Muddyfox Cycling Gear

[Andybuzzhunter]

Muddyfox was a British company formed in the 80s and was the first official manufacturer of mountain bikes in the UK used to have a slogan on if it's not a muddyfox it's not a mountain bike back then there were massive in the industry got into trouble in the early 90s and I believe were taken over by an Indian company never been the same since went from a premium mountain bike manufacturer to a budget mountain bike manufacturer I don't believe they are an exclusive brand to Sports Direct. To give you an idea of how good their bikes were I still have my 1990 muddyfox adventurer still going strong with lots of original parts only things that's ever been changed its brakes, brake cables and tires.

 

[J1888]

Er...thanks?

 

[Blue Hills]

j I have a Hi viz Dare-to-B for cooler days and its very good (still boil-in-a-bag though) for £40.

sorry pauluk - if you paid £40 for something that's boil in the bag you've been done. Far better to buy quality stuff in sales - plenty plugged here regularly in the great "found a bargain" thread.

 

[Blue Hills]

II have looked at the MuddyFox shoes and they feel/look really cheap and not even worth 'the discounted' price. I

Many many of Sports Direct's "original selling price"s are of course total fiction. I'm surprised they can get away with it.

 

[Blue Hills]

That's not entirely true. Karrimor was a company started just after the second world war, and was bought out by Lonsdale. Lonsdale was a boxing equipment specialist company founded in 1960. Just because Sports Direct now owns the both of them doesn't mean that they are own brand.

Thats like saying Skoda are really Audi's. Karrimor and Lonsdale are still worn by top athletes all over the world because they have a decent reputation.

I didn't know Karrimor was bought by Lonsdale. When?

>>Karrimor and Lonsdale are still worn by top athletes all over the world because they have a decent reputation.

Surely not true? Stuff branded Karrimor now is not a patch on the stuff that was made for decades in North West england. I bought some stuff from them in their latter "real" days and visited the factory shop. Quality stuff. Very sad that it was trashed.

 

[freiston]

From what I've seen, Sports Direct acquire trademarks of failing/failed companies with good reputations for their products - then they buy cheap shoddy stuff and have that name put on it - the product and design have little to do with the original company apart from the name. Lonsdale is also part of Sports Direct (as is Slazenger and Dunlop)

"Within 24 hours [of going into receivership], by 9 March 2004, its assets were bought out for £5 million by Lonsdale Sports, part of the Sports Direct group of companies, who broke up the company, sold the outlets (both YHA and Karrimor's own), retaining mainly the rights to the brand name, which was licensed to such events as the long-standing Karrimor International Mountain Marathon (which later became the Original Mountain Marathon), and the company's intellectual property.

There is another Karrimor company - KarrimorSF which operate under a different licence and very much a 'military/tactical' range but they make some decent rucksacks

I was going to answer the OP then I realised that this thread is almost five years old

 

[Blue Hills]

thanks for that. So, as I thought, not bought by Lonsdale when it was anything. Effectively bought by Sports Direct. God Sports Direct makes one feel old/rams home Britain's manufacturing decline - all those names from my childhood reduced to meaningless brands.
Karrimor was I think before bought by some South African outfit branding outfit, which nevertheless used the union jack on its stuff.

 

[kingrollo]

Ive got some muddy fox padded shorts - I think they are pretty good.
Its worth thinking about what you are doing - if its just a bit of leisure cycling then budget padded shorts are ok. Long days in the saddle and with my hip/hamstring issues I have better shorts for that. I can't afford wall to wall assos etc - so use cheaper kit for shorter rides commuting etc.

 

[Tanis8472]

My two-penneth now. I just bought the padded shorts this morning* as I'd split my usual (non-padded) shorts last night whilst throwing my leg over the seat. I've only done my usual 5 mile commute so far but they seemed very much worth the few pennies they cost. I'd been umming and ahhing over the jersey. Still am.


*I tried on two different sizes in the Sports Direct changing rooms - a box next to the tills with a door that goes from knees to shoulders! - with my little girl (nearly four). I pulled up the first pair and my girl looked at the padding and said in a voice only little people can do 'Daddy, is that your tail. . .? Is THAT your tail? Why should I shhhh? Why can't I say tail?'. Yes, lots of people in store giving me a funny look as I came out the room.

Edit - if you are going for the Muddy Fox stuff then Field & Trek site seems a couple of quid cheaper for each item.

Remind me not to try on cycling shorts again. Lol

PS, wearing boxers while trying them on is perfectly acceptable

 

[Racing roadkill]

It's okay for utility wear, not the most comfy stuff out there, but I do buy their stuff for winter, as that's when my kit takes the worst battering.

 

[The Brewer]

I used to like their padded, leather palmed mitts. Think I have a few of their t shirts. I find Decathlon is much better though

 

[Widge]

I always cringe a little when I read about MuddyFoxes bad rep these days. My much beloved MTB is a MuddyFox and probably one of their last homespun 'designed and engineered in the UK' models from the 1990s'. It has stood the test of time...came with Shimano xtr gearing, a budget fork that still hasn't cr@pped out and I still ride it even though I am of an age when full suss MTBs should be an anathema! They had their own (very successful) race/competition team and could certainly make a bike until the time came when they sold their name to the far east budget box manufacturers, I have...for all that just bought a pair of (primitively)padded shorts bearing the name from SportsDirect. I knew they wouldn't be the real deal and that their pricing ethics are questionable. But they may prove to be adequate....I'll let you know!
MF where the bees-knees in their day!

 

[Shortandcrisp]

Bought a pair of Muddy fox padded leggings from Sports Direct early last year for 9.95. Turned out to be so good, I went back and bought two more pairs a couple of weeks later.
I'll be using them later this afternoon!

 

[Reynard]

I've got Muddy Fox mitts, full-finger gloves and helmet. They're nothing fancy, they just do the job. My only other source of dedicated bike gear locally is a LBS whose clothing selection is at the uber-premium end of the range. (They're good for bike bits, tools and spares though)

The rest of my kit is primarily a mix of Decathlon and TK Maxx.

 

[montroseloon]

I always cringe a little when I read about MuddyFoxes bad rep these days. My much beloved MTB is a MuddyFox and probably one of their last homespun 'designed and engineered in the UK' models from the 1990s'. It has stood the test of time...came with Shimano xtr gearing, a budget fork that still hasn't cr@pped out and I still ride it even though I am of an age when full suss MTBs should be an anathema! They had their own (very successful) race/competition team and could certainly make a bike until the time came when they sold their name to the far east budget box manufacturers, I have...for all that just bought a pair of (primitively)padded shorts bearing the name from SportsDirect. I knew they wouldn't be the real deal and that their pricing ethics are questionable. But they may prove to be adequate....I'll let you know!
MF where the bees-knees in their day!

Back in the day they made some lovely bikes and in some awesome colours too. As I said in another post I had a courier comp in cherry red and I think the groupset was 200LX but I could be wrong