Raleigh Cobra, it's not that bad honest. Update 2 years on.

[al-onestare]

You can't call LGF a bike snob, for christ sakes he owns a GT!

And what's wrong with GT?!?!

Nothing that's not also wrong with Kona, Scott, Specialized, Trek, Giant and Marin

and I think thats the point Hyd..you can of course use common sense that one very exspensive bike will be in some areas a better bike..but..that doesn't make you a better owner if you continually look down on others without the same pocket..orrrr...the same wish just to buy a top end bike to feel like you have beaten the jones

as to lada riva so throw it in the pond..really? some havn't read this thread properly, the chap makes it clear he is on a learning curve and this was a good first place..the passion and enthusiasm to get thier hands dirty and enjoy retros should never be attempted to be quoshed by bike snobbery

as to the exscuse..well they asked for an opinion on the bike....surely to encourage anyone to join rbuk there are better ways to not look snobby, elistist and out of touch with the drive of rb without making someone they have bought the biking equivalent of a leper

This place is to push the drive for those who enjoy and own retro bikes to as many as possible and offer a welcoming hand to those who share a passion..and not some kind of snobbery elite who ask how much did you spend before you can be accepted. If the case is that the more that join some feel less relevant than I can only assume that some need to realise that and stop making people with cheaper bikes feel like pants

The site is called retro bike uk.....not elistist and how exspensive is your bike uk

Thank fully it's a very small handfull

perhaps best explained with a rather cheesy saying

Power is knowledge..has always been incomplete and it should have been

Power is knowledge only when applied wisely

Excellent post. It defo warrents a place here because:

a) it's old
b) it's what a lot of us grew up on (Maverick ATB for me) so it has a good element of nostalgia. This is retrobike after all.

I love the fact it's being used regularly today. It's cheap, it does the job. Full respect.

 

[hydorah]

Partial agreement

This thread is almost as old as that Cobra but it keeps cropping up again!

I agree with you almost entirely!

It is old! It IS a retrobike

And it's all free will if someone wants to spend time effort and money on something that is of course their business

If they are deriving enjoyment from it then good for them

But there's a long way between your Maverick and a Cobra in terms of quality and usability

But that's besides the point my real message was: if someone gets some advice that maybe you'd be best off spending your time and cash on something more useful, there's no need to get hurt or angry...

If in the face of common sense your heart says try and make a practical bike out of a Raleigh Cobra, again that's your choice (A very poor one in my opinion, nothing fits them!)

If however it's pure sentimentality, well that doesn't make any sense ever, so that's 100% inarguably simultaneously foolish and absolutely perfect! Who doesn't remember their first mountain bike and sometimes think about it

My first mountain bike was a Puegeot Trail, Maillard hubs, Sachs gears, Weinmann brakes, it was not the best...

Sometimes see the odd one for sale... Who knows maybe one day eh?

 

[juz]

Loving this thread!
I had one of these when I was 7 years old, in 1988! It was the type with the huge chrome riser's. I can confirm it was crap but not as bad as the BSO's of today. If I had the room I'd buy it for nostalgia, maybe one day. It was the first 'mountain bike' I'd ever seen when I found it under the xmas tree. All my mates had BMX's or racer's. Thanks for posting!

 

[beechdaleboy]

great thread,
i also have a soft spot for old raleighs,
at the end of the day its what most kids had as there first bikes and for some they bring back fond memories.given the choice between buying a tesco flat pack bike or a mustang/cobra i would have the nottingham bike hands down.

i would hope that more people add more bikes like this as its not just about the top end or rare stuff...

 

[Clifford]

WOW! My first MTB was a Cobra!

That pic brings back many memories. My mate had a black and white Mustang I wanted something different, from memory the spec was the same and so was the price £140 ish? in 89.

I can remember the wheel lasting about five minutes.

Fantastic stuff

Thanks for sharing

Cliff

 

[spike3]

Re: Raleigh Cobra, it's not that bad honest.

A little update, it's got a lot more scratches and a little rust, but it still works just fine, the friction shifters still shift and the pedals keep turning. But that BB is starting to feel a little worse for wear, a job for the LBS in the summer I reckon. I'll post a photo or two of it in action and now. Just to show it's been used.

Trying a new route home a local bridleway suddenly took a turn for the worse. :/ excuse the phone pic

 

[walleater]

Re: Raleigh Cobra, it's not that bad honest.

Looks like you got your moneys worth out of it!

Seems a bit harsh comparing it to a modern BSO in a way to be honest. A modern BSA will have a whole load of weighty stuff that doesn't work and makes the ride worse (suspension, useless disc brakes etc) and 'indexed' gears that never find a gear, and pretty well nothing is serviceable. You could through in a cheap BB adapter and fit some better cranks easily enough if the current BB is blown, and as already mentioned, some cheap alloy wheels would increase the performance no end. There's really not much you can do with a current BSO.

 

[spike3]

Re: Raleigh Cobra, it's not that bad honest. Update 2 years

hmm really, suppose I'd have to get out the current BB and measure the shell. it looks like a BMX size to me?

 

[weeman_mtb]

Re: Raleigh Cobra, it's not that bad honest. Update 2 years

hmm really, suppose I'd have to get out the current BB and measure the shell. it looks like a BMX size to me?

Rob Atkin has the adapters for sale to convert BMX to a standard bb viewtopic.php?f=2&t=248319