[soft-compound]

Just wondering what everybody prefers today regarding downhill bikes and parts.
Myself I prefer retro and am the same with cars , when I say retro I mean from about 2001/2004.
I know parts have got lighter and technology has evolved but I still prefer older bits , like magura gustav brakes and hope mono 6ti.
Marzocchi monster T , avalanche forks , 888 rc , 3 peice cromo cranks like Azonic 454 , balfa bb7 , karpiel , cortina dh8 , Brooklyn racelink , sun double wide and so on.
I don't know if it how they look or what but they seem to be built better and stronger.

Just wondering other people's thoughts on this , if you went into a bike shop and there was a new top of the range back in the day old bike or new modern what would you choose?

 

[Samoto]

Lighter is better, obviously...

who wants super short bars? when long bars are more tasty?

though modern stuffs can be ridiculous like this

 

[norbar]

Parts 10 years ago were not built better. When I hear retro bikes when talking about dh I want to punch an infant. People remember only the few good ones (and even they were worse than 90% of that's available today) while forget the piles of crap that caused more trouble than Vladimir Putin.

I buy my bikes to ride them, bikes now are much better than they were 10 years ago. They are stronger, lighter, they work better. DH Parts should be designed by people with actual engineering knowledge, not 2 dudes guessing what is stronker while drinking beer.

Also:
http://www.pinkbike.com/forum/

 

[cecil]

I like a landing strip rather than 70's bush

 

[jonKranked]

Parts 10 years ago were not built better. When I hear retro bikes when talking about dh I want to punch an infant. People remember only the few good ones (and even they were worse than 90% of that's available today) while forget the piles of crap that caused more trouble than Vladimir Putin.

I buy my bikes to ride them, bikes now are much better than they were 10 years ago. They are stronger, lighter, they work better. DH Parts should be designed by people with actual engineering knowledge, not 2 dudes guessing what is stronker while drinking beer.

Also:
http://www.pinkbike.com/forum/

thinking back on some of those bikes and components, i'm amazed that people didn't die.

 

[kickstand]

I like what I can afford to ride and makes me smile.

 

[jonKranked]

it's like being nostalgic for leaded gasoline and the days before seatbelts

 

[soft-compound]

I like a landing strip rather than 70's bush

Who doesn't?

 

[soft-compound]

Lighter is better, obviously...

who wants super short bars? when long bars are more tasty?

though modern stuffs can be ridiculous like this

Lighter is better? My bike weighs 64lb , only better if racing something I do not do

 

[soft-compound]

Parts 10 years ago were not built better. When I hear retro bikes when talking about dh I want to punch an infant. People remember only the few good ones (and even they were worse than 90% of that's available today) while forget the piles of crap that caused more trouble than Vladimir Putin.

I buy my bikes to ride them, bikes now are much better than they were 10 years ago. They are stronger, lighter, they work better. DH Parts should be designed by people with actual engineering knowledge, not 2 dudes guessing what is stronker while drinking beer.

Also:
http://www.pinkbike.com/forum/

Stronger? I think that is a bit wrong , orange still can't seem to build bikes properly spotted many 224 frames cracked , a few evil undead frames cracked , demos cracked boxxers are crap and full of plastic bits , marzocchi are no longer Italian made.

 

[Sandwich]

As arguably the biggest retro-grouch on this forum....

absolutely not. The bikes of today are world's better than the bikes of 2004. Those are still great to look at though, and think of how far we've come.

I get more power out of a set of $105 XT disk brakes than I ever did out of top end Hopes or Hayes of 2001. Dampers are better, forks are better, tires are better, everything is lighter, stronger, and faster.

Hell, I was thinking about the racelink the other day, and I actually would prefer a lighter pivot without the complicated jackshaft. Progress...

 

[shelteringsky]

Modern for sure. There was some good stuff 'back in the day', thinking 4-pot XT discs and Italian made Marzocchi forks but that's probably about it. Like others have said, bikes these days are lighter and stronger, what's not to love.

That said, I think time will judge some of the current 'technology' *cough* flat bars for DH, 29ers *cough* justifiably harshly.

 

[Samoto]

Lighter is better? My bike weighs 64lb , only better if racing something I do not do

You're out of mind

You probably did use time machine. It is year 2014 now if you didn't check newspaper.

Welcome to the new century!

 

[csermonet]

 

[jonKranked]

Modern for sure. There was some good stuff 'back in the day', thinking 4-pot XT discs and Italian made Marzocchi forks but that's probably about it. Like others have said, bikes these days are lighter and stronger, what's not to love.

That said, I think time will judge some of the current 'technology' *cough* flat bars for DH, 29ers *cough* justifiably harshly.

:raises hand shamefully: i'm still running a flat bar for DH

 

[Sandwich]

man, people get so worked up about flat bars. Now, drop stems and riser bars, on the other hand, are like riser bars and bar ends.

 

[soft-compound]

You're out of mind

You probably did use time machine. It is year 2014 now if you didn't check newspaper.

Welcome to the new century!

LOL! Well that is my dark cycles scarab with MTN-8 and mrp bones on it.
Well I'm a fat person so need a strong bike 18 stone about 230lb I think

 

[norbar]

Stronger? I think that is a bit wrong , orange still can't seem to build bikes properly spotted many 224 frames cracked , a few evil undead frames cracked , demos cracked boxxers are crap and full of plastic bits , marzocchi are no longer Italian made.

I can find more cracking frames from 2003 than from 2013 so your point is invalid. Also the last demo model that had cracking problems was the 2004-2005.

Also durability is the only bike quality available now? How about suspension performance, stiffness, geometry, proper body position due to normal bar width, good tire choice? Do you use your 64lb bike only for riding stairs?


As for weight not being important outside of racing. If you had a 40-45lbs bike yeah, but 64lb? Haha! Also that silly idea fat people need something like MTN-8. That fork has no justification on any bike, even if you are so fat you are entitled to handicapped parking and your car has a crane to lift you out of it.

 

[jackalope]

Soft, can you post a pic of your bike?

 

[iRider]

Clearly retro! I assume you can call every 26" bike retro these days?

 

[EVIL JN]

:raises hand shamefully: i'm still running a flat bar for DH

I alos think flat bars do have a place in dh, maybe not as stylish as a low riser but you can get a completely different feeling out of a flat bar than a riser. So they certainly have some merit in the function department

 

[maxyedor]

I get more power out of a set of $105 XT disk brakes than I ever did out of top end Hopes or Hayes of 2001. Dampers are better, forks are better, tires are better, everything is lighter, stronger, and faster.

It's honestly amazing how far the industry has come in terms of component quality and performance in just over a decade.

Put some sticky tires on with those $100 XT brakes and put that combo on a 30-35 pound DH bike, and holy crap. You can rail corners harder and brake so much later than you could have ever dreamed of when 50 pound bikes on Gazzalodi 3.0s and Hayes Mags were the hot ticket.

I still have a soft spot in my heart for those old school parts, mainly as garage art that reminds me of the bad old days when I started riding, but when it comes to actual pedaling, moar shimz, moar carbonz, moar knobz, and moar fast!

 

[HardtailHack]

Old bikes and part belong on a wall as a reminder to how far bikes/parts have progressed.

Yeah some old gear was made well and a few items were well ahead of their time in regards to strength, geo etc but most suck today.

Tall, heavy, short and expensive are things you don't really want in a dh bike.

I still like a part to be made in it's homeland but I can't afford that stuff now so I just suck it up and buy similar quality bits for a whole bunch less from Taiwan.

 

[ianjenn]

can you post a pic of your bike?

Here are some of my old bikes. The M3 was 1 of 3 made I think. Should never have sold it. It was a Manitou test frame with a 1.5 Headtube on it. Was a 2003 I think.....I was the fastest on that DHR which was 50LBS if I recall. But I rode it 5 times a week for a few years.

 

[demo 9]

i still miss the gustavs

 

[jackalope]

Here are some of my old bikes. The M3 was 1 of 3 made I think. Should never have sold it. It was a Manitou test frame with a 1.5 Headtube on it. Was a 2003 I think.....I was the fastest on that DHR which was 50LBS if I recall. But I rode it 5 times a week for a few years.

Thanks, but I was really looking forward to seeing a fvcking 64 lb bauxite mine, I mean "mountain bike".

 

[norbar]

i still miss the gustavs

I miss the 2nd gen. The 1st gen had horrible levers that leaked oil and broke after every crash. I really hope the new ones are good

 

[soft-compound]

Thanks, but I was really looking forward to seeing a fvcking 64 lb bauxite mine, I mean "mountain bike".

Just waitng for avalanche bushings to arrive so I can fit my avalanche chubie

 

[norbar]

Thanks, but I was really looking forward to seeing a fvcking 64 lb bauxite mine, I mean "mountain bike".

We have one guy like him on our race scene. Uses a Tomac Magnum with a super monster. Uses full body armor and a back protector on top of it (yes the body armor already has a back protector so he has two).

 

[Samoto]

Uses full body armor and a back protector on top of it (yes the body armor already has a back protector so he has two).

its like to have two condoms, not good with unnecessary friction

But MOAR SHIMZ always work in every case, i guess.

 

[norbar]

its like to have two condoms, not good with unnecessary friction

But MOAR SHIMZ always work in every case, i guess.

I've heard girth is the new length

 

[Sandwich]

i still miss the gustavs

i don't miss the set I had. Zero modulation to lock up the wheel by looking at it. Three finger blade, because you know, who needs one finger braking?

 

[jonKranked]

i still miss the gustavs

ironic considering how much coin you just dropped on ti bolts to save a few grams.

 

[norbar]

i don't miss the set I had. Zero modulation to lock up the wheel by looking at it. Three finger blade, because you know, who needs one finger braking?

First gen yeah but 2nd gen had a long lever that was one finger. They also had good modulation.

 

[Sandwich]

I think mine were the second gen. They didn't have the awful, break if you look at them external reservoirs. They still had the three finger lever, which meant it had to be run way inboard to be one finger, but the finger had to be a mile long to get there. I still have some adapters I need to put on ebay while people are still hoarding.

 

[intensified]

i miss my monster t and thats about it... the gustavs,double wides,various old chain devices, and fox vanilla,loveseats. bye bye for a reason, way better stuff available

 

[HardtailHack]

I came across a cable brake roller in my box of bits the other day, they made my rim brakes much better than the Maguras that replaced them, god they sucked!

Since this is already a thread for useless old products, what ever happened to the Ashima pistonless brake?

 

[jonKranked]

wtf is a cable brake roller

 

[norbar]

I think mine were the second gen. They didn't have the awful, break if you look at them external reservoirs. They still had the three finger lever, which meant it had to be run way inboard to be one finger, but the finger had to be a mile long to get there. I still have some adapters I need to put on ebay while people are still hoarding.

That may be the reason I loved mine. I have stupid long fingers and most modern brakes are uncomfortable for me.
For me nothing beats the reliability of 2nd gen gustavs. Only braking system that always performed as it should

@HardtailHack - it was available as a catalogue product. It sucked badly. You would have hated them.

 

[HardtailHack]

From olden times, replaced that bit of metal tube that is normally at the top of a set of canti brakes.

EDIT, holy crap 20 pounds for one of them, hipsters must use them?