Retro Tech: 6 Classic Mountain Bikes - Crankworx Whistler 2018

 Yet 22 years later it's still trucking along. They don't make them like they used to indeed.

 I haven't seen those Tioga tyres for an easy 15 years, maybe even longer than that. They must be dried out like nylon by now.

 Ol' Bullitt is a member of the family and will be forever. But I rode it around the yard the other day and could only think,"holy shite, we used to think this was a downhill bike". Sooo short.

 Those drop offs were from 2000-2001? I had the green ones (after i snapped my orange ones at the disc mount). 120mm of travel. Huuuuge!

 But it’s a coil sprung gate, so it’s cool...
I’d be petrified to ride there with V-brakes.

 @gibbon-on-an-orange: got one on the hardtail, still in one piece...

 First thought that popped into my head was wow awesome!, Second thought was he should run to Marz and replace that crown/stanchions asafp. 20 years of metal fatigue and those things are ripe to snap at completely the wrong time - ask me how I know...

 Correction, welded a gate to a pair of wheels.

 @ReformedRoadie: Nothing wrong with a good set of v brakes, aside from maybe in the wet, il bet he has strong fingers.

 @zyoungson: hey babe, I ride v-brakes if you know what I mean.

 You better put some respect to your elders. The Heckler is the genesis of a lot of bikes out there. Still have a 95 model in my stable and was still riding it in parks up to 2014!

 @Fix-the-Spade: Yes, but they ride way better now.

 I wouldn't be worried about running the Heckler at all. I still have a '97 Chameleon which is fine. I also have a few of those Tioga tyres around and they haven't dried out. I don't run V's on any of my bikes now but a decent set has plenty power; my last bad accident was from being fired over the bars by an Avid arch rival when a dog ran out in front of me.

 @lacuna: a dog in the spokes is more effective than any v-brake booster

 @ReformedRoadie: better then the kid there rocking those Hayes Solos. Those are scary terrible.

 @BenPea: Didn't hit the dog but did end up breaking my elbow in half when I hit the deck!

 At least they are at focking whistler.

 @dthomp325:

 @gibbon-on-an-orange: I had one from 2000 and then bought a couple more in 2012, front and rear version. Still have them around. The later versions had lighter flanks.

 @haileypooch: cmon ride it... how come the fork was not snapped after 1 year... and if the vintages tioga were properly used he would ride on the rim! Anyway it is always good to see a Shiver or a Karpiel mounted on 24" with Monster T. Sad no ones were found here!

 I would absolutely click on that article.

 @phile99: Agreed, that's a story that needs to be written! C'mon PB, send someone down there.

 Totally agree.

 Still have a 2004 monster T. I like to run it every now and then. It makes all other DH forks feel like noodles. Other than maybe an avalanche or something of that nature.

 I miss my '03 Shivers...

 20 years later and Zoke forks are reigning still. Won't see that from the latest and greatest, lucky if they make it 3 seasons.

 Almost due for their first maintenance.

 @bishopsmike: I got one of my monster T's 3 years ago. It had never had an oil change or seals replaced. Clearly I changed both, and even added an air assist system.

 U made me cry !!!

 I was one of those. I had a schwinn straight 8 that weighed over 50lbs. Shiver DC, purple hayes brakes, profile racing cranks, 24" sun modo wheels with 24x3.0 intense tires. It was a urban stair gap machine.

 This is exactly what I was thinking. I was hoping to see old Intense, Yeti, Lawwmill or Foes Fab.

 @zonoskar: Given that most of these riders are from presumably from Canada, you're going to see what was more homegrown or at least more widely available here. Intense, Yeti, Lawwill and Foes are all much more American brands (and thus harder much harder to come by north of the border).

 @gdharries: I feel you, but Intense, Yeti and Foes are classics regardless of the meridian! This has nothing to do with Canada and our love for it, but with the definition of what is classic and what is not. I'm sorry, but these bikes are not as ”classic” as some of you like to believe they are. Most of them are just old bikes and the title would've been good enough like that.

According to definition, classic is ”a work of art of recognized and established value.” and/or ”very typical for its kind”. We can leave the Stinky out of the equation, because it's just scrap metal and a poor excuse of a bike. The Cove is nice, but it never attained the status that some American brands above did. Maybe in a few years. The SX Trail was an interesting and somehow weird bike for its time, but it didn't define a category, as it stood alone for a good while and, ironically, this is what made it so special: it was a bike for those in-the-know. Future classic? Maybe, but let another decade pass. Same for the Rocky, with a little added value for not being a child of an international behemoth. I like the Banshee a lot as a a bike, but a fork alone doesn't make it ”classic”. One of Pippin Osbourne's ugly-ass creations would probably qualify much more as classics.

I write these words looking at a first generation Stab in blue with yellow flames, an early DeeMax wheel and a GT Lobo front end. Just for the record.

Cheers,
Mx

 @Maxipedia: And I guess I'm referring to "local" classics. That is, bikes and bike brands available to riders in and around Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler during the mid-2000s time period. Generally local bike shops carried the brands you see in the photos above. Thus, it's why some cyclists from this area bought and apparently are still riding those particular bikes.

 Good luck finding one of those bikes in the park. Ridden hard and put away broken.

 SX Trail, Nomad, Reign X and Intense 6.6 were bikes ahead of their times. They laid foundations for modern 160 Enduro bikes. At the same time they were the only rideable 6” bikes at the time. The rest was utter shit. People these days don’t appreciate how great it is when 99% of bikes on the market ride great. Back then it was a minefield.

 @WAKIdesigns: Maybe add the Iron Horse 6 point in there.

 @WAKIdesigns: and the weight wasn't bad either! i think i got mine down to 34 pounds or so. xtr cranks and 721 rims. also had the first fox fit cartridge via a 2009 van 36 rc2. worked great!

 @WAKIdesigns: I had an 08 reign x built at 31 lbs. I rode XC, DJ’d, and freerode everything but full on dh with it.

 @blk91: Transition Bottlerocket would like a word as well

 @WAKIdesigns: agreed. I'm still riding a 2009 Reign X1, can't break the thing. I've done multi day XC on it and then smashed it down double blacks at most bike parks in BC. Every year I talk myself into buying something newer then shortly after test riding said bikes I talk myself out of it as I don't see them as $4k better than my bike. Makes it even harder to justify spending the cash when the MTB manufacturers can't make up their minds which standard to follow this week. maybe one day...

 @WAKIdesigns: turner rfx was also a great bike

 @WAKIdesigns: Scott Voltage FR was my first and most loved bike.
Either DC Setup or even a dirtjump setup....Heck I rode.mine with 170mm.front and 160/180mm.back as an enduro and it was really good.

I want that exact.same bike just with little longer geo... The linkage design was on a whole other level

 @NotNamed: I was talking about AM/Enduro bikes. Scott Voltage FR was definintely an FR bike considering the weight and could be used for DH to a certain degree. Funny enough though, it was highly probably a better AM/Enduro bike than Scotts dedicated Genius or Ransom.
@funkzander - yes I forgot Turner, the 5.5 was sweet.
@groghunter: transition was building awesome FR and SS bikes at the time but I remember the first Covert and Preston FR - they were going through travel and folding like hell. It may have been the fault of air shocks of the time, but ugh, I will never forget how Preston with 5th element air had a hole in the mid travel.

I could eventually mention Session 77 but it was steep and heavy as Fk. I had my Nomad for 5 years before I decided to try Down Country for 2 years. Used it for everything from XC to DH tracks and I remember people being in awe of how much that bike could do. These days, most people take "do-it-all-ness" for granted. Back in 2008 it wasn't so easy.

 I had an original poo brown SX Trail and it was a great little bike - I was still using up until 2013. It climbed like a pig because the seat angle was too slack but it was so much fun descending. I still miss that bike because it was just so much fun.

 @WAKIdesigns: They sure were. My son (13) has a RaignX and loves it (the original gold one or silver if you are young and cant see that its light gold), I still have my Mk2 nomad too with Pushlink.

 @betsie: gold or silver?! How dare you? It's called Champaigne! Never heard of in the Highlands of Scotland aye? Whiskey and Wee Heavy only aye?

 That sx had the (high bb) mounting set on it which would have compensated for the short shock. I own two of these bad boys and was lucky enough to find a vivid air for them. With a little grinding on the frame to clear the air valve on the vivid, it'll slip right in there. With a 180 float on the front, I'd guess your looking at about 65-65.5 ha. With alitte component up grade I'm down to about 32 lbs. Combined with the short chain stay, this is a super fun playful bike that handles a fair share of DH but is pedalable. Back in the day they called it, "free ride". Good on you for rockn the SX! These bikes, in my opinion, still rip. There's nothing wrong with still enjoying the playful feeling of a 26" bike.

 @mindmap3: I had the same one, though I didn't keep it as long. Had a lot of fun on that bike!

 Or he’s fast as f*ck and doesn’t even touch the brakes

 Have you had such experience with rim brakes? I only switched to disk brakes a few years ago because for a long time, no disc brake could match the power of my rim brakes. And that could be said even now, after all it's like using 26" rotors.

 I might need to - this year the older bikes were harder to find than ever.

 You should see my flip phone!

 The hooker was the coolest bike they made. Some might say Hummer... nope

 Missed opportunity of a lifetime for the owner.

 yeah, I said I was wrong. I would change my post but it doesn't let me edit. oh well..

 Ehat about my mono DHS 2001 ?

 nm.... I was wrong. won't let me edit though.

 nahhh redesig was 2009. its a shame too.

 Still have my '00 scream. Indestructible.

 Debatable. Shit broke all the time back then with the exception of maybe the Marzocchi stuff

 @bman33: True, I owned a Marzocchi RC2X from 2006 it didn't break just retired her last year. My 380 lasted a week lol.

 Frame snappage rates were through the roof in the 90s and early 2000s. They are a 1000 times better now

 Tell that to Kona.

 @djm35: well kona built oil tankers not bikes.If you pick up an old stinky or something it bless you mind how heavy they were

 @multialxndr: My mind has been blessed!

 @multialxndr: but wasn't that mainly because riding had changed and the bikes hadn't caught up yet? All of our bikes back then were XC bikes with inappropriate forks on them and tough wheels and tyres.

 @mindmap3: Thank you sir that’s an awesome point I hadn’t thought of that one. The first cracked frame of only a few total was an xc bike I kept throwing dj/fr parts at riding trials free ride dj park street and all mountain after 4 years it started to get a crack on the down tube near the head tube.

 Nope, and believe me, I looked. I was hoping to get an Iron Horse Sunday in there too, but I couldn’t track one down this time.

 @mikekazimer: you’re a good man sir

 @mikekazimer: sunday was a legend of a bike

 @mikekazimer: That is surprising. I was totally expecting to see a Sunday in here, and when I did not find one, I concluded it might still look too modern to be considered retro.

 Lots of company’s did it was probably the only way you could sell a 4000$ bike to someone.

 not when they came out

 Same, not even 30 yet but I remember most of these bikes being released!