Lately I find myself lusting after mid-90's dream bikes from my high school years: gt zaskar team, lts-1, klein attitude/adroit, team fat chance, cannondale bote, intense M1, etc...
I understand the parts may be fatigued/worn (or nearly unobtainium in the case of the lts) and that their performance/engineering has been surpassed years ago, but I need something like this in my life :) Time to search pinkbike & 'bay!
Feel free to post up pics/stories etc of your older bikes...
I've got a Cannondale Rush Lefty that replaced a seventeen year old, rigid frame Cannondale M800 Beast of the East. It satisfied both my desire for dual suspension and for a brown bike.
If I were shopping today, I might try a 29'er, but I'd still love to find a blue over silver Delta V.
Have a browse here, if you haven't already 
This was the last bike I put together (now sold)...a retro-inspired modern build. 2008 reissue of Orange's 'Prestige' frame, running modern components - 1x9 Middleburn cranks, Chris King bling, and older model XTR hydro brakes.
For comparison, one of the original bikes:
I kinda miss my Wicked Fat Chance, but there's no denying that the '99 Attitude Comp that replaced it blew it out of the water.
I did have one of the most magical singletrack descents of my life on the Fat before I bought it. The previous owner had it built up with an Interloc elastomer fork, big Magura brake levers... I'm trying to remember what tires it was rocking; I think it was a Smoke on the front (before the Dart showed up), and a... Ground Control on the rear? That can't be right... Anyhow, it was one of those things where I'd swear I was two-wheel-drifting some of the corners off the brakes. Beautiful.
Wonderful bike, but my new Kona Kula is good enough that I'd have to have a lot more room and money, and a more complete stable with a proper road bike before I'd start assembling retro bikes. Not that I don't see the appeal. I do! I just think I'd find even the Fat a little disappointing to actually ride at this point.
I miss my old Fisher AL-1. It was an oddball - not as far out as the delicious Kleins, but everything was unusual. Wider bottom bracket, 32-spoke wheels when 36 was the norm (I think that's right), big headset, Gripshifts, even a pump built into the seatpost and fairly mild Biopace. Cool stuff for 1989. I raced it (and won) in Australia, took it all over the Alps near Chamonix, even dragged it up to Yellowknife and rode in the midnight sun. Not as good as my current bike, but so many memories and it rode really well.
I rode Ground Controls until just a couple of years ago 
Lots of drool worthy stuff in this thread. 
Very nice pics guys!... 
I still miss my Giant CFM-3, bought it for $300 in '03, it only had 200 'ride around the block' miles on it at the time:
Anyone remember this oddball/gem? (unfortunately not mine):
Pretty nice pictorial: http://www.cyclingdirt.org/photoalbum/447086-13-Mounatin-Bikes-I-Wish-Id-Owned
Still have my Univega Carbolite M7.3 and my Cannondale Gemini 3000.
I search for Kleins pretty regularly - I have a Cannondale Prophet that only feels dated when I go to the LBS, but would love a rigid or hardtail Attitude - probably better for most of my riding, especially with some modern wheels and low rolling resistance tires.
I recently sold my old specialized stump jumper comp. I think it was an 87. I was shocked by the demand for some of the old rigids.
Chris
Keith Tanner wrote: I miss my old Fisher AL-1. It was an oddball - not as far out as the delicious Kleins, but everything was unusual.
Was that the one with an aluminum main triangle with a steel rear triangle bolted on?
Nope, that was the CR-7. The AL-1 was all aluminum.
I've got an old Stumpjumper rigid in the shed, it was my main ride until I made the move to full suspension. Maybe someday I'll put it back together and see if I still have the chops to ride one. Spending significant time on a rigid sure makes you develop some skills that fully suspended bikes don't need.
I still ride my Bridgestone MB-3 on a regular basis. I'd totally pick up a Stumpjumper if I found one in my size. I nearly bought one new, back in 93, but saved a bit of coin and bought the MB-3 instead. The Bridgestone still works well (top-mount shifters and all), but I've bent the frame a bit, so no heavy-duty work anymore. ( stupid aftermarket suspension neck--- bottomed it out and bent my frame)
and yes, Klein's are beautiful.
In reply to Joe Gearin:
I also have a MB3 in the shed - looks like this 
I want to rig up a 1" suspension fork somehow, set it up with a 2 speed casette, and a simple spring loaded chain tensioner. Manually change between low and high gear. Basically, a fun commuter with a lower gear for hills, and light suspension to make it comfy.
I'll probably take a 1.125" x 8omm fork with a replaceable steer tube, and have a custom 1" tube turned down by a buddy with a lathe. The rest is just fidgetting with stuff in the parts box...
I actually have a carbon mantra hanging on my shop wall. It's broken unfortunately, but it's still a damn cool piece of biking lore.
I'm on the hunt for an old LTS-1 as well. That was my first love from MBAction growing up.
I have a 98 STS 1000 DS. I owned a bike shop and bought it before GT was bought out by Pacific. I was a hardcore BMX racer and was going to start racing downhill but I got a really bad case of Lyme disease and then moved to FL where it's flat and rarely ever ride it. So the bike never got used much and still even has the original tires on it.
I have an old aluminum Stumpjumper in a 17 if anyone is interested. Very good condition, always been in the midwest so it's never seen hard use.
Keith Tanner wrote: Nope, that was the CR-7. The AL-1 was all aluminum. I've got an old Stumpjumper rigid in the shed, it was my main ride until I made the move to full suspension. Maybe someday I'll put it back together and see if I still have the chops to ride one. Spending significant time on a rigid sure makes you develop some skills that fully suspended bikes don't need.
A good friend of mine had a CR7. Flat black with chrome fork and stays. My dad had a decent drill press and we converted a lot of small parts to ultra light "drillium" components.
1-1/4" quill headset - which was ballin' at the time.
I had a 91 Giant Iguana in red that was covered in stickers. It looked cool, but was a cheapy bike at the time. I had a thing for Suntour stuff. I'm, also an AMD guy. I root for the underdogs.
Ahh...what a stroll down memory lane so far!
I first really got into bikes as a youngster at the end of the 80's/early-90's. My first high-end bike was a 1991 Gary Fisher Paragon, really lightweight rigid steel with Shimano XT components. It wasn't quite top-of-the-line, but it was as close as I could afford as a student. Plus it had an awesome paint job, blue-green when viewed from one side, and green when viewed from the other, with pink graphics...yeah! Yes, it had the ballin' 1-1/4" headset, and a press-in bottom bracket. I find it mildly amusing that the state-of-the-art today is oversized headtubes and press-in bottom brackets, but I digress.
I raced the Fisher, upgraded it with all kinds of lighfweight CNC'd aluminum and titanium parts, and yes, some of them were purple anodized! I also took advantage of my dad's tools and make some of my own little bits, like cable hangers and whatnot. I sold it in 2001 and never stopped thinking about that bike. A couple months ago I found one on eBay in the same 21" size, same year, same color, and all original except for the barends and the tires, so I bought it.
Here is the new one:
Since it got it, I have being having fun lightening it up and making it somewhat along the lines of my old racebike. It is more resto-mod that totally period correct. I built up some wheels using new Mavic silver XC rim-brake rims on a new White Industries rear hub, and an old Zipp Speed Weaponry carbon-shelled MTB front hub. I put an old 1-1/4" Control Tech stem on there along with some titanium handlebars, new Chris King headset, and new Paul Components CNC brake levers. I have it down under 23 pounds, which isn't too shabby for a 21-inch steel frame mountain bike. Best of all, it is a ridiculous amount of fun to ride, because A) I don't care and B) I'm 18 years old again (or at least I feel that way!)
For those of you who recognise the name.
I had coffee with Paul Brodie on Saturday morning :)
I also got to look at, touch and drool over the fourth Excelsior OHC board-tracker he's built.
Very cool guy, very humble and very personable.
Check out what he's doing now that he's out of the mountain bike business: http://flashbackfab.com/
Cool. I've always had a thing for nice steel bikes, and especially being from the Pacific NW, I am familiar with Brodie Bikes, but I hadn't seen the stuff he is doing since selling the company....very cool!
My dad bought a pair of new Ross Force 1s in 1983. He had to special order them, as bike shops didn't carry mountain bikes back then.
He just turned 82 and is still riding.
golfduke wrote: I actually have a carbon mantra hanging on my shop wall. It's broken unfortunately, but it's still a damn cool piece of biking lore.
I snapped a Mountaincycle MOHO in the middle of the big box tube back in 2001 or so. Didnt snap at a weld, just fatigued the metal in the box part and it let go while bombing a big hill with a sharp V at the bottom...that was a fun walk back...
looked like this
I have reminisced about a Trek Y22 my riding buddy had that I got to ride a few times back in the day. His was the naked carbon fiber finish and he'd upgraded the front and rear suspension as cooler bits came along on the used market. Compared to my beater Trek, Huffy, etc bikes I always had, my first ride on the light, suspended Y22 was like going from a CJ5 to a tube frame racer. I have never been able to forget that bike, so I finally tracked one down and bought it last weekend.
Of course, it's a project that needs work, like most of my purchases. I want to add a belt drive and internal geared hub because I hate chains and derailleurs. I'm hoping to build up a bike that makes bikes fun for me again.
Bryce
While not at the top of the range... I am currently rebuilding a Cannondale Delta-V 800. It's the one with the kind of odd shaped frame similar to what the Super-V's had. It has the monoshock (rebuilt) and XTR shifters, cranks, and derailieurs. I've stalled the project as I don't know what I want to do for brakes or my wheel and gear sets. I do have the frame almost completely stripped of teal/black paint and the raw aluminum is the look I'm going to stay with.
Also old school, I've got a Lambert Grand Prix. The "fork of death" is gone though...
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