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A new interest in vintage Mountain Bikes

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A new interest in vintage Mountain Bikes

Old 09-08-11, 06:57 PM
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Originally Posted by frantik
Well they were actially made in Japan 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

Should have said headquartered. I've had a bunch of them over the years and am always looking for deals on stuff from late '80s to early '90s. Both of my sons also have '90s DB MTBs and my younger son has an '81 Centurion as well.
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Old 09-08-11, 07:03 PM
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Originally Posted by 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
You're really going to like the ritchey. It's head and shoulders above any vintage mountain bike I've ridden
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Old 09-08-11, 07:11 PM
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Originally Posted by RFC
Lately, I have developed an interest in vintage mountain bikes. Part of it is that I am C&V road bike saturated (I have all that I need or want), part of it is that I am looking for a new mod/wrenching outlet, and part of it is that vintage MTB's are rapidly gaining some traction. Your thoughts, are we seeing a spike in C&V MTB's, particularly at the higher end, Fishers, Ritcheys, Specialized, etc?

Really, in a way, this trend is very similar to Muscle Cars and age groups -- what was hot when you were 20?

BTW, let me add that, in an effort to find training variety, I am doing more MUPs and trails, which favor bigger tires.
Stay away from my bikes - I love the "vintage" all terrain bikes. I'm a trend setter, I guess... been on em for a while now.
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Old 09-08-11, 09:01 PM
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Reminds me of the Riv Bombadil (certainly puts it in context anyway): https://sonic.net/~ckelly/Seekay/mtbwelcome.htm

Last edited by Soma Roark; 09-08-11 at 09:10 PM.
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Old 09-08-11, 09:15 PM
  #55  
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Of all the newish bikes out there, I rather covet the Bombadil. Not saying I am sane or anything, I just like it. For the $3000 or so it would take for a new one, I could have an old klunker for each day of the month. Probably flawed logic.
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Old 09-08-11, 09:46 PM
  #56  
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I think the main thing I like about olde MTBs is that most were made from steel. I don't miss horiz. top tubes or 1" quill stems or cantilever brakes or Ubrakes or...

One modern bike I lust after. Not very retro except for frame material and frame's only $489.

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Old 09-08-11, 10:53 PM
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Here is my Mongoose ATB I'm about to build back up for winter. It has some surface rust at the bottom bracket and I got it for free so it's my bling bling hoopty ride. Pic is just mocked up with 27" road wheels before I got some 26ers but I'm thinking of just running it SS with some gnarly knobbies.
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Old 09-08-11, 11:12 PM
  #58  
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Oh yea, don't want to forgot this old Kuwahara I used to own that I put some Hutchinson Piranha tires on. It was gnarl gnarl kill mode style, SO badass!
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Old 09-08-11, 11:21 PM
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I have a Trek Singletrack sitting in the garage that I plan on getting to one of these days. It has a pretty cool paint job. Purple fade to green.. lol..
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Old 09-09-11, 09:52 AM
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Originally Posted by trekKiller
Here is my Mongoose ATB I'm about to build back up for winter. It has some surface rust at the bottom bracket and I got it for free so it's my bling bling hoopty ride. Pic is just mocked up with 27" road wheels before I got some 26ers but I'm thinking of just running it SS with some gnarly knobbies.
[IMG][/IMG]

Nice! but such a pretty bike for the snow? why not sell those air jordans and get another bike for the muck...lol
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Old 09-11-11, 09:46 AM
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I just got my Trek 7000ZX back on a trade after selling it earier this year. I traded a used portable generator I had sitting in the shed for it. After the hurricane I ran into the guy I sold it to (he lives two streets over), and he was asking me about generators, and I told him I had an exrta one in my shed, and the deal began. I really don't know why I bothered, cause I didn'tneed it, so it's up for sale.

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Old 09-11-11, 01:00 PM
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Old Mountain bikes suck, ride like crap , are unsafe and overpriced. Don't waste your time!
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Old 09-11-11, 01:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Fred Smedley
Old Mountain bikes suck, ride like crap , are unsafe and overpriced. Don't waste your time!
Whoa there...
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Old 09-11-11, 01:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Fred Smedley
Old Mountain bikes suck, ride like crap , are unsafe and overpriced. Don't waste your time!
Slow down there Smedley.... They are great as touring set-ups and ride awesome, and as safe as any road bike. What's your complaint?
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Old 09-11-11, 01:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Fred Smedley
Old Mountain bikes suck, ride like crap , are unsafe and overpriced. Don't waste your time!
I'd like to see some evidence they're unsafe. Did someone have a bad experience as a child? Do something stupid and blame it on the bike???
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Old 09-11-11, 02:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Fred Smedley
Old Mountain bikes suck, ride like crap , are unsafe and overpriced. Don't waste your time!
I completely agree.


I look for these bikes almost exclusively and dont want the competition. Eh, Fred?
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Old 09-11-11, 02:55 PM
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Originally Posted by dahut
I completely agree.


I look for these bikes almost exclusively and dont want the competition. Eh, Fred?
Your a little quicker than most ^
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Old 09-11-11, 04:14 PM
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I think there is a lot of interest in these. I mean every time I look at what they are calling a hybrid/comfort/fitness/street/commuter bikes, I basically see old mountain bike. I've been getting my sons into road riding and while I wish I could afford to just go drop big money on them for bikes I can't and since they don't exactly treat them well or I'm still afraid of theft, they get what I decide to put together for them.

The pluses of old mountain bikes new/renewing fitness riders are clear.
+indexed shifting
+triple in the front so those hills won't have them walking
+great brakes
+often plenty of places for accessories to attach

We add bar ends, thinner tires and everyone is pretty happy. They ride comfortably, can hold 15-17 mph pretty well and are fantastic on the value curve.
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Old 09-11-11, 05:47 PM
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Originally Posted by trumptman
I think there is a lot of interest in these. I mean every time I look at what they are calling a hybrid/comfort/fitness/street/commuter bikes, I basically see old mountain bike. I've been getting my sons into road riding and while I wish I could afford to just go drop big money on them for bikes I can't and since they don't exactly treat them well or I'm still afraid of theft, they get what I decide to put together for them.

The pluses of old mountain bikes new/renewing fitness riders are clear.
+indexed shifting
+triple in the front so those hills won't have them walking
+great brakes
+often plenty of places for accessories to attach

We add bar ends, thinner tires and everyone is pretty happy. They ride comfortably, can hold 15-17 mph pretty well and are fantastic on the value curve.
Dang it - you're right! Now stop talking!!
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Old 09-11-11, 06:15 PM
  #70  
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I have a 1996 Stumpjumper M2 frame, which is not technically a vintage bike yet, but it isn't exactly modern, doesn't make a good commuter because it has no braze ons for racks or anything. It is a light frame and stiff, quite a climber. It was a heck of a trail bike back in the day, still rides trails fine but the shock fork I put on it is completely shot. I have though long and hard about putting a rigid fork with v-brake bosses, some Paul motolite bmx brakes and swapping it to 650b wheels that I have laying around. I would keep the rear gearing, but switch the crank to a single ring and see how it does on the trails. It has the tire clearance for decently wide tires using the 650 wheels, just have to get a fork.
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Old 09-12-11, 02:37 AM
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Originally Posted by Fred Smedley
Old Mountain bikes suck, ride like crap , are unsafe and overpriced. Don't waste your time!
So your strategy is to talk everybody out of it and keep the nicest old examples in the marketplace for yourself?
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Old 09-12-11, 04:08 AM
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Originally Posted by Elev12k
So your strategy is to talk everybody out of it and keep the nicest old examples in the marketplace for yourself?
You got it. Its called the Law of Finite Supply.
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Old 09-12-11, 08:04 AM
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The 29er rage is huge and is going to get huger, maybe people are dumping their mountain bikes and buying 29ers?
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Old 09-13-11, 04:16 AM
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Originally Posted by jet sanchEz
The 29er rage is huge and is going to get huger, maybe people are dumping their mountain bikes and buying 29ers?
One can only hope.
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Old 11-20-23, 05:47 PM
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Remember when photo bucket was the swizzle? As 29 gave way to 27.5...
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