The Good Old Days?

Even I tend to wax poetic about the way things were "back in the day" when bikes were steel (mostly) and gears were fewer and farther between.  I had one bike, not a quiver.  It was my mountain bike.  It did it all.  We never even considered more than one bike for different types of riding.  Heck there were no different types of riding.  There were just mountain bike rides.  Up down, rough, hike-a-bike, wet, bumpy, smooth...they were just rides.

So the other day an old friend called who used to ride all the time but traded his cycling time in for horses and hiking boots.  He got his old bike out of the rafters, dusted it off and found that the elastomers in the Manitou 1 fork had gone to mush and he guessed that:

1. I could actually take the fork apart (yes, I still have the long allen wrench for that)
2. I might have some elastomers around (I do...and springs and crowns and arch braces and etc)
3. I could actually put it back together ( yes, but it took a bit to remember the bushing trick)

So here is a fine example of what we rode then, built for a near 6'3" guy from Tange steel, mini brazed by Curtlo Cycles, painted by Shades (an early job I think...maybe even Imron), and still running stuff like a Hyperlight Bar and bar ends, XT grouppo, Mavic rims, etc.  Love the HUUUUGe big chain wheel and the stem that shames Pinocchio.

The good old days?  1.5" of travel in a wiggly fork?  150mm stem and too short top tube?  Rim brakes?  I bet this bike came with a rigid fork originally.

Let's talk weight.  The heaviest bike I have is a 130mm travel XL 29er FS with moderate parts and a dropper post.  All in it is 31lbs or so with pedals.  My XC bikes are all under 25 and some well under like the SS.

This baby?  33.5lbs.  Really?  Really.

Ooff.

I think I will stay in the future if it is all the same to you.