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Marzocchi? However it's spelled, they're beyond cool
Marzocchi_XC500_1994.jpg

Also a fan of 90s graphic design: WE HAVE COMPUTERS NOW!!!!
 
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This guy has a few things worked out
https://bikepacking.com/bikes/benedicts-crust-romanceur/
Excerpts:

-"I encourage folks to get creative and build these bikes with the plethora 90s MTB parts that are just waiting to have a second chance at the shralp."

On wide drop handlebars: "The kinds of bikes we are riding drop bars on now are essentially what we rode on mountain bikes in the 90s"

-"Will you ever give up on square taper? Nope; no reason to. The industry has been chasing its tail with BB standards since 1998 and they still haven’t found anything as simple, reliable, smooth, and inexpensive. Not to mention beautiful."

-"All the best parts have already been made in huge quantities. Those parts were built to last, unlike what you’d find today. There is little risk in finding them used, even if they’re 25 years old. "
Loved this interview. Lot's of insight. Thanks!
 
Special Bike SHOPS I like edition.
North Shore history lesson:
https://nsmb.com/articles/history-of-the-north-shore/The article is a bit long winded, and perhaps hyperbolic, but you gotta check out the pics. These cats were doin' it!
“'Looking at it from the outside, it seemed a little unprofessional. They opened at noon so they could waterski in the mornings and they had ‘an anything goes attitude’” affectionately recalls Sarah Fenton, a rider who grew up in Deep Cove. 'The shop and its heady aroma seemed, to all of us, the kind of hedonistic life we all wanted to lead when we grew up, and we wanted to emulate them. You felt cool just by walking through those doors, which looking back, was the best marketing tool pre-internet possible. The boys wanted to be like them, the girls wanted to date them, and most of us did,' she chuckles.'

Heady aromas indeed.
This thread is Gold Matti!
 
Found this thread quite interesting so here we go with my story!
Grew up in NZ, I was from a working class family, not tonnes of cash but birthdays and xmas were great which as a kjid meant every possible thing in the world LOL, My most favourite bike ever was the Healing HMX500, every kid wanted one and if they couldnt afford one they rode around with kids who did have em in the hope they could ride at some stage during the day, even if only for 1 minute, the wait was worth it! I still remember biking up to westown cycles and window shopping the bike!
I of corse was allowed the ungodly heavy beast, The "Morrison Gutsy One" a cheap mass produced bike which was a carry over frame from yrs earlier 1978-80, the HMX ran from 1978 to about 1984 and was one of the last bikes Healing produced.
Healing Had a parent company in Aussie and an Arm in NZ, import Dramas forced the NZ arm of Healing to manufacture bikes in NZ, this is why some HMX's were aussie built and some NZ built, to date I never heard an argument as to which was better but now that ive brought it up I bet we might hear something LOL. trans tasman rivalry can be as good as USA/ canadian cross border taunting and that is said in most cheerful and friendly way!
There were 3 models, the first had no gusset, they were recalled after just a month or so, the things were cracking and breaking , some on the first day of use, the MK2 had one gusset and faired better but still wasnt good enough and finally the MK3 had the twin gusset but the bikes were notorious for still cracking eventually which is the main reason why you cant find them anymore, I researched and found most were thrown out and sent to the dump!
The bike eventually became the HMX 600, a bit stonger here n there and an imrovment anyway so it was a good thing, im pretty sure I seen ,as a kid , that some 600's came out with Tuff wheel mags,(5 spoker's)
Either way the bikes also had a weak gooseneck, it was common to see an HMX 500 or 600 that had the gooseneck bent right forward and the normally horizontal bar clamp point at the ground, all from jumps, the forks even bent a bit and kids would pick the bike up, spin the front wheel 180 and gently bounce the bike on the front wheel to try n straighten the forks n gooseneck back a bit ha ha ha , the things we did! im sure thats a practice seen all over the world LOL.
anyway heres some eye candy of my favourite bike from my childhood.
HMX500.png
HMX500-600 production line.png




This last pic actually bought tears to my eyes this morning, just a random kid from NZ but just look at his face, holding his new bike, really threw me back many many years this pic!
Thank you RRB, youve put me in such a great place, a place i'd lost for a bit with the world and all its horridness!
Thank you!
HMX600.png
 
As you know I've never used suspension. And around here we don't need to. Mind I also don't use much more than three speed and use only one of those gears
 

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