Not Long, Not Low, Not Entry Level

[CassidyAce]

Due to injury, I won't be riding for a few weeks, and when I do start riding again, I'll be digging out the 1994 HardRock on account of its easygoing, comfy, more upright geometry—at least for a while, until fully recovered. Indeed, due to the short-ish top tube relative to overall size, the Hardrock's entry level geometry is great for those of us with legs that are long-ish relative to reach. But while the geometry might be from heaven, the tubing is not: plain gauge cromo. That's not terrible, and it's certainly tough, but it doesn't have the lively feel of higher end tubing.

But higher end tubing is usually formed into longer, lower, racier bikes, which I won't be riding for a while, and don't always want to ride anyway. So, here's the question: which manufacturers, if any, produced a bike with easygoing, 'un-racy' geometry but higher quality tubing? I'm thinking of double butted cromo, perhaps Tange Prestige or equivalent. The upper end of the not-especially-popular mid-90s Ridgebacks are the closest I've found. But is there a brand or bike I've overlooked? Any ideas, anyone?

 

[FluffyChicken]

Could look at midrange rocky mountains, at least in the early years, the 'enduro' range, was designed more for everyday riding and geometry changed with size.


The bottom end Fusion in 1992 even had a STT (short top tube) version for the same size.
Bottom end being a LX/DX equipped bike and triple/quad? butted ishiwata tubing. probably not much different to a hardrock DB frame though.
Not flexible, but actually really nice to ride.

 

[novocaine]

I was and still am in a similar situation having recently had surgery. I put a 2000's road bike on the trainer with the stem flipped to give a less than ideal real position. I hate riding indoors but it has allowed me to work in to it without the risk of it all going wrong 10 miles from home.

would you be willing to move to slightly newer but far from new bikes of the early 00's? geometry around that time outside of XC was a bit more relaxed.

 

[Tootyred]

You dont say exactly which bit is injured / recovering and you may not wish to say, but it will make a difference as to what geometry change you need.

Having serious back issues has pushed me towards longer head tubes, mixed with slightly shorter than designed stems. A little makes a big difference.

89 to 95 Marin and mid 90s+ RM have long head tubes. 180mm on a marin and 175mm on a rocky. Thats on xl, but all the range is long for size. Add a 30mm shorter than standard stem with rise.....and in my case 30mm riser bars......and your there.

But it depends on what bit of you is damaged......

 

[Tootyred]

As for tubing, its a bit if a personal thing imho. Prestige on older marins is no lighter than standard tange cr-mo of a few years later. But it rides very different. I love it but many....especially if your a alluminium rider....hate it. Its not in any way stiff and flops about. But then I'm light and have 30+ years getting the hang of the bike bending round corners.

Personally i think the butting and build quality is more important than the tubing....within reason.

Ive got a 95 fusion, modified for my issues, its very good...better than i expected and thats just good old tange db cr-mo. It also weighs in exactly the same as the 89 to 91 prestige frames......progress hey!

 

[CassidyAce]

Thank you for the replies: all good points. The injuries include torn muscles all up my right leg, some sort of lower back grief (probably a slipped disc), and some sort of hip/pelvic nuisance; I'm waiting for an MRI scan to reveal what's what. The torn muscles are the most immediately painful but the other issues are likely to be longer term. It's partly my own fault for ignoring warning signs and carrying on, until it suddenly felt like fire shot up my leg and I could scarcely walk, stand, or even sit.

@FluffyChicken Rocky Mountain: good call! That's what I was hoping for: a bike/brand that I'd overlooked.

@Tootyred Another thumbs up for the RM! Head tube points noted: yes, it's the overall geometry that counts, not just the shorter top tube. As for tubing, I know what you mean: the 94 HardRock's frame and fork (in 18" size) combined are, actually, no heavier than those on a Stumpy in the same size from 1990 or so. By 96, the HardRock Ultra had a sub-2kg frame in 17" size, although that was a case of short top tube but low front end too. I guess that was progress. However, in truth, it's the lively feel I'm after; whether that's due to butting, tubing or build quality makes little difference to me. It's the end result that I'm after.

@novocaine I will probably ride whatever keeps me riding until I can ride no longer. Even modern! Even 1x! Even e-bike! I was thinking that I might have to go later than 2,000: all that front suspension raises the front end. As for the road bike... I've already got the stem flipped and there's still a drop of 7 cm or so to the top of the bars. However, I expect to make a good recovery and ride it again. I won't ignore those warning signs in future though and a 'comfort bike' for those occasions would be a very helpful thing.

 

[swannymere]

Look at some of the higher end Hybrids or Touring/Randonneur bikes probably better for light MTB work if you want relaxed geometry.

 

[KermitGKona88]

Sold - Santa Cruz Chameleon MK1 17.5 160gbp posted

Need some space in the shed😔 Sad sale I love the way these ride but needs MUST. White with custom decals comes with a smooth Hope headset, few little chips in the paint but nothing major. 160gbp posted to UK only.

www.retrobike.co.uk

 

[hamster]

Having done drop bar conversions I can agree with the suggestion of Marin, also consider Dawes. The Edge always came with 653 or similar fancy tubing. I love mine. You also probably have to get past having a shortish, high rise stem and a load of spacers. Sod the fashionistas.

 

[slackboy]

this should be right up your street: