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1991 Chas Roberts (Unidentified)
- Thread starter Tsundere
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I guess this is the difficulty when it comes to identifying frames from a custom builder, especially when the frame numbers only describe the date. As I understood it, and I could well be wrong, the Snow Leopard replaced the Black Leopard some time in late 1992 and came with a slew of changes and improvements.
Here's a link to a brochure dated March 1992 which lists the Black Leopard, whereas the pamphlet you post above seems to refer to the Black Leopard posthumously, which would make it late 1992/1993 at the earliest.
So if yours is indeed a 'Leopard' then it has to be an early Black Leopard. There was the Audax range too which muddies the waters even further. I guess we just have to try and make the best educated guess with whatever information is available to us.
Nice, that's one mystery solved
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Just checked .
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Well, there goes the White Leopard replacing the Black Leopard hypothesis, I'm trying to find the obscure long dead forum post that led me to that conclusion, will link here if it turns up.
Nice find Andre. I don’t know much about Roberts but it’s lovely workmanship. One of the Roberts guys named Winston Vaz now has a frame business local to me should you need anything attending to (hope not): https://www.varonha.co.uk/
Cheers Mark
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Just had a look back and doesn't it look so much better with a better set of wheels and chunky tyres....
100% agree, these old mtb's just don't suit narrow road slicks, they make the wheels appear too small for the frame and kill the whole look, although I'm sure it was a lovely ride on the road when new.Just had a look back and doesn't it look so much better with a better set of wheels and chunky tyres....
The previous rider had a very eclectic set up, road 1x7 drive train, front roller hub brake, XT cantis at the back, sachs grip shifter, different brake levers I assume because the roller brake needed its own, it's certainly an interesting build and looks like he put a lot of thought into setting it up.
I'm still wondering how to proceed, I like the idea of the 1 x 7, I ride a lot on a bike with 2 x 7 and very rarely use the big cog, the grip shifter might remain if that's the direction I go in. Definitely cantis front and rear though, I'll definitely be putting racks on it, I want this bike to do what it was built for, carrying stuff cross country.
The frame seems to be in great shape, sadly the paintwork is very scratched and scuffed and may be beyond saving, although I really want to preserve it and will try everything to save it, especially with the original decals being so nice, black's a nightmare to bring back though.
Removed everything from the frame, one of the easiest strip downs I've had yet, only the non drive side crank offered any kind of resistance but it eventually yielded once leverage was multiplied thanks to a length of pipe.
There was some light debris in the BB shell, but nothing to be concerned about, all threads are good, BB and headset are in excellent shape and after a clean will be going straight back on. I'm very pleased with the condition overall, lots and lots and lots of scratches but they are all paint deep only, no dents, dinks or even serious scuffs, the chain stay is perhaps the cleanest part of the entire frame thanks to the Stay-tuff strip.
I'm really hoping that after a thoroughly deep clean and some T-cutting the frame will be good enough to leave as is, I don't mind a little patina but if it looks too scruffy (as black tends to do when aged and scratched up) I'll go for a new paintjob.
It's going to be set up as a drop bar bikepacker with a mix of XT and DX, a Middleburn crankset, Wolber/DX wheels and racks front and back.
Edit - After doing some more research I'm beginning to think this is a Roughstuff and not a Black Leopard, the reasons being that the front forks are fairly narrow, 1.9's fit fine but it leaves no room for mud guards, plus it only has mounts for two bottles, it came with very narrow tyres (1.5's) and that might reflect the original set up.
The truth is I'll probably never know for sure, but my initial guess was based more on the colour than the features, and the more I look into it the more the features point towards it being a Roughstuff. Either way it's a lovely light British made off-road tourer made with fine fillet brazed steel.
There was some light debris in the BB shell, but nothing to be concerned about, all threads are good, BB and headset are in excellent shape and after a clean will be going straight back on. I'm very pleased with the condition overall, lots and lots and lots of scratches but they are all paint deep only, no dents, dinks or even serious scuffs, the chain stay is perhaps the cleanest part of the entire frame thanks to the Stay-tuff strip.
I'm really hoping that after a thoroughly deep clean and some T-cutting the frame will be good enough to leave as is, I don't mind a little patina but if it looks too scruffy (as black tends to do when aged and scratched up) I'll go for a new paintjob.
It's going to be set up as a drop bar bikepacker with a mix of XT and DX, a Middleburn crankset, Wolber/DX wheels and racks front and back.
Edit - After doing some more research I'm beginning to think this is a Roughstuff and not a Black Leopard, the reasons being that the front forks are fairly narrow, 1.9's fit fine but it leaves no room for mud guards, plus it only has mounts for two bottles, it came with very narrow tyres (1.5's) and that might reflect the original set up.
The truth is I'll probably never know for sure, but my initial guess was based more on the colour than the features, and the more I look into it the more the features point towards it being a Roughstuff. Either way it's a lovely light British made off-road tourer made with fine fillet brazed steel.
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