The nineteen-nineties saw an explosion of innovative new mountain bike technology, one of the most important being suspension systems, which allowed a mountain biker to ride faster, for longer, across the more rugged trails. While suspension has continued to evolve year upon year, the fundamental design of the most popular modern suspension systems come from the 90s.
And as such, there are a number of suspension forks and suspension frames that remain surprisingly capable by today’s standards. Although highly subjective, and by no means exhaustive, this is my list of what I consider to be the 10 best full suspension frames from the 1990s.
Marin Mount Vision / Rift Zone / East Peak / Alpine Trail Photo from this retrobike thread.
Santa Cruz Heckler 
Photo from here.
Raleigh Special Products Division 300 
Specialized FSR
Photo from this webpage.
GT RTS 
GT LTS 
Image from this MTBR thread.
Proflex
Photo from this site, but originally scanned from the “Pro Mountain Biker” book (Jeremy Evans and Brant Richards, 1995).
AMP Research 
Mountain Cycle San Andreas 
Photo from www.mombat.org
Answer Manitou FS 
Photo from this mtbr thread.
cant believe there wasnt a pace rc200 on the list
Still have my ’04 East Peak. Components that came with it were sort of bunk so a majority were replaced within the first weeks of ownership (F&R derailleur, shifters, seat post, seat, pedals). That was during a time where my only transportation for about a decade, year-round in Wisconsin and Ontario, was a mountain bike.
I’m 50 now and only ride for pleasure & exercise now but it’s still my only bike and I don’t see that changing.
Everything but the FSR total junk
san andreas mountain cycle and foes f1 were the top frames to ride like you stole it! they to the big hits and you could still pedal flat land
Id consider a Catamount or Ibis urt frame