If you were forced to downgrade your bike, which parts would you insist on keeping?

Wondering just how much people can simplify their bike(s) before it loses its fun factor, and which major parts will be least missed and which parts are most vital for safe enjoyment.

Or think of it the other way, what would you do to a 1980s era bike to make it enjoyable and able to hang with your usual crew of riding buddies? Any modern innovations to address the annoyances and inconveniences that you would find worth its cost?

Note - Burt, you're excluded from this thread.

 

Cathy was on a 1995 Proflex and I just recently bought her a 2011 Composite Specialized Stumpjumper with 5 inches of squish and a 2x10 transmission. It was night and day!
Excluding @burt , I'm not sure many would give up much of what they have. Cathy no longer has wrist and elbow issues from gripping so tight due the poor suspension beating her up. The gearing is so advanced from a 3x9 to the 2x10, her climbing skills are improved to shave 10 to 20 minutes on some of the longer climbs as she is more comfortable. What's interesting is she has gone to flats as oppose to being clipped in to Speedplay's.

I think my regression would look like this (from first to give up, to last to give up):
1) Shimano Shadow Plus RD to stock XT RD
2) Dropper Post
3) Composite back to Aluminum
4) Maxxis DHF/DHRII back to Schwalbe Hans Dampf/Nobby Nic
5) WTB i25's back to stock wheels
6) Tubeless back to Tubes
7) Fox 36 Fork back to Elastomer
8) Ice Tech back to Rim Brakes
9) 3x10 back to 3x8
10) Clips back to Flats with Straps
11) Current Saddle back to crappy Saddle

 

The air caps on my stems. That's it.

(That's the only thing I'd give up)

 

You can have my 21st century seatpost and stem...cable housings too.

Mikie, don't think I could give up my shadow plus RD so quickly!

 

I would absolutely keep my dropper post.

I think I'm criminally under using my Cane Creek Inline though. I've not once touched any of the settings. (The factory defaults are good... But I doubt flawless).

 

I fixed up my commuter bike, 1990 Merlin Ti mtb and put back on all the mtb parts. XT 3X8 drivetrain, wtb rollercam brakes, and a typical variety of period-specific parts. Took her out for a Brown Mtn run. F-that! We have come a long way....ain't no going back, for me!

 

I like my saddles a lot (WTB Devo/Deva Ti).
But the only thing I must have is tubeless wheel/tires combo.
The rest is just different parts. It all works pretty good.
And parts are parts!

 

Derailluers

 

Somehow, I think a lot of us saw this answer coming... I may join you in the near future, but only for a visit to test the waters.

For me... I wouldn't give up modern brakes and wheels. I think the disc brake is the best invention since sliced bread, and I will never buy another bike without them- road or mountain.

As far as derailleurs and shifting, I still had a road bike with friction shifting until very recently. It never went "out of whack" and I could feel the shifts in my sleep. I really don't think index shifting was all that much of a progression, and in some ways, it's a pain in the behind. And there hasn't been much progress in derailleur technology ever... They get lighter and faster, but they still work basically the same. Can you tell that I'm talking myself into trying the el Mar as a single speed?

 

Clown wheels!
True, 27.5 and 29 roll better but for me 26" is still way more fun to ride.

 

Let your retro-grouch flag fly!

 

I'll have to get some tattoos, wear a lot of flannel, find a good beer, and ditch the suspension fork next...

 

And wear your sister's tight pants. Also snub your nose at any other SS rider that cannot run 2:1 gearing.

 

You say all that like it's a bad thing...

 

Without a doubt, I would never give up good, one finger disc brakes. Second would be a low and slack geo frame (that's considered a "part" right?). Three others I would beg/borrow/steal to keep are modern stiff/light-ish fork (coil is fine though), dropper seat post and quick engaging rear hub (it really makes a difference to me)... probably a light-ish wheelset, yeah and light, tuff and grippy tires. That's all I really need, drivetrain preferences aside

 

I could not give up modern disc brakes and suspension. I could live without the clutch rear derailleur, dropper post and other modern parts.

 

I could live without the suspension fork. That would also shed three lbs or so.

 

I would air up my 195 velociraptors on my 1986 mtn goat and ride

 

I would downgrade the rider and hang onto all the other bike parts.

 

Having gone back and rejuvenated my 1989 Nishiki Cascade, then only riding it once on dirt because I couldn't believe how badly it sucked, here's my order (most precious top, least precious on the bottom):
Geometry
Brakes
Tires
Fork
Shifting
Rear Suspension
Frame Material

 

Most important to keep:

1.) GOOD suspension fork
2.) Thru Axles
3.) Geometry including slack head angle, wide bars and short stem
4.) Great hydraulic brakes with one-finger action
5.) Clutch derailleur
6.) Maxxis Minions
7.) Wheelset

To keep from my 1990 bike?
Saddle was fine.
Grips were OK
XT Derailleurs shifted every bit as well as today's
Pedals and cranks were fine (XT and SPD)
Shifters worked well (XT 8 spd)
Wheels were OK (Mavic rims on Ringle hubs).
Tubes are fine
Panaracer Smoke/Dart combo was OK, but not near how Maxxis perform.
Rigid post with quick release ain't no big deal - I'm not a "dropper post or die" kinda guy.

 

Blasphemy! And clearly, the reason you don't think much of your suspension fork is because it only weighs 3 lbs. Must be a flexy SID or something. Ride a manly fork and it will go to the top of your list!


Nah - ride what ya like. I'm just provokin' (waving smiley)

And Mikie - going back to Schwalbes is not exactly in the spirit of the challenge. There were no Schwalbe's in the late 1980s / early 90s.

 

AGREED...
OK but in keeping with the spirit of this post, the only thing I would ever give up is a rear shock. I have not ridden a HT in over 20yrs.

 

The thing that matters to me the most has always been good brakes. Though not a whole lot of old bikes had tabs for them, so I may as well keep my nice bikes. hahaha

 

- Need a set of 1" bars, headset, and fork to go with it?

Cable housing back in the day was so bad that they tried to run as little of it as possible to reduce friction. Your frame intended for full cable housing? Pre-lubed compressionless housings with plastic liners, like Shimano SP41 and Jagwire LEX S3, are great advances.

Seatposts were steel and rusted back then. I know my '93 seatpost seized in the frame after my parents left it outside for the winter, likely to make it easier to get the snowblower in and out of the shed. Some evidence of shitty posts back then using cheap aluminum in higher end lightweight bikes.

Big brother government agencies have implemented many minimum safety standards that parts must pass to be retailed within the country since then. I don't think any dropper posts pass the one for fixed seatposts besides the Fox DOSS and Vecnum MoveLoc.

 

We just got in the shop two old Manitou forks with elastomers that are returning to petroleum products. One came off a Diamond Back Vertex and the other is a Klein Pinnacle. They both wanted them rebuilt. I will take my new Fox 34 anyday over those forks.

 

Had all the steel components and SIS shifters and housings on my first schwinn bike in 94, they did what they were supposed to. My late 90's aluminum seatpost, stem and housings were pretty good too actually. Parts have gotten lighter, probably stronger too but I'd be missing many other components before these.

 

Hah! Good point. I was sponsored by Onza and we rode Porcupines (LOVED THEM!) In fact when they stopped making Porcupines, our team bought out whatever they had left in their warehouse stock just so we had them for however long they would last.

 

Agree with Faustie: wheels and brakes.