I'm old, and I don't understand anything anymore

Is it time to post pics of our old AC's?  Mine was my last FS before I gave up the gnar.  Wasn't one of the cool bikes at the time but it was cheap and seemed to do the jerb!

Posted by: craw

Posted by: tashi

80’s mountain bikes make excellent cruisers/haulers and are packed with style. 

$500 90’s NORBA geo bikes make better CX race bikes than $500 CX bikes do, and again, bring some style to the equation. 

90’s bikes also make good fast commuters, pump track bikes or even mellow trail riding bikes with the right parts swaps too. 

And practical reasons aside, nostalgia is a thing. I couldn’t afford a new Altitude in ‘93 (still can’t) but I CAN afford a 93 Altitude now.

My current gravel bike is basically 1991 NORBA geometry (71/73) but with a rigid carbon fork and 29" wheels and it's perfect.

RIGHT??  

One of the funnest bikes in my stable these days is my Cross-Check with a flat bar.  Terrible brakes, skinny hard tires and no dropper or suspension has me nostalgic for my '90's bikes mountain bikes, but the big wheels keep me from going over the bars as often as I did when I ran flat 150mm stems and narrow bars.

Posted by: Greasyone

Posted by: Cheez1ts

Posted by: Greasyone

One of my buddies works with a guy who has a 2014 Aurum 6.3 that he wants a G for.  It's 10 years newer than my bike, the seller did a few chairlift days per year with it, and the price seems right.  Bearing in mind that I'm currently riding an 04, do you think this is a good interim bike?  I still want to buy a newer one, but prices are pretty out of hand, and I'd like to be on something a little more modern...sort of ease into current geometry as it were.

Are you planning on doing any pedalling? A friend of a friend bought the same bike last spring, but he never comes riding with us because he doesn’t enjoy pushing it up the hill. He’s been looking for a trial bike pretty much since he bought the aurum. If you’re shuttling a lot then it’s probably going to be great!

Yeah I pedal up, is it really that bad?  One of my friends rides an aurum, and he usually only pushes up the hill when he's smoking a dart.  Once he finishes he's back on and pedaling.

My younger, fitter cousin who I rode with a lot always pedalled a downhill bike up. He insisted he could keep up any climb.

For anything 15 minutes and under he could, otherwise it all fell apart. For an hour climb he would be like 20 minutes back.

Posted by: Hepcat

My younger, fitter cousin who I rode with a lot always pedalled a downhill bike up. He insisted he could keep up any climb.

For anything 15 minutes and under he could, otherwise it all fell apart. For an hour climb he would be like 20 minutes back.

Only 20 minutes back? Shit mang, you must be in pretty bad shape.

Posted by: Greasyone

Posted by: Cheez1ts

Posted by: Greasyone

One of my buddies works with a guy who has a 2014 Aurum 6.3 that he wants a G for. It's 10 years newer than my bike, the seller did a few chairlift days per year with it, and the price seems right. Bearing in mind that I'm currently riding an 04, do you think this is a good interim bike? I still want to buy a newer one, but prices are pretty out of hand, and I'd like to be on something a little more modern...sort of ease into current geometry as it were.

Are you planning on doing any pedalling? A friend of a friend bought the same bike last spring, but he never comes riding with us because he doesn’t enjoy pushing it up the hill. He’s been looking for a trial bike pretty much since he bought the aurum. If you’re shuttling a lot then it’s probably going to be great!

Yeah I pedal up, is it really that bad? One of my friends rides an aurum, and he usually only pushes up the hill when he's smoking a dart. Once he finishes he's back on and pedaling.

I had a carbon 2017 Aurum with similar geometry to that, with a really high spec that only weighed 34.5lbs and I cannot imagine pedaling it uphill anywhere. If you were really fit and had at least a 32t cassette you could suffer up flatter forest roads like Fromme but anything steeper or single track would be awful. 200mm forks have a ton of pedal bob as does the rear end (and no climb switch on DH shocks), slack HTA + long offset fork is floppy, super slack seat tube, bad pedaling kinematics, small cassette, short cranks, heavy everything.

Posted by: grambo

I had a carbon 2017 Aurum with similar geometry to that, with a really high spec that only weighed 34.5lbs and I cannot imagine pedaling it uphill anywhere. If you were really fit and had at least a 32t cassette you could suffer up flatter forest roads like Fromme but anything steeper or single track would be awful. 200mm forks have a ton of pedal bob as does the rear end (and no climb switch on DH shocks), slack HTA + long offset fork is floppy, super slack seat tube, bad pedaling kinematics, small cassette, short cranks, heavy everything.

Like most people back in the day, I used to pedal my DH bike up the trail.

But after riding the newer long travel enduro bikes, you realize just HOW BAD those DH bikes pedal.  To get any of kind of leg extension, you raise the seat and end up a foot behind the bottom bracket.  Goodbye knees.  

If you are super fit, I suppose you can pedal standing up the whole time. I used to do that, but I am not sure if I could do it anymore. AND...it sucks.  Truly.  

Unless you are going to be focusing on shuttling and pushing up, I would look for something a bit more pedal friendly.  a 160 F/R bike in the last few years will handle just about anything you will encounter.

Back in the day when real men were men and cassettes were half the size of your rear brake rotor.

Posted by: tashi

Is it time to post pics of our old AC's?  Mine was my last FS before I gave up the gnar.  Wasn't one of the cool bikes at the time but it was cheap and seemed to do the jerb!

Posted by: syncro

Back in the day when real men were men and cassettes were half the size of your rear brake rotor.

Posted by: tashi

Is it time to post pics of our old AC's?  Mine was my last FS before I gave up the gnar.  Wasn't one of the cool bikes at the time but it was cheap and seemed to do the jerb!

What is that funny looking thing above the bash guard? Kind of an odd looking chain guide.

That was just there so the chain had something to tangle on over rough terrain.

Giant AC and Norco VPS, name a more iconic og North Shore duo.

Posted by: Greasyone

One of my buddies works with a guy who has a 2014 Aurum 6.3 that he wants a G for.  It's 10 years newer than my bike, the seller did a few chairlift days per year with it, and the price seems right.  Bearing in mind that I'm currently riding an 04, do you think this is a good interim bike?  I still want to buy a newer one, but prices are pretty out of hand, and I'd like to be on something a little more modern...sort of ease into current geometry as it were.

They actually did a big Geo update for the '14 Aurum, it's got pretty modern reach and HA. The 26" wheels are the most out-of-date aspect, but the chain stays would be a bit on the short side for modern DH bikes. I know all this because I bought the same frame with full warranty from a shop 3+ years ago. It's currently in mullet form with a Dorado and 27.5 front wheel.

As everyone else is saying, no, you don't want to pedal that bike up hill. It would be terrible. Fun for the downs though.

Posted by: UFO

Giant AC and Norco VPS, name a more iconic og North Shore duo.

Banshee Scream and Monster T.

posted by: Greasyone

My younger, fitter cousin who I rode with a lot always pedalled a downhill bike up. He insisted he could keep up any climb.

For anything 15 minutes and under he could, otherwise it all fell apart. For an hour climb he would be like 20 minutes back.

yeah so imagine if he was on a bike that didn't suck to climb and remember we ride mtn bikes for fun ?

Posted by: UFO

Giant AC and Norco VPS, name a more iconic og North Shore duo.

Stiffee and a z1 with 5" springs and an envy arch.

The aurum is a medium anyway, I'm 6'2" and my knees don't bend enough without crunching noises to ride a bike that small.

The hunt continues.  We rode Doumont last night, with another old member of the band, on his brand new used demo 8.  Awesome time, despite making it back to town 7 hours before I had to start work.  I've gotta get an inner ring, I lost my chain half a dozen times just rattling it off my front rings.