[MTDirtGirl]

I love this ol' bike. Esp. the color, a desert-bronze color with orange-line brown lettering. Beeyooteeful! It may be a little big--18 when I probably should have a 17. I assumed i would go up to an alum frame but I'm hearing they can be pretty harsh. Maybe I'm spoiled on the cro-mo GF and don't know it? It is heavy.

The old Alero setupis pretty worn but works. It has Grip Shift which I still love even though it's easy to accidentally shift if you don't keep your hands away from them.

What can be done with the bike?

 

[Hayduke1972]

might consider new bike

I love this ol' bike. Esp. the color, a desert-bronze color with orange-line brown lettering. Beeyooteeful! It may be a little big--18 when I probably should have a 17. I assumed i would go up to an alum frame but I'm hearing they can be pretty harsh. Maybe I'm spoiled on the cro-mo GF and don't know it? It is heavy.

The old Alero setupis pretty worn but works. It has Grip Shift which I still love even though it's easy to accidentally shift if you don't keep your hands away from them.

What can be done with the bike?

Well, despite the cool colors, the Mamba is a pretty entry level bike and is really not worth the upgrades. Yes, steel frames are a less harsh ride, but the Mamba is a HEAVY steel frame so it wouldn't ride as smooth as higher end steel frames that are usually described on MTBR. What should you do? Make the Mamba a commuter or run down to the quick mart bike and look at a new bike for trail riding. Aluminum will be the main material, but its not as harsh as it used to be. Also, there are a few "affordable" steel bikes still around. The Marin Bear Valley runs about $600 and is pretty well equiped for the price. For a bit more, the Jamis Exile is a good deal at $800. Also, make sure to get properly fit to the bike, having the proper sized bike is WAY more important than the frame material or the color.

Good Luck

 

[IbikeID]

Does it look like this?

I converted this old Mamba to a single speed, and I have been wondering what's it's model year. It has nearly the same parts as a 97 trek I once owned, so I figured that may be its year. If you do get a new bike and are at all curious about single speeding, the conversion is cheap, and even with the heavy steel frame, once I took all the shifting related parts off this bike weighs quite a bit less than my fancy new Alum. FS bike.

 

[MTDirtGirl]

Yep, that's it! What gearing front/rear are you using?

Are those the original tires?

 

[IbikeID]

I'm running 34x20, with lots of climbing where I am it seem to be a good ratio. I got the bike second hand, but it appeared to have seen very little use, so I think the tires probably are original.

 

[MTDirtGirl]

I'm running 34x20, with lots of climbing where I am it seem to be a good ratio. I got the bike second hand, but it appeared to have seen very little use, so I think the tires probably are original.

I've been looking for the original tires in our shed and I think I saw one of them, going by the sidewalls on yours.

What would you call the finish on the frame? That has held up wonderfull and it's seen plenty of gravel and rocks. The painted steel frames on my (much newer) Lemond and Bianchi road bikes have not done nearly as well--the Bianchi immediately began chipping, and the clearcoat on the Lemond looks rubbed and discolored.

It can't be "anodized" if it's not alum, right, but what is it exactly?