1985 Raleigh Maverick

[toadoftoadhall]

Grass could do with a feed chap.

Oh smart bike now we can do a proper retro ride.
Ta Toad

 

[DeletedUser006]

Grass could do with a feed chap.

Oh smart bike now we can do a proper retro ride.
Ta Toad

You're on , when and where then buddy, lets get some SW proper retro action then !

re: the grass....... no chance with my two boys playing football and riding bikes all the time !

 

[DeletedUser006]

I have given the Maverick some TLC this weekend, I have given everything a strip, a service and a clean

I have made a couple of other subtle mods as I am going to ride this and want to ensure its fit for the purpose, I have added a set of WTB velocirators , Charge saddle and Q/R spindles and skewers. The tyres were much needed, Saddle will be much needed and the Q/R spindles for ease of punctures and getting in the car......... oh and SPD's

I was amazed when cleaning that the quality of all the bearings is quite astonishing , really smooth and will go on for years, I even discovered that there is a grease nipple on the BB which has to be cool Why did Raleigh start their introduction to MTB's like this with quality and proper sized headsets , BB's and mech hangers, The mustangs and BMX based MTB's is obviously where it started to go downhill......................... (no pun intended )

I had a good ride on it, such a relaxed ride it made the weekend Hope you enjoy the pics.

Cheers

GM

My Local Raleigh dealers, where I once worked when I were a wippersnapper

 

[mikee]

sweet pics m8

i too have modded my yukon
some lx brakes a better saddle and fitted the wheels from the summit that i bought and some of my fave tyres raptors
still weighs a ton tho
but nice and relaxing to ride i really like mine

 

[Owen]

A liitle before my time this (I would've been 5 or 6 at the time), but it looks gorgeous, really nicely done!

BTW.. How long are those chainstays?? :shock:

 

[saltyman]

great bike, top pics too.

 

[Jamis Diablo]

Wow, you really gave it a lot of TLC, looks amazing!
Is this a modern sadle with retro looks?

 

[DeletedUser006]

Thanks for you kind comments chaps

The chainstays are realy long, and the front wheel is also funny being so far forwards.

The Saddle is a moden charge spoon which I like a lot have 3 of them now and think that the tan colour goes nicley with the theme.

 

[terryhfs]

There were two models of Maverick at this time (1986) - the Maverick 5 and the Maverick 15. The Maverick 5 had caliper brakes and was a much more lowly model than the Maverick 15.

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

This is from my history of mountain biking in Britain and puts the Maverick in its chronological context.

Which were the first ‘Mountain Bikes’ to be designed and made in Britain?
There is little doubt that the Geoff Apps designed Range Rider were the first ‘Mountain Bikes’ to be made in Britain. These were designed without any knowledge of the American bikes and so should be considered as a separate lineage of off-road bike. The first prototype was made in 1968 based on a Raleigh Explorer frame. Experiments using a variety of road bike frame-sets continued throughout the 1970s. His bikes mostly used 2 inch wide, 650b, knobbly snow tyres from Finland. His first Range Rider bikes, using a custom designed (un-braced) frame-sets were designed in 197 I believe the frames where made by Dee's Cycles of Amersham in 1979. These bikes had all the features of the Mountain bike, though their design was arrived at independently. I believe that these bikes were the first British made Mountain Bikes. (One version had drum brakes another rim brakes).
Later versions of these were sold by Cleland Cycles (Geoff’s own company), English Cycles, and Highpath Engineering over the next ten years. They were built to order and as far as I know never mass produced. In October 1981 Nick Crane rode a third generation Range Rider prototype up Snowdon.

The above bikes were designed as if getting off and walking was a criminal offense. Geoff Apps was also a trials motorbike rider. They were designed completely for off-road use. They are the tractors of the Mountain Bike world, tall, functional and reliable.

http://www.james-walters.net/cleland/cl ... story.html


Who made the first American style Mountain Bike in Britain?(1981) A US style Mountain Bike was made by
Chas Roberts at the request of an American customer.
Amateur frame builder Tony Oliver also made himself one which he exhibited at the 1981 York Cycle Show.


Who brought the first American style Mountain Bike into Britain? (197 Journalist Richard Grant brought over a 1st generation Gary Fisher built ‘clunker’. He exhibited this bike at the 1978 Olympia cycle show.

By the end of 1982 American built Ritchey's were being brought into England. I remember it being received wisdom that Norman Hiller of Covent Garden Cycles brought over the first purpose built US Mountain Bike, an early Tom Ritchey built Bike. Others claim that either Journalist Richard Grant or Richard Ballantine brought across the first Ritchey's from the States. Richard Ballantine's two bikes brought over for a Saharan expedition were the inspiration London bike shop, F.W. Evans Cycles, to design a Mountain Bike that became the F.W. Evans ATB, Saracen ATB. Both bikes were identical, apart from the first being usually painted silver and the latter being painted black or red. In July 1984 I hired a black F.W. Evans ATB from Kingston Cycles, its frame number was 001.


Which was the first Mountain Bike mass-produced in Britain? Raleigh Bomber? 1981 (I don’t think so). They were American style Beach Cruisers. Only three speed hub gears, caliper brakes and small frame/seat Designed for teenagers who were outgrowing their BMX bikes.

Early 1984 F.W. Evans ATB/Saracen ATB? (Manufactured by Bluemels).
In 1982/3, Richard Ballantine asked London bike shop F.W. Evans Cycles to build up two Ritchey frames he had brought from the U.S. for Tim Gartside's and Peter Murphy's ,February 1983, Saharan expedition. Evans were curios and persuaded Bluemels to build some bikes based on what they had seen. The resulting F.W. Evans ATBs were mostly silver and branded under the shops own marque. The Bluemels’ own Saracens bikes were identical, apart from being painted black.

The other early British made mountain bikes include was the Dawes Ranger and Bob Jackson's Col Climber model.

As for the Raleigh Maverick, I remember these as being surprisingly late to the party. The earliest contemporary reference I can find is October 1985. And were described as"made in Japan", and so don’t qualify as British. British made versions were mass produced at a slightly later date?


Which was the first mass-produced Mountain Bike imported into Britain? I am not totally sure about this but the Freewheel, mail order catalogue, included far east made Ridgeback bikes from 1883 onwards. The first that I personally saw were Ritchey Montares in late Late1983, though many other models had arrived by mid 84.