The bike you SHOULD be riding......

Tootyred

Old School Grand Master
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With much talk of clearing physical and metaphysical spaces of late (sheds and minds), my thoughts have turned to the question of the bikes we SHOULD be riding.

Let me run with this......

So many of the recents posts have cited the fact that the geometry of many of our bikes are now (or in fact never were) suitable for the type of riding we do, or come to that, the type and shape of people we now are!

Norba geometry of the late 80s / early 90s I'm sure has much to do with this, especially as it was the result of the likes of Joe Murry designing bikes ultimately orientated for racing, not green lanes or "pootling". Certainly a huge jump in design can be seen between say 86 and 89....prime retro territory.

I'm also hearing lots of you saying that whilst you lust after and own these racing beauties, they are now not actually helping your actual cycling as they don't " fit". I've recently let go of a couple of bikes as realistically more the 2 hours in the saddle was killing me.....even on the dreaded risers!

By comparison there are a number of posts on the "cruiser" thread, stating how comfortable they are and that all day riding / touring was a possibility......hummm.

Possibly more alarming is the implication from many that the pursuit of these racing icons is hurting your mental riding ability too! I can completely get that....if you have a stable of bikes your finding hard to ride or your shed is full of collected "projects" that won't be good for you even when finished, I'm honestly not suprised your finding it hard to be motivated or your will is slipping......or is that why you have so many.....still looking for the perfect partner.....hey?

The cruiser thread again was quite startling if you read between the lines.....freed from the need to build an " acceptable" retro bike, suddenly we are all building bikes for ourselves......and being happy about it.......and isn't that kinda the point?

So.....the big question this poses is "what bike should you be riding?" What bike, that allows you to do what you want, go where you want, for as long as you want, in comfort and with an air of freedom......whilst still being a retro mountain bike!

Im going to build one......anybody want to come along?
 
Could be tempted :) tbf I've been setting lots of my retrobikes up for cruising around on for a while. Slightly wider bars, higher and shorter stems etc. Skme of the paces are for looking at and the occasional bridle way lap so can handle the narrow bars......and its better with the stinging nettles hahaha
 
Here's my take on the 90s MTB/Cruiser hybrid, a bike that is comfortable and fun on and off the road. It went through multiple iterations, especially at the cockpit end, until I finally found the set up that worked best for me. It's very light, capable on and off road, the wide tyres and rims, the long steel stem the wide slightly sweeping bars all contribute to making this aluminium frame deliver a comfortable and cushioned ride, the tyres although not from the right decade are among the fastest rolling tyres available in this size, only Rene Herse Rat Traps might improve speed and comfort, but the price is an obvious obstacle.

It's all based on a 1995 Beast of the East, the Group is mostly M732/5, the wheels were designed in Alaska for snow bikes, the stem is from an early 2000's hipster cruiser, the point being it's a mish mash of bits and bobs that break many of the purists rules with no rhyme or reason, except that each and every element works brilliantly together to produce the kind of comfortable and effortless riding experience I was looking for.

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We are all seduced by original classics, for those are the bikes that we lusted after or formed cherished memories with as kids, that's primarily what this site exists to celebrate and what brought us all here in the first place, but above and beyond that there is the pure love of cycling, and depending what you want to do and where you want to go everybody's ideal bike for any given situation will be different, and that is also something that should be celebrated.
 
My first proper mtb was a bullmoose bar wide and slow model designed for the country trundle

2 bikes on had progressed to arse up head down fast and whippy

That stayed until relatively recently when the Trundler reappeared - two bikes, circa 1986, wide and slow but designed to go long distances comfortably

The other bikes have suspension or narrow tires

Rotating the different styles has meant that the 'one bike' no longer exists, there is no need for a correct bike and choice is there to suit the ride.

Unfortunately that choice can also lead to the standing in the garage wondering what to ride - a process that has been known to take up to 14 weeks on one occasion, almost requiring hoapitalisation of the unfortunate victim

And another problem with just the one/ right bike is that it becomes obsolete as soon as you turn your back...

So, I'm riding all of them!
 
My first proper mtb was a bullmoose bar wide and slow model designed for the country trundle

2 bikes on had progressed to arse up head down fast and whippy

That was very much me too....upright beast of a saracen...then faster.....faster....faster....flexible 20 something, no injuries, no " symptoms of age".

Im under no illusion of finding the perfect bike or one bike that fits all. Im not going to get shot of my touring bike or my much loved marin or swallow. But its the others.....

Theres 3 right here to start with.....one ive hardly ridden for 3 years as its a maxlight alluminium.....too harsh, too small, too twitchy.

Frankly, the other problem is on a race orientated bike i always feel bad about my performance......why am i so bloody slow these days, why can't i keep up that pace, why am i more worried about my own mortality and bottle things....

Less racey bikes.....that all goes away and i enjoy the ride!

Im not going to pretend for a minute i have an answer, or that i have any idea of what will come out the other end of the project.....but to be honest, i just want a reality check...having had one over parts and storage......maybe its time to exorcise this demon too.
 
Hopefully some others will come along for the ride.......lets not put a label like "cruiser" or "29er".....or hybrid on it....

I prefer Saracens original 1983 tag line of " Adventure bike" coined before the days of mountain bike.... because frankly, life the biggest adventure you ever get.
 
my "one bike" has been many different things over the years and is hardly retro (at least not in my eyes) but it's fairly settled on wide bars, tall front end these days.

not sure there is an ideal bike out there for me, it's what I want at the time and that changes, so I'll keep on keeping on with what I've got and ignore the changing whim of others.

happy riding folks.
 
I think one can narrow it down to having 4 bikes... +1 for downhill; +1 for TT; +1 for track; +1 for CX; +1 for long distance heavy touring, but these are specialist machines, so will only apply to select few.

1. Fun road. Narrow wheel base, quick handling racing machine or slightly relaxed sportive geometry. <=25mm tyres. Light as a feather. Drop bars. Summer bike.
2. Sensible road. Audax or touring bike with full guards, ability to take a rack, 28-32mm tyres for handling occasional mild offroad or gravel. Drop or butterfly bars. Doubles up as a commuter/winter training bike/light touring, you name it.
3. Adventure. Exploring, Off-road touring, "do it all" bike. Full guards, ability to handle harder offroad tracks. Possibly mounts for a rack, multiple bottle mounts. Acceptable rolling on tarmac and acceptable offroad capabilities. Doesn't have to be fast, but has to be comfortable. Drop or butterfly bars.
4. Fun off-road. For me this is an old 26er XC bike, probably with a short travel fork. Flat bars obviously.

1 and 4 are easy.
2 and 3 have a lot of cross-over between them, but I am really struggling to come up with a build that is light enough, fast enough on road/ capable enough off road and universal enough to cover all bases. With 2 bikes there's some room for fanatasy. Depending on where you ride, you can build one as a fun lightweight machine, while the other one is a heavier load carrying beast, etc.
I'm still searching for an acceptable combo to fill slots 2 & 3, especially 3.
 
1. fun road
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2. sensible road (guards removed for clarity)

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3. adventure and 4, fun offroad (also "the one bike")
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but the question is, where does this fall?

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