1985 Highpath No. 1 by Dave Wrath-Sharman

[somerled]

SEE HERE for the full story on Retrobike

After three months of graft this 1985 Highpath by the legendary Dave Wrath-Sharman, which was found battered, bruised, derelict and with a lot of bits missing has once again taken to the road.

It's a bit of British offroad bike history for sure.

Spec is :

Year : 1985

Frame: Custom made Highpath by Dave Wrath-Sharman, triple triangle in a mix of Columbus chromoly tubes, nickel bronze welded with a small fillet. Intergral rear rack by Dave Wrath-Sharman
Fork: Custom made 531. Shallow fabricated fork crown with oval tandem 531 fork blades. The fork ends are socketed
Headset: Shimano STX
Stem: Light alloy double stem, 4 bolt 100mm extension,
Handlebar: 1980’s BMX courtesy of Retrobiker ‘i believe in fixies’
Grips: Outland Enduro kraton lock-ons
Barends: none

Brakes: Dave Wrath-Sharman swing cam (SC) drum brakes. Custom made and updated to SC Mk4 spec in 1990.
Brake Pads:
Brake Cables:
Cantilever cable hangers:
Brake Levers: Yamaha TY 175 short

Shifters: Suntour Thumbies thanks to Retrobiker 'jamabikes'
Front Derailleur: Suntour XCE Accushift
Rear Derailleur: Shimano MegaRange
Derailleur Cables: yes!
Cassette: 6 speed Shimano MegaRange SuperLow 32t
Chain: Shimano Hyperglide
Cranks: Shimano Deore Dynadrive
Crank Bolts:
Chainrings: Suntour Microdrive 30t - 42t
Chainring bolts:
Bottom Bracket: The BB shells are very wide at 110mm and offset to the left with bearings on 90mm instead of 50 mm centres. A batch of 140mm EN24t crank axles were specialy made for the Highpath. Updated in 1990 using a modified 135 TA axle
Pedals: Alloy platform

Hub Skewers:
Wheels: The wheels were built with 13/14 single butted stainless spokes and employing a unconventional one-cross spoke pattern - only possible due to the large spoke flange diameter - to full box-section eyeletted 650B Mavic rims
Hubs: Dave Wrath-Sharman Mk4 marine spec anodised. To quote DWS - "they cost me a fortune"
Nipples:
Spokes: 13/14 single butted
Tyres: 54mm Nokia SL-35 or Hakkapellita studded
Tubes:
Saddle: Brooks B17
Seatpost: Highpath
Seatpost Binder:

Weight: ?

 

[CTK]

Very handsome, it is a great looking if unconventional bike. I love the horizontal line formed of the crossbar and racks.

 

[somerled]

Very handsome, it is a great looking if unconventional bike. I love the horizontal line formed of the crossbar and racks.

Thanks for your comment. There are actually two narrow crossbars in there. Here is a pic up that shows them.

The rear rack is a thing of absolute beauty. DWS made it. The front rack is a later bolt on addition and quite nice quality.

DWS made the bike so that it can be taken apart with 3 allen keys!

 

[kaytronika]

An interesting piece of work... What does it ride like?

 

[somerled]

An interesting piece of work... What does it ride like?

Cheers for that. Here is a wee write up I posted on Retrobike:

Hi folks, just back from my first outing on the Highpath. It was just a gentle ride around the cyclepaths of Edinburgh and Leith to see how the bike performed and sort out any glitches.

Jumping on and riding away I was immediately struck by the riding position. It is high and upright, but very comfortable. The bike is short too and handles beautifully.

The brakes are simply amazing, plenty of initial bite which sheds speed very quickly, but in a very controlled way. They certainly give you a lot of confidence. The Yamaha levers are perfect, not too long, not too short and they give plenty of feedback.

The gearchange is silky smooth and I was chuffed that it didn't require any tweaking. No dramas there.

I have to say that I found the Brooks saddle really comfy and it feels like you could pedal for lots and lots of miles in comfort.

The Nokia SL-35 tyres running 15 - yes 15 psi, are uncannily quiet and absorb all the lumps and bumps that you usually feel in places you don't want to.

The handling is very predictable and despite the apparent high centre of gravity it's a solid platform, especially when you are up on the pedals. Geoff Apps and David Wrath-Sharman sure do know their design onions. Highpath is a strange beast to ride, the thing feels alive and eager - it has something, some weird quality or synergy that creates an almost perfect symbiosis between man and metal. (sorry girls!)

All in all I am very pleased with the Highpath, and it's great to see the puzzlement on other cyclists faces whenever I stopped to take pics.

And here is how it looked when I found it:

 

[orange71]

that bike fell into the right hands - well done

 

[Pickle]

Wow!

 

[saltyman]

love it!

 

[kaytronika]

Oh, I remember seeing the thread on this in MTB Chat, didn't realise it was the same bike. Definitely agree that it fell in to the right hands! Really happy that you managed to get it back in one piece.

Thanks for the write up on the ride style.

 

[Dr S]

Fantastic!

Good to see it getting some love. Would love to see it out on one of the RB rides next year.

Si