Bob98SR5
07-29-2008, 12:28 AM
Back in 1989, I saw my first mountain bike race on a tv news show. It was one of those, "Ok, I gotta go buy one" moments. So I bought a Specialized Rock Hopper, which was a cool bike at the time, but a giant fat pig. But it gave me my first taste of mountain biking.
Fast forward a few years, and I'm in college and working part time. I started reading a little more about mountain bikes. There was this obscure company called "Bridgestone". I didn't equate it with the tire company, even despite its familiar logo. So I started reading more and more about the company and its quirky marketing and parts philosophy. It seemed that this company was willing to go out on a limb and hand select components from different companies instead of buying the whole "groupo (what a flamingly word...grouppo)." Not to mention, this thing was made in Japan. I am a big fan of Japanese and German products, so this fit my quality purchase philosophy.
I saved pretty much all my non-tuition part time money to buy this bike. So in the summer of 1991, I bought my first real mountain bike, the Bridgestone MB-2:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w177/bob98sr5/4Runner/bridgestone-mb2.jpg
Wow, when I took it out on the lot, it was something else. It just fit well. And when I first took it on the trails in Riverside (cough, cough...gasp...air), I was in love. Man, I rode that thing wherever and whenever I got the change. It had Diacomp cantilever brakes (spongy, but predictable) as well as Deore DX thumbshifters. Who remembers thumb shifters!!! :D Well guess what? I love those thumbies even today, though I set it on friction mode like a 10 speed.
So after college, I started to ride less and less. New bikes came on the scene, I tested a few of them, but they didn't fit right. Back then, all the rage was aluminium tubing, especially made popular especially by Cannondale, and later, Trek and Specialized. But you know, to this day, nothing feels as good as Tange Prestige steel. Nice, forgiving and predictable feel. I started to find reasons to ride again. There was a local trail and I decided I need to upgrade parts. The first thing I did was to ditch the cantilever brakes, the Richie fork had to go, and the seat had to go as well. So I replaced all of the above with Shimano XT brakes, Specialized Air/oil shocks (cheapy), and a Specialized saddle. But if there was one thing that I really wanted was the Rock Shox Mag 21s. Boy, those shocks were the shiznit. Fully adjustable and Gold like Flavah flav's mouth. I yearned to have them, but I could not justify dropping down the bucks.
16 years later, a random Crazedlist.org's search and lo and behold, some fella up in Alameda, CA is selling them. $50 with shipping. I email the guy and say "$50 shipped" and he agrees. Three days later, I'm polishing this thing like a freakin' Oscar:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w177/bob98sr5/4Runner/mag21s.jpg
I'm going to refurb my trusty MB-2 and find a nice place for it in my garage once I clean it out and build my biodiesel processing system. I'm going to make sure my MB-2 is no longer left outside to weather and suffer another cold winter out in the elements. I must say that of all the mods/upgrades, none of them did this bike any good. I hope though, that the Mag 21s are going to be different. I'm on the hunt for the original parts. I am kicking myself in the ass for throwing them away. I especially want to buy some Deore DX pedals with the toe clips. I remember they were so easy to get in and get out, perfect for riding to school and on campus. Not all gay looking in clipless shoes and clippety clopping around like a fool on a stool on campus. On that note: hey Chang, were you one of those flamers?!? :)
Guys: where's the best place to look for old parts?
So welcome home, my friend. You have some new (front) legs. My apologies for taking off your original parts and neglecting you for so long. Don't worry, my friend, we'll be off again.
(Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to take you down memory lane) :)
Bob
Fast forward a few years, and I'm in college and working part time. I started reading a little more about mountain bikes. There was this obscure company called "Bridgestone". I didn't equate it with the tire company, even despite its familiar logo. So I started reading more and more about the company and its quirky marketing and parts philosophy. It seemed that this company was willing to go out on a limb and hand select components from different companies instead of buying the whole "groupo (what a flamingly word...grouppo)." Not to mention, this thing was made in Japan. I am a big fan of Japanese and German products, so this fit my quality purchase philosophy.
I saved pretty much all my non-tuition part time money to buy this bike. So in the summer of 1991, I bought my first real mountain bike, the Bridgestone MB-2:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w177/bob98sr5/4Runner/bridgestone-mb2.jpg
Wow, when I took it out on the lot, it was something else. It just fit well. And when I first took it on the trails in Riverside (cough, cough...gasp...air), I was in love. Man, I rode that thing wherever and whenever I got the change. It had Diacomp cantilever brakes (spongy, but predictable) as well as Deore DX thumbshifters. Who remembers thumb shifters!!! :D Well guess what? I love those thumbies even today, though I set it on friction mode like a 10 speed.
So after college, I started to ride less and less. New bikes came on the scene, I tested a few of them, but they didn't fit right. Back then, all the rage was aluminium tubing, especially made popular especially by Cannondale, and later, Trek and Specialized. But you know, to this day, nothing feels as good as Tange Prestige steel. Nice, forgiving and predictable feel. I started to find reasons to ride again. There was a local trail and I decided I need to upgrade parts. The first thing I did was to ditch the cantilever brakes, the Richie fork had to go, and the seat had to go as well. So I replaced all of the above with Shimano XT brakes, Specialized Air/oil shocks (cheapy), and a Specialized saddle. But if there was one thing that I really wanted was the Rock Shox Mag 21s. Boy, those shocks were the shiznit. Fully adjustable and Gold like Flavah flav's mouth. I yearned to have them, but I could not justify dropping down the bucks.
16 years later, a random Crazedlist.org's search and lo and behold, some fella up in Alameda, CA is selling them. $50 with shipping. I email the guy and say "$50 shipped" and he agrees. Three days later, I'm polishing this thing like a freakin' Oscar:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w177/bob98sr5/4Runner/mag21s.jpg
I'm going to refurb my trusty MB-2 and find a nice place for it in my garage once I clean it out and build my biodiesel processing system. I'm going to make sure my MB-2 is no longer left outside to weather and suffer another cold winter out in the elements. I must say that of all the mods/upgrades, none of them did this bike any good. I hope though, that the Mag 21s are going to be different. I'm on the hunt for the original parts. I am kicking myself in the ass for throwing them away. I especially want to buy some Deore DX pedals with the toe clips. I remember they were so easy to get in and get out, perfect for riding to school and on campus. Not all gay looking in clipless shoes and clippety clopping around like a fool on a stool on campus. On that note: hey Chang, were you one of those flamers?!? :)
Guys: where's the best place to look for old parts?
So welcome home, my friend. You have some new (front) legs. My apologies for taking off your original parts and neglecting you for so long. Don't worry, my friend, we'll be off again.
(Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to take you down memory lane) :)
Bob