New or old? My story, your views

[Charlieboy28]

My Cove Handjob, XT, dues XC cranks, Reba Race forks, Hope brakes cost me around £1500-1600 in 2009.

My current daily hack 99 gringo has with a mix of oldish and newish lx,xt,slx xtr brakes cost around £200 all in.

both stop amazingly well,

The cove is better and lighter, but im not sure its £1300 better that the gringo.

I have 3 bikes equiped with XT M739 ish era stuff mainly NOS when built, and two bikes with M770 stuff which was brand new, I Really cant see the improvement or any major difference in shifting over them 15 years.

As someone said, what you can build here for a few hundred quid would have cost £1000+ BITD

I would so rather have a 90s xt equipped bike than a modern acera alivio deore type thing for £700

 

[We_are_Stevo]

It doesn't really matter which way you swing ( ) or how much money you are prepared to put down if you don't ride it...

The majority of members on here are middle-aged 'Weekend Warriors' (and that is only intended to be tongue in cheek...) who ride purely for the social aspect of ownership, so a mega-buck modern bike is a want not a need anyway.

All the pro's and con's regarding retro v modern where performance is concerned dwindle into insignificance when put into their correct perspective - the example having been given on here more than once of the South-East Retro' team finishing a very creditable 72nd out of goodness knows how many teams, the majority on modern machinery.

It has been suggested that skill can compensate to a degree for the lack of technology, but in real world terms that is complete tosh!

Ok, if you're a World Championship DH rider then yes, you need all the modern technology (and body armour!) you can get to be competitive; but if you are just a weekend warrior (when SWMBO lets you off the lead...) then you just don't need to spend that kind of money on that kind of kit - do you? :roll:

You may want to be seen unloading something like that out the back of your Repmobile at your local Trail Center, but you're going to look pretty damned daft when some 13-year-old kid who doesn't know any better comes thacking past you on his £99.99 Halfords BSO!

...and considering there were several sturdy souls doing lap after lap at Mayhem on f*cking unicycles for Christs sake! :shock:

Plus the odd nutter in a bear suit on a single speed!

Retro is, above all, fun and that is what it should be all about. Spend a gazillion pounds on an all singing, all dancing piece of modern kit and you're just going to be disappointed if your legs are shot!

From a personal point of view I've always put P2's on all my bikes, preferring the aesthetics of a steel hardtail to anything; I've now finally had to face up to the fact I'm just another fat middle-aged bloke in inappropriate clothing who just can't hack it the way he used to and decided to fit front suspendies where possible - I even have a retro full susser in the pipeline.

What the hell would I want with so-called decent modern kit??

 

[Woz]

There is a middle ground. It's not totally black and white - do or die. Based on the fact you like tinkering, but have your heart in the Retro camp, get a good mid-90s / late-90s retro frame. Go full rigid first, but make sure you could upgrade with a 80mm set of Rebas or alike. Hang good value older XT kit off it (say late-90s early 00s), but fit it with some modern tyres, factory bargain discount wheels, saddle and pedals to finish it off. It will be unique to you and your tastes and a bloody damn fine ride. Far better than a modern XC monster truck tank brought over the internet like everyone else. It is for weekend riding, not racing down the alps after all.

Just my 2p worth input, but then again I wouldn't be seen dead with a colour coordinated FSA gruppo stuck on a colour coordinated travelling circus frame handpicked from a catalogue and rebadged in-transit by Felt, Giant, Trek and Co.

 

[RockiMtn]

why is it only a debate between modern vs retro, what about all the stuff that's in between? I decent used bike that's maybe 2-10 years old can still be had at a bargain compared to buying new. Plus it has a newer technology such as disc brakes and more fully usable suspension.

 

[Ollytron]

I think i'm going to hold out for a good GT LTS frame to come up then i can use the parts from my trials bike like the mavic 121 wheels and RST forks and magura hs33, azonic stem/bars then over time buy retro xt/xtr, judy DH, hope wheels and move the trials bits back so in the end I'll have my trials bike back as it is and a good Sunday riding retro bike.
I think this is a good way to get a good Sunday bike and get to fulfill my long for a LTS again. Also with all the part swapping it'll keep me tinkering lol

 

[jax13]

why is it only a debate between modern vs retro, what about all the stuff that's in between? I decent used bike that's maybe 2-10 years old can still be had at a bargain compared to buying new. Plus it has a newer technology such as disc brakes and more fully usable suspension.

pre-modern.

the wierd 99/00 to '03/04 era where they are no longer considered up to date or new but are shunned by the retro crowd for being too modern.

pre-modern - dammit this nickname will catch on!

 

[t-stoff]

"post-retro"

 

[ajm]

In terms of pure performance, there's no way a retro can come close to a modern bike, even if you build the retro with modern components.
A very skilled rider can ride around the problems or compensate for the lack of suspension travel, but few people actually have that skill level.

Actually, I'm not particularly skilled at all, but most of the off road riding I do doesn't call for four feet of suspension front and back, or any at all really. It's more about following shoreline sheep trails, keeping on plugging through waterlogged boggy sections, the odd sharp climb, and keeping balance and traction over rocky sections.

As I'm not trying to take the rocky sections at 30 mph suspension is unnecessary weight; mid-90s 7/8 speed gears work perfectly well in all sorts of conditions; the only real advantage a modern bike gives is the disc brakes which are undoubtedly better than cantis (though Maguras or Vs are easily good enough for me.)

I'm not interested in seven foot dropoffs, purpose-built hamster trails, mis-placed timber decking or jumps... for people who are, clearly a modern bike is better... but that's not the only type of off-road riding available!

 

[MikeD]

handpicked from a catalogue and rebadged in-transit by Felt, Giant, Trek and Co.

Do people really believe that this is how bikes come to be?

 

[jax13]

handpicked from a catalogue and rebadged in-transit by Felt, Giant, Trek and Co.

Do people really believe that this is how bikes come to be?

I think a fair few lower range bikes will certainly be generic frames with a different paintjob depending on the manufacturer or maybe a slight modification like the removal of rear V bosses / addition of rack mounts & the manufacturers preference of cable routing.