This is a great thread. In my opinion the best looking old school bike is the Cannondale Fulcrum that Missy Giove raced back in the mid to late 90's (red frame with yellow decals). I used to ride a 2002 Intense M1 with a 2002 Marzocchi Shiver. I absoluvely loved it and had a blast on it. While newer frames are more efficient and adjustable and newer suspension is as good as it has ever been, I have heard it said that a properly built M1 is still a formidable bike to be reckoned with on the race track today.
I totally agree with you. One of the weakest points of my S8 is its braking. You learn to cope with the brake jack and quirks, but they always catch you off guard when your focus is 20 feet down the trail. Today's DH bikes have nearly eliminated brake jack, allowing you to ride into technical features faster and brake later. You don't have to think as much about how the bike is going to react and you can just go. Plus, considering prices for DH bikes now to back then, you get a lot more bang for your buck today. With what I spent building mine in 2001, I could have a new GT carbon DH or Yeti 303 with change to spare.
Two things...you can probably still get a floating brake for the rear end from therapy components if the braking upsets you that much...
Two, most modern DH bikes don't care much about braking at all. VPP and DWL don't consider braking nearly as important as shock rate nor pedaling aspects. Even the Zerode with it's ultra high pivot has no floater as the designers decided brake squat in corners was better than the weight that the floater added...to that point, your Super8 probably squats rather than "jacks" as brake jacking doesn't usually happen on high single pivots.
Originally Posted by genemk
I personally think newer is better (as long as it's a solid proven design). I get the antique classic look and if that's why you do it then great. However, if you're putting new components on it, especially fork/shock combo then wouldn't you be able to upgrade to a newer used bike that is lighter with a better geometry for the same cost? As long as you're happy and having fun though power to ya because in the end that's why most of us do this.
I totally disagree. Many of the newer designs have similar problems to older designs, and the most significant change to geometry has been lower BBs and slacker HAs...some of which you can achieve with angled headset reducers.
I never got along with my Iron horse sunday, even though it had a 63.5* HA and Boxxer R2C2 and fresh bearings etc. etc....I had a day on an older super 8 with a Champ and gazzis on it and it was a revelation in what fun DH riding can be. May not be as totally competitive as a brand new DHR, but if you can't enjoy riding, why bother?
Originally Posted by techfersure
Forgot I have a one off Black Sheep chromoly DH frame based on Lawwill design.
I have a few photos of that somewhere...wanted one so bad. No floater, though.
I agree. This beast rips. Wish I had the skills to really use it, but I do my best. Its pretty much a brand new frame after the fresh PC and factory rebuild no play at all in the dog bone link ( thanks to Greg at Turnerbikes). I will be riding this turner for a few more years.
drill that DHR to slacken the HT and lower the BB you will be amazed with the handling after.
cheers,
jon
i'll try and post a pic of mine that's been drilled.
if i'm not mistaken that frame was called the Javelin,DHR was the model after.cool bike non the less.
Their website calls it the DH Racer/C-Note.
They made a model around that time called the Stinger, though it was an XC bike. I guess you could be getting Javelin and Stinger mixed up since they are both military missiles?
The one thing I remember most about DH bikes back a few years ago was the huge seats they had. I remember they were a lot more square at the front, and not as aerodynamic looking as today.
This is a great thread. In my opinion the best looking old school bike is the Cannondale Fulcrum that Missy Giove raced back in the mid to late 90's (red frame with yellow decals). I used to ride a 2002 Intense M1 with a 2002 Marzocchi Shiver. I absoluvely loved it and had a blast on it. While newer frames are more efficient and adjustable and newer suspension is as good as it has ever been, I have heard it said that a properly built M1 is still a formidable bike to be reckoned with on the race track today.
I have a 2002 Cove gspot with a shiver. Fun fun fun bike!
What do you guys think about the 2000 Kona Stinky? My friends back in CA just got into DH riding and one just came up on the local craigslist for $450. Is it a good price? There really aren't any trails in my area for DH but was wondering if I could use the bike out here for AM type riding. I know technology and geometry has changed a lot in the past 10 years so this bike might not even be considered a DH bike by todays standards. Let me know what you guys think.
What do you guys think about the 2000 Kona Stinky? My friends back in CA just got into DH riding and one just came up on the local craigslist for $450. Is it a good price? There really aren't any trails in my area for DH but was wondering if I could use the bike out here for AM type riding. I know technology and geometry has changed a lot in the past 10 years so this bike might not even be considered a DH bike by todays standards. Let me know what you guys think.
I use my '98 M1 for AM/light DH, and it's quite good for that. The geometry suits that pretty well. The biggest difference between old and new is in shock technology, so throw a modern shock and fork on it, and you'll have a pretty nice AM rig, capable of a bit more than your average modern AM type of bike.
if i'm not mistaken that frame was called the Javelin,DHR was the model after.cool bike non the less.
You are mistaken
This was a 1 of 3 or 4 prototypes Turner made for Eric Carter back in the day. Its got a bunch of farkles that the DHR didnt get till almost 04. Or thats what I remember from talking to Dave a few years ago.
As I have gotten a couple of questions regarding that old M1, here is a pic of it, and a scan from a mag that featured it "a while back".
The other pics is of the carbon brake.
Now it has a modified Domain 318 fork, carbon front disc brake, a Swinger 6 way shock, and Atomlab G.I. pedals.
It sees frequent use, and I think I'll try to keep it alive as long as possible.
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Originally Posted by twistedlizard720
i still use it and it still turns heads , i've just bought a 2nd one for xc so it's half the size of the orange one 
i've never seen a bike the same size as it yet lol
