Welcome to VintageMTBR:

The idea for this site came about after I tried getting information on a certain bike on a certain vintage mountain biking forum. Apparently the bike I was asking about wasn't desirable enough for some members to waste their time on."Nothing special" was a quote from one member.Thanks for the useless comment.
Then it hit me;Duh! Why not post photos and information of the mountain bikes I ride and share them with others?

When mountain biking became a big trend during the 1980s most bikes ended up in the garage or rotting away in a backyard or storage locker for years.They ended up in a flea market or thrift shop often selling for around $20 bucks. Most of the bikes I've found are missing parts like wheels,have a ton of crude and grease and scratches. But it is always obvious they have never seen a real trail besides the local bike/jog/mom and baby stroller multi-use paths. So what I do is fix them up keeping them as OEM as possible,maybe even throw on a period correct aftermarket upgrade and take it out for a real trail ride and abuse it the way it was meant to be ridden and report back the results. Maybe these bikes aren't as desirable as a hand-built custom but I've never had one leaving me stranded in the middle of no-where.

About my bikes:

For me 1989 and 1990 bikes have the best geometry of the early mountain bikes.

The bikes I look for have Shimano XTR, XT and Deore or Suntour XC Expert and XC Pro components.

Shimano and Suntour thumbshifters are prefered over rapidfire style shifters because these haven't been reliable for me over the years though I think having shift levers where your thumbs are is a good idea.. Suntour X-1 shifters are the worst I've used.

My prefered aftermarket items are early Specialized Ground Controls and Sella Italia Flite saddles on my bikes. I also like Tioga T-Bone stems between 140mm and 150mm with a .5 degree rise. Taperlite and Hyperlite XC bars are my favorite but so far have been hard to find. I also like Ritchey True Grips.

I like the 1989/1990 straight fork era,wishbone rear stays and elevated chain stay designs. Any frame design that separated early mountain bikes from diamond frame style road bikes is a good thing for me.

I think the oversized 1 1/8" head tube size was a good idea.

I used to hate Shimano Biopace and I would switch to round rings in a heartbeat but these days I really can't tell the difference between the two chainrings styles. Now I keep Biopace to keep a bike as OEM as possible.

I prefer frame sizes between 17.5" to 20" max but I've pushed it to 21.5" just so I can see how the bike rides.
I should be riding a 17" frame but sometimes I find this frame size too cramped unless it has a 22" or 22.5" top tube. This top tube size helps me center my weight for climbing.

My riding style is fast XC with twisty switchbacks and steep climbing.

Fixies and Townies are the big thing these days and that's okay with me. Thing is a mountain bike can go anywhere,take the abuse and introduce someone to explore new,far off areas away from the multi-use trail.

Hope the photos and information helps in anyway. By the way. I have ridden good bikes and crappy bikes. Not all hi-end bikes ride like a dream and not all low-buck bikes ride like pigs. Just saying...

Thanks for dropping by.

Joe.