1987 Muddy Fox Courier Restomod.

[Bonicon]

This is my Muddy Fox Courier (1987), one of my favourite bikes. I picked it up last year after a tip on a german forum (I am based in Munich): the owner wanted to get rid of it, it used to be his grandfathers but now it was just broken and taking up space. One crankarm was dangling loose with a bodged bolt, and like many bikes like this it looked like a proper POS at a first glance. I quickly handed him the 20 euro he was asking and walked it to my car, accompanied by such a lovely sound coming from the freewheel...

At home I did a first inspection and a few quick photos, really no major issues apart from that crankarm bolt, naturally with scuffs and signs of usage, but also signs of a life where it was mostly loved and taken care of:




It was full of nice Japanese components: Dia-Compe, Suntour, Sanshin, Araya...those 4-finger levers and the friction shifter felt so nice, only a 5-speed freewheel though.

...to be continued...

 

[Bonicon]

I tore down the bike completely and started with the frame, the stickers on the NDS were bad and the previous owner had covered it up with a tobacco-company sticker. Maybe period correct in some sense, but I'd rather have whatever is left of the original sticker:

 

[sparkybhp]

Lovely! Very clean build on a classic steel MF. Nice when you can find them in that sort of condition.
I am intrigued by the old seatpost - is there some sort of shock absorber in there or something??

 

[Bonicon]

Lovely! Very clean build on a classic steel MF. Nice when you can find them in that sort of condition.
I am intrigued by the old seatpost - is there some sort of shock absorber in there or something??

It is more like a Pogo-stick, bouncing up and down and in some other directions as well. It was shimmed, so at least removing it did not present any problems.

 

[Bonicon]

After the frame was sorted, I started on the other components...when I cleaned up the freewheel I discovered something wonderful:



Dura-Ace! Now I know where that sound in coming from.

With so many nice old parts I decided to keep it mostly in its stock form, the parts cleaned up nicely, many had Muddy Fox branding on them:



The wheelset had wide Araya-rims and high-flange Sansin hubs, I overhauled them and put on a pair on Maxxis Ikons, the only real modernisation.



I did a quick mock-up and was glad to see the 2.2 inch tire fit in the frame, and the look was a perfect fit for what I was after:

 

[Bonicon]

Finally, adding a front rack and yellow Jagwire cabling along with a Turbo saddle and black Oury grips, my Muddy Fox was done:



I've done a few changes here and there after this, and use it regularly. I would really like to get hold of a Pathfinder now, I am really slipping deep into this rabbit hole, but enjoying it fully.

If you made it this far through this photobomb today, thank you. This was my first thread on retrobike, hope to have a good time here!

 

[HuskyDinoBomber]

Love it wonderful resto

 

[RetroDavy]

Very nice indeed. A well sorted super clean original bike, nicely updated. Top work! What's the front rack?

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

I like that, really nice.

 

[KermitGKona88]

A practical classic