The BEST RIDING BIKES...what's your top three of all time ?

[scottproonly]

Re: Re:

I get an opportunity to ride a lot of vintage mtbs ... geeze 12 this year alone :shock:. I gotta agree with sinnerman on the component group thing. Put a good premium set of your favourite components on any mid to high end frame and its going to give you good performance (within reason obviously - there were dogs). Add in a good fit for your body and you probably have a winner.

My top bikes have changed a bit after another year of riding.

1. 1993 Brodie BHDT - It has a xt735 premium group, avid tris, NOS drive-train and long travel mag21. It just does everything well. With the forks setup for hits it climbs and descends well. Its just a rocket over quick single track which is what I ride. Great fit.

2. 1991 Kestrel CSX (uber light 20lbs) - Suntour XC Pro - I REALLY like that group. Again, avid tris and a NOS drive-train. These things are stiff, and jarring over rough patches but its so fast and responsive. Did I mention if really like the XC Pro

3. 1993 Fat Chance Yo Eddy - Full XTR and a NOS drive-train. I don't ride this that much, but it really is pretty spot on. So good on tight single track and easy to toss around.

The Fat was my #2 last year - Probably would be #1 with a set avid tri aligns.

Honourable mentions - 1996 Spesh M2 and 1989 Gary Fisher CR7.

What do you mean by "long travel mag21?"
Kes

 

[longun]

Re:

You used to be able to buy a kit that increased the travel from rockshox 95/6 iirc added 20mm i think. Ground breaking stuff bitd

 

[wadsy]

Re: Re:

I get an opportunity to ride a lot of vintage mtbs ... geeze 12 this year alone :shock:. I gotta agree with sinnerman on the component group thing. Put a good premium set of your favourite components on any mid to high end frame and its going to give you good performance (within reason obviously - there were dogs). Add in a good fit for your body and you probably have a winner.

My top bikes have changed a bit after another year of riding.

1. 1993 Brodie BHDT - It has a xt735 premium group, avid tris, NOS drive-train and long travel mag21. It just does everything well. With the forks setup for hits it climbs and descends well. Its just a rocket over quick single track which is what I ride. Great fit.

2. 1991 Kestrel CSX (uber light 20lbs) - Suntour XC Pro - I REALLY like that group. Again, avid tris and a NOS drive-train. These things are stiff, and jarring over rough patches but its so fast and responsive. Did I mention if really like the XC Pro

3. 1993 Fat Chance Yo Eddy - Full XTR and a NOS drive-train. I don't ride this that much, but it really is pretty spot on. So good on tight single track and easy to toss around.

The Fat was my #2 last year - Probably would be #1 with a set avid tri aligns.

Honourable mentions - 1996 Spesh M2 and 1989 Gary Fisher CR7.

What do you mean by "long travel mag21?"
Kes

Standard Mag 21 travel is about 46mm, they can be converted to 'long-travel' which is about 63mm ....pm me if you want yours done

Cheers

 

[CCMDoc]

Those long travel Mag21s definitely made a difference.
It really was a big deal.

 

[highlandsflyer]

Raleigh Grifter

Custom made racer unknown I bought from a guy in London back in the day.

Early 90s Klein Attitude, but it was ridden at my life peak of fitness so I can't compare it genuinely in terms of ride quality.

 

[jezzaboy]

Re:

My 1986 Ridgeback 602 was a good bike steel for its day, tourer, long mountain rides, commuting and bouncing round on rocky beaches.

Then a late '80's chr-mo Ridgeback 604gx (i think) that I narrowed the chainstays for tyre clearance and welded a disc-mount on to fit Hope cable disc brakes. Even used it years later in DH hardtail class with fat 24" wheels.

A no-name alloy 16" far-eastern frame my brother got from Merlin cycles, early '90's, was £116 and rode wonderfully......it cracked after a couple of years and they gave him a big discount on a new frame. That basic original was way ahead of its time , sharp steering, agressive, good clearance and felt like a big bmx.

My curent fave ride is a 2000 bike so best not mention it here I guess.

Really enjoyed reading everyone's posts about the early days

 

[PanoIgano]

For me the best all day MTB rider I have tried so far is the Brodie Sovereign. I am of the philosophy that you should configure your steeds to match the terrain you have easier access to. In my case that’s mostly gravel routes with some small MTB trails. So no suspension is needed.

I can’t praise enough the tubes and construction of this bike. As I am not a heavy rider it flexes just right for my level of output.

I am currently using semi slick tyres so I can take both off road and on road routes.

Oh yeah all that means I don’t ride road bikes atm.

 

[AndreP]

For me the best all day MTB rider I have tried so far is the Brodie Sovereign. I am of the philosophy that you should configure your steeds to match the terrain you have easier access to. In my case that’s mostly gravel routes with some small MTB trails. So no suspension is needed.

I can’t praise enough the tubes and construction of this bike. As I am not a heavy rider it flexes just right for my level of output.

I am currently using semi slick tyres so I can take both off road and on road routes.

Oh yeah all that means I don’t ride road bikes atm.

There is no really gnarly riding round here, and being honest about it the days of taking huge risks and falling off for fun are behind me. Having said that I'm a committed off roader, and always look for rides that are rough enough and fast enough to be fun. If it's a choice between smooth tarmac or a stoney puddle filled track I'm taking the track every time. So, suspension is not really needed and all my bikes are rigid. Although I am building up a hardtail Kona atm, it'll be interesting to see where that ranks.

Best riders for me...


94 Merlin Mountain:
Unbelievable balance between lightness, stiffness, flex and feel. Everything they say about these frames is true. I can't find any faults.




87 Fat Chance:
Too big for me but still the most enjoyable bike I've owned. Hard to put into words what makes it so good. It's not the lightest, but it's very comfortable, surprisingly rapid and gives the just the right level of feedback, I can ride that bike all day.




91 Klein Pinnacle: (Honorable mention) This was the most uncomfortable rider I've had until I fitted wide Snowcat rims with fast rolling 2.2 tyres. That wheelset killed the harshness completely, and although it probably lost a bit of speed, it hardly lost any of the incredible acceleration and climbing ability that comes from that super stiff rear triangle. In that configuration it's my all-time favourite short ride bike. Fantastic for a blast, and despite it being marketed as an off road tourer, almost any steel bike would be better for long treks in my opinion.



Edit: An odd thing I just noticed is that the frames are all made of different materials. one titanium, one steel and one aluminium. Just goes to show that the frame material alone doesn't automatically guarantee how comfortable a bike will be. The set up and choice of parts etc all has a significant impact, even super stiff aluminium can be made comfortable.

 

[Mike Muz]

Re:

Defiant & Mike Muz...c'mon please why why why those bikes and in that order ???

Whoa! I've finally seen this
Scott first, the 1 1/8" steerer feels more reassuring and less flexy that the 1" on the other two.
Bontrager next, seemed to soak up the bumps better than the Ritchey, more back friendly.
Ritchey, well it looks great, is lovely to ride but I wouldn't give it the full race treatment as I wouldn't feel confident in it's ability to stop. Certainly not as well as the Scott.

Muz