Raleigh Cobra, it's not that bad honest. Update 2 years on.
- Thread starter spike3
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Took it out for a proper ride today and all that about it being rubbish is not completely true.
Good bits
1. The rear brake continued to work even when encased in mud
2. The front mech is actually very smooth and shifted cleanly every time I asked it to
3. The frame felt fairly stiff and didn’t clog too badly with mud
Not good
1. Despite a new cable the rear mech still needs persuasion to stay in bottom gear
2. The chain tried twice to come off the cranks nut it was in very thick mud
3. Man this thing is heavy even small hills have me reaching for bottom gear
4. The tyres have very little grip in thick marshy mud
All in all it wasn't that bad
Good bits
1. The rear brake continued to work even when encased in mud
2. The front mech is actually very smooth and shifted cleanly every time I asked it to
3. The frame felt fairly stiff and didn’t clog too badly with mud
Not good
1. Despite a new cable the rear mech still needs persuasion to stay in bottom gear
2. The chain tried twice to come off the cranks nut it was in very thick mud
3. Man this thing is heavy even small hills have me reaching for bottom gear
4. The tyres have very little grip in thick marshy mud
All in all it wasn't that bad
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well at least keep an eye out for some better wheels, this will help with braking and lighter wheels will also make it easier to ride.
It's sort of retro anti-cool 
.
A bit of history, the Cobra was a catalogue version of the Mustang (sometimes referred to a white dog shit on here) which was responsible for some with only paper rounds or relatvely unwealthy parents for our first foray into mountain biking.
Although they were heavy and made with gaspipe they had parts that worked, such as the Sachs mech and shifters, the Weinmann or DC alloy cantis and Lee-Chi alloy brake levers and weren't as bad as some of the BSO's you get these days.
Probably the worst thing was the steel rims which were heavy and buckled if you sneezed on them, however they were loved by many a 13 year old in 1988.
I myself saved a little longer and brought a Maverick GT which was the model up from the one LGF posted which was a Maverick ATB, the GT added the nicer (but still gaspipe) ATT23 lugged frame (same as the team bike he showed) with regular non BMX sized parts (headset and BB). It had alloy rims and Mailard alloy sealed hubs (the Mustang and Cobra only got steel unsealed), Shimano light action gearing, flat bars and an alloy chainset. I was chuffed having saved for 6 months to buy it.
During it's life I added some hi-gear index shifters, a 6 speed shimano block for 18 gears :!: , a Deore II rear mech and some Exage Trail brake levers.
All was great until my mate rode into the back of a car and bent the frame and fork without telling me. Fortunately the insurance paid out and I got something far better.
However the time I had on my semi BSO live long in the memory and I covered lots of miles up and down hill, on and off road on it and of the bikes I used to own its the one with the best memories with it. I'd have another in a shot but it would be a garage queen probably and loved like some of the Kleins on here.
Carl.
.A bit of history, the Cobra was a catalogue version of the Mustang (sometimes referred to a white dog shit on here) which was responsible for some with only paper rounds or relatvely unwealthy parents for our first foray into mountain biking.
Although they were heavy and made with gaspipe they had parts that worked, such as the Sachs mech and shifters, the Weinmann or DC alloy cantis and Lee-Chi alloy brake levers and weren't as bad as some of the BSO's you get these days.
Probably the worst thing was the steel rims which were heavy and buckled if you sneezed on them, however they were loved by many a 13 year old in 1988.
I myself saved a little longer and brought a Maverick GT which was the model up from the one LGF posted which was a Maverick ATB, the GT added the nicer (but still gaspipe) ATT23 lugged frame (same as the team bike he showed) with regular non BMX sized parts (headset and BB). It had alloy rims and Mailard alloy sealed hubs (the Mustang and Cobra only got steel unsealed), Shimano light action gearing, flat bars and an alloy chainset. I was chuffed having saved for 6 months to buy it.
During it's life I added some hi-gear index shifters, a 6 speed shimano block for 18 gears :!: , a Deore II rear mech and some Exage Trail brake levers.
All was great until my mate rode into the back of a car and bent the frame and fork without telling me. Fortunately the insurance paid out and I got something far better.
However the time I had on my semi BSO live long in the memory and I covered lots of miles up and down hill, on and off road on it and of the bikes I used to own its the one with the best memories with it. I'd have another in a shot but it would be a garage queen probably and loved like some of the Kleins on here.
Carl.
Oooh tough one
I read this whole thread with interest
I'm in the middle
That bike is really rough
It's so low end that it's not really compatible with better kit
It has steel rims we know, probably pressed steel hubs
And I can see a one piece crank, and the usual oversized BB shell that goes along with that
But it was £30 delivered, so pocket money. You didn't make a big mistake!
Sounds like you're learning stuff and getting your hands dirty
Which is cool as an outcome
If I were you I wouldn't chuck any money at this one
You'll find it's much more trouble than it's worth to upgrade, and just not fit for purpose as it is
Look out for something with 300LX on it a s a minimum
You'll be able to pick something up for £30 no bother
And you might make money on what you've bought
Welcome to the world of RetroBikes!
Edit: 200GS would also work. it is horrendous stuff, but you can just take bits off and put on better ones as you go along
That was the trick for a lot of guys BITD, buy what you could afford and improve upgrade as and when you could
I read this whole thread with interest
I'm in the middle
That bike is really rough
It's so low end that it's not really compatible with better kit
It has steel rims we know, probably pressed steel hubs
And I can see a one piece crank, and the usual oversized BB shell that goes along with that
But it was £30 delivered, so pocket money. You didn't make a big mistake!
Sounds like you're learning stuff and getting your hands dirty
Which is cool as an outcome
If I were you I wouldn't chuck any money at this one
You'll find it's much more trouble than it's worth to upgrade, and just not fit for purpose as it is
Look out for something with 300LX on it a s a minimum
You'll be able to pick something up for £30 no bother
And you might make money on what you've bought
Welcome to the world of RetroBikes!
Edit: 200GS would also work. it is horrendous stuff, but you can just take bits off and put on better ones as you go along
That was the trick for a lot of guys BITD, buy what you could afford and improve upgrade as and when you could
Barneyballbags
Old School Grand Master
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JeRkY":12hkx2rs said:You can't call LGF a bike snob, for christ sakes he owns a GT!
And what's wrong with GT?!?!
God I can remember a m8 having a cobra :roll: It might weigh the same as a small car but one thing if you can get to ride about on it no probs the day you get a lite bike you'll be flying I used to have a 88/89 Montage upgraded it over time & even used to race on it & did well, but up hills killed me but the extra weight had me flying down them
I used to have a 88/89 Montage upgraded it over time & even used to race on it & did well, but up hills killed me but the extra weight had me flying down them 
We_are_Stevo
Old School Grand Master
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That's what I like to see - 'light blue touch paper and retire'
My first 'ATB' was a gaspipe Emelle - and what a shock return to cycling that was! I hadn't cycled since I finished my paper round (two years from the age of 14, saving up for my 'Fizzie...') and it seemed like so much hard work!
It did, though, lead on to a succession of increasingly better (ie. more expensive :shock: ) bikes, and as an engineer, a lot of 'tinkering...'
Now, getting around as much as I do, I see a lot of student-bikes outside Uni's, Colleges, railway stations, pubs etc and I can't imagine anyone of a sane disposition wanting to leave even a marginally better bike than this amongst them?
Go for it...
My first 'ATB' was a gaspipe Emelle - and what a shock return to cycling that was! I hadn't cycled since I finished my paper round (two years from the age of 14, saving up for my 'Fizzie...') and it seemed like so much hard work!
It did, though, lead on to a succession of increasingly better (ie. more expensive :shock: ) bikes, and as an engineer, a lot of 'tinkering...'
Now, getting around as much as I do, I see a lot of student-bikes outside Uni's, Colleges, railway stations, pubs etc and I can't imagine anyone of a sane disposition wanting to leave even a marginally better bike than this amongst them?
Go for it...
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