I just got 3 really good condition MTBS from 1995. They were stored inside and not used very much (and light use when used). They come from my wife's aunt who is moving. She bought them for her (then) 14 yo kids, who apparently didn't use them much. There was about a good layer of dust on them, but after a wet wipe, they seemed to be in almost excellent condition, except the tires are all flat.

The last time I rode was a good 15 years ago (2000-ish). So I'm pretty rusty myself. So free was excellent. I really only need 2 of them, but I figured I could use the 3rd for parts. I have a couple of questions that I am hoping somebody might help me with :

Bike 1 : 1995 Specialized Hardrock Sport

Bike 2 : 1995 Schwinn Frontier

Bike 3 : 1995 Trek 800 Sport

Of the three, which 2 are the best? From this era, do all 3 bikes have (mostly) interchangeable parts. I know the Hardrock has grip shifters, but other then that. Is it worth upgrading any of the three?


Of course I will buy new tires/tubes. But I don't really plan on putting too much more into them. These will be the bikes that will let me and the wife determine if we want to get into this. The majority of our riding will be dirt (think rail-trail - i.e. Lehigh Gorge trail) but if we start getting into it, we might broaden our horizons and start spending money for better bikes or upgrades.

According to bicyclebluebook (which I'm not sure how accurate it is), the hardrock seemed to be the best (i.e. most expensive) while the Schwinn & Trek were slightly lower value.

Any info would be great.... Hoping this turns into something good.

The Specialized and the Trek are the good 'uns. Not familiar with the Schwinn, but by '95, Schwinn was pretty much making only junk- but depending on the use intended for the bike, might not be all that critical for a MTB.

You can compare them here, partly by looking at how much they cost new.
1995 Specialized Hardrock Sport - BikePedia
1995 Schwinn Frontier - BikePedia
1995 Trek 800 Sport - BikePedia

Unfortunately all three were entry level bikes with very low end components. They are not the old mid-level "gems" that people are looking for when they go out to refurbish an old bike. It would be well worth putting a set of inexpensive tires on them but not to spend a significant amount of money to upgrade any other components. If you can do the maintenance yourself, go for it. I'd put an inexpensive set of road or city tires on them unless you intend to go off road a whole lot.

Thanks... I decided to grab the best of the three, but the one in the worst shape (which I suppose is a good thing)... the specialized and the wife picked the schwinn. I got the tires pumped up and we drove them around the driveway.... Rideable but needs some adjusting of the gears and new tires. I took them to the local bike shop... They are giving them both a good tune. I decided to tinker with the trek to get that into condition myself (it was probably in the best shape). The specialized was the boys & the other two were his sisters. Thanks for the links and advice. Happy trails.

My 48th ..

For me, a very mixed year! Hit 100,000 miles - good. Met my wife to be - I'll never regret the dating but we should never have married. The blues and jazz we saw (and I played) was priceless.

A year of no big bike changes except my first long stem, just the good old Mooney and workhorse Miyata 610 fix gear. A 180 stem turned that bike from so-so to a keeper and started me down a road of stems. And I have never owned a bike from anywhere near that time.

Ben