FS: 1985 21" Bridgestone MB-2, XT/XTR build

[esoterica etc]

Howdy y'all, I’m putting my 1985 Bridgestone MB-2 up for sale, the first year B-stone started making mountain bikes. Fairly long wheelbase, but offers a nice, stable ride and climbs very well. You could say this long wheelbase design was 30+ years ahead of its time. Non-aggressive geometry, is comfy and fun to ride, especially with the Jones H-bar I have on it. I built it up primarily as a trekking/bikepacking rig, but lately have also used it pretty exclusively as my main mountain biking ride, since it still handles quite well on all but the tightest singletrack. Plenty of room to run Rat Trap Pass tires with fenders (69/67mm width at fork crown/chainstays).

This is the 21” size, with a seat tube of 53.5cm (c-t), top tube of 58.75cm (c-c), standover of 80.65cm, and chainstays are 47cm.

Selling because there’s surprisingly a lot of overlap with my 56cm MIT Atlantis, and I recently built up a Clem for my wife that’s pretty mountain bike-y, so as cool as the MB-2 is, it’s become a bit redundant in our stable.

BUILD LIST:
Jones loop H-bar 710mm with Kraton grips
Shimano XT SL-M700 deerhead ratcheting thumb shifters
Shimano XT BL-M730 brake levers
Soma 1” threadless adapter riser with 40mm stem
Dia-Compe XCExpert cantilever brakes with Kool Stop dual compound pads
Shimano XT M737 rear derailleur
Shimano XT deerhead M700 front derailleur
Specialized “flag” cold-forged crankset 175mm, 48-36-26 chainrings
Shimano XT 32-spoke hubs (HB-M738 front, HB-M737 rear) laced to Specialized S-Works Z-21 Pro rims
Shimano XTR CS-M900 8 speed 12-32 cassette
Shimano BB-UN55 bottom bracket (I think it’s 122.5mm wide)

Note: the rear dropout width is 130mm and the OLD on the XT rear wheel is 135mm. I have not cold-set the frame at all, and I’ve been using this rear wheel now for about two years with zero issues. It does require a slight amount of effort to widen the dropouts when mounting the rear wheel, but nothing out of the ordinary.

NOT INCLUDED in the sale are the saddle, pedals, and the bags.

I’d like to get $550 for the complete bike. Shipping and packing will be approx. $100-$120 extra for the complete bike, depending on where you live. Local pick-up is encouraged, and I'd be happy to meet you anywhere in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill,NC area. I’m also open to selling just the frame/fork/headset, rolling chassis, etc. Just let me know what iteration you're interested in, and I'm sure we can work something out. Thanks for looking, ask lotsa questions, and have a great day!

~Mark
Raleigh, NC

[esoterica etc]

Here’s some photos-

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-7u-FjTLuZEHEM2R_EmJhyMYUtY123aV

[Wyatt]

Oof, what a great bike. I’m out of the country right now, but if I was back in Atlanta I’d be driving my truck up to NC to pick this one up. Won’t last long.

[Matt C.]

Someone should buy this bike!!!

I have this bike. Or at least had. I just sold it off to my friend who wanted it (but it's still at my house). I don't see many of the 1985's. It's good to see yours. Mine has gone through many iterations. Sweep back bars, slick tires and fenders. Then wide flared drop bars and knobbies. Now the original bullmoose bars and 9spd trigger shifters. Very fun bike. Only sold mine because I'm getting a custom Beardman Bicycles frame made that fits all the same categories as this bike did.

Hope you can sell yours.

If someone wants this, I highly recommend it. It has long chainstays similar to where Rivendell has gone. Basically, how mountain bikes were being made before racing geometry took over. 70 degree head tube angle is probably the major difference between this and a MIT Atlantis or Clem.

Matt in CT

[Ian Dickson]

I'm considering this. Last month somebody stole my early-80s Trek 850, which was a phenomenal bike with similar geometry. Do you know if any of the parts (bottom bracket cups, seatpost, etc.) are seized up in the frame?

[esoterica etc]

Wyatt & Matt— thanks for the positive comments! You’re both right, it really is a great bike. I know the long wheelbase discussion recently has been somewhat polarizing, but I personally really like the ride of a longer wheelbase. It doesn’t have quite as long of chainstays as the MIT Atlantis (although they’re 1cm longer than a Hunq!), but I was surprised at the similarities in ride quality between the MB-2 and the Atlantis. I really think whoever gets this will be really pleased with the bike.

Ian— sorry to hear your bike got stolen. It’s happened to me before, and it’s one of the worst feelings I’ve ever experienced. The bike as it is now was built up about two years ago and has been maintained very well since then. The headset was cleaned and repacked, and I put in a brand new bottom bracket at the same time. Seat post and stem both were given a light film of Phil grease before insertion, and nothing on the bike is seized, stuck or frozen. Hope that helps and thanks for the interest!

~Mark

>> On Feb 10, 2020, at 10:44, Matt C. <sircapt...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Someone should buy this bike!!!

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[Ian Dickson]

Yes, there's no feeling quite like having a bike stolen! The first time, I was a bike messenger, it was my only bike, and I still had five packages to deliver. This one did not hurt as much as that did.

If you did all that work two years ago, I'm sure it's fine. I'll get back to you (if you still have it) once I decide whether or not to get an Appaloosa. This would be the much cheaper, 90% as good Appaloosa alternative.

I agree that bikes like these have fantastic, stable ride characteristics. The Trek 850 (48.5cm chainstays) was phenomenal with any load, front or back, as well as unloaded. 

- Ian

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[Joe Bernard]

Plus these early MBs just look cool. Somebody buy it!

[esoterica etc]

Joe— I totally agree with you. My Atlantis is a thing of beauty to look at and ride, but these early MB’s have a great timeless look and feel to them all their own.

~Mark

> On Feb 10, 2020, at 18:15, Joe Bernard <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Plus these early MBs just look cool. Somebody buy it!

>
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[Ian Dickson]

Well, I went for the Appaloosa instead, but this is a great bike and someone should buy it. 

On Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 6:27:23 PM UTC-7, esoterica etc wrote:

Joe— I totally agree with you. My Atlantis is a thing of beauty to look at and ride, but these early MB’s have a great timeless look and feel to them all their own.

~Mark

> On Feb 10, 2020, at 18:15, Joe Bernard <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Plus these early MBs just look cool. Somebody buy it!
>
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[Mark Roland]

Nice vintage MTB!  Whoever buys it will have money left over for a Riv basket rack and shop sack or some back o' bike bags. These bikes do everything, go anywhere.

Not sure how major a difference is created by the ht angle alone. The Atlantis is 70, the Clem H is 71 or 71.5, the Clem L is 69.5. Vintage 80s mountain bikes were usually in the 68-70 range. The Trek 850 I think has a 70 or 71 ht. This number alone doesn't give a full picture, with fork rake and tt length being some other factors. (I believe when Grant came to B-Stone, the MBs got tightened up.)

I've been enjoying two vintage 80s mtbs I picked up last summer, a Trek 850 and a Peugeot (also seems to have less slack at the ht than, say, my 80s Miyata Ridge Runner). So much so that they have made me lazy in building up my Clem L (though I find its ride even more refined and luxurious.)

[esoterica etc]

Thanks Mark! Those are some nice bikes you’ve got there too. They look almost identical in setup, did they both come to you that way? I’ve also got to admit that I’ve been enamored with your Huffy Racing bike. I’ve been using it as inspiration for putting together a similar build with a Specialized Expedition frame. 

For those curious, I checked out the old Bridgestone catalogs on Sheldon’s site for the geometry of the 1985 MB-2, and it lists the head tube angle as 70 and the seat tube angle as 68. I also found it interesting that the ‘85 and ‘86 MB-2’s have the longest wheelbase of any Bridgestone model through the years. So for all you long-wheelbase lovers, this is the king of early Bridgestones! Cheers,

~Mark 

Raleigh, NC

On Feb 12, 2020, at 06:49, Mark Roland <absolut...@gmail.com> wrote:



Nice vintage MTB!  Whoever buys it will have money left over for a Riv basket rack and shop sack or some back o' bike bags. These bikes do everything, go anywhere.

Not sure how major a difference is created by the ht angle alone. The Atlantis is 70, the Clem H is 71 or 71.5, the Clem L is 69.5. Vintage 80s mountain bikes were usually in the 68-70 range. The Trek 850 I think has a 70 or 71 ht. This number alone doesn't give a full picture, with fork rake and tt length being some other factors. (I believe when Grant came to B-Stone, the MBs got tightened up.)

I've been enjoying two vintage 80s mtbs I picked up last summer, a Trek 850 and a Peugeot (also seems to have less slack at the ht than, say, my 80s Miyata Ridge Runner). So much so that they have made me lazy in building up my Clem L (though I find its ride even more refined and luxurious.)

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On Monday, February 10, 2020 at 10:43:59 AM UTC-5, Matt C. wrote:

70 degree head tube angle is probably the major difference between this and a MIT Atlantis or Clem.

Matt in CT

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<IMG_20200124_171717243.jpg>

[esoterica etc]

I’ve gotten a couple of inquiries but nothing solid, so I just wanted to give a hump day bump to the MB-2. Cheers,

~Mark

[esoterica etc]

Weekend bump with a price drop— asking $525 now for complete bike, or $275 for frame/fork/headset. Packing & shipping is extra, and shipping charge will be actual cost to your zip code from 27616. Thanks and enjoy your weekend,

~Mark
Raleigh, NC

[esoterica etc]

The MB-2 was sold this past weekend as a rolling chassis, so I still have the Jones loop bar cockpit for sale. I’ll create a new post for it with some pics soon. Thanks for all the kudos and inquiries.

~Mark