Opinions, what's a must-own for a newbie collector/rider?

[flipwils11]

I'm making good progress on acquiring parts for my '94 steel Stumpjumper FS to rebuild and rejuvenate and I'm already thinking about what's next. I've looked through some top quality build threads admiring bikes by Yeti, Fat Chance, Klein and others. There are other Specialized bikes I would like to own but I am intrigued by something different.

I've always sworn I wouldn't like or ride aluminum but maybe I need to be more open-minded. And I've never owned a titanium bike or carbon. It wouldn't take much to convince me to own another steel hardtail.

If you were advising someone stuck in the '90-'95 era of bike styling about a bike you consider a must-own for every vintage mountain bike rider, what would you recommend? I prefer hard tails but would consider rigid. I'll ride it, not just polish it to keep the anodizing shiny and dirt-free. Budget is moderate (I'm not a cheapskate) but I'm not going to go wild, let's say $2k for the frame but less would be preferable of course.

 

[raidan73]

Re:

I think your budget could afford you almost anything you fancy, almost.

 

[jimi911]

Second spin always has amazing reconditioned frames. If I had $2K to blow on a frame it would have been on one of theirs.

Other than that, $2K would get you a pretty awesome bike. Just remember back to what you liked BiTD and start toss $$$$ at it

 

[Retro_Roy]

Re:

WOW!!! with a budget like that I would think
you could get something like this with some looking.
and no, not this one.

 

[greencat]

I'd definitely try a titanium frame of some description. And with that budget, you should get something pretty nice. A little later than your target era, but I can definitely recommend a Sunn Exact titanium.

 

[Thias]

GT Xizang, Merlin, Epic Ultimate (if you find one), Breezer lightning, Tibolt, WTB, Ibis,...

Dont buy a Klein, they're too obvious.


Or go through here, so many nice bikes:
http://www.mtb-news.de/forum/t/wahl-zum ... ld.771218/

 

[velomaniac]

Alternatively as its the most obvious and ticks the aluminium box the famous GT Zaskar.

 

[Ductape]

Get the bike you always wanted from BITD.

2K is a reasonable price point with many options and certainly you should be able to build up a beautiful boutique brand bike for that price. Everyone has different desires.

Patience is good. I would just start looking and see what shows up, but for me using your guidelines of 90-95 and 2K limit. I would find a WTB Phoenix or a Ritchey P-series.

 

[flipwils11]

Re:

Thanks guys for the input. Maybe the $2k was a bit high, obviously good deals on Craigslist are ideal. But judging by the amount of "wanted, old mountain bikes by Yeti, Merlin, etc" ads (yes I saw one today calling out Yeti on my local craigslist) there are others looking for similar bikes.

The thing for me is that in the early 90's I didn't read mountain bike magazines and keep pace with the race scene. I thought the bees knees was the Stumpjumper after I bought a Hard Rock and stared at the Specialized catalog so getting my own Stumpjumper was my dream bike (and I still own it, 20 years later). But the builds on this site and threads about top tier bikes and their history has really opened my eyes to the significance of these other brands!

For my money it might have to be a Yeti or Fat Chance to really expand my horizons I'm thinking. I love outrageous color so the Yeti yellow and blue or a Fat Chance with crazy frame colors might be the ticket.

 

[legrandefromage]

I always wanted a Xixang but bought a Zaskar instead. Prior to that it was a Nishiki Alien and around the same time it was a Mountain Cyles San Andreas. If I had the money now, it would be the San Andreas.