My Retro 26" Mountain Bikes

While Carbon bikes, e-bikes and electric gear change are growing in popularity so are classics Retro Mountain Bikes. The Old School 26"

I think most people would agree "They don't build them like they use to" Bikes from the late 80's and early 90's where built simple yet durable. And owning a mountain bike for a bit of fun, for fitness and for something different then I would recommend buying yourself a retro mountain bike.

"For a feeling of nostalgia or just always fancied one"

ebay is the best place to start looking -You should find something for around a £100 and spend £100 on it!! There are also a lot of bikes out there that have hardly been used. But a bike that is around 26 years old maybe worn out and end up costing more.
Read are guide on buying on ebay

Frame:
When we are talking retro from 80's and 90's we are talking steel frames, "Cromo" that don't rust unless left out in the rain or in a damp shed. If it's been heavily used on the trails, check the frame for any signs of damage or cracks. Bottom bracket area inside the frame is a place for rest and can damage the threads when removing the bottom bracket. Aluminium seat posts can corrode inside the seat tube and may never come out. Only way to know is inspect the frame first.

Tange double butted tubing





Size:
Getting the size correct is also very important. If you intend to take of road and use for XC then going for the smaller size, as back in the day these bikes where stronger with a smaller frame and the riders fitted extra-long seat post and handle bar stems. But if you going to use for the road and clear trails then go for what fits you. I am 5ft 11" and I have gone for a 19" frame to use off road.

"You don't need to have special equipment to ride"

Parts:
As long as the frame is in good condition, which can always be repainted if badly marked. (If re-painted - Have the decals made first and send with frame to be fitted before lacquer, to give the best finish) All the other parts can be replaced if worn out. Chain rings, chains, cassettes bottom brackets, tyres, cables and most brake callipers can still be brought new. Also there are many NOS New Old Stock parts found on ebay. Buying used is the same as buying a used bike, might look and sound good on ebay, but you will be taking a chance if worn out, especially wheels and chainsets. The rims and hubs can be badly worn and unrepairable, known in the trade as US in-serviceable.

"You may end up buy two retro mtb's, as these bikes are fun, enjoyable to do up and end up restoring one to its original condition and one with high end modern parts" 

Look for a bike with a better quality steel frame - double butted chromoly tubing and fitted with Shimano Exage, STX, Deore, may have suspension but no disc brakes. Anything less will be poor quality and no difference at this price from buying a new poor quality mountain bike from Halfords.

Some retro bikes to search for:

• Marin Bear Valley
• Kona cinder cone race light
• Trek
• Scott
• Gary Fisher
• GT Zaskar, GT Bravado
• Orange
• Rocky Mountain
• Specialized
• Giant

Also look for:

• Saracen
• Peugeot
• Muddy Fox
• Ridgeback

Why not use Bike Courier to deliver your retro bike you brought on ebay for only £23.50

21" Marin Bear Valley 1989 £125.00

Front cantilever brake with cable pulley fitted to stem

Cantilever front brake and 26 x 2.1 brown wall tyre



Rear U Brake. Fitted under chainstay.  Note gear wire though brake boss.

Biopace chainset and fitted with uni-glide 6 speed cassette.

Kona cinder cone race light with front suspension 1995

Kona Lava Dome frame 1997, fitted with Project 2 forks

Retro bikes line-up. Ready for the Summit 26" Classic

Do you own a retro MTB or thinking of buying one? Let us know your favourite classic in the comments below.





Holdsworth Lightweight Steel Touring Bike Frame Late 80's

My latest find/buy

A unusual Holdsworth touring bike frame made from lightweight British steel.
I think is late 1980's with late 1990's Mavic, 70's Campagnolo and Cinelli parts.
This will be an on going project, finding original parts. Can never have enough bikes!

Holdsworth Lightweight Steel Touring Bike Frame Late 80's

Seat stay fixings for rack and dynamo/light.

Fitted with Modolo brake callipers.

W F Holdsworth head badge



Campagnolo Nuovo Record rear derailleur

Mavic 631 crankset  (Fitted with Campy crank bolts)

Campagnolo hub

 Campagnolo Nuovo Record front derailleur

Simplex down tube shifters

Cinelli bar and stem

New bar tape, brake levers and white cables

Bicicletas Duarte Bogota Colombia Famous Columbus Frame Builder

While traveling in Colombia, I made a visit to Bicicletas Duarte in Bogota Colombia. One of the two Famous Columbus steel Frame Builders. The other being in Medellin, who was self-taught master frame builder George Hincapie. So I will have to return to Colombia!

Read all my travels to Colombia when i am not fixing bikes or riding, I like to travel to Latin America

With Mr Duarate

Bicicletas Duarte steel frame

Shop cat

Parts washer

Mechanic and Duarte bicycle

Cassette remover 

Other bikes in for repair 



Pearson Bike Build Reynolds 531 Frame Single Speed

Superb hand built vintage Pearson Cycles Reynolds 531 Double-Butted Road Frame from the 1970s. It has just been fabulously professionally refurbished with Pearson Cycles and Reynolds decals. The paint finish is a stunning and lustrous flamboyant green with the lugs picked out in white. At 150 years old, Pearson Cycles has had a long and varied history; so long in fact, it is the oldest bike shop in the world! Pearson Cycles are world renowned for their hand-built frames using the traditional methods to create frames that are recognized worldwide for the quality of workmanship, accuracy of construction and beautiful long lasting finish. This particular frame is stunningly beautifully and elegant, constructed with fine, neat brazing and ornate Pregnant lug-work. It has a lovely fork crown and forged Campagnolo dropouts. Brazing's include gear cable guides, bottle cage bosses and mudguard eyes. The Reynolds 531 double-butted tube-set was designed to be used by professional cyclists both in road racing and time trialing. And were regularly raced by the top professionals of the time including in the Tour de France and one-day Classics.

Fitting headset

Forks with 26.4mm Crown race and Halo 700 front wheel

Cinelli 64 bars & stem. Tektro long reach front brake. 

26.8mm Seat post & 700c Halo rear wheel, single speed with 120mm dropouts. (Extra long reach brake to be fitted)

Dia Compe brake levers with brown hoods, Tektro brake calipers and white brake cable.

Chasing bottom bracket threads before fitting bottom bracket. 

48T Chainset lookalike old'y Campagnolo and Tange Cartridge Bottom Bracket

Single Speed Pearson Road Bike, with 1980's Turbo leather saddle, Cinelli world champ bar tape and mud guards ready to hit the roads of London.

See more bike builds...............................

26er Still Living | On- One inbred 26er Bike Build

This iconic steel frame is still a smooth riding beauty and with the upgraded parts, make this bike build ideal for its owner!
After spending time chatting with "Dave" going over whether to buy a 29er or 26er! And a lot of researching with test-riding a 29er. As Dave is only 5ft 2  we decided to go for the On-One 26er and build the bike with Shimano parts for a better ride, braking and a smoother gear change.

On-One inbred frame

Fitting Hollow Tech 2 Bottom Bracket

The owner also got involved with the bike build as part of our Park Tool School

Rock Shox's

Complete bike and a very happy owner.  

Video - Frame Swop 

Bates Classic Tandem

British classic 

I bought this tandem for it's beauty, great design and engineering, that would be hard to match today! 

Also, of course they went for strength and durability in those days. It's a touring model complete with front & rear panniers, where travel is my other love so inspired me even more to buy it.

Far as I can tell, the tandem only had one owner that passed it on to his niece, who definitely was a true cyclist, new great engineering and how to do his own maintaining .

(21 February 2014 I have now sold this Tandem which was hard to let go off, but the frame was 2 inches too small for me) I am now looking for a replacement.....................

Bates tandem British steel double diamond frame and odd shaped 'diadrant' forks (Pre war) 1939

Vintage water bottles

Only 75 tube sets made by Reynolds (531 tubing) 

Model Grangewood Tandem 

Unique 'Cantiflex' frame tubing and odd-shaped 'Diadrant' front forks & Chrome plated headtube

Frame measurements center to center:

Cross bar full length 43" 

Cross bar front 22"

Cross bar rear 21"

Seat tube front 21"

Seat tube rear 20"

Bottom bracket to bottom bracket 21"

Bates is one of the most highly regarded of the English lightweight frame builders. The company became famous for its racing successes of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s but it is probably best known for the unique 'Cantiflex' frame tubing and odd-shaped 'Diadrant' front forks used for many of their racing and club machines. These ingenious features were not mere gimmicks but were genuine improvements. The result was a responsive frame of unusually high rigidity while the front fork design was claimed to possess the ability to effectively absorb road shocks despite the short wheelbase and steep head angle. What is more remarkable is that these designs were developed and patented way back in the 1930s when lightweight cycles were in their infancy. Bates Cycles was set up in Swete Street, London E13 in 1926 by Horace T Bates. That same year he began to produce his first frames and in 1927 was joined in the business by his brother EG (Eddie) Bates, The name was changed to Bates Brothers. Before long, they moved to larger premises at 632 Barking Road. Even at this early stage the Bates brothers specialised in high performance lightweights of exceptional quality for the clubman and racing cyclist. Both road and track machines were produced and a good reputation was soon established in the London area and beyond. The symbol used on the name badge of Bates machines was that of a bat and this has remained throughout the very long production history of Bates cycles. 

Diadrant' forks

By the early 1930s Bates offered club and racing machines as well as framesets. In 1934 they exhibited at the Lightweight Cycle Show with four solo models and two tandems. Their range-topping Volante was a track model that weighed a little over 15lbs on silk tubulars and aluminium sprint rims. The demand for Bates Brothers cycles was such that the company expanded into a larger shop just over the road (589-591 Barking Road), while the old shop was converted for use as the frame-building workshop. The men taken on to build the frames and machines were all racing men and of course they rode Bates cycles. One of them, Stan Butler, was a prominent rider in national time trial events and his successes certainly helped Bates Brothers reputation. That reputation was further enhanced when the Bates Cantiflex frame and Diadrant front fork was announced at the end of 1935. 

Cantilever brakes and complete with head badge

Throughout the 1930’s they were one of the hallmarks of a quality lightweight.

The Resilion Cantilever was introduced in 1929

Rear hub and grease nipple.

The cogs move sideways, the derailleur stays in place

The invention of the Trivelox in 1931 in which the lever moved the sprockets into line so chainline was always maintained and found its way onto tandems.

The twin-jockey mechanism was actually fixed, with no lateral movement; it was simply there to take up chain tension. Instead, the three sprockets themselves moved laterally, and affected the chain derailing. Naturally the TriVelox's main component was its special hub and sprocket assembly which had to be built into a new or existing wheel.

3 Speed gear shifter 

Tandem oversize headset with grease nipples 

Eccentric-mounted bottom bracket with grease nipples 

Bates Spare Parts, Sprockets, Brake Blocks & Tools

The tandem is also complete with tools & spares 

Front and rear panniers.

Photos of Bates Tandem

Double Chainring

26 x 1 3/8" tyres

Vintage water bottles

Frame number:  SO 22  5LA12  (3303) 

Having some fun with Juliana

74 Years on and still going strong

I don't know a great deal about Bates, and would love to hear from readers who know more about them than I do, especially this tandem.

Thank you for looking Martin