YOUR input is MUCH appreciated to list YOUR favorite frames

[brownplus]

Hardtail steel MTB perfection for YOU.

So....what is perfection to you, as a seemingly-rare hardtail MTB'er? (at least where I live..EC USA)

Am interested in part by my own history of riding since 1983, and for an upcoming essay I am writing that
may turn into a book (that will sell in the low 10's if lucky!)

To shorten my bio...rode 24" rear wheeled cannondales in early 80's, went through many USA made frames in steel, then factory steel, then aluminum, bonded, FS, carbon, Ti, modern custom steel, 29'er, 27.5er, fatties etc....and finally settled back to 4 mainstay rides that had left the stable, but thanks to ebay were brought back home... and are now are the only ones in it.

Suffice to say, I have ridden a bit of everything, but am biased as anyone else prob. are. Now in me fiddys, I am concerned only with comfort, direct handling and SPEED! (now slow)

So hardtailers...what are your favorite bikes of all time? Being from the great NW I have a bias, but have diff. bikes after owning at least a hundred....really....I have stopped buying and selling and now have 4 anchor (never sell, only upgrade) bikes.

Listed in order of use...

1. Single Speed(ed) DBR WCF...20" of carbon and steel 1996? Can I say magic carpet ride? 26" wheels
2. Single Speed(ed) Kona Explosif...20" prestige steel 1994? 26" wheels again.
3. Soma B+V2 1x10 XL Pretige steel...27.5 wheels...I love'em.
4. Breezer Jet Stream 21" 1993? converted to gravel grinder (1x9 speed) with junebug drop bars 26" wheels
Ones I really missed but could never find again...
1. Brodie Soveirgn
2. IF steel deluxe
3. Spec-ed stumpjumper right before they went alu.
4. Rcky Mtn Blizzard

Funny looking at my list it's mainly old-fool frames that suck only because I can't stick 2.4's on the rear...but in the end, it is what I have kept due to ride characteristics...and feel.

29ers I owned (5) were faster and more forgiving...but ultimately kinda boring.
FS bikes...read above...maybe I need a little attention towards the ride but FS bikes left me a bit cold.
Ti..owned a lynskey and Kona 29er and 26" delta (who remembers that bike??) and all were awesome bikes...but strangely missed steel and sold them for such.
Carbon...nice, but after exploding one (and many friends with similar experiences), not interested in reliving that scene again. Plus it's nice to recycle shit if possible.

I understand COMPLETELY that the most important factor in frame love is in the way it fits...more than it's
price or material it was made from. It is just funny that my best frames turned out to be factory made (ok I am generic...not really as I should be on 19" according to my height at 5'11") but slightly larger frames for the longer TT to help my monkey-ass armlength.

In the end, would like to have a list of your best framesets (alu/steel/ti/carbon) and how you ride them (3x9, 1x10, SS?).
And, if it matters to you if you have front or rigid (I go back and forth on my SS's)

AND...do you still take them on the trails? Not interested in Pub Bikes per se.

 

[singletrackmac]

My three favorite frames are all steel and are, in no particular order, my '88 MB1, my '91 singletrack and my '93 bonty race.

I still own the first "real" mtb I ever bought, my lugged 1991 Trek Singletrack 970 and it is still to this day the bike I ride the most. Almost stock with exception of the handlebars (switched to 23" wide from the stock 20.5") and the wheels (switched to some i21mm spec rims from the stock i17mm matrix rims). Obviously things like grips, tires and chain are not stock.

I live in Tahoe and this bike is awesome out here with it's ability to run 2.5" wide tires. Big tires make a huge difference in performance in the sierra chunk as does the very responsive frame and stiff fork.

The '88 MB1 is the most comfortable bike I have ever been on. The frame and fork are extremely compliant and the ride position fits me perfect for those long rides.

And finally, the '93 bonty race is the best handling bike I have ever been on. No other bike compares to how fast this bike is and how well it handles tight and twisty single tracks. I like this bike so much I recently bought another '93 race frame to build with a non-bonty rake Marz bomber fork for some of the steeper tahoe trails.

All these bikes are for dirt and rode regularly on everything from old school single track to parts of the Tahoe Rim Trail.

 

[NeilM]

Re:

My go to mtb is my 1992 Chas Roberts DOGS BOLX. Repaired and repainted by Roberts four years ago it has age related Pace RC35 A/B forks and everything else is modern; SRAM 2 X 10, Avid levers, Cane Creek V brakes, XC717 rims on Hope hubs.

It is not the best at anything, but it is comfortable and competent doing everything and just goes where I point it without fuss or drama.

 

[Adam_S]

MAX OR Explosif.

Thread over.

 

[singletrackmac]

MAX OR Explosif.

Thread over.

"Thread over"? Bummer, I was hoping to hear about other members favorite bikes.

 

[azaro]

Re:

Can't say I've ever had the privilege of owning anything particularly rare, but I'm quite brand loyal.
From what I've ridden, I would go:

Orange P7
Kona Kilauea
Orange Clockwork

 

[iveto1983]

Re:

My top 3 would be:

1. Mountain Goat WTR
2. DBR Axis TT
3. Kona Hot

I ride all my bikes fully rigid. The Goat is 3x8 & cantis, the DBR and Kona are 3x9 and vees.

 

[velomaniac]

Re:

Top three based only on what I have ridden and thats not alot of quality steel.
1. Raleigh White Lightnin' - Full Reynolds 653 I think racing bike of the late 80's with a lurid neon paint scheme. Love this bike and ride it regularly.

2. Bridgestone MB 1 to whatever - I had a 5, very well thought out xc frame that just worked.

3. Specialized Stumpjumper - The late 80's/early 90's had just about nailed perfect rigid xc geometry before the advent of suspension forks.

 

[Bollox64]

1. D.O.G.S. B.O.L.X.
2. Yo Eddy
3. can't decide

 

[singletrackmac]

Re: Re:

3. Specialized Stumpjumper - The late 80's/early 90's had just about nailed perfect rigid xc geometry before the advent of suspension forks.

Couldn't agree more about the geo of the stumpjumper before suspension. One of the reasons I think I like my trek so much is the great geo which is virtually identical geo as a team stumpy. Perfect for old school xc singletracks.