First production mtbs in England ?
- Thread starter Ken McGinn
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The Crane brothers had a couple of Ritcheys, which they took
Sahara expedition
Memories sometimes play tricks.
So I looked this up...
Ritcheys - Yes
Sahara -Yes (3,410 miles of it)
1982 - No (actualy early 1983)
Crane cousins - No (it was Tim Gartside and Peter Murphy)
The bikes were the ones brought from the states by Richard Ballantine and prepared and upgraded by FW Evans in London.
They were the inspiration for the Saracen ATBs of early 1984.
Sahara expedition
Memories sometimes play tricks.
So I looked this up...
Ritcheys - Yes
Sahara -Yes (3,410 miles of it)
1982 - No (actualy early 1983)
Crane cousins - No (it was Tim Gartside and Peter Murphy)
The bikes were the ones brought from the states by Richard Ballantine and prepared and upgraded by FW Evans in London.
They were the inspiration for the Saracen ATBs of early 1984.
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Raleigh was not at all enthusiastic about mountain bikes as
That's a great example of how it wasn't the established manufacturers that created the Mountain Bike market. They didn't understand why anybody would want to cycle off-road. For them cycling was all about road racing, and fat tyres were for children's bikes.
It was new companies, risk takers, like Specialized, Ritchey in the US. Ridgeback, Saracen and especialy Muddy Fox (in the UK) that created the market.
Some companies like Cleland Cycles were too early on the scene. They had the vision but not the backing to make it happen. Selling someone a road bike is one thing, selling someone, who doesn't cycle off-road an ATB is another.
Companies like Raleigh only joined the party when it was well established.
Even then they just copied the products of others. They didn't trust or understand inovators and visionaries like Geoff Apps. They never bought into the ethos of the new sport, and were too smug to adapt.
That's a great example of how it wasn't the established manufacturers that created the Mountain Bike market. They didn't understand why anybody would want to cycle off-road. For them cycling was all about road racing, and fat tyres were for children's bikes.
It was new companies, risk takers, like Specialized, Ritchey in the US. Ridgeback, Saracen and especialy Muddy Fox (in the UK) that created the market.
Some companies like Cleland Cycles were too early on the scene. They had the vision but not the backing to make it happen. Selling someone a road bike is one thing, selling someone, who doesn't cycle off-road an ATB is another.
Companies like Raleigh only joined the party when it was well established.
Even then they just copied the products of others. They didn't trust or understand inovators and visionaries like Geoff Apps. They never bought into the ethos of the new sport, and were too smug to adapt.
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Ridgebacks
I didn't know that Ridgebacks were sold in the US. In the UK they were imported by Errol Drew who owned a cycling based mail order company called Freewheel.
I don't know who designed / built them apart from the fact they were Ritchey copies and made in the far east.
I didn't know that Ridgebacks were sold in the US. In the UK they were imported by Errol Drew who owned a cycling based mail order company called Freewheel.
I don't know who designed / built them apart from the fact they were Ritchey copies and made in the far east.
Saracen:
They were first built by a company somewhere (I think) in the West Midlands. It was run by an individual and his wife (Name escapes me). When Blumels experienced a teriffic surge in sales of their MTB mudguards, they went on a spending spree, buying up quite a few companies, including Saracen. However, Blumels overstretched themselves and quite quickly went bust. The Stanforth Brothers snapped the Saracen company up, and are to be admired for the way they have stuck with the company. Monty Young, of Condor Cycles, claimed to have designed the Saracen. Refer to my letter to CK.
It's quite possible that the Ridgeback was designed in the far east. The new powerhouse then was Taiwan, mainland Japan was beginning to lose supremecy. The Taiwanese were very quick to copy the American designs and offer these without decals on the international market. I never heard any whispers as to who had designed the Ridgeback.
They were actually in the London Shops late summer 1983.
It is possible, too, that the Ridgeback in America came from the same source, but was sold on by a different importer.
They were first built by a company somewhere (I think) in the West Midlands. It was run by an individual and his wife (Name escapes me). When Blumels experienced a teriffic surge in sales of their MTB mudguards, they went on a spending spree, buying up quite a few companies, including Saracen. However, Blumels overstretched themselves and quite quickly went bust. The Stanforth Brothers snapped the Saracen company up, and are to be admired for the way they have stuck with the company. Monty Young, of Condor Cycles, claimed to have designed the Saracen. Refer to my letter to CK.
It's quite possible that the Ridgeback was designed in the far east. The new powerhouse then was Taiwan, mainland Japan was beginning to lose supremecy. The Taiwanese were very quick to copy the American designs and offer these without decals on the international market. I never heard any whispers as to who had designed the Ridgeback.
They were actually in the London Shops late summer 1983.
It is possible, too, that the Ridgeback in America came from the same source, but was sold on by a different importer.
Muddy Fox
Muddy Fox:
The Company was started by Drew Lawson and a greek shipping magnate whose name, like most greek shipping magnates, is neither spellable nor pronouncable.
The story as I learned it goes thus:
They bought a French bicycle company, which may have been Hirondelle, (or possibly Motobecane) which had gone bankrupt. They opened a shop in Cavendish Street in order to flog off the stock they had acquired, and very rapidly became aware of the burgoning mountain bike movement. The factory in France was still functional, so they quickly designed a MTB and had it built. Added to that was a marketing budget way bigger than any of their competitors. Eventually the bikes were bought in from the far east, where a great variety of machines were on offer, just waiting for the Muddy Fox decals to be applied.
Muddy Fox:
The Company was started by Drew Lawson and a greek shipping magnate whose name, like most greek shipping magnates, is neither spellable nor pronouncable.
The story as I learned it goes thus:
They bought a French bicycle company, which may have been Hirondelle, (or possibly Motobecane) which had gone bankrupt. They opened a shop in Cavendish Street in order to flog off the stock they had acquired, and very rapidly became aware of the burgoning mountain bike movement. The factory in France was still functional, so they quickly designed a MTB and had it built. Added to that was a marketing budget way bigger than any of their competitors. Eventually the bikes were bought in from the far east, where a great variety of machines were on offer, just waiting for the Muddy Fox decals to be applied.
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