yeah thats what I thought untill I upgraded from a 2007 kona stab to a 2011 kona operator.
I was skeptical how much better it would be, but I was blown away.
bikes have come along way has come along way in 4 short years, especialy suspention.
What happens to old DH/FR bikes?
- Thread starter moorey
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I was skeptical how much better it would be, but I was blown away.
bikes have come along way has come along way in 4 short years, especialy suspention.
moorey
call me Mia
Bikes may improve, but it still comes down to the rider.
Looking at the operator, seriously, how different can it really be from the 07 stab, or a pre 2000 stab for that matter. Basically the same suspension design since day one. Yeah, componentry improves, and a shock makes a difference, but i'm yet to be convinced that a marginally better bike makes much of a difference to a good rider
Do you also have the original sword and sheild it came with too?.What: 97 Kona Misser Replica (96 Turner Burner DH sold by Kona).
Why: As a historical piece it fits well with my other bikes. Ridden rarely as 100mm of travel, V brakes and DH specific geometry limit its usefulness. It looks pretty cool so its a keeper
I still ride this occasionally...
'99 Yuri Minki - A dozen of these were built as DH race bikes by one of my friends in Toowoomba. He got a fair bit of interest but never had the marketing mind to get them out there properly. I actually watched these and the prototype being built. So there's some personal history there too.
This build with new-ish AM stuff comes in a spritely (?) 18kgs.
'99 Yuri Minki - A dozen of these were built as DH race bikes by one of my friends in Toowoomba. He got a fair bit of interest but never had the marketing mind to get them out there properly. I actually watched these and the prototype being built. So there's some personal history there too.
This build with new-ish AM stuff comes in a spritely (?) 18kgs.
slamer
Likes Dirt
haha thats so true, the only thing to make me want a new bike is so im not spending as much time in the shed (but i like that anyway). i still have 2003 titec handle bars on my '2006' kona stab...its a bit of a time line of the last 6 years
hypo
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Does this same guy also make parts for 4x4's ?
.:ROBBO:.
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Yes Ben its the same guy. Yuri and his wife used to race bikes as well.
mikedh
Likes Bikes
This is a question my wife asked recently when I told her I bought a new freeride bike. 'What are you going to do with your current bikes?' or something along those lines. My wife's pretty sharp and she knows that there's no way anyone would be interested in these fatigued completes I have unless I nearly gave them away.
So I consider my 2005 Faith 'retired' even though it's still got brilliant parts (Hope/DT/Spank Subrosa wheels for instance, unmarked Straitline SC pedals, etc) and it hangs out in the garage or I leave it at my lbs (I guess a lot of people don't know what a downhill bike is, so the lbs uses my Faith as an example). Technically it's not that old and it has an up-to-date suspension, so I could always bring it out of retirement if need be.
I still rock my 2005 Norco 4By to this day as it was way ahead of its time. The Domain 318 fork is getting a little tired but the frame with current parts still rocks like a champion. I have a 2012 Transition Covert pre-ordered so I guess I'll be retiring this model soon as well. I don't like the idea of using this bike for its parts and it's not that old either. I suppose if I wanted to get one of my mates riding it'll be nice to have a spare fully functioning short-travel freeride bike ready to use.
So to summarize, mine get retired as a complete.
So I consider my 2005 Faith 'retired' even though it's still got brilliant parts (Hope/DT/Spank Subrosa wheels for instance, unmarked Straitline SC pedals, etc) and it hangs out in the garage or I leave it at my lbs (I guess a lot of people don't know what a downhill bike is, so the lbs uses my Faith as an example). Technically it's not that old and it has an up-to-date suspension, so I could always bring it out of retirement if need be.
I still rock my 2005 Norco 4By to this day as it was way ahead of its time. The Domain 318 fork is getting a little tired but the frame with current parts still rocks like a champion. I have a 2012 Transition Covert pre-ordered so I guess I'll be retiring this model soon as well. I don't like the idea of using this bike for its parts and it's not that old either. I suppose if I wanted to get one of my mates riding it'll be nice to have a spare fully functioning short-travel freeride bike ready to use.
So to summarize, mine get retired as a complete.
I've got an 01 SWorks Team DH hanging in the shed that is still a great bike but just doesn't get ridden anymore so will join the 98 FSR Pro as shed art. My 'old' 04 Spec SX is now my trail bike with a longer shock/fork to bring it up to 5.5". My 05 Big Hit is still going strong although the only thing still 05 about it is the front hub, front triangle, and chain stay. Everything else has been changed and this thing still gets me down Thredbo just as fast as it did in 05. Actually, probably quicker since it no longer has a 24" back wheel. I toyed with the idea of replacing it recently but after a trip to Tassie with it I just don't see the need.
dwnhil4thewin
Likes Dirt
Unfortunately not mine, but this mean bit of gear came by the shop a couple of months ago and needed a bit of work done. The rear axle is specific to the frame and with the way it fits it was so hard to find a current hub/axle/disc rotor combo that we were able to use on it. Id say a lot of older bikes would have similar compatibility issues with more current parts and may be either too difficult or costly to fix up. Anyway we ended up using a saint hub and had to get the axle shaved down on a lathe so everything would work.
Ive never heard of Vario as a brand and have no idea what it was worth back in its day. Id say its early to mid 90's based on the manitou fork thats on it from what ive seen of older DH pics. Also has Hope brakes. Id imagine this sort of thing would have been real expensive when originally purchased.
I offered to buy it from the bloke but he didnt even want to hear an offer from me. He didnt have any intention of using the bike either, just wanted it fixed up.
So in answer to the question "what happens to old DH/FR bikes?" I reckon there are plenty around in peoples' garages that are kept just for the memories.
Agreed, very happy with my 03 Expert, the geometry feels great to me, and most current bikes I have ridden just don't feel nice, however I'm yet to ride demo....
Turns out some kid from school had two "downhill bikes" lying in his garage for ages and he didn't know what they were. He came to our tracks once, turns out one was an OLD (2002?) Team DH, shivers, xtr etc, and his dads was some all mountain kona bike, maybe a colier, but was still quite old.
The Norco looked something like this if I remember correctly. Pretty sure it has a cracked swingarm now though.
4dabush
Likes Dirt
What you should do with them is service them, get a bike box, save a few dollars and bring them to Cairns in late August/early September and come and race in the vintage Downhill...and you'll need to bring your real DH, your DJ and XC bikes too, to do the sunrise to sunset DH day on 9 different tracks, join in the dirt jump/pump track/ dirt bowl night comp and then finish off with a 4 hr day/night XC race through the rainforest. Theres a heap of other events and activities on too. Its 10 days of MTBing heaven in the home of MTBing. If you are interested, keep an eye on the 'Gravitate' FB page or the Cairns MTB Club website.
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Turner_rider
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Its very late 90s