Who sells MTB's not made for suspension forks?

I'm thinking about maybe retiring my 10 year old mountain bike (which I use
for commuting), since a lot of components could really use replacing now and
it will probably be cheaper to replace the whole thing.

The bike was made the last year that Mongoose was selling the bikes without
suspension forks and the geometry is specific to having no suspension fork.
I love the geometry of the whole bike.. it's a 16" frame I think too. I've
tried modern mountain bikes and hate the geometry of them. I find suspension
forks to be useless when commuting (i'd rather hit on occasional bone-jarrer
than pogo around the streets), unless the tech has really changed since my
Mag 21 I had. I also don't like the riser bars or anything on modern mtbs...

I've looked at lots of brands and I can't find anything with the geometry
I'd like. Maybe I'm missing something? Or maybe I should just spend the cash
and replace all the things that need replacing on my bike (rims are REALLY
worn from years of MTB racing, chainrings were gone 2 years ago, cassette,
cassette body.. etc. headset is missing a seal too).

Frame materials don't really matter to me, I can't really tell the
difference. Component wise, I'm perfectly happy with my 10 year old XT 7s
rapidfire system, so I'm sure anything in the deore range would be fine. I'd
just want something that will last equally as long anyways..



--
Mike Beauchamp
http://www.therevox.com - custom electro-theremins and stuff.
http://www.mikebeauchamp.com - mike's personal site.

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 00:31:20 -0400, "Mike Beauchamp"
wrote:

I'm thinking about maybe retiring my 10 year old mountain bike (which I use
for commuting), since a lot of components could really use replacing now and
it will probably be cheaper to replace the whole thing.


I don't know the various manufacturers making models along similar
lines, but I know that Marin isn't the only one-

http://www.marinbikes.com/html/bikes_04_urban.html

Kona, I believe, has something similar.

Last year I was looking for something similar to what you describe- a
'mountain bike' of older design, no shock, etc., to replace a mid-80s
frame and failing components. I settled on the Marin Muirwoods and
have found it to fit my purposes well. Including light off-road rides.
Look at the geometry of various makers' lines and see if they come
close to the present bike.

The other option is careful collection of parts and a frame and
putting it together yourself. I bought a Marin Eldridge frame for $35
and cobbled together a great bike from random parts. Never as cheap as
I hope, but I still had a better bike than I could buy for the money
new.

Or finding a used one. I found a used Trek 950, no shock, 1994 or so,
that had low miles. Cleaning and new brake pads and I had a great
bike. Some doctor, while a student, had bought it and never had time
to ride it. It takes time to stumble across them but they are out
there.

Those bikes are nice, I like the simple paint schemes. Nothing obnoxious.

I did find this bike, which looks AWESOME:
http://www.konaworld.com/2k4bikes/2k4_dr_dew.cfm

and the cheaper versions:
http://www.konaworld.com/2k4bikes/2k4_dew_dlx.cfm
http://www.konaworld.com/2k4bikes/2k4_dew.cfm

They actually look similar to my bike actually.. especially with the 1.2"
hutchinson slicks I'm using.

--
Mike Beauchamp
http://www.therevox.com - custom electro-theremins and stuff.
http://www.mikebeauchamp.com - mike's personal site.


"Dan Daniel" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 00:31:20 -0400, "Mike Beauchamp"
wrote:

I'm thinking about maybe retiring my 10 year old mountain bike (which I
use
for commuting), since a lot of components could really use replacing now
and
it will probably be cheaper to replace the whole thing.


I don't know the various manufacturers making models along similar
lines, but I know that Marin isn't the only one-

http://www.marinbikes.com/html/bikes_04_urban.html

Kona, I believe, has something similar.

Last year I was looking for something similar to what you describe- a
'mountain bike' of older design, no shock, etc., to replace a mid-80s
frame and failing components. I settled on the Marin Muirwoods and
have found it to fit my purposes well. Including light off-road rides.
Look at the geometry of various makers' lines and see if they come
close to the present bike.

The other option is careful collection of parts and a frame and
putting it together yourself. I bought a Marin Eldridge frame for $35
and cobbled together a great bike from random parts. Never as cheap as
I hope, but I still had a better bike than I could buy for the money
new.

Or finding a used one. I found a used Trek 950, no shock, 1994 or so,
that had low miles. Cleaning and new brake pads and I had a great
bike. Some doctor, while a student, had bought it and never had time
to ride it. It takes time to stumble across them but they are out
there.

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 00:31:20 -0400, "Mike Beauchamp"
wrote in message
:

I'm thinking about maybe retiring my 10 year old mountain bike (which I use
for commuting), since a lot of components could really use replacing now and
it will probably be cheaper to replace the whole thing.

Have you considered a hybrid? If you don't want offroad ability and
don't want suspension forks, a hybrid is pretty much purpose-built for
commuting.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004, Mike Beauchamp wrote:

I find suspension
forks to be useless when commuting (i'd rather hit on occasional bone-jarrer
than pogo around the streets),

And all the energy that the shock is dissipating is your energy that isn't
being used to propel you forward.

Don donwiss at panix.com.

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 03:29:31 -0400, "Mike Beauchamp"
wrote:

Those bikes are nice, I like the simple paint schemes. Nothing obnoxious.


Yeah, after an afternoon of looking at Trek & Specialized and other
gaudy paint and decal schemes, that might have been the first thing
that made me look at the Muirwoods- simple, clean, quiet look.

I did find this bike, which looks AWESOME:
http://www.konaworld.com/2k4bikes/2k4_dr_dew.cfm


Very nice look to the Dew line. I know a couple of people with the Dew
and the Dr. Dew and they love them.

and the cheaper versions:
http://www.konaworld.com/2k4bikes/2k4_dew_dlx.cfm
http://www.konaworld.com/2k4bikes/2k4_dew.cfm

They actually look similar to my bike actually.. especially with the 1.2"
hutchinson slicks I'm using.

You said that you don't want riser bars, so as you look think about
making a change at purchase. Same with tires. Don't let parts that are
easily swapped out be a big part of the final decision. Basic geometry
and quality of ride, then fine tune some of the peripheral parts.

You said that you don't want riser bars, so as you look think about
making a change at purchase. Same with tires. Don't let parts that are
easily swapped out be a big part of the final decision. Basic geometry
and quality of ride, then fine tune some of the peripheral parts.

Yeah man.. while pretty obvious, this is good advice to anyone. The bike
can't fit PERFECT out of the box. Some things like handlebars, seats and
stems and stuff all might need replacing.

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 00:31:20 -0400, "Mike Beauchamp"
wrote:

I'm thinking about maybe retiring my 10 year old mountain bike (which I use
for commuting), since a lot of components could really use replacing now and
it will probably be cheaper to replace the whole thing.

The bike was made the last year that Mongoose was selling the bikes without
suspension forks and the geometry is specific to having no suspension fork.
I love the geometry of the whole bike.. it's a 16" frame I think too. I've
tried modern mountain bikes and hate the geometry of them. I find suspension
forks to be useless when commuting (i'd rather hit on occasional bone-jarrer
than pogo around the streets), unless the tech has really changed since my
Mag 21 I had. I also don't like the riser bars or anything on modern mtbs...

I'm new to biking, not having ridden since HS, now 48. I just got a
Giant Yukon with Suntour suspension fork. I adjusted the preload (I
weigh 120 KG). I forget its a suspension fork until I hit something
which compresses the shocks and absorbs the impact. I am very
impressed with this rig. It does not pogo at all.

snip

Michael J. Klein
Dasi Jen, Taoyuan Hsien, Taiwan, ROC
Please replace mousepotato with asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 03:29:31 -0400, "Mike Beauchamp"
wrote:

Those bikes are nice, I like the simple paint schemes. Nothing obnoxious.

I did find this bike, which looks AWESOME:
http://www.konaworld.com/2k4bikes/2k4_dr_dew.cfm

Looks like a Giant to me, with the sloping tube.

Michael J. Klein
Dasi Jen, Taoyuan Hsien, Taiwan, ROC
Please replace mousepotato with asiancastings
---------------------------------------------