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Your First Proper Mountain Bike, What Was It?

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HardtailHack

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
7,746
7,096
I assume this noob type thread already exists but I couldn't.........didn't try to find it.
My first not proper MTB said not for off road use, the suspension fork snapped and my face slapped the road.
First proper MTB was a Kona Nu Nu, I loved it.
1682073095903.png


Saw a dude riding one a few years back and thought of offering him some money for it for nostalgia reasons, but I'd never ride it, old bikes suck.
 
Sandro

Sandro

Terrified of Cucumbers
Nov 12, 2006
3,228
2,541
The old world
1993 Pro Flex 754 with a 21" frame that would still be too large for me today. Thanks dad for making sure I don't grow out of that bike too quickly.
 
JohnE

JohnE

filthy rascist
May 13, 2005
13,550
2,180
Front Range, dude...
HardtailHack said:
I assume this noob type thread already exists but I couldn't.........didn't try to find it.
My first not proper MTB said not for off road use, the suspension fork snapped and my face slapped the road.
First proper MTB was a Kona Nu Nu, I loved it.
View attachment 192773

Saw a dude riding one a few years back and thought of offering him some money for it for nostalgia reasons, but I'd never ride it, old bikes suck.
Click to expand...
Built a metric shit ton of those back in the shop daze.

Think my first scoot was a Nishiki somethingoranother, bastardized from loose and stolen parts. First proper was a HaroChunkoShitthatweighed10klbs. It was a limited production run. It only got weirder from there.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,829
7,076
borcester rhymes
Sandro said:
1993 Pro Flex 754 with a 21" frame that would still be too large for me today. Thanks dad for making sure I don't grow out of that bike too quickly.
Click to expand...
man, how much shit I had that I never grew into. Size 13 rollerblades were my favorite. 30 years later I wear a size 11, same as I did then....those had a loose eyelet though, so they were marked down.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,829
7,076
borcester rhymes


96 diamondback v-link 1.0. I saved forever for it- I just had to have full suspension. This was my first taste of the rockshox promised land...when I hit a drainage trench on the side of the road, the elastomer popped through the top and hit me in the chest. To their credit, RS replaced the entire fork which worked quite a bit better, but their quality hasn't change since then. I think @w00dy now uses it as a TP holder. A college friend of mine still has this bike, with a girvin triple crown on the front, v brakes, and god knows what for a shock. The original one unthreaded itself from the eyelet mid-trail, regularly.
 
HardtailHack

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
7,746
7,096
JohnE said:
Built a metric shit ton of those back in the shop daze.

Think my first scoot was a Nishiki somethingoranother, bastardized from loose and stolen parts. First proper was a HaroChunkoShitthatweighed10klbs. It was a limited production run. It only got weirder from there.
Click to expand...
It was a great quality bike for the money, mine had a Judy XL pool noodle on it towards the end and the massive 4" of travel was too much for a headtube weld.
It was also the first frame I got to chop up with a hacksaw, there have been a few since.
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
22,002
7,886
Colorado
1989 Schwinn Impact that was my dad's. This is just a Google find. Original had real length stem.


First on that I bought was a 2000 GT I-Drive 2.0. Another Google image.
 
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boostindoubles

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
8,414
6,947
Yakistan
s-l1600.jpg


This is an internet pic of a Klein Pulse Comp - the first mountain bike I ever owned. I dont know what happened to it. Got hit by a car on it and that put a good dent in the down tube.
 
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Jozz

Jozz

Joe Dalton
Apr 18, 2002
6,158
7,859
SADL
1994 Spesh Hard rock (got hooked)
1996 Spesh M2 ($2k at the time)
1999 SC Bullitt (Freeride years)

12140292-2T.jpg


01.jpg


5e700cdc-979e-4916-8174-5af77e25e89f.jpg
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
56,002
22,036
Sleazattle
Define "proper"

Worked a paper route for 2 years so I could save up and buy one of these POS. Got sick of spinning away on my BMX bike covering long distances on moto trails.

1682088560426.png
 
junkyard

junkyard

You might feel a little prick.
Sep 1, 2015
2,616
2,347
San Diego
I had some haro escape I think in the early 90’s. But then the local bike shop had a bunch of trek 9200, grey with purple ano. I don’t know why but that one piece rear swing arm was calling my name. I begged my dad for it. He eventually got it for me but I can’t remember what I had to do. I was 13 or 14 at the time and my buddies dad would take us mountain biking every weekend and that haro was beating me up. I loved that bike.

edited: trek 9200 not 9400
 
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canadmos

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
21,977
21,506
Canaderp
Kona Pahoehoe was my first real bike.

I grew up riding shitty department store bikes that only half worked.

That is, until I was 15 or 16, I had been going into the local bike shop for a while and had made a deal with the owner to buy his wifes used Kona Pahoehoe. He held the bike, while I made small payments on it. I had a paper route at the time, which paid something like $30 a week, so I'm not exactly sure I made a good decision with letting him hold onto the bike, it probably would have taken years to actually get it. :rofl:

Then one day I was cleaning out the closet in my bedroom, and I forget how, maybe vacuuming or something, but the carpet in there got lifted up. I found an envelope filled with $1500 worth of twenties. They were all older bills, so no idea where they came from. I hid it somewhere else, waited a week or two and then walked into that shop, slapped the cash down and walked out with the bike, new rain jacket and a helmet. Rode the shit out of that bike for a few years.

No one in my family ever asked about that cash. :confused:
 
mandown

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
21,808
9,119
Transylvania 90210
I don’t have a pic, but it was some Performance (possibly even Super Go) generic house brand frame with Shimano bits. I added a Manitou X Vert fork to it and took to the local XC trails. It wasn’t long until I decided to spring for one of these.
1682091453277.jpeg
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
56,002
22,036
Sleazattle
canadmos said:
Then one day I was cleaning out the closet in my bedroom, and I forget how, maybe vacuuming or something, but the carpet in there got lifted up. I found an envelope filled with $1500 worth of twenties. They were all older bills, so no idea where they came from. I hid it somewhere else, waited a week or two and then walked into that shop, slapped the cash down and walked out with the bike, new rain jacket and a helmet. Rode the shit out of that bike for a few years.

No one in my family ever asked about that cash. :confused:
Click to expand...
The only thing I ever found like that were some Oui magazines stuffed behind the pegboard in our garage. Considering they were from the late 1970s they were possibly from a previous owner of the house.
 
Pesqueeb

Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
41,823
19,144
Riding the baggage carousel.
Early 2000's Trek of some sort with a number for a name. 810, 820? Had a Marzocchi fork that was pretty bad in hindsight, but at the time seemed like a dream and cantilever brakes. I know I have pictures of it somewhere, but am coming up short. Guy I bought it from had had it powder coated yellow and purple, looked good. I see hobo's riding similar frames pretty often downtown.
 
sunringlerider

sunringlerider

Wood fluffer
Oct 30, 2006
4,300
7,912
Corn Fields of Indiana
I remember it well as I still own the frame. (Ya I’m a hoarder)
‘94 Specialized Rockhopper. Pimped it out with a RockShox Indy and flawless shifting Shimano STX. I progressed through the years replacing every part on it when I got the money. Was so pumped with I was able to put Ringle RPM Lite wheels on it (hence my user name)
 
maxyedor

maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,141
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
My dad uses Amex points to get us a pair of these fine specimens. I'm 64% certain mine was a 1998, that appears to be the first year they came with disk brake mounts. I want to say is was a Super V 600, but Google images says it was more likely a 400. Whatever it was, it seemed rad at the time, but you couldn't pay me to ride that deathtrap these days.
super v.jpg





This is definitely the frame, but I was in no way fancy enough to have an air shock
v2.jpg
 
canadmos

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
21,977
21,506
Canaderp
Westy said:
The only thing I ever found like that were some Oui magazines stuffed behind the pegboard in our garage. Considering they were from the late 1970s they were possibly from a previous owner of the house.
Click to expand...
When my dad moved into a new house once, we found some boxes of Playboy mags up in the drop ceiling in the basement.

He was adamant that the previous owner must have left them there. Yeah okay dad, sure, we all believe you.

God damn I hated that house. It had a giant backyard and I had the pleasure being assigned to cut the grass with a push mower. All day affair, that was.
 
SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,827
14,166
In a van.... down by the river
maxyedor said:
My dad uses Amex points to get us a pair of these fine specimens. I'm 64% certain mine was a 1998, that appears to be the first year they came with disk brake mounts. I want to say is was a Super V 600, but Google images says it was more likely a 400. Whatever it was, it seemed rad at the time, but you couldn't pay me to ride that deathtrap these days.
View attachment 192803




This is definitely the frame, but I was in no way fancy enough to have an air shock
View attachment 192804
Click to expand...
Those particular air shocks (Fox Alps from the looks of it) were nigh on useless.
 
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