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I picked this up a couple of months ago. Perfect for my wife that's just taken a job at Kew Gardens which is a few mins ride from where we live. She'll also be allowed to ride it around the grounds when going between offices as well. I spied it on the bay BIN £150; same old story, crap pictures and vague description but as it wasn't far away so I thought it was worth a punt.
Pitched up at the sellers mansion and there it was waiting for us. Basically the mintest, cleanest retrobike I've ever clapped eyes on! The feller bought it way back when from a Volvo dealer? and basically never rode it. I guess the sales guy gave a bit of spiel when he was buying his new Volvo and hey presto he went home with a bike he didn't actually want.
After checking a few of the old 'Dale catalogs I've discovered its part of the 1995 Hybrid range so neither MTB or racer.. however as it clearly resembles ATB I've sneaked it in here. After getting it home I did the strip down and rebuild thing and made a few changes. Originally it was equip with STX rear mech and Altus front, Gripshift and Dia Compe levers, which have been replaced with stuff I had knocking around. Front and rear mech changed to M550, shifters and levers replaced with XT units, bars are now Hyperlite and cassette now an HG70. For some reason the original BB was rough as sandpaper so I replaced this with a new UN55 one and as is my habit I replaced all the cables. I also had to replace the grips and I did so with US made ESI one's from Charlie the Bikemonger. The wheelset is really smart and comprises of Mavic T231s (basically 700c M231s which I never even knew existed) and rare as funk Avocet Cross tyres.
So here it is.... nothing special but retro and unique nonetheless. As you can see from the pictures it could pass as a new bike and all for less than £200 and a couple of hours work...... and that got me thinking.. what bike can you get from Evans for 200 quid?? Certainly not an American made lovingly built one like this. In fact the equivalent today would surely set you back thousands.. especially as most moderns are made in the Far East :?
Thanks for looking.... Craig
Pitched up at the sellers mansion and there it was waiting for us. Basically the mintest, cleanest retrobike I've ever clapped eyes on! The feller bought it way back when from a Volvo dealer? and basically never rode it. I guess the sales guy gave a bit of spiel when he was buying his new Volvo and hey presto he went home with a bike he didn't actually want.
After checking a few of the old 'Dale catalogs I've discovered its part of the 1995 Hybrid range so neither MTB or racer.. however as it clearly resembles ATB I've sneaked it in here. After getting it home I did the strip down and rebuild thing and made a few changes. Originally it was equip with STX rear mech and Altus front, Gripshift and Dia Compe levers, which have been replaced with stuff I had knocking around. Front and rear mech changed to M550, shifters and levers replaced with XT units, bars are now Hyperlite and cassette now an HG70. For some reason the original BB was rough as sandpaper so I replaced this with a new UN55 one and as is my habit I replaced all the cables. I also had to replace the grips and I did so with US made ESI one's from Charlie the Bikemonger. The wheelset is really smart and comprises of Mavic T231s (basically 700c M231s which I never even knew existed) and rare as funk Avocet Cross tyres.
So here it is.... nothing special but retro and unique nonetheless. As you can see from the pictures it could pass as a new bike and all for less than £200 and a couple of hours work...... and that got me thinking.. what bike can you get from Evans for 200 quid?? Certainly not an American made lovingly built one like this. In fact the equivalent today would surely set you back thousands.. especially as most moderns are made in the Far East :?
Thanks for looking.... Craig
