small metal muddyfox badge on frame ??????

[sidsod]

hi all
i am new to the site so hello
i was hoping some one can help me .
i bought a muddy fox off ebay for £3.70 and it was just a frame and folks, i have been restoring it slowly.
the problem i have is the bike has a little muddy fox metal badge on the frame , so i have been looking ALLLLL over the internet for a muddy fox with the same metal badge on it but with no luck , so does any one have any info on this thanks

k. thanks

 

[Salar]

Nice find.

Need to see the full frame.

Its not a Courier, could be a Muddy Fox Monarch, team or ultimate version?

The paint looks soft!

 

[KneesUp]

This looks later than the classic 'Courier' bikes as the slit on the seat tube is on the front. Early ones had it on the back. The tubes also look a bit wide for steel - is it aluminium?

Full picture would be great. I've not seen a metal badge before. The earlier steel ones had the paw print stamped in the frames.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Need to see the full frame.

The OP has posted on Retrobike too, so more pics HERE

FWIW I had a Courier in the 80's, (with the white and lilac fade), and I lurrrrrrved that bike, but that was also from when Muddy Fox were still a reputable brand.

 

[Salar]

Now I'm confused, don't know what it is .

I've had some bargain bikes off ebay, but,he got that for £3.70!

 

[ufkacbln]

Muddy Fox is a Jekyll and Hyde creation

They were a respectable company in the early days and produced quality machines

the brand was then sold and mass produced frames for the cheaper end of the market

 

[KneesUp]

Now I'm confused, don't know what it is .

I've had some bargain bikes off ebay, but,he got that for £3.70!

Muddy Fox suffer for their later reputation. I have two Tange steel ones and as complete rideable bikes they cost me just over £50 for the pair.

 

[Salar]

Muddy Fox is a Jekyll and Hyde creation

They were a respectable company in the early days and produced quality machines

the brand was then sold and mass produced frames for the cheaper end of the market

Exactly, the early framed steel bikes were good quality, once they sold out and started producing cheap bikes the name meant nothing.

The £3.70 bike be could be stripped and the parts sold off I suppose.

 

[Salar]

Muddy Fox suffer for their later reputation. I have two Tange steel ones and as complete rideable bikes they cost me just over £50 for the pair.

Agree, I only recently sold my early steel framed Muddy Fox Courier as it was just a bit too small.
But it was a great bike.

The name means nothing now.

 

[KneesUp]

I reckon this is a post-bankruptcy Universal Cycles era bike - the metal badge suggests to me that it wasn't a Muddy Fox specific frame, but one badged up to be one.

I think Universal Cycles started off trying to build on Muddy Fox's reputation (which had been pretty good) and this bike looks quite smart - but the non-QR wheels and very basic looking dérailleur at the rear suggest this was an entry level bike - and the thumb-print in the paint and the rather thick welds would support this.

That said, for the price of a cup of coffee you can't complain, and have definitely got a bargain. I paid £26 for my 1990 Pathfinder, and ride it most days.

 

[sidsod]

WOW
You guys seem like you know your stuff ..
the thumb-print was my own fault i moved the bike before the paint dried, the bike was rubbed down to the metal when i brought it so i have no idea what colour it was but if you guys know what bike it is i will get the bike resprayed to the right colour , yes it is aluminum but its very light, lighter or as light than my Trek Elite 8.5 Cross Country. is there any way i can find out if its a real muddy fox or a made up one.
here are the rest of the pictures please don't laugh i love this bike lol ....

 

[KneesUp]

Ooh now - I was going to say that it's as 'real' as any other Muddy Fox, albeit MF stopped being an independent company in 2001 - but I guess the thing with the metal badge is that anyone could have glued it on. That said, by the time suspension corrected frames (as yours is) were common, the Muddy Fox name had lost a lot of it's lustre (although my friends who were into mountain bikes at the time tell me that they were never as good as the Specialized, Marin, Pace and Bontrager they rode - they were definitely above average though) Anyway - that lack of prestige makes it unlikely that a former owner has tried to make a non MF look like it is a MF, but if it is a Universal Cycles era bike they could have just got a frame from stock and stuck the badge on.

Have you tried emailing customercare@muddyfox.com to see if they know anything? You never know, you might get a member of staff who cares about the history of the brand and has access to old catalogues?

 

[Salar]

As KneesUp says it could be a Universal Cycles Fox.

However I think I'm right in saying (someone correct me if I'm wrong) pre Universal original bikes decals were "MUDDY FOX" i.e two words,like yours, whereas the Universal cycles are one word " muddyfox".

So it could be pre Universal which would make it a better bike.

A list of components would help i.e what chainset, suspension forks, brakes,shifters etc.

This would help to categorize the bike regarding price point and quality when it was made.

 

[KneesUp]

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=227346

 

[Salar]

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=227346

That's why I thought it was a Monarch before I'd seen the full frame.