fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
It's a bit 'modern' isn't it - even has bouncy stuff on it.
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It's a bit 'modern' isn't it - even has bouncy stuff on it.
Chappy
Guru
- Location
- Dorchester
This is the latest addition to the family. Looking forward to Wareham tomorrow.
Little update on this bike. I took it to BPW in November and it performed great, for my skill level and experience of trail centre riding it did everything I asked of it and I cant wait to go back this year.
Little update on this bike. I took it to BPW in November and it performed great, for my skill level and experience of trail centre riding it did everything I asked of it and I cant wait to go back this year.
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Levo-Lon
Guru
that looks great, lot of bike for the money,enjoy
AyJay
Über Member
- Location
- Suffolk Coast
Chappy
Guru
- Location
- Dorchester
I've just been out in Wareham forest finding all the hidden trails. The difference a rear shock makes compared to a hardtail if really noticeable especially with all the smaller bumps in thre trail.
Levo-Lon
Guru
i bought a new Hardtail in December ,as i fancied one again after going FS for the last couple of year's.
i love the HT but im having a lot of back pain again
i think hard trails and hardtails are for the yoof
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
think hard trails and hardtails are for the yoof
The Yoof round my way all seem to ride flash-looking suspension BSOs, but only ever in the vicinity of the shops in the town centre mind you, never see them in any woods etc.
This old, late 90's I would guess, rigid 26" machine represents the purest form of MTB, just a no-frills strong steel frame with sturdy wheels and nothing more.
Great for low-speed woods rides if you watch the ground ahead and pick your route carefully, but the bike will give your body a beating if you try to ride it fast and unsympathetically on rough surfaces.
- Location
- London
what is it skipdriver? Is the frame any special steel? Am assuming it's steel. If so might make a good bomb-proof tourer/expedition bike?
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
It's nothing to get excited about, just one of Halfords offerings in plain clothes. Frame appears to be bog-standard welded hi-tensile with slightly oversized tubes, no cro-moly stickers or anything like that on it. Nice quality Rigida alloys though which run very true and very round, I do wonder if the wheels are someone's upgrade as they seem a bit too good for the budget Shimano mechanicals.
It's sturdy, and ideal as a local hack, but not really comfortable enough for rides over 10 miles. I've got a '91 Raleigh MTB with a lighter 23" Reynolds 501 frame in bits that would make a much better bomb-proof distance workhorse on semi-slick tyres, plus '88 and '95 vintage hybrids in 531 and 501, nice comfortable bikes you could ride for several hours without suffering.
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- Location
- London
Am a bit of a fan of old hybrids with quality frames skipdiver - I'd be interested in what those 88 and 95 vintage bikes are if you would be so kind as to tell. Might be best to PM me in case it racks up the buying price 
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
Am a bit of a fan of old hybrids with quality frames skipdiver - I'd be interested in what those 88 and 95 vintage bikes are if you would be so kind as to tell. Might be best to PM me in case it racks up the buying price
The '88 is this 22 1/2" Raleigh Gemini 18 in 531, a £20 purchase:-
It rides lovely and there aren't that many of them about from what I can see. They were clearly aimed at the more well-heeled flat-bar customer back in the day, so probably only sold in relatively small numbers.
The '95 is a 23 1/2" Raleigh Pioneer Trail 18 in 501, bought locally for a Tenner, but don't have a pic of that on my 'puter to post.
Plenty of old ones going cheap on the 'Bay, no-one seems to appreciate what good bikes they are, and the early 90's bikes have multi-colour paint jobs that haven't aged too well - which probably depresses the secondhand prices further. Easily sorted with a pot of paint though. Most of them are "18-23" hi-tensile steel, you have to look at the exact model on offer if you specifically want a Reynolds version. Mine was a 501 frame purchase by pure luck.
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- Location
- London
Many thanks for the reply skipdiver - only just realised that you are in London - I may get in touch.
I know what you mean about some of those paint jobs - yes there were some extraordinary things - I remember being on a ride with someone and thinking he had painted the bike himself - then saw a pic online and it became clear that it was probably an original paint job - the work perhaps of a drug addled survivor of the 60s who had managed to drag him/herself into the dayglo 80s.
Me, I'd probably keep the original paintjobs out of perversity/thief deterrent. Agree about the complications of model numbers - and that there are many "hi tensile" things around. Never been sure what "hi tensile" was supposed to mean though of course to use it signifies cheap/heavy/no life.
I know what you mean about some of those paint jobs - yes there were some extraordinary things - I remember being on a ride with someone and thinking he had painted the bike himself - then saw a pic online and it became clear that it was probably an original paint job - the work perhaps of a drug addled survivor of the 60s who had managed to drag him/herself into the dayglo 80s.
Me, I'd probably keep the original paintjobs out of perversity/thief deterrent. Agree about the complications of model numbers - and that there are many "hi tensile" things around. Never been sure what "hi tensile" was supposed to mean though of course to use it signifies cheap/heavy/no life.
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
I think the later Pioneers with single colour understated paint jobs are much nicer to look at. The hi-tensile versions are still a good frame, just maybe about a pound heavier than the 501. Hi-tensile simply means a steel with a higher UTS and carbon content than plain mild steel. It comes in various types. Reynolds 501 and 531 are also high tensile alloy steels!
- Location
- London
thanks for the reply skipdiver.
Yes it seemed odd that "hi tensile" might mean literally bad, as it sounds like a good quality to have. But would you agree that, although I have the feeling that neither of us are brand whores, it is best to avoid something that is just labelled "hi tensile" without any more info/branding on the actual provenance of the steel tubing? I have passed on a few bikes I have seen which were just labelled "hi tensile".
Yes it seemed odd that "hi tensile" might mean literally bad, as it sounds like a good quality to have. But would you agree that, although I have the feeling that neither of us are brand whores, it is best to avoid something that is just labelled "hi tensile" without any more info/branding on the actual provenance of the steel tubing? I have passed on a few bikes I have seen which were just labelled "hi tensile".
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
At the risk of going more OT, and upsetting the hardcore MTB'ers by discussing frame materials, it's largely about marketing. Almost all bikes are made either of various grades of steel, one of two grades of aluminium alloy, or various grades of carbon fibre/resin composites. Steel is often perceived as old-fashioned and heavy, aluminium and CF as more modern and high-tech. If you want to sell a cheap heavy steel frame to someone who doesn't know much about bikes (or engineering materials), putting "hi-tensile" in the spec description looks more impressive than just "steel". The devil is in the detail, as there are many different grades of steel, but the average buyer doesn't go that deeply into it, they just don't like the idea of spending their money on something made out of a "bad" material. So plain "steel" is no good, but "hi-tensile" sounds OK! Serious comparison is prevented by the manufacturers not stating the exact spec, wall thickness etc, and this is deliberate at the cheap end. I would strongly suspect an 80's or 90's frame made of Raleigh "18-23" is a better quality than an Apollo "all-purpose steel" frame of a similar vintage, but both are hi-tensile tubing..
