I know nothing about MTB's!
 

But, I'm looking to start. I've done road biking for a long while now and havent had a solid mountain bike in about 5 years at least, back before I really got into bikes. However, since then my hobby has been older road bikes (I generally frequent the C&V section of this forum), so I've come to really enjoy bringing an older piece of machinery back to it's prime condition.

However, that's for road bikes. I naturally want to do the same with a mountain bike, but is the technology too far gone? I guess what I'm saying is a vintage road bike can be restored to perform quite well on roads, but can a vintage mountain bike still handle the vigors and rough terrain of trails?

I guess I'm just not big on modern bikes, and am hoping to find a fun project to re-build another old bike.

I plan on using this bike solely on trails and rough terrain, as I have road bikes for commuting/paths.

Is restoring an older mountain bike an option here or has the technology come too far? I would like it to still be reliable.

Great, you should fit right in here.

Yes, as long as you don't weigh too much or ride too aggressively.

I'm about 170 pounds, give or take a few pounds.

I don't have much to go on yet, but I know I'll be looking at a Giant Rincon, Giant Boulder and a "Diamond back", that the seller told me are "older", heh. Not a lot of information to make a decision, but will the first two Giants hold up? I don't plan on doing anything to crazy other than singletrack trails with rocks/roots/sticks/holes in the path. Kind of impossible to take a guess on what the diamond back is.

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Emptyjar, I too am a fan of the older road bikes having restored several, some that I continue to ride on occaision. However, with mountain bikes, it depends on your application. I ride a vintage, 88 Nishiki Ariel on gravel MUPs and I have a 92, raised chain stay, Nishiki Ariel that I've ridden on single track. But neither of these bikes can compare to a late model mountain bike on hardcore single track.
Also, with older MTB's be careful swapping a rigid fork for a suspension fork. I've made this swap several times with mixed results. The 88 Nishiki came out as a really poor handling bike after the swap. That's not a problem on a flat straight rails to trails with no obsticles, but on a single track MTB trail, it was terrible.
If you're going to go on single track, MTB trails, go late model and save yourself the learning curve, however, you might still want to try some used equipment. I'm currently riding used Stumpjumpers, an 08 hardtail, and a 07 dual sus.

Thanks everyone for the help! Here's the two bikes i'm interested in, but I have no idea how to size a mountain bike by looking at some pictures. I know with road bikes I can ball park the sizes, so i'm hoping someone can help me out here.

I guess I need about an 18-19 inch frame, but I can't really take any guesses since MTB geometry is so weird (to me).

Obviously the Giant is a little bigger of a frame, but is it too big? Or is the Diamondback small? I'm about 5'10 - 5'11, 170 pounds. Any chance either of these will fit? I definitely like the look of the Diamondback better, but it seems like a small little frame, probably too small for me?

And if so, which bike is the more quality bike (of it's time)?

http://sdrv.ms/SY2r4u

http://sdrv.ms/Wf3kEA

Thanks!

Hopefully those links work!

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I thought the Giant looked abnormally large :twitchy:

Hopefully you're correct about the Diamondback's size, from the looks of it the Sorrento is a lower-end model, but hopefully will fair well with the trails and backwoods.

Wish I knew what year it was from.

Potassium-argon dating can help with that.

I have 2 older Giant bikes and love them. I am 6' 190 and I beat the hell out of them a 2001 Iguana and 2001 XTC SE2 they are both light and strong. I think both of those bikes look big but I like smaller bikes. I also have a 1998 Trek 820 steel frame that is a great bike as well but heavy

Eddie

Hi Emptyjar from the C&V forum too.

I have a Diamondback Sorrento and an 800 trek. They are both good bikes. The Diamondback I got at a police auction about 20 years ago and its by around town beater. Its worked well and all I have replaced was a BB cartridge when I got it.

The Trek I rescued from the scrapheap for $7 missing a rear axle and a seat. AN LBS gave me a bagful of hubs and I relaced the rear wheel to get it going again. I think the Trek is a Better ride.

Size- I think ragingbulls sizing is shorter than it should be. I'm 6'4" so I always look for a XL size of anything. Poke around on the brand you are interested in website and find out what they recommend and what sizes they actually make.

2 years ago I got a used Diamondback 29er that works better on singletrack (I think) than my older bikes. I also like the disk brakes MUCH better.

Have fun!

-SP

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If you are enjoying yourself and find the rebuilding process fun, then I think you have a nice niche in the bike world. The bulls looks hardy enough to handle most anything. Nice reflectors on the Scott. Do you do some commuting at night?

I'm definitely a fan of the bulls bike!

But thanks everyone for your responses, I figured the Giant might be too big because I don't really want to have to put the seat all the way down to the frame, and even then, might not work. I'll probably go and check the diamondback out for sizes, but I guess I'll have to try and make the decision on whether I want front suspension or not. Either way, for a good price I'll probably go with the Diamondback for now if it fits while I look for a more suited option for singletracks.

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Looks to be dents to me, good catch Bulls. That is never good.

Thanks for the info! I don't plan on doing anything with the forks yet, since winter is coming I'll most likely tuck the road bikes in a dark corner for a few months and just use this as a snow/rain commuter, since the singletracks will be a little rough anyway. I guess a small suspension fork may be in the future but I'm not thinking this bike will survive a full winters use if I do bring it into the snow, regardless of which one I get. I kind of like the rigid/original fork, though.

And yea, very good catch with the dents/dirt. Looks like dents to me as well, but of course, time will tell. I don't think I'll be buying anything with dents.

And rigid is making a comeback? Like, comeback as in hipsters are into it? Or comeback as in people with any MTB knowledge are into it? :D

I think the new rigids are beefy Hybrids.

This all carbon rigid isn't a hybrid but should make a very capable trail bike:

http://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8745974/p4pb8745974.jpg