Re:
The Ridgeback 501 came well equipped for its price ( about £ 380 ) in 1986
The cantilever brakes, four finger brake levers and large flange hubs all came from the then top of the range ( for Shimano )
Deore/XT/Deer head groupset 'Built to withstand the demands of off road riding and the rigors of touring' as it said at the time
The only compromise was in the drivetrain. Here the lesser AL-11 series components were used, presumably to save money.
So we have an FD-AL11 and RD-AL11 (front and rear mechs) operated by SL-MT50 shifters
All these items were present when bought, though the LH shifter was partly missing. I was tempted to upgrade the cheaper bits
to XT, which would have been easier, however I decided to stick to the original spec because both the mechs cleaned up quite well.
The shifters were another matter as they were inherently quite flimsy, and it took a long time to find some NOS examples
The new bars and shifters made the brake levers look really shabby, so I could not turn down the chance of an NOS pair on eBay
( this time from Norway )
The photo shows the front mech area in some detail. The FAG bottom bracket , chainrings and cranks that came with the bike
are visible with some Suntour 'bear traps' as an upgrade from the plastic pedals it came with
If you look closely at the chain stay, just in line with the rim, you can see a faint line. This is a paint protector made from three layers of
self adhesive clear plastic ( Fablon ) you join three layers together and then cut to a suitable shape, warm up slightly and apply to
the stay. I use a single layer on the lower side of the down tube to protect from stone chips
