Skip Find - Any Good?

[phaedrus]

I recently rescued a mountain bike from a skip. The bike looks as if it's been at the back of someone's shed for a very long time, but I think that if I remove the cobwebs, replace the tyres and tubes, and give it a bit of fettling, it'll be in pretty good nick.

It's a Muddyfox Mega 500. I know very little about mountain bikes, and Google isn't helping. Can anyone say whether it's worth doing some work on?

 

[3narf]

I would say so!

I once pulled a Universal (horrible Chinese tat) out of a skip; I got it powdercoated bright red for cheap at work, furnished it with a load of old stuff I had in the garage, spent a bit of time getting the gears and brakes spot on & sold it for £50...

A Muddy Fox is exotica compared to that Universal.

 

[monkeypony]

It is not worth spending any money on thats for sure!

It will be pretty bloody awful but will probably get you from a to b (assuming b isn't too far away).

Also, taking from skips is very naughty, unless you had the owners permission to remove it, you will now be riding a stolen bike

 

[Moodyman]

It depends.

Muddy Foxes were very good quality bikes in the 90s and early 2000s. if it's from then, then it's definitely worth salvaging.

The modern ones are merely a case of brand exploitation and they're as good as supermakret bikes - i.e. not good.

 

[phaedrus]

It is not worth spending any money on thats for sure!

It will be pretty bloody awful but will probably get you from a to b (assuming b isn't too far away).

Also, taking from skips is very naughty, unless you had the owners permission to remove it, you will now be riding a stolen bike

Actually I did have the owner's permission.

 

[phaedrus]

It depends.

Muddy Foxes were very good quality bikes in the 90s and early 2000s. if it's from then, then it's definitely worth salvaging.

The modern ones are merely a case of brand exploitation and they're as good as supermakret bikes - i.e. not good.

It's not modern, that's for sure. The most I've been able to find on the web is that the "Mega" range was produced around 1990 or thereabouts.

 

[Alan Whicker]

Dunno about the Mega but lest we forget, Muddy Fox also did the Courier Comp, which is an absolute classic.

 

[3narf]

Is it gold coloured?

 

[Moodyman]

'Courier Comp'

That's what I had until last week. Gave it to my local CTC contact. She uses on their free learn-to-ride courses for ladies.

 

[Zoiders]

The Mega was a quality bike, skinny steel tubes with wish bone seat stays and an extended seat tube collar, they are pretty to look at.

I don't know why some people think it would be a bad bike or unpleasant to ride, they were well specced with a good quality chromoly steel frame complete with all the usefull braze on's, with a clean/service and maybe some slicks it will be a belting commuter bike or even god forbid - off road!

Retro MTB's are a growing subculture with there own forums, there are even retro MTB only rides.

Retro MTB's are worth far more than you think, ignore the dismissive snobbery- a good steel MTB from the early days is of far more practical and collectors value than a lot of cheap road old bikes you see touted as "classics".

 

[3narf]

I gave mine to my brother-in-law. Mind you, I got it given, anyway. Easy come, easy go...

 

[Norm]

MTB's from that era make fantastic bikes - my 1990 Giant Coldrock is about the only thing I've ridden in the past 2 months.

Whether commuting, shopping, bit-of-a-hooting or riding to the JobCentre, I love it for its simplicity, solidity and the fun that it is to ride.

I also love that the only thing it has needed (so far) is lubrication - it is still on the original bearings, pedals, chain & Bio-pace sprockets, cables etc. There's something to be said for over-speccing components. I've even still got the original tyres, although I'm not using them at the moment because it spends its life on the road so doesn't need the treads.

The fact that it's got no suspension, it's got some pink paint, it's done a few thousand miles and it's survived in the back of various sheds and garages also means that it's not the prettiest bike, which hopefully means it won't catch anyone's eye in the bike racks.

 

[biggs682]

skip hunting can be good for extra income

 

[Alan Whicker]

I'm always looking in skips for a late 80s Spesh Rockhopper, preferably bright orange.