Old School Rigid MTB's

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With the availability of suspension forks, there just aren't that many guys going totally rigid anymore. We all remember the itchy forearms during fast descents.
 
I will post one of my future projects on this thread. Old school rigid frames are getting harder to come by. It would be nice to see a restoration of something with caliper brakes, bull moose handlebars, thumbies and a reverse water bottle cage.
 
I hope to start the restoration of my wife's Rigid MTB (most likely this winter) It's a early-mid '90s 26"Phoenix Boulder, with all Shimano running gear and dual pull caliper brakes. It was a top of the line $800 bike when new but soon after they started building them with suspension. When she tried to sell it to a bike shop in '96 she was told it was worthless, so it's hung in the garage rafters since. But now that our son has gotten his training wheels off he wants us to ride with him, so I've pulled it out, replaced the tires, handle grips and soaked the deraillers in WD40 to get it rideable again. I don't know if it will ever see dirt again (not because the bike 20yrs old, but because my wife and I are also 20yrs older and don't heal as well as we used to)
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Allright! Thanks for kicking us off with that. My first "real" MTB was a late 90's rigid frame. It was a gold colored huffy but I remember most bikes being rigid and looking the same during that time period. Most people saw suspension bikes in the early 2000's. Before that they weren't available to most people. Now everyone has a suspension bike. Crazy right?
 
My first mountain bike was a 1988 model Univega. We ran the fattest possible tires to soak up the bumps. The early knobby tires produced a lot of rolling resistance and vibration on the street.
 
Those diamond framed mountain bikes of the late 80s and early 90s were great climbers. The bikes with the sloping top tubes always felt a bit awkward to me while climbing; whether steel or aluminum. Maybe it is because i learned to mountain bike on a diamond framed bike. If I has started out mountain biking on a cruiser based klunker, I may have felt different.
 
Here's my daily driver.Don't "hammer" on it,but do take it on trails sometimes.Early '80's Maruishi 5 speed.
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I have a couple, a Schwinn Frontier and a really cool Huffy Caribou, both early 90's, the Schwinn I made into a big bmx single speed and the Huffy I'm getting ready to do the same thing to. It's just aggrevating having to adjust deralleirs all the time. Gonna make the Huff an easy to pedal trail rider.
 
I like rigid MTB's. Here's one of mine - a mid 80's Jamis Explorer

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1984 Columbia Trailmaster (I sold this one to a co-worker a few weeks ago)

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a recent CL find that I'm bringing back to life... an early OM Flyer that was modified into a 18 spd MTB by its owner around 1980

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Rigid MTB's are making a bit of a comeback lately - check out this new retro styled Trek Sawyer 29er with twin top tubes

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that Trek might be the first 29r I've seen that actually looks good.

I like full rigid mtn bikes so much, that when I built a new one to replace my '89 Supergo Access (now retired to winter road training), I built a 2009 Access with a suspension-compensated front fork:

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Here's my MTB. Kona fork. Paul components brakes (sweet!) and a 1x9 setup that I love. It had an old RockShox Judy fork on it but it was pooched so I went rigid, I love it, this bike is 23lbs. Light for the price.

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Got this one for free. About 20 yr old Specialized Hardrock. Great shape. Aired up tires and rode it around a lil bit.

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I collect and ride vintage Mtn bikes.

From Klunkers;

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Converted cruisers;

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First dedicated MTB's early 80's;

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Mid 80's;

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Early 90's;

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And even a mid 90's bike that has been converted to a frankenbike mishmsh of old and new;

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Sometimes my family does (yes that is an old Tandem MTB):

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Pre suspension Mtb's are my passion...
 

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