guzziee

NA, they fit fine. I'll get to them one of these days

Roger M

Yep, it soaks up small stuff OK, but only has about an inch and a half of travel.

Thanks. It's a Mongoose Amplifier, which was a relabeled AMP Research B2.

illwafer

i would buy quality MTBs all day long if i could find them in these sizes.

i'm 6'4", and most MTBs top out at like 20-22" frames. i need at least 24", since i would make them most like road bikes than offroad machines.

sailorbenjamin

Well I can't claim to be a fan but a half dozen of them showed up on my porch this summer. The coolest is this Giant with Accushift and underslung brakes;

Anyone want it?
There's also a Raleigh M-60 (is that vintage yet?) Crusty but it came with nice 26x1.25 tires, kool stop brake pads and a half dozen other nice components that I'll save even if I get rid of the frame (anyone want a Raleigh M-60 frame?
I should take more pics.

Chris Chicago

I really like them. Big solid cruiser like ride. long wheelbase is great.

But since I have one, I dont know if I can justify another. esp since the big ones are hard to find. looked for a 23in+ for my 6'5 brother for a while. finally gave up and got him an old 25in super sport. of course the next day 2 showed up on clist under 100 dollars.

here is my chrome mongoose and a late 80s antelope i turned commuter for another relative. there actually was a noticable difference in rides with the trek seeming quicker/less cruiser-ish.

tashi

For cruiser, townie, hauler style bikes, an 80's era mountain bike will do the job better than the 90's ones. By the 90's the industry was obsessed with racing so the geometry got pretty darn aggressive. Short top and head tubes, steep angles and lightweight tubing make for poor haulers.

For road conversions, that is, mountian bikes converted to heavy-duty road use where you are looking for a high-energy ride, the 90's bikes are more suitable. Converting to drop bars will require careful measurement, and often high-rise stems to get the cockpit right. Mountain bikes have long top tubes compared to road bikes, and putting on a road bar will increase the reach even more. I was able to get the position pretty good on a early 90's deKerf that I pressed into CX use last season, but it was still a bit low for anything longer than a cross race. I would normally ride an 18" or 19" mountain frame, and this one is a 17.5". This was good for getting a reasonable top tube length, but put the bars down real low.

Gratituous picture of my deKerf as raced last year. Stem was swapped for a high-rise one after the first race:



Edits: Chicago Chris, I really like your 'Goose. There was one I'd see around town in Ottawa last year that the dude had kitted out with chrome fenders, leather grips, seat and mudflaps, and some V-O racks. It was a beauty and has me on the lookout for an all-chrome mountain bike so I can cop his style.

Oh, and re: MB-1's and zips: These were awesome race bikes, some of the lightest available. They're special because of this, and because they were often raced until they broke, reducing the current supply. Those of us who've raced the pants off em and had one die on us generally have a strong affinity for 'em, not to mention all those who couldn't get their hands on 'em originally. And yeah, in these parts we were pretty baked.

Kobe 

My 24" Univega Alpina. I agree, they are hard to find, I ended up buying this one twice. I sold it for some reason thinking I could easily find another and then missed it for trail riding. About a year later it showed up on CL missing a bunch of parts. I bought the frame and wheels, but mainly wanted the frame back.



Next time I don't sell it until I have another lined up.

LesterOfPuppets

24 is about 60 cm. You like square frames? If so check out a 1997 KHS Comp. The 19" has a 60cm ETT. They came in at least one larger size as well. The HT and ST angles are MUCH more roadie than first gen Stumpjumpers' 67.5 degree head tube and nearly as slack ST.

Quite a few mid 90s bikes had similar specs.

LesterOfPuppets

Even a new Stumpjumper Comp in 21" has a 64cm effective top tube. Should give you the reach you want.

tugrul

My 22.5" center to top of top tube 1989 Diamondback Ascent EX has a 23" CTC top tube and a 15cm stem

frantik

^ nice

eric1514

A few months ago, I was in a bike shop in Sebastopol, CA helping my BIL put together a bike for his daughter. There was a bike hanging on the wall that I later learned was a very old Ibis MTB. Now, understand, I don't own a MTB and have no real interest in them, but that bike was the most beautifully proportioned collection of steel and rubber I have ever seen. It wasn't for sale or it would be hanging on my wall.

Eric

3373jones

been working on this little project for a couple of months. got a bunch of small random parts from the ISO thread here. 9 speed ultgra STI shifters, drop bars, xt wheelset, 6600 triple FD, xtr rear derailleur, canti brakes (not that great... i'm probably just setting them up wrong), SID fork (had to use a 1 1/4 to 1 1/8th shim), thomson seat post. only thing that is original is frame + BB+crankset (its a pressed in BB - so really no other option). traded an 1969 schwinn 'racer' for it (it was original - i changed all the parts).

frantik

probably has a steeper head tube and the fork clearly has less rake

my 86 diamondback has a very "cruisery" feel to it.. it's got an insanely slack headtube and a fork with lots of rake. i actually really like it.. it's very stable at low speeds

balindamood

Definately into old MTB's. I love the way they ride.

Current projects include:

1993 Breezer Jet Stream
1991 Bridgestone MB-2
1986 Fisher Montare
1985 Ritchey Ascent
1984 Ritchey Comp (in the mail)
1983 Univega Alpina Ultimate
1983 MountainBikes Montare (Fisher)
1982 Diamondback Ridgerunner

Looking for direction:

1983 Miyata Ridge Runner
1984 Trek 830

Commuter/truck/Costco/drag-the-kids-about bike:

1985 Schwinn Siera

bibliobob

LOVE the Moose Goose. Would love to get my hands on one.

bibliobob

Thanks for all the good information about fit. I know zip about Mt. bikes. I was a BMX nut as a kid and then switched to road bikes. i am planning on building up a winter commuter and was thinking about a Mt. bike with road bars. I was thinking along the lines of Jacquie Phelan's bike:



Any thoughts?

Badgerjohn

Just got one myself. Gonna do a refurb on it.

WNG

I like the versatility and rugged build of rigid hardtails. I don't have experience or own an early/mid 80s long and lazy mtb, being my recently acquired 88 Schwinn Sierra is the oldest mtb I've picked up. What changed my mind and turned me onto them was throwing together an early 90s Bianchi Nyala and riding it in an urban setting. The tight geometry, lugged framework, great ride, impressed me how road bike-like it felt. Yet stable when tarmac turned to dirt or packed pea gravel. Locking it up and not worrying about it was a huge plus.



I had to abandon it in MTL when we moved to the SW. Too bad, I miss it now, all my post finds are TIGed.

I was planning a SS build for the Sierra, but now convinced it should be a cheap LHT project.
I fortuitously bought my first E-stay mtb last month as well, a Titan High Country 500LX. The design is a tad heavy compared to a diamond frame, but it's TT is only 56cm. It should make an interesting pavement bike with bull horns and slicks.

I have accumulated several other mtbs that were giveaways or found dirt cheap. Old mtbs get no love due to their pace of change. No immediate plans for these.

94 Trek 930 (searching for OEM fork)
95 Diamond Back Ascent EX (may be too big)
96 Diamond Back Response SE (ball burnished frame needs polishing)
92 Jazz Vertical (nice, but may flip it)
95 Cannondale M300 LE (too big)
? GT Avalanche (wife's future project bike)
96 GT Karakoram (needs repaint, missing Deore LX derailleurs)
92 Specialized Rockhopper Sport (too small, was to be wife's mtb, needs repaint)
98 Barracuda A2BS

RFC

That bike looks just great. I have another 88 ProCaliber I plan to build up in a similar way. How do you like the STI's on a MTB?

wahoonc

Got several around here...

Here is the latest incarnation. I also have a Raleigh Tatic and two LBS Schwinns from around 1996 or so, don't recall the models at the moment.

Aaron

Before:


After:

CACycling

I really liked the ride of my '86 Ascent but the chrome was in terrible shape when I got it as a $40 CL find (pics make it look a lot better than it was):

So I parted with it a year and a half ago to pick up these:

A pair of '92 Ascent EXs (20" for me, 18" for my wife) purchased NIB. They make great path and light trail bikes. DBs were originally made a few miles from where I live so they were the bike to have when I was young.

I've gotten some great deals on '90s DBs including one Sorrento for $20 and another for $50. Both needed very little to get them going. But you also see similar bikes for $100 - $150 and they seem to be selling as well.

frantik

Well they were actually made in Japan and Taiwan but imported by WSI which was located in Camarillo among other places in Ventura County WSI also owned the Centurion brand name.

I was born and raised in Camarillo, so i'm partial to Centurions and Diamondbacks myself When I flipped over my Centurion the first time and saw this sticker, i did a double take