You Know You Bought a Good One When...

[retrojon]

I walked into a LBS today, and everything looked like everything else in the $300 to $1300 range

Yep, the only way I can tell what is top of the range in my LBS is by looking at the groupset or the price.

 

[cce]

to 13 year old me, a karakoram, with its LX (GASP!) componentry represented an unreachabaility that made it special

 

[kaiser]

Could be a British thing, theres a similar fan base for lower end cars too. Marina's, allegro's, 2CV's and so on.

 

[Pickle]

to 13 year old me, a karakoram, with its LX (GASP!) componentry represented an unreachabaility that made it special

Here here

BITD, LX was all I could afford with my paper round money, and even that was with my sponsor's discount!

XTR was the stuff I could only dream of.......

I remember my sponsor had a Raleigh Summit at the back of his shop where he kept all the 'proper' MTB's, and I used to spend hours just looking at it and bouncing the Rock Shox up and down, just dreaming......

 

[Tallpaul]

Why are people so excited about these things?

You don't complain when people compliment your Lava Dome? :?

 

[legrandefromage]

funny - around 1990 no-one looked twice at my rather kack Bickerton 'Mean Green' 200GS £299 special...

However - XT cantis, Farmer Johns, some s/h black Araya rims - it looked a whole different kettle of fish.

Same for the insurance replacement: £500 531 Claud Butler Pagan in lime yellow/ puke green colour, 500LX and er, thats it.

Some of the first Rock Shox Mag 20's in Huntingdon later, stickers removed, anodised to the nines, it was a head turner all the way.

I spent every penny making my so so bikes stand out as much as possible.

 

[GoldenEraMTB]

I walked into a LBS today, and everything looked like everything else in the $300 to $1300 range

Yep, the only way I can tell what is top of the range in my LBS is by looking at the groupset or the price.

exactly...it's a shame.

another thought:

All those warning stickers that respresent unmolested NOSness...only became neccessary when a whole bunch of lawsuits starting popping up here in the states against MTB builders in the early to mid-90s. The bike companies began sticking those warning labels everywhere on the bike, and if you took them off, it was like removing the tag from your pillow...a big no no.

 

[Pickle]

Its funny really, cus when I got/get a new bike its the first thing I do, stickers off, plastic cassette guard off, reflectors off etc :roll:

 

[GoldenEraMTB]

Its funny really, cus when I got/get a new bike its the first thing I do, stickers off, plastic cassette guard off, reflectors off etc :roll:

Haha, me too...but depending on your LBS or the person you spoke to at the bike company, that could void your warranty :shock:

 

[ridevintagemtb]

Why are people so excited about these things?

You don't complain when people compliment your Lava Dome? :?

There's not much Lava Dome left about it. It was mine when I was young, which is why I took on the project. I couldn't get 'excited' about buying one now in any condition - its just not that special. Everyone has one!

This is a inexhaustable debate in the world of retro mtb (I call it VRC). It will never be answered. Some people are into old bikes that weren't high end. I just cant comprehend, with all the amazing bikes on this site, that people can still get excited about a GT Karakoram. I guess I'm a bike snob.

I am going to say this: IMO there needs to be more criticism on this site. Not mean, but constructive.