Video: 9 Classic Mountain Bikes from the Whistler Bike Park

Oct 17, 2019 at 9:56
by Pinkbike Originals  

If you took a look at the lift line in the Whistler Bike Park, you'd notice the majority of bikes being high-end, carbon, and multiple thousands of dollars. However, there are still a few classic bikes that have stood the test of time and are shredding the bike park trails. We stopped to talk to nine owners to get the bigger story about their classic mountain bikes.

Presented by the Aava Whistler Hotel








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Member since Feb 15, 2012
1,085 articles

132 Comments
  • 217 1
 Why hasn’t anyone told these people it’s not about having fun it’s about SPENDING MONEY!!!
  • 31 0
 Silly Canadians, life's not about having fun.
  • 6 0
 I dont know man, the dude with the Kona low-key flexing those Chris Kings...
  • 2 0
 My mother told me if it ain't broke don't get a new one
  • 80 1
 Can't wait to see how the bikes will look like in 10-15 years, when those people will stand next to V10 29er saying it's heavy with old geometry. Really curious how the tech and trends will go !
  • 41 3
 "Look at those tiny wheels!"
  • 30 1
 @IntoTheEverflow: 36 aint dead!
  • 56 21
 The carbon bikes with light carbon parts wont last like old bikes.
  • 39 0
 Penny farthing will be the new norm for the ultimate mullet experience
  • 7 0
 @mihauek: Still holding out for my 38 Super Swampers.
  • 27 2
 @kanter: I dunno...my 2013 carbon v10 is still going strong after 6 years of solid use. Provided I don't wrap it around a boulder or a tree (or a signpost a la Greg Minnaar) I don't see myself retiring it anytime soon! A nice thing about carbon is there's no fatigue over time, so provided it was well designed and not victim to a hard crash that cracks something, there's no reason it shouldn't go the distance.

With carbon, it's all about design and layup. Some won't last, sure...but lots of the old bikes with lesser designs and build quality didn't either! I think for a retro rig that's still rolling 10-15 years later, that speaks more to it's design than what it was made from.
  • 189 6
 Everything will be E-bikes. They will have finally figured out how to make them look less awkward than a fat guy pissing at a urinal. We'll rave about how great they are chuckle about how stubborn we were about them "back in the day". But many of us will be puritans who still ride the antique "pedal bikes". Tension between the two classes will arise at the bike parks resulting in an all out turf war. The e-bikers will construct explosive devices from their old lithium batteries. The puritans will sharpen their old chainrings into deadly throwing stars. Battles will rage on through the winter as the skiers and snowboarders just want us to leave the slopes. The e-bikers have extra fat storage that sustain them through the bitter cold months on the icy mountains. The puritans struggle but they survive because of their skills of being able to fix and repair anything with cable ties. As the spring months hit and the snow begins to melt, one final battle will take place to determine the fate of our beloved MTB community. Each class suffers great loss. Funeral pyres occur each night to mourn the loss of the greatest battle hardened warriors. But despite the ever advancing technological wonders of batteries, the downfall of the e-bikers is that no battery will hold a charge forever, and they all forgot their chargers. While the e-bikers complain about their electrical debacle, the puritans prevail in a tactical assault for the ages, slaughtering many, giving little mercy. But news of the real tragedy has yet to arrive to the ears of the victors, over the harsh winter months, All bike standards have changes and parts for their bikes are no longer available.
  • 5 0
 @kanter: dont kid yourself.. I still have a friend shredding a 2009 stumjumper fsr expert carbon.. Sticker date says manufactured in 08. Cant believe its still going.. Hes pretty hard on it..
  • 11 0
 @masonstevens: hahhahaha Top comment!
  • 9 1
 @rory:
Sorry to break it to you, but carbon structures fatigue due to cyclical loading. Not nearly as bad as aluminum though. Steel and titanium are the only superhero materials in that regard.
  • 7 0
 @masonstevens: Hilarious!

............and prophetic?
  • 6 0
 @rory: I have a 2012 V10C with full Saint build. The only thing not current on the bike is the wheel size. The bike still rips and I have 8 full seasons on it. I will be riding it again next year and as long as I can get good tires for it. I am going to through an angle set in it to slacken it to 63.5 deg HA and continue ripping.
  • 3 0
 People still ride real bikes????
  • 11 0
 “Yeah mate. I bought this carbon v10cc for $500 from my brother’s friend. He paid about £8500 for it and used it for a season. Then it was parked for a couple of years, then I jumped on it. Small wheels, kind of cramped geometry - I mean this was from a time when people were riding those funny little 29” wheels and short geometry.”

“And carbon too! Ha ha so heavy but I bet it still shreds!”

“Yeah, it’s done well. I bought a new tyre today. Got a good deal at $120. It was meant to be $300, so I haven’t really had to sink a lot of money into this bike...”
  • 22 15
 @kanter: I broke ALL of my previous Aluminum frames, the longest one lasted was 18 months.I have yet to break a carbon frame. I used to destroy 1-2 aluminum rims per year. I have destroyed 2 carbon rims in about 6 years.

People who still think carbon is the weaker material need to pull their heads out of their asses.
  • 50 8
 @danny: You sound like a really shitty rider...
  • 1 0
 @bohns1: Got a friend still rocking his 84 Stumpjumper. Doesn't rock it to hard anymore.
  • 8 0
 @masonstevens: Or a really good one. I was thinking the same thing, so I hit up danny's profile. Knowing a lot of the trails he has pics on, I'd say danny shreds bloody hard.
  • 4 0
 @danny:

I will vouch that Danny was capable of breaking bikes on a regular basis. He was known as hucking b*^ch for a reason. I will also vouch for how solid my carbon bike had held up compared to all mu previous bikes. Everything still feels tight and as nice as the day I purchased it.
  • 2 0
 @masonstevens:

He was an original freerider who has thrown down some stuff 20 years ago that would still make most people walk away.
  • 8 0
 @masonstevens: This battle will be so fierce, Sabaton will make a whole album about it.
  • 2 1
 @masonstevens: This shit. This shit is pure GOLD. I hope you win some sort of Pulitzer Prize for this post.
  • 1 1
 @kathwill: classic bike... Sure its a keeper.
  • 2 4
 @danny: Sounds like you need some weight watchers and or bike lessons.
  • 4 3
 Comments in 15 years:

"How did they pedal these things without motors?
No, son these were only for going downhill."

"What are all the knobs on the suspension?
These poor chaps had to turn them to make adjustments. They didn't have Wiz-shock v9.11."

"What's that giant toothy thing in the back?
Oh the old Pizza platters...we have those heavy ugly things on our wheels anymore."

"What are all those things hanging off the handlebar? Those are cables or brake lines or hoses or housing...I don't really remember what they were called...but I think you could strangle yourself in a bad crash."
  • 3 1
 @masonstevens: you haven’t broken a frame? I’ve cracked 2 aluminum ones and a carbon and none were from crashes
  • 1 1
 @danny:
#Metoocarbon>alloylastinglonger
fight the carbon racists!
  • 3 1
 lol people are still bashing carbon?? its almost 2020.. I have broken steel and aluminum parts, but have still yet to break a carbon part yet almost every part on my bikes in the last 8 years have been carbon, and always bought used.
  • 2 0
 @masonstevens: beautiful. Art.
  • 1 0
 Unless you have a Nicolai G1 which will still be up to date haha.
  • 1 0
 @masonstevens: you should get JJ Abrams and George RR Martin in on this idea. Producer and screen play writer respectively. The most epic MTB film of all time. The ending should be a peace pact between the Ebikers and the purists agreeing to combine their respective armies into a massive assault on area 28.99, the bike industry fortress where the evil engimarketeers produce new standards every year. Watching the parts standard fortress getting blown up with lithium batts while the pure shredders wage epic battles against the parts marketeers so the ebikers can get the place wired to blow.
  • 18 0
 *crosses fingers for a Big Hi.. oh there she is. #MakeMulletsGreatAgain. Great featurette PB.
  • 16 0
 26-24 was sick.
  • 2 0
 This was my exact thought process! HAHAHA
  • 1 0
 deleted
  • 1 0
 @CantClimb: I ran that setup between 2007 and 2017 on a BigHit. It was awesome until it wasn't then you really noticed its problems. Now on 26". Projected evolution to 29" sometimes in the 2040's.
  • 17 0
 Did the Big Hit have a White Bros fork?
  • 10 0
 Bingo! White Bros DH-2 upside down fork. 2004-ish or so. I'd love to get my hands on one of those.
  • 3 1
 yep. i had a couple back in the day - great forks at the time.
  • 1 0
 They did not come stock.
  • 1 0
 @andwrong: Sold a corsair with a pretty fresh white bros fork for 250 bucks the other day lol
  • 2 0
 May have been the set I dropped off at Our Community Bikes in Vancouver a few years back!
  • 2 1
 @kanter: lower spec Big Hits of that era came with Dirt Jumper single crowns!
  • 1 1
 @andwrong: nah dude that fork is just a factory bighit unit .
  • 14 1
 Mar z ouch y haha
Awesome and scary at the same time!

More interviews from Jason too! > Levy or those other joker's.
  • 12 1
 Probably wouldnt ride that V10 after hearing that story*

*Happy to called out as being lame
  • 4 0
 Exactly. Impressed at his chilled approach to his health lol
  • 1 0
 LAAAME. Still gunna send it
  • 1 0
 Meh, same thing happened to my 888 stem bolts way back when. Pretty sure they were a predetermined breaking point. All those bikes were tanks in those days, everything overbuilt because it was cheaper, faster and easier to add material.
  • 13 0
 BOLT THROWER YEAH!
  • 3 0
 My first ever metal concert (after the "... For Victory" album). HIs bike looks pretty cool too, with the MX style fender.
  • 12 0
 WHERE ARE THE FRIDAY FAILS??
  • 1 0
 The last Friday fails was even DELETED!!!!!
  • 2 0
 @Tiez: it was on Facebook
  • 8 0
 I still ride that same bottlerocket and it is still GREAT. ...and my Kona Stinky is a TANK.
  • 8 0
 Great attitude everyone, that's what it's all about!
  • 8 0
 "excuse me, your bike is very old, mind if we ask you some questions?"
  • 4 0
 "it kind of rides itself. And I just sit on it."

I love this quote on her A-Line and on the old Norco's in general. They were such monsters that could ride over and off almost anything without flinching.

I have a bunch of the old Norco catalogues and you can clearly see the VPS' "moar burly" progression over the years. Each new model year, the designers just keep adding more and more reinforcements to the frames.
  • 5 0
 I'd love to see a classic bike-build project on pinkbike, building the most period correct baller bike, or an old frame with all new parts
  • 2 0
 Buddy and I were talking about doing this with my '03 RM7 and his '04 Big Hit.
  • 3 0
 My current rigs are a Turner DHR 2015ish with BOS suspension and a half carbon V10 with Marzocchi 380 and fox suspension. I have no complaints, the bikes are better then I am and are a joy to ride. I have plenty of back up parts so I figure to be the old guy riding the 26s for the next five years. The great thing about old bikes is the standards have not changed so it's easy to switch out parts. 150mm hubs, no press in bottom brackets, ahh the good old days.
  • 1 0
 I have had a DHR and own the full carbon V10 now. Both 26
Dhr was super fun, v10 is super fast and fun.
Why change what already works eh Smile

Function over fashion.
  • 6 0
 Its amazing that Spec Enduro with the E150 fork is still working. Love seeing older bikes! Have a few myself.
  • 2 0
 how would you even get parts for that thing.... love the idea of lightweight dual crown.
  • 1 0
 my riding buddy still rides this combo each saturday. its a tank and loose as f*, rattles all the way down the hill. but he beats me up the climbs every ride!
  • 2 0
 I used an E150 on my Enduro SL just yesterday! It works great, after 11 years it held up way better than the specialized rear shock. I (rarely) give it a basic service with a pdf I google and get some “it just fits” foam seals/orings from the shop.
On top of that, coming home, I found another exact same green 2008 Enduro SL on someone’s bike rack in traffic, they’re still out there rolling!
  • 1 1
 That fork is the worst in the history of forks. Always sticky, overly complicated, never worked.
  • 7 0
 What is sure is that circa 2000 Marzo 888 were so good and reliable!
  • 3 0
 I was a little terrified for the riders that talked about their big bikes being able to handle everything and they just sit on it. I also thought it was funny how when I first saw the bikes- even though I biked through the era of all of these bikes and before- my initial thought was how unsafe it might be riding these bikes down aggressive trails. Then I remember how capable I felt in that era on similar bikes (lots of false confidence no doubt), the stuff we could ride and the stuff we saw the pros ride at that time. I mean we can get on our high horse (I high horse with boosted carbon, metric shocks, reduced offset forks, advanced suspension kinetics, and a sick matte colour scheme) but then there is this: www.pinkbike.com/video/2832 ...don't get me wrong- I love my modern bike, just saying that we still did some pretty rad things on previous iterations...or at very least Wade did.
  • 1 0
 Its true,i sit down that much on mine it got 'the sofa' nickname I only come off the seat for jumps lol
  • 3 0
 Stoked to see a Santa Cruz Driver8. With the anodized orange aluminum frame color, I don’t think I can sell mine. About five years ago, I upgraded it with a 27.5 front wheel and a variety of lighter parts, dropping the weight to 35.5 pounds. The bike is still going strong.
  • 5 0
 20 years from now, "I am sorry I can't show you how my bike works, my bluetooth is not connecting"
  • 3 0
 The "new standards" only change for the sake of sales, and though the handling has changed to make things easier for someone to ride overall, these "classics" are all very capable beasts no matter the age.
  • 3 0
 Had a Driver 8 not long after they came out so much fun felt really playful as was not based old race geometry,loved the Bottlerocket and the Stinky Supreme,big thumbs up for the guy wearing a Bolt Thrower shirt
  • 6 0
 Love these! More history pieces please!
  • 2 0
 There were some wild German bikes early this century, wonder how many of them are still around. Richi Engineering with double shocks, Nicolai with millions of shock mounts, not sure what brand it was but it had 400mm travel front and rear... There was also this brand called Evil (not to be confused with the Weagle bike) which had thru-axles even on their XC frames (and always double top tubes IIRC). They're probably not around anymore because hey, everyone knows thru-axles are never going to catch on on XC bikes.
  • 1 0
 The Evil brand is actually the same company, it gave birth to e.13 too. And the Richi bikes didn't get much more riding than the extreme ”Waschbrett” at Eurobike every year. Wink
  • 5 0
 26 still making happy faces.
  • 11 5
 Jason > Levy
  • 2 0
 Just because you didn't see any donuts doesn't mean he ate them.
  • 11 0
 Why not both?
  • 3 0
 @jasonlucas: Jason for the hot lap ! Wink
  • 4 0
 I love how most of the people being interviewed look like they can't tell if the're being trolled or not
  • 4 0
 Jason - " What kind of fork is that?"
Dude - " Factory"
Jason- " just factory"

Hahaha..
  • 3 0
 The Danimal! What's funny is how many people you crush on that Stinky. Should've told him about your clavicle story ; )
  • 3 0
 Dan had the coolest bike that weekend. That Stinky Supreme was the bee's knees.
  • 2 0
 Some of the bar and stem combos were a bit scary! I have old bikes and put newer stuff on to be safe. Other than that those bikes are bomb proof. Bottlerocket wins!
  • 3 0
 Had to take a deep hard look to see if that Bottlerocket was mine at some point.
  • 1 0
 I was sure that A-Line was my buddy's... which is probably still in his garage (was a medium, not a small like in the video).
  • 4 0
 That Bottle Rocket is rad, especially in that colour.
  • 1 0
 Yes! I have a reddish orange one. Transition had sick colours "ahead of their time".
  • 2 0
 Man, I lusted after that Norco ALine back in the day. Just a damn sweet bike.
  • 1 0
 Came here expecting everyone to be correcting all the things people got wrong about their bikes.. thoroughly disappointed...
  • 2 3
 Closing weekend 2019!! If u guys Wana see biking than just what bikes ... Check out this banger . The crew getting sideways on A-LINE !! Whip trains. Check out my channel "The bike wizard"

youtu.be/PhFlTsBWa3Y
  • 1 0
 notice how many old rides have older Italian made 888's, those things where indestructible and could be serviced by a child.
  • 2 0
 Pinkbikers be like Frown "where is the Rampage bike porn ?" :p
  • 2 0
 White Brothers fork on the first ride
  • 1 0
 Hell yeah, that was my first DH fork! Shit, does that make me an "Classic" too?
  • 2 0
 The grey kona stab supreme is the best looking old bike.
  • 2 0
 That was sick...brave souls!
  • 1 0
 The philosophy of all this is: Something to eat is always found, a battery charger no ..........
  • 1 0
 And here I was just today thinking it might be time to sell my old 2007 Bighit... Probably not gonna happen now
  • 1 0
 888 awsome till you have to lift the bike for any reason. Love hate with those forks.
  • 1 0
 I m sure that big hit´s fork is hansbrick or some like that
  • 3 0
 white brothers, i had the hanesbrink bat fastards hence the name.. www.pinkbike.com/photo/230225
  • 1 0
 @bat-fastard: Yup, definitely WB. I remember lusting after those back in the day.
  • 2 2
 Still rocking the 2012 TR 250 for the bike parks. it's still alive (but for sale) and has plenty of life left.
  • 1 0
 Time to dust off the ol DHS Mono for a few laps LOL!!!
  • 1 1
 Sometimes I wish I lived at Whistler so I could lurk the lift lines to get my Coiler in a video (:
  • 1 0
 old Norcos and 888 never die!
  • 1 0
 The v10 looks like it has fairly modern geometry for its time. i dig it.
  • 1 0
 The title on the video says WHSITLER.... Wink
  • 1 0
 That V10 is more likely 2001?
  • 5 0
 It's just a touch newer than that, the V10 came out in '02. '02-'04 is when that frame style ran with the hydroformed frame coming out in '05. I'd guess it's an '04, fwiw.
  • 2 0
 @cod51: Yea probably around a 2003/2004, I had one, and it had about 2004 pivot bearings that would come loose. Loved that thing.
  • 2 0
 Remember seeing a brand new one of those back in the day at my local DH track and being totally awestruck. I think the guy meant say brake jack rather than pedal jack when talking about the bar attached to the rear caliper. They used to be on a lot of frames years ago but hardly see any now.
  • 2 0
 @tremeer023: Danny Hart has one
  • 1 0
 @Dnik: HA! I'd love to get my heads on one, one of these days. Such cool frames.
  • 2 0
 @cod51: I don't think it's an '04, unless maybe a very early one - prob 02/03 - it's got press-fit bearings. I had an 04 and they'd added pinch bolts on all 8 main bearings that year, to make them much easier to change.

There was a ton of bearings Razz - another 6 in the floating brake alone IIRC - everything was overbuilt on that 1st-gen V10! Smile Still the stiffest and best tracking bike I've ridden, not a bike for the poppers but for plowing through stuff and sticking to lines it was superb.
  • 1 0
 @bmbracing: Ahhh right on! These are the details I don't know lol. Now that I think about it, Super T also won Rampage in '02 on a green one, so even more likely that it's an 02/03.
  • 1 0
 So dope. Wanted that Supreme so bad when they came out.
  • 1 0
 I'm still on my 2001 Straight 8 !!!!
  • 1 0
 Missing the old big hit even more now.
  • 1 0
 dat ti spring tho.
  • 1 0
 That was AWESOME!
  • 3 3
 that's not very downcountry of them







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