Hi, everybody! I've been driving myself crazy trying to find a mountain bike that fits, has decent components, and doesn't put me in the poorhouse. Ordinarily, I'm a road bike guy, but some of the guys I ride with have obtained mountain bikes and left me out on the road by my lonesome (not such a bad thing; I really do enjoy solo rides).

Anyway, after one too many times listening to their excited chatter and laughter about their adventures in the woods without me, I've decided to pick up my first mountain bike. I found a 1993 Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo in great shape on craigslist for $200. Seller measured it for me - 19". Right in my size range according to charts.

My question is - is this a reputable mountain bike? From what I've learned by searching the internet, I should pick it up. Can someone confirm that this bike is worth $200? Everything is original (including RockShox suspension fork) except seat.

Should I go for it? I'd really appreciate any feedback y'all can offer. Thanks!

Sounds decent and its a couple of hundred rather than a couple of thousand!

Thanks for your reply. I like your way of thinking (couple hundred rather than a couple thousand). I get anxiety when spending money on things that I am not knowledgable about. I'm going to pick the bike up today. Will post pics when I get it home. Thanks again!

If it is in good shape and it fits the price is ok. It is an old OLD OLD!!!! mtn bike though. The front fork on it is ancient and is probably going to need gone through. It is also probably an elostomer shock and I doubt you can get parts for it if it needs any. There maybe kits out there to convert it to a spring fork, use to be common. It comes down to can you find anything better and newer for around the same price? If not and you just want something to try out mtn biking on go for it. I started off on a crappy old Iron Horse that I paid $100 for. Fix things that break on it but don't waste money upgrading it.

If the frame is in good shape it's not a bad deal. A classic steel frame hardtail. The fork will need to be replaced

A vintage steel Hoo Koo E Koo is easily worth $200. That's the good news. Now for the bad news, it's a vintage bike so you'd better plan on putting money into it if you're going to keep up with your friends. As has been said, the fork is probably going to need replacement or repair. If it's a 1 inch head tube, replacing may be difficult and that frame was not built for a fork with 100mm travel. If it's a 1 1/8 head tube, replacement will be a lot easier.
But it is a vintage steel Hoo Koo E Koo so the ride will be very comfortable and it will hold its value. Just think you should go into this eyes wide open. I had a 96 Hoo Koo E Koo that I foolishly sold a few years ago. Wish I had held onto it. It had a beautiful ride.

I got the Hoo Koo E Koo. Needs a new seat, so I offered $150 and struck a deal. Turned out to be a 1998 model. The gentleman thought it was 1993 because it has a small "1993 World Champion" decal on the downtube. Anyway, everything is really nice and clean...looks like it wasn't ridden very much. Took it out for a ride with my brother on some roads and through a few baseball fields. Rock Shox do feel a little soft, but overall, I am very happy with the bike. I'm a noob...I've probably logged less than 8 hours on a mountain bike my entire life, so I'm not worried about super high quality - just wanted a decent, inexpensive option for those days when I feel like riding with the guys rather than solo. Thanks so much for everybody's input.

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Looks great! Practically as though it just left the show room!

Looks like you got a killer deal, doesn't look as if it's ever been ridden.

You might be able to rebuild that fork (or adjust the compression/rebound?) for a lot less than replacing it.
Great find.

Looks like a great bike, still a more than capable XC bike. Until this year I was riding a Voodoo very similar to your ride in both geometry and components. I ended up replacing the Rock Shox with a NOS Marzocchi Bomber from the same era. It was and is a fantastic ride. If those are the Bontrager Corvair wheels they are probably my favorite set I've ever ridden, they take an absolute beating from my 200 pound self without a second thought. Great pick up!

is that a 24" tire on the front?

perspective is odd

looks like a garage queen to me - nice find!

it's the perspective, if you look at the photo of the fork, the wheel fits fine.

Thanks! I saw a few Marzocchi Z2 Bombers on eBay for about $100. Looked like the dimensions would fit (1 1/8 x 7 3/8 steerer, 63mm travel, I believe).

I've been riding the Rock Shox on a pretty good local trail, and although they do feel a bit "soft", they also feel very sturdy and capable for the terrain (they don't "slam" to the bottom of travel, and they rebound pretty good to about 15mm from top of travel...25% sag?...haha...like I mentioned, I'm a very beginner).

I'm really interested in finding out how much a fork upgrade could improve the experience. So far, I'm hooked!

I used to have the rigid sibling, the Aquila.

You can't go wrong with double-butted True Temper cromoly tubing. They were Gary Fisher's mid range models and were $700 back in the day.

Good price for the one you're considering.

Honestly I wouldn't spend a ton to get a fork. Ride the heck out of it and if a good opportunity falls in your lap then go for it. I had a Jett on the Voodoo, which is fair at best. Upgraded it to a NOS Z3 BAM. The quality and rigidity were far ahead of the Jett but it really wasn't an earth shattering improvement. But if you decide you still want to upgrade then going with a Zocchi is farrrrrr from a bad idea. I will admit though, the 63mm of travel is underwhelming, though always smooth as silk. Glad you're enjoying the bike and the sport!

In 2001 I bought a new Fisher Tassajara for a touch over $600. It was aluminum by then. Can't remember if the Hoo Koo E Koo was one step up or one step down...

It was a step up above the Aquila and below the carbon and alloy models in the Fisher line.

Still riding my original Hoo'k. The RS Q21R shock is still working ok. Mine is a 1995, in the flat olive green...still love that color! It is mostly relegated to the local MUP though as a dog running bike.