First MTB comparable to what you can get for vintage roadbikes

Hi everyone,

I am for a while riding and buying secondhand vintage roadbikes. I feel comfortable with secondhand vintage roadbikes as you can pick up pretty good quality ones for just USD200, columbus steel and quite reliable components, Italian and Japanese for example, and they are rather simple and transparent machines.

Now I wonder if anything similar exists for MTB. I cannot afford anything above USD300, and I have a feeling that with this budget I can only get cheap frames and components. Any thoughts?

Comments

  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    Vintage I.e between 50 and 100 years old. I don’t think there will be many mountain bikes that old.
  • mully79
    mully79 Posts: 904
    I'll just chuck in some old school mtbs I lusted after back in the day.
    Alpinestars Al Mega
    Kirk Revolution
    Yeti ARC
    Any Pace framed mtb or any retro frame with a Pace Rc35 suspension fork.
    Orange P7
    Cannondales with the head shock or massive aluminium tubes. (cant remember the names)
    Whyte PRST-1
  • mully79
    mully79 Posts: 904
    GT Zaskar
    Kona Cinder cone
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,325
    There was a Zaskar LE listed in Brighton recently. Something like that would be better than the same money spent on a cheap new bike. Unfortunately I don't think the Sussex coast is very local if the OP is talking about values in USD.
  • rafletcher
    rafletcher Posts: 1,235
    Kona Cinder Cone is one. I had a Trek 520 back in the day, cracking ride, and of course thumbie shifters.
  • steve_sordy
    steve_sordy Posts: 2,446
    When did MTB even start? Was it the late 80's? They had balloon tyres and no suspension I think. I wasn't in to cycling then so maybe others who were could add more light.
  • mully79
    mully79 Posts: 904
    I raced in the youth category at the Cheshire classic mtb race in the early 90's. The team raleigh works rider out front had the only suspension fork in the race. (He lapped me !)
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    edited February 2021
    I have re acquired my old mountain bike a Raleigh Special products Titanium hard tail with Judy super light rockshocks. Bought 1996 one of the welds developed a hairline crack 1997. Took bike in to shop on Monday, got a call on the Thursday to say it was ready to pick up rebuilt with a new frame.