Arrowana

I've tuned up quite a few MTBs from this era, which of course means test riding afterwards. My favorite so far is my 1993 Giant ATX 780. Nice light frame, 1 1/8" headset means I can throw on a suspension fork if I wish, and a total blast to ride. My early 2000's Gary Fisher Ziggurat felt similar, though with an aluminum frame. Behind those two, I had a '95 Fuji Discovery rode nicely, but had a 1" headtube, and a '93-ish GT Pantera was probably my favorite out of what I've done at work. My goal is try to ride at least one bike from each major brand of this era and see if anything surpasses my Giant, and if that ever happens, might be on the lookout for another frame.

zukahn1 

I'm kinda partial to some of the smaller US companies. Like Supergo and Barracuda nice hand built in the US quality 531 or chr-mo frmaes and can often be had for a bargain price.

nikku 

Ha, that's a start. Houston to Dallas, 4 hours, Houston to Central OK, 8-10 hours. Bit of a difference.

guzziee

1 hour away from the Oklahoma border in North Dallas, if you can make the drive you can have this high sierra frame and fork for free(just got the frame and fork left, rest is gone). lmk.

WNG

Early 90s will have the best selection of mtbs with the geometry you want. Less slack and tighter triangles.
A lot of good brands out there. One not mentioned yet is GT. I had a 91 Tequesta. Tough as nails, well built and equipped, and the paint was enduring. Frame is ideal for a clyde.


GT Tequesta-32 by WNG555, on Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wng555/...7631987077088/


My other choices: Trek 900 series, Giant ATX series, higher end Diamond Backs, Schwinn Sierra and above, Ross, Panasonic.
Let's not forget aluminum.....Cannondale 3.8 series, Trek x000 series, Klein.

Lenton58 

My two bits (I guess cuz I have one) ... Trek 930 in True Temper. Not a horizontal TT though.

This bike is often overlooked and underrated, so you should be able to find one at a nice price. Some of the stock components could use upgrading — something I have done to mine over the years. The 930 makes for a very nice road commuter. I fitted slicks on day one out of the LBS. And I sawed an inch or two off the bar ends. In the opinion of a good friend who rides a modern MTB, and yet borrowed my 930 for a couple of months, " ... fast, stable yet nimble." I've ridden this bike many thousands of miles, and it has been always a pleasure.

wahoonc

One of my favorites

I converted mine to touring duty.

Aaron

Velognome 

Hey, so did I



Those are Linus roll-up panniers (rolled up) In addition to touring, it makes a great grocery hauler

corwin1968

Guzzie, Thanks for the kind offer but I'm looking for a full bike I can ride while I play around with it.

Right now, Craigslist has a Hard Rock Sport that guy bought at a garage sell and refurbished...he's asking $125. There is also an old Jamis but I'm pretty sure it's way too big. I'm a BIG guy but not a tall guy.


My search isn't helped by the fact that half the bikes on the local Craigslist are being sold by one guy, under several phone numbers, who flips bikes out of his house. I sold my Trek 7.2 about a year ago and gave him a good deal because I wanted to help someone get on a decent bike and it was on Craigslist the next day for $100 more. He did a song and dance about starting riding and it was all a lie.

https://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/bik/4061393270.html


https://tulsa.craigslist.org/bik/4068751578.html

neo_pop_71

+1
I agree, the lugged True Temper OX frames (930, 950, 970) of the early 90's are great! These bikes came with a lugged triple butted Tange rigid fork, it looked cool and it took the edge off the rough patches.

I know you said you were looking for a complete bike, bit I have a frame, fork, and parts that I can send your way. It's in a box and ready to ship. Another forum member wanted it and but his misses squashed the deal. The shipping via USPS from CA to KS was $30.00 with insurance. The frame is 19 inches (seat tube center-to-center) with a 22.5" (c-t-c) top tube. The bottom bracket was just rebuilt with fresh bearings and a new axle, it also come with the headset, LX front derailleur, a pair of matching blue (accent color in decals) water bottle cages, and seatpost. Here is a photo just before it was sealed in the 7"x28"x39" box (shipping weight 15.5 pounds), and a pair frame measurement photos:


Send me a PM if you can't find anything locally, we can work some thing out... I'd love to see this 950 built back up as a dirt drop bike. Plus, Thrifty Bill (wrk101) has one, he can show you his 950 all converted for reference. My was geared, then a singlespeed, and finally a 3 speed (triple front with one in the back) using a PAUL Melvin. Fun bike for sure but I'm thinning out the stable and trying to narrow down to my favorite 5.

Either way... good luck and enjoy the search, it's half the fun in my opinion!

-D-

John E

I put a Blackburn MTN Rack on my Schwinn (top-of-the-line was called Paramountain through 1987, then Project KOM-10 for 1988 and 1989) with a small padded clamp around each seat stay. The chain hanging peg on the right side keeps them from slipping downward and scarfing up the paint. Schwinn Paramount series mountain bikes do not fetch anywhere near the prices the road bikes do.

John E

My elder son's first mountain bike was a Specialized Hard Rock Sport, probably an early 1990s model. It is nothing special, but not at all bad. We did upgrade the crankset.

oddjob2

There is currently a rockhopper in OKC for $100, from a different seller in what appears to be an 18-19" frame. Nice step up from a Hardrock.

stanman13

These are great bikes that for some reason get overlooked (except in this thread!). Nice to see some love for these bikes.

corwin1968

PM sent

rjhammett

Bianchi Grizzly is a nice bike. I picked up my wife's early '90s for $150.

The Golden Boy 

My drop bar mountain bike project is my 1987 Schwinn High Sierra. It's fillet brazed at the head tube, welded at the BB and seat cluster. Triple butted 4130 Cromoly. Every braze-on known to man. So it was sort of designed to be a "go anywhere" type of adventure bike, forward thinking- even if they didn't know it at the time.

Beic

My favourites from the 80's and still are, Kona and Marin.

Beic.

phoebeisis

The Trek 900 series-are finally getting some love-like others have said
This means they sometimes cost more-maybe $200-$250 now-than they did 4-5 years ago

You can also find Jamis dragon Reynolds 853 for $400 or so occasionally-pretty good frames for not much $$
Lots to choose from-not much money for double butted Cromo

corwin1968

There is a really nice looking green one that's been on e-bay for a few weeks. Expensive though.

corwin1968

My eventual goal is something along these lines:

The Golden Boy 

Stem shifters... I was thinking of doing that on the High Sierra- I have barcons on it right now- but I'm not exactly thrilled with them.

corwin1968

I didn't even notice the shifters but I would go with bar-ends or if I really get into drops I might invest in integrated shifters. I'm just obsessed with the idea of a drop-bar, fat-tired mountain bike.

Gallo

+1 on GT My 1986 Backwoods has been through much. Trail, Touring, Street and just kept going Mine was before the triple triangle but had oversized tubing and a unique Gary Turner design. Known as a tweener bike and might even be considered a Hybrid today I put the bike through allot of punishment off road and it held up where many of my group frames cracked.

neo_pop_71

Being GT was near my home growing up, their bikes have always been a big deal for me from BMX through mountain biking. I have been after a pre-Triple Triangle frame like yours forever. You'd think being SoCal and so close to GT's outfit, those old one never come up for sale around here... sucks!