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I had a Barracuda that I absolutely loved, but I’m not really into bikes as such (I love mountain biking itself, but never paid attention to specs, terminology, components, etc). I bought the barracuda from a small bike shop in San Francisco. Before that day I had never heard of Barracuda, and I almost bought a Giant mountain bike from a large sporting goods store before I came across the Barracuda. Anyway, to this day I cannot identify which Barracuda I had. I have never seen a picture of it, and I’ve seen lots of Barracuda pictures. But first I’ll finish my story.
Basically, I bought this beautiful bike, which I had been told was a racing mountain bike, and I rode it around Marin county and on the trails of Upper Bidwell in Chico, CA, for 5 or 6 short months before it was stolen. And I cried, I am not kidding, that’s how attached I had become to that bike.
I was devastated, and when I went to replace it, it was no longer available. I had gotten it on discount because it had been last year’s model at the time. I did replace it with a different Barracuda, the A2R I believe, but at the time I was completely unhappy with this replacement and felt it was comparatively ugly and nowhere as good as the one I’d had, so I sold it soon after, and don’t really miss that one even now.
I think my original Barracuda was a 1994 because they gave me the 1995 catalog which I kept and poured over for years.
Here’s a layman’s description of the bike I lost:
Bright metallic turquoise/ white frame
bright metallic turquoise rims, handle bar, seat post, and crank arms
rock shox Judy fork
blue/green Barracuda logo
black handle bar extenders
Something else black, maybe just the tires. The color scheme of that Barracuda was very beautiful to me, bright turquoise, black, and white, with so many shiny, colorful parts, and the wonderful barracuda logo, the perfect frame shape — how I miss it!
I paid (if I remember correctly) around $500, and was told that I was getting a big discount.
Because I have not been able to find this bike anywhere I am beginning to wonder if the bike shop mixed up a bunch of Barracuda parts, essentially producing a custom made bike? I know it’s unlikely, but it kind of seems that way to me now, even though they said nothing of the sort.
I don’t even have any pictures either, so it’s really sad. And my stable is empty.
I’ve been riding an Iron Horse for the last 10 years, but am searching for a Barracuda. I am one of the people bidding on the COMP on Ebay right now. Unfortunately I don’t have a huge budget though. And I’m not sure about the size I should get since I never observed mine, but I think it was a 16″; I am 5′ 6″. With other bikes I go for a bigger size though, so I am uncertain.Anyway, that’s my sad story. I guess my biggest regret is that I let it get stolen, because I certainly would never have sold it.
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If you paid $500 for an A2T in 95, you stole it
That was the mega-deal..Yes, Mark, that has to be it, if the A2T is the only turquoise model. I’ve seen pictures of it before, but what threw me off was that I’ve never seen pictures of it with the same metallic parts, i.e. the blue handle bar, blue wheel rims, brake calipers, seat post, etc., that mine had.mixalive, yeah, the price I paid never made sense when i later tried to figure out what bike I’d gotten, though i might have paid closer to $600, but definitely not more than that.
manbeer, thank you so much for your incredibly generous offer, but I could never accept that, and besides, I think it would be illegal!
Do any of you have any idea what the chances are of me finding another turquoise 94 or 95 A2T in my size (16″)? I would even consider getting the frame and parts separately.
Also, this might not be the place to ask, but is 16″ the correct size for me at 5′ 6″?
@Niika wrote:Yes, Mark, that has to be it, if the A2T is the only turquoise model. I’ve seen pictures of it before, but what threw me off was that I’ve never seen pictures of it with the same metallic parts, i.e. the blue handle bar, blue wheel rims, brake calipers, seat post, etc., that mine had.
mixalive, yeah, the price I paid never made sense when i later tried to figure out what bike I’d gotten, though i might have paid closer to $600, but definitely not more than that.
manbeer, thank you so much for your incredibly generous offer, but I could never accept that, and besides, I think it would be illegal!
Do any of you have any idea what the chances are of me finding another turquoise 94 or 95 A2T in my size (16″)? I would even consider getting the frame and parts separately.
Also, this might not be the place to ask, but is 16″ the correct size for me at 5′ 6″?
Yes, 16″ is perfect. I was 5’3″ when i first got mine and grew to 5’9″ after. I found it was a little large at first but i grew into it and now its on the smaller end of the range for me. I prefer them small though
I think the 95 A2M had a similar color scheme as well and may be easier to come by.
I may have a frame you would be interested in, i wasn’t going to sell under the circumstances i wouldn’t mind. Its a 96? A2E made of tange ultimate superlight, New old stock, built up and ridden once then, disassembled. 16″, silver front w forest green rear. I actually have two, this one i bought NOS, and built it for my mom but it was too big. I was going to hang onto it so i would have a nice new frame in case i needed it years down the road but if you want it i can work something out
If you don’t find the frame you want let me know, i would be more than willing to help out a fellow ‘cuda lover. It’s just a frame but at least its a great foundation if you need a plan B
@Mark wrote:Perhaps we’ll put this to rest when I get my hands on the 1993 catalog.
That would be great!
Here is the 16″ NOS A2E i mentioned, i believe it is a transition year so maybe 95-96. It has the Tree Amigos decal on the seat tube but has the made in usa label from Ross Bicycles on the downtube. It is hard to see but it is silver up front and dark forest green in the rear. Only been built and ridden once, then disassembled. If you are still interested let me know, i saw that you found a beautiful 16″ A2V so if that falls through this can be yours. Otherwise i keep itThat’s a really pretty frame, manbeer, I love the colors. You can probably tell by now that I am fond of blues and greens.
According to bikepedia, if I am not mistaken, your A2E is a 1998 aluminum frame. I’ve never had an aluminum frame so I don’t have a preference one way or the other, but is the geometry the same as the earlier Barracudas? If it is, then I am still very interested.
Unfortunately the guy with the A2V says he’s changed his mind and has decided to hang onto his bike for a while longer. I don’t know if he found another buyer or what, but I was facing some difficulty getting it anyway because he was unwilling to ship. I was in the process of getting a friend in the area to pick it up for me if I could only determine the size… oh well.
Are you still comfortable selling your extra A2E frame to me? If so, how much would you want for it? Feel free to PM me.
I can say with reasonable certainty that the comp is indeed a 14. I have been living with my girlfriend the last 6 months or so and most of my bikes are at my other house but one of the 2 that i have here is a 94 comp in 16 and i walk by it every day in the garage. The slope of the top tube is definitely more on the one on ebay and my fork should be about the same length. Its a manitou magnum from the same era. I have a unique attachment to this bike as i almost died on it back in june. I had my shirt tied around the bars and during a 20+ mph sprint in the woods it fell in my front wheel, i endo’d, then landed on my neck and was unable to move. I could have swore i was paralyzed for about 10 mins, then finally was able to mobe a tiny bit. I was trying to call 911, but got no service and slowly forced myself to walk. When i finally was able to get through all i could do was grunt and whisper amd it took over an hour to find me. They were about to airlift me but at the end they decided against it. Luckily i didnt have any major damage but neber felt pain loke that in my life. That being said, i dont think i could ever part with mine. Of course the fact that its a blast to ride helps solidify that. Congratulations and enjoy
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