more old bikes

two great old bikes found on ebay recently;

1995 Brodie Expresso.  i'm not a fan of the paint job, but it's a high quality job by Toxik Harold, and both the Syncros stem and super rare Brodie Gatorblade fork are painted to match.

along with late 80's/early 90's Fishers, an old Brodie is probably one of the rarest bikes to find for sale in my experience.  you could argue that 1995 is out of the handbuilt era for Brodie, but there was a limited run of the old bikes made and this is one of them.  the seller states that Brodie had to dig up an old Gatorblade for this frame when he ordered it, so considering that, the threaded headset, and the Syncros stem, you've got yourself a terrific replica of a 1991 Brodie right here.

which is a great segue to this beauty;

this amazing 1991 Kona Explosif has lead a sheltered life in a Zurich shop and has seen limited use.  

i can still see in my mind's eye, the Explosif that River Valley had on display at it's Whyte ave location the first time i was in there.  maybe the only bike that made more of an impression on me in my formative cycling years was the '91 Blizzard.  these are slightly more common than the Brodies, but not by much.

one thing i have to mention; the seller is selling a Project Track Two fork and Impact headset - both items that need to be on this frame - in a separate auction.  it drives me CRAZY when people do this.  from a restoration stand point, those parts are a perfect match, but the seller wants to try and squeeze a few more dollars out of his sale.  douche move my friend...

TeamCow strongly frowns upon this practise.

references;

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140510973650&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_1156

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200575349414&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_29809wt_1139

old bikes

i love looking for old bikes on ebay, if you've read any of this blog you've already figured that out i'm sure.  i love it when i find something that was extra special in it's day.  usually i was never in a position to buy those bikes back then, but today, it's at least possible.
< sometimes though, when i find something really cool, i have to wonder just how good it really is.

this is a Mantis Pro-Floater - one the best suspension bikes of the early era of suspension. handmade by Richard Cunningham in the early 90's.  it was lighter than most bikes at the time, and rode better as well.  by all accounts, it may have been the best suspension bike there was.

in the early 90's.

it was cool to find this as they are pretty rare - in the history of the BikeGuide i only ever found one for sale - but when i saw this, i couldn't help but wonder how it rides.  look at those tiny tubes, pivot points, and that noleen shock.  it all looks so fragile.

it'll have great value to collectors (well maybe not this one so much, read the auction and you'll find that it's broken!) looking to get what they couldn't get back in the day, but i doubt anyone is buying this because they intend to built the best trail bike they can.  or at least i hope they aren't doing that.  i'd think that even an entry-level bike from Rocky or Devinci would be so much better that the Mantis would be laughable by comparison.

or would it?

would nearly 20 years of advancement in frame tube shaping and stiffness, suspension damping, and pivot bearings trump Cunnigham's innate ability to build a great bike?  

i'd love to find out, so please send me an old Mantis, and a new Rocky, and i'll devise some scientific testing to come up with an answer for you.


references;

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160538045885&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_2735wt_1139