In a future near you...

[Titiritero]

In today's time where it's getting harder to differenciate one brand from the next, and where today's standards are completely discarded for next year's "standards", it'll be hard for any model to become a classic. Plus, as somebody mentioned, classics need to have a bit of exclusivity, and nowadays all bikes are made in China in the thousands. I love early 90's Treks but I admit they are not so desirable for others as they are relatively easy to find..

The only ones that might make it as classics are the ones that open up a new development or technology, be it succesful or not in the long run. Maybe the first fat bike (was it a Surly?), the first carbon full suspension mtb, the first UCI approved disk road bike, etc...

 

[Gaddmeister]

Re: Re:

I used to be able to go into a cycle shop and get exited as I could see from a distance what each one was. 15 years later I walk in and have to read each frame to see what it is as they all look alike! :-D

and I thought it was just me who'd wondered into a Bike shop (Evan and Leisure Lakes) looked around and walked out feeling completely flat.

nothing did it for me

Walked into three 'top' ones in central London last week...apart from that smell that reminds me of good times past...it was a dull experience sadly. We had some really interesting characters and proper nutters working in the trade bitd. The modern lot are pretty soul less beardy types.

Yes they are!! I thought it was me, but you're right I walked into Cycle Surgery in Leeds quite excited as I used to work for them in Spitalfields, London in '94. They (with said beard) looked at me like poo! I asked if they had some 7wt oil for my mag 21's and continued to look at me like poo saying that that weight does not exist. I walked out feeling crap and confident that I will never enter another Cycle Surgery in my life and will certainly deter fellow enthusiasts. If I turn to modern bikes I shall stick to my lbs All Terrain Cycles in Shipley!

 

[M-Power]

Re: Re:

"Yes they are!! I thought it was me, but you're right I walked into Cycle Surgery in Leeds quite excited as I used to work for them in Spitalfields, London in '94. They (with said beard) looked at me like poo! I asked if they had some 7wt oil for my mag 21's and continued to look at me like poo saying that that weight does not exist. I walked out feeling crap and confident that I will never enter another Cycle Surgery in my life and will certainly deter fellow enthusiasts. If I turn to modern bikes I shall stick to my lbs All Terrain Cycles in Shipley!"

Yeah...wtf happened the cycle trade in the last 10-15yrs ? It was full of all kind of interesting types, we used to really joke about with the customers, take the pi$$ etc and they loved it...Its not me as I still hang out with plenty of nutters...and they are still themselves, even middle aged and married with kids. These beards are all so twee with no personality :facepalm: ....and the fuxxers have never even heard of Fat Chance bikes....I mean come onnnn !!!

 

[gradeAfailure]

I know this is a retro site, and will naturally be biased, but still...

In the heady days of retro, almost everything was a standard double-diamond frame; yet people are saying now that everything looks alike!? Look at the amount of threads attempting to identify random frames - they get into such minutae as position and type of cable stops for goodness' sake! If one is at all familiar with bikes from the past ten years, pretty much any FS design can be identified almost instantly - just because you're not familiar with them, doesn't mean they all look the same. Strip the paint off ten retro HT frames and someone who wasn't into biking BITD would have no chance at differentiating between them.

Back to the topic in hand though... Future classics:
Specialized Enduro - the first really pedalable long-travel bike that could do it all
Specialized Pitch - brough long travel, true do-anything-ability to the masses
Knolly - any, for the six-bar link
Orange Five - UK classic only, but simplicity of engineering
Kona Stinky - privateer's DH bike of choice
OnOne Inbred - cheap as chips HT with proper long&low geometry

Probably quite a few more but I really need to go do some work...!

 

[24pouces]

Re:

Funny :
Last time I rode those 2 bikes, I heard some funny words from young bikers :


“Wow ! Is it carbon fiber ? "


"It's the last upsidedown RS1…"

 

[xerxes]

Re:

Specialized Enduro - the first really pedalable long-travel bike that could do it all
Specialized Pitch - brough long travel, true do-anything-ability to the masses
Knolly - any, for the six-bar link
Orange Five - UK classic only, but simplicity of engineering
Kona Stinky - privateer's DH bike of choice

They're all a bit "down hilly" for me.

I think some of my issues with a lot of modern MTBs is all the bent tubes; makes them look like they've been run over. :?

 

[elPedro666]

Can I just copy & paste everything GradeA said please? Spot on I reckon.

 

[xxnick1975]

fook moi that klein is fine

 

[TonyMerryfield]

...almost everything was a standard double-diamond frame...

Really? I must have been looking at different bikes to you... Because I remember Killer V's, elevated chainstays, square tubes and whatever those S-Bike frames are called. I also remember the first time I saw Girvin, Amp or Lefty forks or Spin, Spinergy wheels. I was being confounded by new full suspension designs every month and being wowed by mad paintjobs... :shock:

Now I walk into a bike shop and see a range of brightly coloured double-diamonds with a bunch of go faster stripes slapped on - all mated to forks that look so similar I actually wonder if these companies even care that they've lost all their character?

Specialized Enduro - the first really pedalable long-travel bike that could do it all
Specialized Pitch - brough long travel, true do-anything-ability to the masses
Knolly - any, for the six-bar link
Orange Five - UK classic only, but simplicity of engineering
Kona Stinky - privateer's DH bike of choice
OnOne Inbred - cheap as chips HT with proper long&low geometry

Nice list - but I think some of them have already been around long enough to have become classics; even if not by the pre 97 definition used on this site! :roll:

 

[gradeAfailure]

Re:

True, you have a point as far as the wacky nature of some of the 90's designs go - the Killer V, Amp forks, S-bike, etc.

I think the issue there is that in those days, FEA and accurate software modelling of designs was in its infancy; this led to designers coming up with all sorts of weird and wonderful designs that, although they looked amazing, didn't necessarily work all that well.

These days, due to such advances, the oddball designs have been filtered out and we're now into a period of evolution refinement as opposed to revolution - leading to the lack of batshit mental designs that used to be prevalent.

Remember that back in the day it was ever thus: bike companies exist to sell bikes and make money, so they will manufacture what sells, whether you agree with it or not! Tastes change, and technology moves on.

There are still plenty of companies making weird and wonderful bikes and parts though, you just won't see them in bike shops because, thanks to the Internet, they can reach their market directly.

Jones Bikes

Lauf Forks

Just a couple of examples..

I realise that evangelising about modern bikes on RetroBike is something of a fool's errand, but don't make the lazy assumption that everything was better in the heady early days of the Mtb boom. At the end of the day, it's all just riding bicycles in the countryside; it's all good, however you do it!