The ten most important mountainbikes

[Ductape]

Specialized

"it was the first mass produced mountain bike. I think that it was inevitable that was going to happen at some stage."

I agree, it isn't an exciting claim to fame, but it did make Mtn. bikes available to the masses. I don't know if I would have justified that first bike paying over $1K U.S. for a (fill in the blank) back when I was a kid making $3.25 an hour at the gas station. Easy to justify on the second bike when the bug had taken over, but not so sure on that initial investment in the sport. I remember buying my first Mtn bike. and paying close to $500 for it. I kept justifying it to myself saying I would have it forever. If I only knew then............... Within 12 months, I was spending my student loan buying a new bike and barely living off of Top Ramen and pancakes. I am sure there are several others on this forum who did the same.

[Blackadder]

GT RTS-1.

Manitou FS.

Proflex.

Cannondale Super V.

Breezer.

Fat Chance.

Pace RC100.

GT Zaskar.

Klein Attitude.

Trimble.

Trek Y OCLV bikes.



Not in that order

[LQQK]

The Amp B2, the design that inspired a lot of other companies, and Boulder Bikes (Gazelle, Defiant and Intrepid) a mono-shock design that still looks contemporary.

[gil_m]

My list was going with my "Northern influence" race scene from the late 80's and early 90's

If you saw a Klein up here it was a rare thing let alone a Ritchey/Fat Chance or for that matter Specialized

Yes there were more Iconic bikes ~ Ibis Bow Ti, any soft tail frame, that were more engineered, but did they influence the grass roots at the time?

The one I did miss and should have included was the Muddy Fox Courier, in my eyes that was the true "mass market" mountain bike

[Archangel]

These are not in any particular order:

1. Specialized Stumpjumper - mountain bike for the people
2. Ritchey - lesson in steel bike building
3. Klein Attitude - aluminum for the rich, super innovative
4. Cannondale M series - quality aluminum for the masses
5. Cannondale Super V - space age design
6. AMP B2 - first fs that really worked
7. Trek OCLV bikes - carbon for the people
8. Raleigh JT Replica - no need for reasons
9. Merlin Titanium - first proper titanium bikes
10. GT Zaskar - do-it-all hardtail

[Dr S]

There are many bikes there that are nice bikes and probably personal favourite to some but hardly important in the bigger scheme of things. Should this be about landmarks?
I don't know as much as some of you guys but going on what I know this is my pic of the pops.

The most important must be the Pre-war Schwinn. Its ground zero, year dot, Independance day, first chicken from the egg. Without it there would be nothing.

Next up has to be Joe's Series One Breezer. Same geometry as the Schwinn but faster stronger and lighter. The first specific frame.

How about Charlie's Cunningham Racer next. Just look at one compared to a period early Ritchey. Smaller compact frame with lots of standover, big oversize tubes etc. It was 10 years ahead of the game and the first to show that other materials could be used.

Stumpy. First mass Market, affordable bike. Yes an absolute rip off of a Ritchey but half the price.

FAT CHANCE. Important for us Europeans as it brought us that sweet east coast geometry that works so well on our steeper rooty woodland trails compared to the lazy west coast fire trail geometry favoured by the bayside Californian builders

Early SM series Cannondale. Those big tubes brought Cunninghams alloy concept to the masses at a reasonable price. Yes they snapped at the headtube but looked so cool compared to anything else at the time.

FW Evans/ Saracen. The Brits get in on the act. The Crane brothers hit the headlines for riding up mountains in Africa and within months every mountain in Britain has bearded blokes climbing skywards in tight rugby shorts and hiking boots carrying 23" Muddy Foxes covered in pipe lagging.

Merlin. Another leap forward with materials. Space age materials making the mountain bike even lighter and faster

Amp, Mongoose, FAT SAB etc. That AMP horst rear end. First suss system that worked without bouncing everywhere and all in a superlight XC package. Still widely copied today.

and finally its got to be the San Andreas. A brute of a thing with those crazy Suspender forks and big Pro-stop discs made it the first bike that you really could hammer downhill on. The beggining of the modern era.

[kaiser]

Combination of Archangel's and DrS's lists with the MF Courier thrown in.

[LeeDevelopment]

I would like to add the Spooky 'Metalhead', this is the frame that kick started the whole 'extreme hardtail' and jump-bike scene and was soon widely copied by the likes of Santa Cruz and Planet X. It's a worthy addition to the list in my opinion.

[JeRkY]

The only one I would offer for consideration would be the RC100, simply because many of its design features were so far ahead of the game.

Unlikely to get as much support from those on the other side of the pond as it has done so far in this thread. As in the terms of MTB'ing in the UK it was a early bike, but on the global stage it was positivly mid school. That and no one in the US has seen one upclose to appreciate the features

[coomber]

I'd go for the mid 90s marin frames, they still work brilliantly and are were the first frames that were simple to maintain as you didn't have to do anything with them. B17s are still a great bike now.

[Dr S]

[ededwards]

Great thread with replies essentially falling into two camps based on whether importance is interpreted 'personal' or 'historic'. I can read an historic list in lots of places but for me ther personal lists and rationale are much more interesting (note: this is not so I can produce my own ego-centric list. Well, not entirely).

A list of mountainbikes important to me would include:

- Marin Palisades. My first mountainbike. My first new bike. Fluro forks and Mountain LX. I thought I was so cool and arguably, for 25 minutes, was so.

- Klein Attitude in green/white/magenta fade - the first bike I saw live that looked so different to everything else. Cannondale's had the fat tubes but it was the Klein fork and Mission Control bar/stem that really blew me away. Way, way cool.

- Fat Chance Yo Eddy in Grello. That retina burning paint. The graphics. The fork. The cost for a steel frame.

- Pace RC100. Saw one first in the freewheel catalogue and, like the Klein, it made my head spin. The tubes. The Bullseyes. The brakes. The stem. The Klein looked gorgeous with it's candy colours, like a made up Keira Knightley, but the Pace looked so functional, so Rachel Weicz.

- Stumpjumper Team. My first proper mountainbike. Saw me through the first Polaris. Sold. Resprayed. Bought back. So many memories.

- Klein Pinnacle. The bike I sold the Stumpjumper for. Built up with XC Pro and RC30s as the frame was so compliant I needed a stiff front end. Gorgeous almost liquid finish, like a supermodels nails.

- Roberts White Spider. Fabulous detail and lead me down the furrow I still plough today of convincing myself to buy bikes that are clearly too small just because they are lovely.

- Orange P7. Always wanted one. Got one off eBay to turn into an ss. Looking for parts lead me to Retrobike. This frame has a lot to answer for.

So only a Top 8, and in no particular order, but all have resonance whether it is evoking memories, fuelling the fire or just making me feel a bit wistful.

As a footnote, for those on the historic tip, and I know they aren't mountainbikes, but where do the bikes ridden by the Velo Cross Club in France and the Rough Stuff Fellowship fit in?

[sancho]

[Mike]

Mine would include:

Muddy Fox Courier - seemed to sum up the whole late 80s MTB vibe
Pace RC100 - pure design brilliance
Klein Attitude - oversize tubing excellence

[suburbanreuben]