Hi all,
Not new to this forum, I'm an occasional lurker but still very much an enthusiast. I've recently set out on a little project that I didn't think deserved it's own thread, but thought it would resurrect this one nicely, so here I am.
My father gave me his old '86 Muddy Fox Courier a couple of years ago to do up and sell. He had owned it from new when both he and my mum bought matching Couriers. Hers was a mixte and had a hard but good life. She sold it to a student in Exeter while I was working overseas. Back to my dads, I gave it a decent service to get it working as well as it could with all original parts. I even listed it for sale on here. I was slightly sad at potentially seeing it go however as had many fond memories from being hauled around on the back or riding on paths in North Wales with him when I was a nipper. I therefore didn't try very hard to sell it at all.
Fast forward a couple of years to today, this bike has been in my shed and not really touched since taking the photos below. Rust is starting to creep back on there bits I had cleaned up. I also now have young kids of my own, and a need for a functional bike to fit child seats and a Tagalog to. (The adapters and brackets irritate me when left on my road bike or modern MTB). Step in the old Courier.
My plans are therefore not to give it a full restoration like some others have done very nicely. Instead I want to give it a thorough overhaul to get it working as well as possible, give it a sympathetic restoration, and replace a number of components with period correct-ish parts, that are roughly in keeping with the spirit of the bike. I will not be repainting it as I want to keep the patina and memory of its history alive.
My part list therefore consists:
The '86 Courier
Specialized BB-2 dirt drop handlebars
Nitto MT-10 dirt drop stem
San Marco Rolls saddle in the vintage embossed suede grey covering
Shimano BL-1050 non-aero brake levers
Velo Vitality vintage brake cable outer (to use on gears also)
Suntour ratcheting bar end shifters.
Nitto M12 front rack
Dia-Compe headset cable hanger (as the MT-10 doesn't have a cable stop.
Modern-ish brake pads for the original '86 Dia-Compe canits
Cinelli grey cork bar tape
Schwalbe Supermoto tires in 26 x 2.3". (Quite modern I know, but I already have them and better to use than let rot in a box)
KMC X8-99 silver chain
I still need some pedals, should probably put original type cages on it but am also swaying towards modern PD-T8000 single sided clipless for functionality. I also need a seatposts. I've removed the old one, it actually came out easily! I think it is 26.4mm, can someone confirm? A matching Nitto would be nice.
I also plan to renew all bearings and rebuild the wheels with new stainless spokes, renew all cables, clean and polish up all alloy parts (rims, hubs, mechs etc - not aggressively), and generally treat it as a frame up new build.
I also have another '87 Courier that I intend to use as a doner for some parts, picking the best of what ever I have duplicates of. I paid less than the price of a cheap round for it so it owes me nothing. I may end up putting that back together with the 2nds for a bike to leave at the station.
Hope to provide a few updates alon the way. Aiming to have it done by the spring so can start enjoying it with the kids. More pics to follow, however here is what it looked like when initially cleaned up a couple of years back:
Thanks for reading!
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