£10.00 Scrapper Bought From The Dump - What Age/Date Please ?

[Hornchurch]

Last thing I needed was another bike, so, spur of the moment, I might've made a rash decision

My folks had a large 45+ft Conifer fall in their back field, smashing their fully-glazed greenhouse.

Taking multitudes of glass to the 'dump' (recycling centre), I saw this, garish & rather ugly Red Bike

Folks queueing at the gates, I gave it an ultra quick glance over, noting the wheels & tyres etc.

Like I say, spur of the moment I asked the guy(s) "how much ?"

Danny, the operative, screwed his face up briefly & said..... "A Tenner" (£10.00)

I figured the wheels alone MIGHT be worth that, or, if not, then at least the frame (?)


Now, before I get 'shot-down', my knowledge of bikes & in particular "Muddy Fox", is "Jack" (fuggall)

Bike (esp' frame), was caked in "Carr stone" & such detritus, meaning prev' owner HAD used it on the beach !

Numerous things wrong with it, smashed handlebar gear selector & crank bearings are shot.

But the frame is very intact & has virtually no paint wear or damage & welding looks pretty decent.


I hosed it down (to remove filth) & once it's faults had been ascertained, ruminated my decision to buy it

Spur of the moment junk ? I've done FAR worse things for wasting £10.00 in previous years.


As I've only been indoors a fairly short time (& my trouser legs still wet from the hosing-down....)

In & during that breif spell, I cannot find much on it, or about it, hence my asking here....

All I can gather (vaguely), is that 'Muddy Fox' got bought-out (name), by "Universal Cycles"

Later (crappier ?) versions (it would appear), have the name joined together.... 'Muddyfox'

So is it regarded as junk ? Made in China or Bangladesh or suchlike ?

Before today, I always wanted a "Winter Hack" or beater-bike, to ride in winter-time on salted-roads.

Dilemna is = 1, strip it & just use as spare parts for my other 26inch bikes, or......

Spend SOME money on it, doing it up ?

Other main thing is, I'm 100% clueless as to it's age, which is something I'd really like to know about.

Annoying thing is, that, I've seen TWO for sale, although they're NOT local, or even close

A fully working one (say), for around £85.00 is on Gumtree, suggesting it's fairly junk or low-end, low-rent

The crank is wobbling/loose/gone/shot so I'll presume some "new" bearings willsort that out ?

I do rather wish my mechanical skills were a million-times better, but sadly, they're not

At the moment I just favour using it as a source of (cheap) spares, but I'd love to restore it.

Then it would occupy my wish to use as a winter hack, keeping the good stuff free from crap & road salt, Oct'-March

If anyone on here knows of it's approximate age, or country of manufacture, I'd appreciate it indeed, cheers


P.S ; The photo's DO rather flatter it, as it has rust aplenty near the front end (bars/forks)

I also think I was rather taken aback at how solid the frame appeared to be, in both strength & welding....

 

[All uphill]

I think it's a "Sports Direct" special.

Shouldn't take too much to make it rideable. For me it would depend on how well it fits you, and if you like it.

 

[classic33]

Date First Available: 29 September 2013
August 2014 Argos catalogue had it at£129.99.

Specification can be found on the Amazon page.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00EMXI8OG/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

 

[Cycleops]

Nice buy for a tenner, worth that alone for the wheels and tyres.
Would have been better if it was one of the original Muddy Fox models which were one of the first makers of mountain bikes together with Specialized.
The name was bought by Mike Ashley who promptly had some cheap bikes made in the far East and slapped the name on for his Sports Direct chain and elsewhere.
I should do it up as it appears to only need a a BB. Got to be worth it as a goer then and minimum of £50 for sale.

 

[Cycleops]

Those tyres look like Schwalbe Land Cruisers. Pretty decent if not too worn and certainly not OE.

 

[Hornchurch]

Those tyres look like - Schwalbe Land Cruisers. - Pretty decent if not too worn and certainly not OE.

My goodness, you really ARE sharp-eyed - Not bad mate, for a so-named "one-eyed-Cyclops" - (just kidding !)

Jesting aside, superb keen eyesight mate, impressive !

They are (surprisingly), still in lovely condition, with hardly any wear on them & no evident cracking.

It may speak volumes (jesting again), that they MIGHT be THE best cycle tyres that I currently possess !!!!!

Maybe next-year, I'll get round to doing a post of ALL my bikes - most of which were & have been acquired in 2022

I don't usually (at all), buy "dross", or lame ol' nag "scrappers", but this was just a chance encounter & a spur of the moment buy

In my (current) local town, we have several OLD style cycle-shops & I tend to patronise "the old boys".

I used to walk in & hanging from the rafters** would be a large selection of tyres.... Conversation would go a bit like this.....

"How much ARE those Vanilla-walled or Black MTB tyres up there ?" - Reply would go.....

"Oh THOSE ?" - "Those are £6.00 each, or, IF you buy a pair, I'll do TWO tyres for just £10.00 a pair" - (done deal)

These days, I usually pay around £22.00 per set, but don't go extravagant (off of E-Bay)

I recently bought a pair of those "FINCCI" roadbike tyres (w/Anti-Puncture-Wall) & they were just £22.00 a set, delivered.

Fitted on beautifully (700c / 25), so by comparison, this "MuddyFox" scrapper is reasonably well equipped.

All I've done to the "scrapper" (so far, update), is to cut the chain (rusted to F'k) & use some Hammerite Metal Rust cure

I've only used the latter (Hammerite), on the forks, frame, spokes & cassette / drive sprockets so far, it's a laborious job.

Oh yeah, plus I've sanded-down the large / long (MuddyFox O.E), seatpost too & Hammerited it

After just a short-burst into the wheel bearings (GT.85), I was astonished as to how fast & long the wheels span for !!!!!

Whilst (to some), it was obviously 'just a low-rent catalogue' bike, it's surprising just how neglected it was !

Beaings in the crank are "well shot" & sadly, I don't have a crank-puller, nor in fact, know what to do..... (sighs , You Tube else)

I also think (personal opinion), that "front disc brake" is sheer needless overkill on a bike such as this - (I'm a Motorcyclist !)

But again, both sets of brakes work fine AND are adjusted well - I guess that family had money to throw away ?

Back in April, locally, I missed out on a superb Peugeot AND an accompanying (gorgeous) "SCHWINN" for just £30.00 each

I'd messaged the woman, but I was awake dead-early (dawn) & she just wasn't.

When I enquired (yet again), around 10.00am, by then, she'd already had someone driving over to see 'em - (yeah, I missed out)


Lastly BTW, I'd really like to thank "All Uphill" and also especially "Classic.33" for chiming-in on this thread (& giving help)

"Classic 33" = That info' you gave mate was just what I needed - (title of my fave 1978 "Cars" 45rpm single !)

Also your good self, Cyclops, esp' for your encouraging words - It'd be SO easy just to bin "the scrapper" & save the tyres / wheels, only.

My only misgiving, is - I wish I'd acquired this earlier during the year, rather than so near to the clocks going 'back / forward'

I love working on bikes (both M/cycles AND pushbikes), in decent weather & we've had a cracking summer, sadly, now 'gone'.

I'll keep on popping back in here from time to time, just to keep y'all updated & to answer any posts.

Cheers again folks & many thanks once again, to those who've both upvoted AND responded on thread - It's appreciated !!!!!

"Hawny".