80s/90s rigid "mountain bike"

I'm looking to get an old-school steel frame rigid mountain bike for getting around the city/pedestrian trails. Looks like the better brands are GT, Rocky Mountain, and some Norcos. Are there any bikes or design conventions I should avoid? Thanks

that's the golden age of mtb in terms of making bomb proof commuters. rockys, bridgestones, specializeds, brodies and konas from the 90s are my favourite candidates for conversions. from the 80s, you want to stay away from the older stuff with really slack angles but otherwise there's not much variation ime. avoid any proprietary stuff (gary fischer used press fit bb's and a bunch of other "innovative" pain-in-the-ass stuff, so best to steer clear), aluminum and u-brakes and its hard to go wrong.

get yerself to OCB at 17th and main .

talk to jesse and tell him what you want to put together .

you can either buy something they have there all ready to go , or have more fun and buy / build your own rig from frames and components they have there .

that's the golden age of mtb in terms of making bomb proof commuters. rockys, bridgestones, specializeds, brodies and konas from the 90s are my favourite candidates for conversions. from the 80s, you want to stay away from the older stuff with really slack angles but otherwise there's not much variation ime. avoid any proprietary stuff (gary fischer used press fit bb's and a bunch of other "innovative" pain-in-the-ass stuff, so best to steer clear), aluminum and u-brakes and its hard to go wrong.

what does really slack look like for reference in terms of these bikes? Thanks for the tip on the gray fishers.

I stumbled upon this cool modernized '86 Rock Hopper build and while I don't have any plans for a similar build (though I'd probably get a threadless adapter too), I noticed something. The bike has a modern style crankset, I thought that these old bikes have a different style internal bottom bracket so you wouldn't be able to do something like that?

http://www.dionridesbikes.com/2012/12/bringing-1986-into-2013-review-of-my.html

if you find my purple Fusion, I want it back. ;)

edit: double post

I'm looking to get an old-school steel frame rigid mountain bike for getting around the city/pedestrian trails. Looks like the better brands are GT, Rocky Mountain, and some Norcos. Are there any bikes or design conventions I should avoid? Thanks

Mid 80s Norco with cantilever brakes. Guaranteed not to stop in the rain. ;)

you might want to avoid anything that was glued together like early 1990's aluminum treks,

how about this

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/bik/4214208441.html

my gf is riding a mid nineties steel giant mtb she has owned from new and it is just fine.

I largely agree with Boom, but earlier slack angled MTBs with big riser bars do have certain appeal.
Depends if you want to build a fast(ish) commuter, or something for just cruising around on. Despite doing countless XC races in the late 80's / early 90's, I hate the long stem / narrow flat bar combo that is typical of such bikes. Many bikes from this generation have fairly short top tubes so you can't just stick a short stem and a wider riser bar to mimic a current bike either. On my '92 Rocky Mountain Vertex I've found a good compromise of going for a longer fork than the bike is designed for (I might drop it down 20mm though…), a 110mm stem and a riser. The front end is at a reasonable height without either being back breaking or 'dorky commuter' like. Depends what you want really.

There's a good selection of bikes on CL if you know what too look for (i.e. checking for worn out rims, drive train, cracked / bent frames etc). Plenty of people trying to sell and no-one buying. Plenty of stolen bikes too…..

damnit I posted earlier and must have forgotten to to hit the "post" button.

Actually, that post was sent to the mod queue due to your low post count and including a link in your post. It is up now.

what does really slack look like for reference in terms of these bikes? Thanks for the tip on the gray fishers.

"really slack" won't pass the eyeball test. the first production mtb's were based on cruiser geometry. as walle mentions they're fine for cruising around on, but frustrating (ime) if you are trying to move quickly

this type of thing

I stumbled upon this cool modernized '86 Rock Hopper build and while I don't have any plans for a similar build (though I'd probably get a threadless adapter too), I noticed something. The bike has a modern style crankset, I thought that these old bikes have a different style internal bottom bracket so you wouldn't be able to do something like that?

really old bikes might have threadless, ashtabula bottom brackets but anything remotely modern (except some fichers and bridgestones) will use a regular english threaded unit. while technically compatible with modern cranks, chainline and clearance can be an issue

i don't like quill adaptors, but they are functional. personally i'd try to replace the fork and headset with threadless stuff, or go with a higher rise bar/stem combo

Can anybody show what is undesirable in terms of fork geometry on this bike? I'd like to think I would be able to spot a funny handling bike but :???:

if you are changing the fork, try to find a new one with similar length to the old one. if the bike handles funny to start, random messing with angles and fork length is unlikely to improve things

from your follow up posts, i think you are overthinking this project. get a mtb from the late 80's/early 90's that fits, throw some slick tires and a riser bar on, a rack and fenders if you are serious, and you are good to go. that's the beauty of these bikes, they really don't need much (if any) modification to become decent, reliable town bikes

I largely agree with Boom, but earlier slack angled MTBs with big riser bars do have certain appeal.

I know what you mean, I would like to build a collection of Norco Sasquatches from the mid 1980's through until the mid 2000s freeride models

Oh I'm not actually planning to swap a fork, I just meant about the slack angle issue and asked the same question twice because I didn't realize until after I made a repost that my posts were waiting for mod approval. That giant looks nice but I'm 5'11 so would need something a bit larger. I actually ride around on a 70s Norco road bike so I'm used to the vintage stuff, would just like a more relaxed geo and wider and higher profile tires for more versatility. I'm definitely looking for something that can go fast, and yes I know there's tons to choose from on craigslist, which is pretty sweet haha.

I have an old really good condition red Bianchi (made in Japan not the cheap china one) with full XT groupo, Tange steel fork and double butted spoke wheels I'm looking at selling pretty soon. Need more space.

Give me a shout if you'd like.