# Oldies but goodies?



## Nigeyy (3 Sep 2016)

Well, just been out for a ride on my oldie but goodie. Bought new in 1997, a Mongoose Rockadile SX, it's had many iterations of upgrades; the only original parts left now are just the frame, seat collar, seatpost and saddle.







Recently I put in another 80 quid, buying disc hubs, spokes, A2Z disc adapter (I had a set of Avid BB7s hanging around in my spare parts drawer I wanted to use) and a riser bar and stem. Still on an old 80mm travel 2000 Manitou SX-R, old, yes it's old, but it works......






After building the wheels, installing the disc brakes, stem and bar, I have to say it's still pretty nice. Sure, it's 
19 years old, and that fork isn't anywhere near as good as my Fox fork on my Giant Trance -its noticeably harder on those roots -but it's always nice to have a backup mtb 






At this point, I have a bit of a nostalgic emotional attachment to this -its taken me on many, many miles (thousands?) of rocky and rooty New England singletrack. But you know what? Still rides well and I now have those spare disc brakes on. Anyone else with some oldies but goodies? (pictures please if possible).


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## Hugh Manatee (3 Sep 2016)

It isn't that old! Lovely photos of bike and woods. I too have an old faithful. It is a 1990 Saracen Kili Flier Comp. purchased brand new at the end of my university first year. It was at the top of the non custom build tree. I had the choice between the Saracen, the Specialized Rumpcruncher Comp and the Kona Explosive.

All had Prestige frames and Deore XTII full groupsets. £50 off was what settled it for me. That and it was British being actually welded in Warwick. Over the years it has been:

Fully rigid race bike. I remember racing the mighty Raleigh team and watching Hinton and Baker et al disappearing into the distance.

I had some early suspension (Tioga Shock Blades) fitted providing a whole 30mm travel. Before that it had a mighty 150mm long Flexstem.

I still have it. It is now rigid again and set up as a touring bike. I'll try to get some pictures of it soon.


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## Nigeyy (3 Sep 2016)

Good old bikes don't die, they just get re-purposed! And they usually have bags of memories with them.....

Would love to see a piccy of the Saracen!


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## ChrisEyles (3 Sep 2016)

Here's my '97 Marin Hawk Hill. It's been "upgraded" with a rigid fork (definitely an upgrade - the RST boingers were well past it), vee brakes, and an STX drive train. 

It might not be quite as capable as a modern bike, but it's every bit as much fun. Usually get a few raised eyebrows if I (rarely!) manage to overtake a group on modern flashy bikes at the trail centre too


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## ChrisEyles (3 Sep 2016)

Will be nice to see some other members old MTBs. Aesthetically, they knock the socks off modern ones as far as I'm concerned! 

@Nigeyy I guess you probably know about it already, but if not then Retrobike has a load of great resto threads and lovely old MTBs (I got the forks for my Marin from there, the classified section is pretty good too).


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## Drago (3 Sep 2016)

Still get regular use from my 1996 Alpinestars ASR140. A little bit battered with use, but still tidy.

Sympathetically upgraded over the years. The double butted cro mo frame has had an NOS stx groupset, Fat Pig headset, Ugly Dog seat, and the only bits that don't fit the period style are the bars and stem. I'll slap up a pic next time I wheel it out.


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## Nigeyy (4 Sep 2016)

I love the words "sympathetically upgraded"!



Drago said:


> Still get regular use from my 1996 Alpinestars ASR140. A little bit battered with use, but still tidy.
> 
> Sympathetically upgraded over the years. The double butted cro mo frame has had an NOS stx groupset, Fat Pig headset, Ugly Dog seat, and the only bits that don't fit the period style are the bars and stem. I'll slap up a pic next time I wheel it out.


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## Nigeyy (4 Sep 2016)

oh thanks, didn't know about Retrobike! (I assume you mean retrobike.co.uk?)

On a "it were all trees it were" note, my first mtb was a bonded steel/alu non-suspension Raleigh Technium jobbie back in 1990 that I did miles and miles on. It then served me as a converted tourer across Europe, and finaly ended up as a commuter bike. After puzzling greatly about a jarring knock each pedal stroke, I realized one of the bonded joints had failed and I ended up hacksawing it up. Needless to say there's a reason why bonded steel and alu bike frames didn't catch on.....



ChrisEyles said:


> Will be nice to see some other members old MTBs. Aesthetically, they knock the socks off modern ones as far as I'm concerned!
> 
> @Nigeyy I guess you probably know about it already, but if not then Retrobike has a load of great resto threads and lovely old MTBs (I got the forks for my Marin from there, the classified section is pretty good too).


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## Drago (4 Sep 2016)

Nigeyy said:


> I love the words "sympathetically upgraded"!


Well, yeah, I used a NOS gruppo from the same year, rather than whack on a modern SLX or XT set. I could've done, but wanted to retain the bikes character.


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## Hugh Manatee (11 Sep 2016)

Nigeyy said:


> Would love to see a piccy of the Saracen!



I am just off for a ride on the Saracen now. My daughter and I are off to find the pub mentioned in a thread a few months back. Canals here we come.

Here is my 1990 Saracen Kili Flier Comp in its current guise. Of the original parts only the front mech and seat post remain. The original brakes are now on an even older Saracen in the garage. V brakes seem to offer a lot more power and pannier clearance. I still have the original cranks but I wanted 170 length rather than 175.

The stem is interesting. It is a Softride I think and thanks to the parallelogram design, doesn't alter the steering as it compresses. The big bar thing at the dropouts is for the Limpet pannier system. The handle bars things are Durango XC bars as used by Ned (The Lung) Overend. I love these so much I have a spare pair. If the repair I have to do to these fails I'll be good!


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## Old Yellow (12 Sep 2016)

I recently bought this 1988 Specialized Rockhopper to use for leisure and local touring. It was described as 'rough' in the advert, but with a bit of time and elbow grease it has cleaned up well and rides beautifully.

It would appear that many of its components have been changed over the years, according to the original spec sheet, but I am very pleased with my rough bike, 'patina' and all.


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## Hugh Manatee (12 Sep 2016)

Hello @Old Yellow 

A grand old bike. I think everyone must have been very tall back then. You don't often see a smaller 80s mountain bike frame. I think that Is the first U brake I have seen on this web site. Funny, I saw an old MTB at the Bristol stage of the ToB. It had U brakes front and rear.


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## roadrash (12 Sep 2016)

@Nigeyy not quite finished yet , but any excuse to post another pic

rebuild thread here
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/zaskar-build.206946/#post-4460193


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## iandg (12 Sep 2016)

My old Trek. Not currently being ridden it's in pieces needing new wheels and some work on the gears.


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## Old Yellow (12 Sep 2016)

Hugh Manatee said:


> Hello @Old Yellow
> 
> A grand old bike. I think everyone must have been very tall back then. You don't often see a smaller 80s mountain bike frame. I think that Is the first U brake I have seen on this web site. Funny, I saw an old MTB at the Bristol stage of the ToB. It had U brakes front and rear.



Thanks Hugh, the 22 1/2" inch frame is what attracted me to it, the correct size for me. That is probably why it is so comfortale. It did have a long stem fitted, which I changed for the current one, the reach suits me better now.

The U brake works fine but, as it doesnt get ridden in mud, yet, it is easy to keep clean.

BTW, I am only 5' 9" tall, so it was not an exceptionally big frame for the day.


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## biggs682 (16 Sep 2016)

i am a very proud original owner of a 92 Marin Bear Valley it gets regular use as my commuter hack bike , its never been off road other than gravel paths , i have always enjoyed it and still do .

Also look at this post Giant Terrago atb to a great Giant i passed on to my brother in law


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## ChrisEyles (17 Sep 2016)

Let's have a pic of the Bear Valley @biggs682! 

I like the Giant a lot - other than the stem and bars it looks like it could be a road bike from the same era. Looks like it would make a great commuter with slicks, or a great fun lively off-roader.


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## Hugh Manatee (17 Sep 2016)

You have seen the 1990 Saracen. What else lurks in this quite full house? I still need to take pictures of:

1. 1987/8 Saracen Kili Flier. The fillet brazed one!
2. 1991 (ish) Bontrager Ti Lite.
3. Early 90s steel Rock Lobster with Mag 21 forks.
4. Dawes The Edge in frame form.
5. Again as a frame and forks, an unused and never built Steve Potts Cross Country Racer.

A couple of quite rare ones there. Trouble is, a couple are up in the loft. I'll need to get them down to take decent pictures.


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## biggs682 (17 Sep 2016)

ChrisEyles said:


> Let's have a pic of the Bear Valley @biggs682!
> 
> I like the Giant a lot - other than the stem and bars it looks like it could be a road bike from the same era. Looks like it would make a great commuter with slicks, or a great fun lively off-roader.



here you go these were taken last year so no changes since @ChrisEyles , its a great bike that i doubt very much will ever get sold

The Giant was used for a couple of weeks as my commuter and i also did a couple of 10 mile rides on it before it went to brother in law for his approval


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## ChrisEyles (17 Sep 2016)

biggs682 said:


> here you go these were taken last year so no changes since @ChrisEyles , its a great bike that i doubt very much will ever get sold



Looks really nice! I like the horn on the handlebars too  I'm tempted to get some slicks for my rigid Marin and see how it fares on the road some time...


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## biggs682 (18 Sep 2016)

ChrisEyles said:


> Looks really nice! I like the horn on the handlebars too  I'm tempted to get some slicks for my rigid Marin and see how it fares on the road some time...



The horn comes in very useful when fighting my way through and past all the other cycle path users.

Slicks make a good difference and well worth doing thinking about it the tyres have been changed since those pictures were taken Schwalbe Marathon Woe's


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## biggs682 (10 Oct 2016)

Might get the chance of an 80's Peugeot Laser 15 , it's totally original and the seller is claiming its never been used abd looking at the one picture i have seen and it does look very clean and tidy


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## Nigeyy (16 Oct 2016)

This really all started about August (see my original post) when I put in about 80 quids worth of parts into this 20 year old Mongoose Rockadile SX bike. OK, I think I am at the end of the road. I splurged on a Manitou M30 fork* (a similar but slightly heavier version of the R7) as well as increasing the front disc to 180mm.

At this time, short of hydraulic brakes (ain't going to happen) I don 't think there are any more upgrades coming. If I want to get better stuff, I think a new bike is the way to go. Straight 1 1/8 headtubes will really limit any fork upgrades to not make it worth it, let alone if I ever want to fit fatter tyres or want to move to bigger wheel sizes.

With some honest introspection I realized that I've spent too much money on a 20 year old frame -and really it would have been a better plan to have gone for a new bike. But you know what? I don't regret it, not one bit. For a backup to my fs, I'm really really very happy with this. Yeah, spent too much but at least ended up with a ht with decent brakes (I had old Avid bb7s that needed using) and a decent fork for the riding I do. And all said and done, I think I'd still needed to have spent more than my upgrade costs to get an equivalent used (though admittedly much more modern bike) bike with similar brakes and fork. I've ridden it, and I'm pretty impressed.

For full disclosure of my financial foolishness (including costs from August and including all shipping costs), here goes:

disc hubsets $45
spokes $25
handlebar $15
stem $15
A2Z rear disc adaptor $35
new discs $20
Manitou M30 fork* $200
yet another stem $15
disc adapter for bigger disc $10
for a grand total of.. $380 (310 quid)

*to be fair, to completely fund my new fork, I sold quite a few bike parts and tools I no longer used, as well as an antique razor. But still, money I could have put towards another bike I suppose!


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## MarquisMatsugae (17 Oct 2016)

Nigeyy said:


> This really all started about August (see my original post) when I put in about 80 quids worth of parts into this 20 year old Mongoose Rockadile SX bike. OK, I think I am at the end of the road. I splurged on a Manitou M30 fork* (a similar but slightly heavier version of the R7) as well as increasing the front disc to 180mm.
> 
> At this time, short of hydraulic brakes (ain't going to happen) I don 't think there are any more upgrades coming. If I want to get better stuff, I think a new bike is the way to go. Straight 1 1/8 headtubes will really limit any fork upgrades to not make it worth it, let alone if I ever want to fit fatter tyres or want to move to bigger wheel sizes.
> 
> ...



Judging by the picture,you have done a good job 
It looks trail worthy as it stands.
As with all things,bikes move on and I succumbed to the slacker angled,longer travel HT's.
Basically to tackle today's MTB trails,which have become more challenging.


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## Crackle (17 Oct 2016)

Here's my old Bear Valley, bought in 1997. Now retired from mtb'ing but living on as a very versatile and stable tourer. I replaced the slammed stem a few years back, added a proper top cap, rather than the odd affair it had and changed the the brakes for some Deore ones as the originals were so faffy to adjust.


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## biggs682 (16 Nov 2016)

picked up this last week at local auction house GT Outpost

looking forward to getting it mobile again

@Crackle loving your Bear Valley


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## greekonabike (23 Nov 2016)

I saw an old Rockadile on ebay when I was working in Wales, I remember it being in decent nick and pretty cheap but I didn't have room for it when I moved back down so I left it. Seeing this kinda makes me wish I'd strapped it to the roof or something. 

GOAB


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## NeilM (3 Jan 2017)

A bit late to the party, but as I am an enthusiastic rider of ... erm 'older' mtb's, here are a couple of mine.

My 1994 GT Zaskar LE. Built up by me from a brand new frame and still in occasional use. I am planning an update however, as the Hope hubs are pretty delicate and the parts are no longer available for the Marzocchi XC700 forks. This will allow me to ride it a lot more, as it still is a very rideable bike.





My Roberts 1992 DOGS BOLX. Rescued as a damaged frame a couple of years ago and built up using SRAM 2 x 10 running gear, Cane Creek V brakes, Hope hubs with Mavic XC717 rims. I've done HONC and Mountain Mayhem on it twice, plus a 60k offroad sportive called MADORC and countless offroad miles.






I have ummm, one or two more.


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## Hugh Manatee (21 Jan 2017)

Ah, @NeilM I thought I recognised the avatar. There are a few of us here still bashing around and indeed, being bashed around, on old metal.


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## AyJay (21 Jan 2017)

I had a 1989 Muddy Fox Courier Comp up until the middle of last year. Now looking for something from the same era to replace it.


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## Grant Fondo (22 Jan 2017)

1995 Cannondale M500 love this bike...recently upgraded to 10 speed so new back wheel...original Sun front wheel still straight and true after 20 odd years. Tube welds are super smoot













h and huge frame makes it ride like a hybrid...its a real 'take anywhere' bike.


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## Nigeyy (30 Aug 2020)

Aaah holy thread resurrection.....

Just back from a ride on my good old 1996 Mongoose Rockadile SX. I did spend further on it: about 44 quid for a set of Avid Elixirs, 16 quid for a handlebar and $9 quid for a new stem. Another 35 quid for SRAM X5 shifters and I also went for the widest front tyre I could get -a Panaracer Swoop 26x2.4 at 20 quid. So have spent another 124 quid on it. I've spent 310 quid on it during the last four years now, and probably at least another 400 quid on tyres, replacement drivechain, etc prior to that. Now it really is done for upgrades.

But the nicest thing is I'm riding a 24 year old bike and having a ton of fun. Again, theoretically a poor investment (or is it? The cost of the bike new plus 700 quid for 24 years of riding?). The other nice thing is I feel like I really haven't compromized; for the style of riding I do -sedate xc, I have a 9 speed SRAM based drivechain which is supremely smooth, great tyres, dropper seatpost, for me great suspension and one finger braking with excellent power and modulation..... Yeah, I don't have slack geometry, but again I'm doing mild xc, so no problem.


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## Colin Grigson (1 Sep 2020)

My (very unkempt) mid 1980’s Muddy Fox Courier Mega. I know it looks fit for the skip, but this bike has never let me down - it all just works ... except very recently when the front brake pulley within the headset finally had enough and gave up. It’s done thousands of miles over the years for it’s uncaring owner - I once considered a full renovation but I’d rather put my money into road bikes - this really is ’Old Reliable’.


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## avecReynolds531 (1 Sep 2020)

Thanks for an interesting thread. I love Univega Alpinas 

For those interested, saw this on ebay (UK) this morning: Nishiki Ariel - Richard Cunningham designed - US import: £65 in Swindon: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nishiki-Mountain-Bike/363091539483?hash=item5489f1361b:g:-HMAAOSwNkZfTPEO


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## Nigeyy (2 Sep 2020)

The shipping costs would kill me....



avecReynolds531 said:


> Thanks for an interesting thread. I love Univega Alpinas
> 
> For those interested, saw this on ebay (UK) this morning: Nishiki Ariel - Richard Cunningham designed - US import: £65 in Swindon: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nishiki-Mountain-Bike/363091539483?hash=item5489f1361b:g:-HMAAOSwNkZfTPEO


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## Grant Fondo (5 Sep 2020)

Glad this thread is resurrected....since my Jan 2017 post the Cannondale has had some serious use and still never fails to impress. Don't get me wrong, the brakes are terrible by modern disc standards and ride is jittery on really rough stuff, but 99% of the time it is an absolute joy to ride. I had no idea when I took my shiny new bike home on the ferry from Kowloon to Lantau in 1995 that I would still have it 25 years later.
A few recent rides:


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