'89 Muddy Fox Pathfinder

[was8v]

Latest "survivor" purchase:

Is this a 1989 in alternate colour way? Usually they are crackle finish I think?

Exage Country integrated thumbies with Deore U brake so perhaps an early season model.

Braking surface hardly worn but looks like front wheel has been rebuilt with s/s spokes and a mavic oxygen M6 rim at some point. Needs tyres and tubes.

I think this might be my first Muddy Fox. Bit big for me but will find a shorter stem and put it to work on the nursery run over summer.

 

[legrandefromage]

nice

suddenly seeing lots of this old 6spd Uniglide stuff.

LGF's Top Tip #36c:

Replace that fat old UG chain with just about anything from SRAM or a HG or KMC or whatever, it will make the Uniglide shift so much better.

 

[was8v]

Ta!

Done some digging and found it appears in this configuration the the 1989 "preview" brochure, so the must have changed to crackle finish and rear canti brake before the full brochure came out.

Rear hub is a "Sansin cx-60" and the spec lists the freewheel as Shimano MF-Z012 so without looking at it I guess its a uniglide freewheel not the unglide cassette type which would have a shimano hub. Spec lists the chain as "KMC Uniglide Black" so thatnks for the tip it will be swapped for a 7 speed sram chain from the pile when I remove for cleaning.

 

[jimo746]

That looks nice, will look heaps better after a clean and polish.

LGF's Top Tip #36c:

Replace that fat old UG chain with just about anything from SRAM or a HG or KMC or whatever, it will make the Uniglide shift so much better.

would a 9-speed chain work as well? Or betterer??

 

[was8v]

I would say 9 is OK but 10+ might start to get rather narrow for the fat steel cogs.

7/8/9 have the same inner width, 9 has thinner plates. 10+ begin to get narrower inner width.

Turns out the tyres on my pathfinder are the original Muddy Fox Fastrax 26 X 1.55 Skinwalls, now decomposing - shame - they look like great "gravel" tyres....have got some of these to go on:

https://curiouk.com/collections/mou...ck-gumwall-mountain-bike-tyre-tire-26-x-2-125
Bargain at £17.50 the pair delivered 26 x 2.125 with that period late 80's "atb tyre" look.

 

[was8v]

Gave it a clean up and a tune up.

Glued seat cover back on and fitted tyre. Greased hubs and headset which work well enough once the old dry grease was replenished.

Gear shift is OK but it needs a new freewheel, this one was a little seized, after a soak in oil a lot of rust came out and it has a lot of play, makes horrendous noises when coasting. Going to go or a 6spd again to keep the SIS, KMC chain I have off an old bike will go on with that.

Perfect for casual use with my daughters seat on the back!

Quite happy with the tyres for this purpose, they are heavy and inflexible but look right:

I am tempted to keep going and build something like my old Giant Super Sierra I built to ferry my lad around (sold a while back).... but must resist....

 

[nstarmore]

Those tyres look great, I'm guessing they're no good for much more than casual riding though at that price

 

[was8v]

Those tyres look great, I'm guessing they're no good for much more than casual riding though at that price

Lightweight wheels make a massive difference - the giant above had light folding tyres and lightweight wheels, was a great ride....

The wheels on this bike are no lightweights.... but it won't be going significant distances for this to be a real concern. These tyres are quoted at 880g, gulp.

I didn't want slicks as they never look right, nor off road tread tyres as they drag. It's hard to find the vintage "ATB" type tread patterns with amberwall on anything lightweight anyway. I'd probably run compass tyres if I had deep pockets.

 

[was8v]

This is now sorted.

I got a cheap 6 speed freewheel as the Shimano was very grumbly. I got 14-28 thinking I would just swap the 14-30 Shimano cogs onto it but the splines are very slightly different! Ah well its not going up any mountains.

The original Uniglide chain was all stiff and weird so a KMC from the spares store went on.

Rides nicely and with the seat slid forwards the long stem isn't a problem, fits pretty well.

Maybe I'll fit some new cables but it shifts and brakes fine at the moment even with that kink at the rear mech.

 

[MainlyMF]