I feel bad for the poor bastard that had to lug a 5kg VHS camcorder and probably two or three 1kg NiCad battery packs around all day. Plus, those things were super delicate and would shut down at the first sign of moisture.
I guess that's why the one guy has a rack on his bike.
Many of us had racks on our bikes back in those, the good 'ol days. That was back when the notion of suspension on a bike was considered too much. And so it went.
@oscartheballer: The origin of the raw edit....I would like to know what that rattling noise is though? Sounds like one of them has a metal toolbox with a crescent wrench and a 4 screwdrivers attached to his frame somewhere. I love it.
This video reminds me of shuttling Rabbit Ears Pass near Steamboat Springs, Colorado back in like 88 when no one had helmets. We all brought our thickest wooly winter hats to wear on the downhills....for padding....when we crashed.
@imbiker: Neither was intelligence in our family. We played lawn darts with one person/pair on each end. You had to be quick if one of those missiles went off track. Maybe that's why our parents had six kids - Murphy's Law insurance policy.
I had one of those ecru colored hard shell Bell helmets with some orange safety tape pinstriping that I wore in 1990 when I rode Slickrock on my Giant AT740. Was my first trip west. That helmet was ill-fitting, heavy and hot and anything but stylish, lol.
This is a pretty timely video. A few buddies and I have gathered some 80s/90s mountain bikes with the hopes of doing a regular retro ride around here. Both to enjoy the slower pace and to appreciate how good our modern bikes are.
I can't wait to get twice as beat up going half the speed!
@maximumunicorn: If you ride a "retro" bike the same way you do a modern bike sure you gonna feel a difference. Body English & rider skill is much more important on the vintage than the new monster truck "point & shoot" way of modern bikes.
I'll bet the more time you spend on an old bike the better you'll be on a new 1.
@Skooks: yes and having to adjust the angle of the brake pads half way down cause they were wearing out so fast. We met at the coach house parking lot every sunday then went in to watch the dancers after.
@Skooks: I meant if you could travel back to 1984 and hand them one right after they finished a run on those old bikes. Of course if I did this I would have to make sure my dad took my mom to the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance. I should go practice Johnny B. Goode on the guitar in case this ever happens.
Looks like a blast to me. I remember seeing MTB's in the ski shop 1985. Drooling over them. Then hearing about this North Shore riding from some guys who had MTB's and travelled there. That was the start of the addiction...and I still like to look at old bikes they are so freaking cool.
Would love a dig-in to see who these riders are and what they're up to today. We DO know how good we have it these days... wow, like dragging a carriage of bolts & metal parts behind ya back then
@MB3: I have - but was thinking of the actual people in this video. But for RC it would almost make more sense to have a video (or series) of him showing some of these things. I started riding in 1991-but I don't have that bike or even remember any of the gear on it. This is all just superfluous but it would be cool to physically see a video showing the trans from shit 80s / 90s gear onward to what we have now...esp for people who we even riding back then but aren't gonna remember 1/2 the crap we rode on
I converted my BRC "Explorer" to a 1x in 1989. I removed the two outer rings and used the front dr as a 'chain guide.' I got the widest bars I could find off a Raleigh, whose rear triangle broke at the seatstays, and then added some ODI mushroom grips for "shock absorption." My mind was blown when I got Panaracer Smokes in 1991, but they made it clear the cantis were not working. So I fitted an Oddessey Pitbull to the rear
Oh the memories! Although it was 1991 for me, riding at Skeggs prior to the trail "modernization". Drop seat, point down sketchy section and have a blast! Still have that 1991 bike and now I'm tempted to take it out this weekend. I'll spend Saturday adjusting the toe-in on the canti brakes, and maybe Sunday will ride!
Good old rigid bikes, no droppers, thumb shifters (Shimano XT's are still the best!), and Blackburn rear racks - I still have them all. My two bikes are now converted to road commuters with 1" tires - one beat up for riding to work (before the pandemic). Love the chromoly frames - they just last! And who needs helmets back in the day - just messes up the mullets!
Yeah, that was such an obscure forum thread/post, I was very surprised it ended up on PB the very next day. Probably scouring the competition for spyshots
At first it seems like almost everything has changed since those days, but a few things struck me as not all that different from today: the sunglasses, the mustaches, the sounds of spoke pinging and tires ripping dirt, and most of all - the stoke! Bikes always have been and always will be awesome.
@powderturns: Bars were way narrower, and head angles were way steeper. They figured a few things out on the 80's bikes, but things took a U-turn away from stability in the 90's.
Wade rode great in that video!!! What an amazing trail. Natural, no electronics , no bullshit, honestly as much as I make a living off technology and tech, I miss my brc and shredding in jeans
My mom, uncle amd her friends used to drive up fromme in the 80s before the gate was there, usually end up tipping the car and walking st Georges trail back down to Lonsdale
Man I wish I grew up riding rigid bikes in a place like this. Instead I grew up riding rigid bikes on steep fire roads riddled with rain ruts that ate my front wheel and my face on a number of occasions.
Might snag an old school rigid and take it somewhere nice this summer for an easy spin.
This is before V brakes, at least V brakes stopped you in the dry, and after several rotations they started to work in the wet. Canti brakes were iffy at the best of times.
@materials-guy: so many hours spent fine tuning my 986's to get the perfect rim alignment and toe-in to get rid of the squeal and avoid wearing a slot in the sidewall at all costs!
@materials-guy: this was 85, at that point my bike didn't even have cantilever on it. In 87 I bought a Fisher with the 'good brakes' and I was ready to ripp. Good times but I'm ready for this weekend and hydraulics.
15 second stair descent at 4:50 with celebratory wheelie was my fave. In '84 at age 10 I bought my first MTB. A Norco Bigfoot with thumbies and a bullmoose bar. $259 + tax I think? I wheelied the shit out that thing...
I am keeping this video for everyone that complains about new standards and that the bike industry just makes new stuff to sell you.
Ok Jimbo! have fun back in 1985!
Not sure why the down-votes, that reoccurring quote is one of my favorite things about this video. That and the mandatory wheelie attempt after every "move".
The origin of the raw edit....I would like to know what that rattling noise is though? Sounds like one of them has a metal toolbox with a crescent wrench and a 4 screwdrivers attached to his frame somewhere.
I love it.
I can't wait to get twice as beat up going half the speed!
I'll bet the more time you spend on an old bike the better you'll be on a new 1.
Great reminder where modern trail riding comes from, it has gone a long way since then.
if those guys are 25yr old in this video, they are 61yr old today....
Surprisingly not bad to ride. Raked out forks were slack, steel tubes forgiving, slack seat angle, bullmoose bars are stiff.
Early 90's weight weenie road inspired MTB bikes however are a nightmare off-road.
I don't miss old bikes.
90's took their geo cues from road bikes. Doh.
I still love Vbrakes in the dry TBH