That bike you had, you loved. They made a big splash at the time and you were sold into the hype. You wanted one, you had one, you loved it and now you're left wondering "Where did they all go?". They can't all have fallen into a landfill hole or the recycling skip can they?
Over the years they became unfashionable, worked their way to the back of the bike garage/shed before finally and sadly heading out on a run to the tip or worse ..... passed on to a non-cycling friend to abuse without any love or care.
I'll start with a Planet X Compo. Brant playing around with seat angles and tyre sizes .... definitely an early step on the journey from XC bikes of the '90s to the kind of bikes we ride today. Wacky head tube junction, loads of fun to ride, massively stiff. Forks were getting bigger, rims were getting wider, stems were getting shorter, bars were getting taller, bash rings were reducing the number of chainrings and bike weight was no longer the number one priority.
I loved mine but I have no idea when it disappeared from being a front line ride and how it moved out from my stable.
17" blue dragon paint job. You were so cool. How did I fall out of love with you?
Sadly, early digital camera photos of mine no longer exist but it looked very similar to this one.
Can't be many of these around. Felt like they had more than 140mm rear travel. They probably all cracked. This white frame was a replacement for a cracked frame. I miss those Fox Vanillas. The most buttery smooth fork over small bumps.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/5053/5537211316_cec693d7e1_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/5053/5537211316_cec693d7e1_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/9riE1C ]IMG_7875edit[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/colinhines26/ ]Colin[/url], on Flickr
My cove stiffee.
I gave up on it after 12 years when I got a geometron and couldn't swap back and forth between the knee smashing short top tube of the cove and the super long geometron.
It went down Fort William dh with box fresh 105mm forks and 130mm stem when I didn't realise I'd been sent the wrong stem. It was much better when I borrowed a 50mm.
It got a respray under warranty when the paint flaked of in thumbnail soaked flakes.
I raced it xc, I went cycle touring on it.
In hindsight I should have turned it into a gravel bike. The massive chain suck that had eaten into the chain stay was probably a reason to call it a day.
some serious seatpost extension there!
Turners
I have a Turner Flux hanging up in my garage.
Can’t be many of these around. Felt like they had more than 140mm rear travel. They probably all cracked. This white frame was a replacement for a cracked frame. I miss those Fox Vanillas. The most buttery smooth fork over small bumps
I had almost the exact same bike, until it…. Cracked, almost all the way around the headtube
My first hardtail was a Funk. Aluminium elevated chain stay frame with a Rockshox RS-1 up front. Cadbury purple paint job. Really enjoyed that bike but you never see e-stay bikes anymore
Turners
I'd still love a Turner. Red front end, yellow decals and a polished rear with a set of Judy DHs or DHOs/Boxxers.
It got a respray under warranty when the paint flaked of in thumbnail soaked flakes.
They all did that!
Turners
God I lusted after those. Saw one in the wild yesterday, rather ruined by the fact that he'd got narrow Schwalbe Winters on for the ice
el_boufadorFull Member
Turners
Lovely bikes. My 6-Pack was fantastic and the bike I'm trying to recreate with my Airdrop Edit MX.
I did have a carbon RFX but the quality off it was far below what I expected from Turner. I think it might well have been the bike that broke them
Shame they felt they had to go carbon. Aluminium seems to have come full circle now. Having said that, I think their manufacturing subby turned back to aerospace so that door closed to them anyway.
Jesus, the saddle to bar drop on that Cove.
They all did that!
Yep, mine too!
Warranty respray via Argos Racing Cycles (which was an excellent paint job). Mine never had chainsuck. Seemed to be hit and miss. Either you had it BADLY or it never happened at all.
Ran mine with RS Psylo forks, again they seemed to be either bombproof or they'd fall apart within months. Thankfully, mine were the bombproof version!
Did all sorts on that bike including Moab & Porcupine Rim.
Used to be you'd see loads of Stiffee and Handjob. Maybe the owners all grew up and realised the name was more cringe than hilarious...
Turners.....had the Xce rfx, flux, 5spot, sultan.
Rfx great bike.
Would love a up to date Turner in aluminum. Dw link ot horst link.
Double p
Dang the double post ! Don't see many of these any more only in my garage, the Hummer is my lifer , the adventures we've had together are just amazing.
On the subject of Cove our 9 year old grandson is giving the HJ a new lease of life , minus the offending decal !
DeKerf
Never had one but always wanted one
A guy i used to race with in the late 90's had some sort of deal with DeKerf, or possibly their importers. No idea.
Anyway, he used to turn up on a handful of new DeKerf bikes every year, only ones i truly lusted after was a deep deep metallic green cross bike and it's sibling, which matched geometry and equipment but was painted in some iridescent bronzy orange colour.
Unfortunately he was about 10-12 cm shorter than me, so i couldn't ever buy one of them when he sold them on.
Jesus, the saddle to bar drop on that Cove.
I had a bike fit and the bloke pointed out I'd been pedaling about with my toes pointed down. It was only a problem when I hit 40 and it started to cause knee pain. My saddle to bar drop is a lot closer to level now : )
A photo after the forks and handle bars got stolen from outside a hostel. I got a load of old bits a bike shop had kicking about and re built the front end to last another week round central Sweden
I also only see geometrons at the Dify bike park. There used to be one or two everywhere, but the early adopters have moved on to e bikes I guess
I'll nominate another PX, this time the Bommer. Steel version of the On-One Gimp, I had a black one that cracked and folded the down tube at Fort William. The crash replacement had a Daktari (cheetah print) paint job which was cool as **** but it was sold as soon as I had it to fund a 24 Le Toy (another unicorn these days, see also the .243 FR that replaced it).
I had a P-X Compo, don't think I ever saw another one though.
There was a time when every second bike seemed to be an Inbred of one flavour or another, then for years all the cool kid at Cannock were on Souls- it's been a while since I saw either now. Chameleon is a rarer beast now as well.
Lapierre – Zesty’s were everywhere for a few years, now you never see them.
That's what sprung to my mind for some reason. I had a 2009 that was my main bike until 2016. Agree that you used to see them everywhere.
I’ll nominate another PX, this time the Bommer. Steel version of the On-One Gimp,
The Gimp was steel wasn’t it?
There's been definite phases of bikes that were in vogue.
When I started riding in the late nineties, then through to about 2003, it was all Marins. They were cheap and light and simple enough that they worked well in the UK. Now you never see a Marin.
Then it seemed to be Specialized Enduros.
In the late 2000s, it was Cannondale Prophets, Commencal Metas then Lapierres. They were everywhere. Now you never see Lapierres and it's rare to see a Cannondale MTB that's not a Scalpel.
That then moved to Orange Fives. You couldn't move for them around 2010. And now, you'll not see an Orange.
Since Orange went out of fashion, Santa Cruz seems to be the brand. And at some point, they'll either forget what made their bikes appealing (like Lapierre, Orange, Cannondale and Marin) or rest on their laurels and no longer be the latest and greatest thing (like Specialized Enduros and Commencal Metas).
@oldfart, I think I bought that Hummer and those forks off you about 8 years ago?
I loaned it to a friend who used it at Cannock, got followed home then had it stolen off his drive.
Edit, just seen your second post. I must be mistaken of who I bought it off
There’s been definite phases of bikes that were in vogue.
…but where do all of those out of vogue bikes go? That’s a lot of mid/high end metal just slung into skips.
very niche forum centric bikes though mentioned, how many Compos were there in reality? couple of hundred? been here long back in the day enough to see 1000 trends come and go, Marin Mount Visions or B17's if you wanted more cush in the early years, Mavericks were de rigueur once, the On-One years, the Cove years, the Turner years, Lapierre years , half the forum seemingly on the same bike, same locally, one decent bike shop pushing certain bikes over the years, you'd barely see anything else, then they'd switch brands and everyone would jump
Edit: tldr - What he said…/\
Mavericks did well for a couple of summers
Whyte, after the PRST1 and 4, Marin-a-likes, 46 I think.
speaking of which, Marin Mount Vision and Mount Vision Pro, not long after they won that first Polaris (or trail quest, I forget) you could make an unbroken line of them all the way round coed y Brenin. £1500 for a full XT equipped full sus *reminisces*
Then it seemed to be Specialized Enduros.
And yes, that 2-3 years when MBR insisted that you simply weren't an MTBer unless you had a 6" adjustable travel Specialized Enduro.
They did move onto the Orange 5 after a while and every time Orange shifted the pivot point by half an inch, that model would be the best bike ever and what were you doing riding the old model?! The one that was the best bike ever last year but was now obsolete and incapable.
I had a dragon coloured compo with 130 mm pushed vanilla forks and a dark cycle bashring, loved it....until the frame cracked. So it ended up in the bin.
KHS ?
A very brief spell in the spotlight c.93 when I bought mine off the back of a glowing MBUK review. I think the next year they were pretty much gone. Lovely skinny True Temper steel frame, sadly it was nicked in commuter mode nearly 20 years later.
Fisher
My first mtb was a Hoo Koo e Koo and I also had a Rig (in purple natch) which was my first 29er
Always been around since the late 80's and then suddenly they weren't
Which is a shame
Coventry handjob
Although I know what happened to this one, I crashed it racing a friend to a corner on a fire road. Folded it and broke both magnesium braces if a set of pace forks
Salsa Spearfish and Horsethief. Or Salsa bikes in general. Had a Horsethief myself, complete with crazy saddle to bar drop. Used to be quite a number of them belonging to people I ride with. Don't see any now, other than the occasional gravel bike. Seemed like Salsa were ahead of the curve for a while but let it slip through their fingers. Then when new/updated models eventually came along they made them spectacularly undesirable with superboost.
I'm always wondering what happened to all those old bikes that used to be popular. Surely they're just hiding in the back of a shed rather taken to the tip?
I've got a Turner Flux and a Kona A-Ha hanging in bike room. Together with a built up Bontrager Race.
All are fantastic bikes of their time.
My current Canyon Lux is by far the better bike...
It feels like I'm riding around on a Ford though - the older bikes felt somehow more 'special' in my head ?
upgraded that to a lynksey rocketdog 😆
extra points for the ubiquitous fire xc, and irc mythos
On one's (in particular the rigid framesets)
Seemed every other bike was one 15 years ago, and as they are indestructible I wonder where all the inbreds and 456s are now.
@tomhoward Yes! I meant vertical dropout. Fanny.
@onzadog Tora had a nice e-stay prototype, not sure if they ever took it into production.
On where are they now?
I have a Pitch as my trail bike, a Ramin 1 for longer distance rides, a P7 sitting doing nothing (supposed to be a commuter but I don't do that any more), a Chameleon 5 and 2 Trailstars (Mk1 BMX and LT) in bits, my missus has an Inbred and my mate has a P3 and a 5.
I wonder where all the inbreds and 456s are now
My 456 is still in semi regular use by my son. It was bought originally because it had rack mounts and I wanted to take him cycling and I could fit a Topeak rack and seat. Both travelled on the back of it and now both are big enough to ride it!
The parts were mostly acquired/taken from a Specialized Enduro that I mostly didn't get on with in the 6 years I owned it.
Other things you don't see brown Puch bikes with green metal mudguards and a Sturmey Archer three speed hub gear (thank goodness).
How could I forget Mavericks...... I cycles pot de bales, perysoude, Cole de aspin and tourmelet on a ml 8 called cossete from Les mis.
Great bikes.
Owned a lot of bikes mentioned here but never got a de kerf.
Fat bikes... Once everywhere now gone
Semi fats like my trek stache - keeping it going but format dead
69ers - like my old school inbred - dead
650b/27.5 or whatever plus bikes - dead
Analogue bikes - where you have to pedal - dead, all e-bikes now
How times have changed.. Good thread.
Yeah fat bikes are back to being weird, I approve.
Lapierre Zestys and Spicys though, they were everywhere for a while but they've been erased from time now. I'd have killed for a Zesty 914.
I think most have been mentioned already. For me I think Orange is probably the biggest one, at one point you couldn't go riding anywhere without seeing one, but I can't remember the last time I saw one in the wild.
In the vein of high end boutique bikes (I see Dekerf has been mentioned) - Independent Fabrication. They used to be a dream bike, and I believe still exist, but I can't remember when I last saw them mentioned on the forum. I had one made in 2008 (ordered through Sideways Cycles - what happened to them?) and absolutely loved it, still ride it now (but mainly as a pump track bike, previously I was commuting on it). It still brings a smile to my face.
I wonder where all the inbreds and 456s are now
The 45650b I got on C2W 10 years ago is still in regular use by MrsFlyingOx
I always lusted after one of these:
but by the time I could afford one they'd stopped production.
Mentioning Indy Fab reminds me are Spot still going ? I seem to remember they were sold through Sideways Cycles ?
I have always tended to keep my bikes for quite a while to the point that they are unsalable when I replace them. So the back of the shed includes a c2001 Santa Cruz Superlight and c2009 Yeti 575. Mrs BH is similar and has a 2005 Superlight and a first generation Cotic Soda (probably still her favourite bike). Inexplicably I threw out a 1998 Voodoo Bizango which was based on a hand built frame. Maybe 10 years after purchase I was riding along the Isle of Wright downs and met a rider on a near-identical machine and we stopped and chatted, comparing builds. Mrs BH said it reminded her of two dogs meeting up and sniffing each other’s bottoms. 🙂
I’m always wondering what happened to all those old bikes that used to be popular. Surely they’re just hiding in the back of a shed rather taken to the tip?
I mentioned in another thread a few days ago that trail centres are often good places to spot retro MTBs.
Have a look for families, particularly Dad + kid(s). There's a fair chance either that the Dad will be on something from his past MTBing days or that an older kid might be on a hand-me-down.
A former commute route of mine (tarmac cycle path away from the road) was well used by local school kids. Most were on the usual BSO stuff but there was a schoolgirl, maybe about 14-15 years old on a really nice Kona Lava Dome from the mid-90's. Obviously a hand over from a parent. Saw her a few times along there.
I had a few comments from people who saw my old Cove Stiffee - I rode it at Leeds Urban Bike Park and Dalby with my nieces a few times. Once at LUBP, outside the cafe, it drew about half a dozen people all looking at it, was actually a bit embarrassing.
Charge bikes? Their hardtails were pretty popular for a few years but then focused on commuter/fixies, didn’t they?
Chumba HX hardtails. I bought one after the Singletrack review.
Ibis Mojo - used to see a fair few, can't remember the last time I saw an Ibis now. To be fair, I don't ride at many trail centres during daylight any more so generally don't see many other bikes full stop ?
Any Kona.
Charge bikes? Their hardtails were pretty popular for a few years but then focused on commuter/fixies, didn’t they?
@northwind complimented my duster skinny* once.
Then i remembered he had owned an ellesworth so i a not sure i should read much into his aesthetic taste.
DeKerf
Never had one but always wanted one
good shout, always wanted the dekerf softail. ended up with a moots YBB softail tho so cant complain (long gone now tho).
I wonder where all the inbreds and 456s are now
I've got 2 (geared inbred, 456 summer season) a guy i work with has two (SS Inbred, TInbred) and i see a couple of 29ers and a 45650b locked up in the bike sheds here.
They're all rusty, except the Ti. Obviously.
My lad still has an Inbred, built up with 3x9 Rapid Rise XT...
Too small for him now, but works for canal pootling type riding.
are Spot still going
Churning out carbon full bouncers in the US I think - a far cry from skinny steel singlespeeds...
Wonder where all these nice old bikes went to? They can't all be in use still - surely there must be lovely boutique bikes thrown in the back of sheds all over the place etc. Think my mate who has lived in Oz for 15+ years still has his loaded titanium Airborne in the back of his parent's shed...
I appear to have owned most of the bikes named in this thread! Turner, Cove, Inbreds + 456s etc. Of all of them, I'd probably have teh 5 Spot and Hummer back, if only to look at.
I'd add DMR- when I use to ride at Chicksands, there were loads of Trailstars and the like (I had one). Not seen any for years. I also had their more XC orientated Switchback, but I don't think I ever saw another one.
Spot are still going- different owners now but they make the Mayhem FS with a funky titanium leaf spring.
Another name that seems to be gone is Ellsworth. Remember all that patent stuff with Turner and Horst links back around 2000ish?
Not mine but I did have one. It was awful.
Yeah, that Cove is why we're all on 29ers now. I loved Cove bikes back in the day, I thought the the machined linkage on the G-spot was the coolest detail ever
TheFlyingOxFull
I always lusted after one of these:
but by the time I could afford one they’d stopped production.
I built up an El Guapo not long ago, from a frame a friend bought off On One but left in a shed unbuilt for about ten years
Yeah, that Cove is why we’re all on 29ers now. I loved Cove bikes back in the day, I thought the the machined linkage on the G-spot was the coolest detail ever
I came close to buying a G-Spot back in the day. Was working P/T at a bike shop in the Lake District (a Cove dealer) and they organised a demo day with various staff members guiding different loops so I "borrowed" the G-Spot which thankfully had air suspension F&R so I could easily set it up for me. I took it round the Borrowdale Bash and it absolutely steam-rollered all the descents. And it just looked really cool, a properly sorted suspension bike.
All I'd ridden up until then was XC full-sus bikes or my HT Cove so this was like going from a sports car to a monster truck! I did see sense before parting with the cash though, it was way too much bike for me.
Had an azonic ds2. Don't think I have pics but spent pretty much my teenage years hopping that thing around with mates. Got stolen in the end 🙁
Anyway, haven't seen an azonic frame for years but I googled and they don't make them anymore so that'll be why
Wonder where all these nice old bikes went to? They can’t all be in use still – surely there must be lovely boutique bikes thrown in the back of sheds all over the place etc.
Willing to bet that many of them you simply can't get parts for any more, especially suspension innards. Decent 26" wheelsets are few and far between now too.
I sold my Cove Stiffee on ebay about 18 months ago; it ended up being bought by a self-confessed bike collector / fettler who seemed to have a hobby / sideline in stripping and rebuilding all sorts of random bikes. Nice guy. Anyway, I was fully aware on the few occasions I rode it that if anything broke, it'd likely mean a very time-consuming list of repairs simply because everything was obsolete.
ISIS BB and cranks, 26" QR wheels, 3x10 gears, one-piece brake/shifter units so if the gears went, I'd need new brakes too... TF Tuned - who used to service all my suspension back in the day - had long before warned that my RS Psylo's were on probably the last service they'd manage because they were wearing out and even TF could no longer get the parts...
I built up an El Guapo not long ago
Still a thing of beauty in my eyes
Was going to mention Azonic, (who are still going, who knew?!) had a DS1 Evo that was stiffer than an Amsterdam window cleaner, but was my first non-BSO bike. Would have been 2002/3ish I think.
Sold it to a family friend to get a Kona Stinky.
No "fashionable on the forum" list is complete without the Yeti 575
Cotic Soul surely, it seemed to be the most popular 26er HT, certainly on here, for many years
Willing to bet that many of them you simply can’t get parts for any more, especially suspension innards. Decent 26″ wheelsets are few and far between now too.
Plenty of serviceable (if not high end) forks out there though. Open bath era Marzocchis will still be going in another 20 years as long as they're treated well (but fatigue will catch up at some point).
Wheels actually have options, there are still good rims out there, just not as much choice or as cheap as they once were.
But yeah, it's the daft bits that will get you. When I got my Pitch I was all for setting it up as 2x until I couldn't find the special type1/2 derailleur mount anywhere. Similarly I got the only set of (available) derailleur dropouts in the world from the US for my Chameleon as it only had the single speed dropouts when I got it. Still in their packet, of course. Trailstars are less of an issue, they still do the Mk2 APS mounts.
@alex pretty sure the Switchback was also released as the Kinesis Virsa
