Raleigh Dyna Tech appreciation and information thread

[Mahoney1978]

Mine 'debonded' in 1994 and was a glued Dyna Tech. It was a common issue I believe with the early Dyna's (I'm only saying this because of what I've read in this thread... I thought what happened to my Dyna Tech was unique!! Obviously not).

As for the M Trax's... Never owned one ;-) unless what I have now is an M Trax!

 

[shinobi]

Mine 'debonded' in 1994 and was a glued Dyna Tech. It was a common issue I believe with the early Dyna's (I'm only saying this because of what I've read in this thread... I thought what happened to my Dyna Tech was unique!! Obviously not).

As for the M Trax's... Never owned one ;-) unless what I have now is an M Trax!

Thanks for the reply im guessing its the same bonding process on M Trax as the Dyna ? mines a 94 so hopefully if it was going to do it it would have done so by now :facepalm: i did try some 100mm RS Toras on it which i had knocking around and they worked very well but were real heavy and gave me sleepless nights over the breakage possibilities with the extra weight and leverage on the front !
Cheers Paul

 

[Mahoney1978]

I don't think the later RSP models were glued tbh, but I could be wrong.

In terms of using suspension forks, I remember reading (somewhere!!) that the earlier geometry's on the early Dyna Techs don't really suit suspension forks, unless you go with a lesser travel fork (think 60-80mm). Pretty sure there is a thread on here of someone who tried a 100mm or 120mm suspension fork on an older Dyna Tech (or M Trax) and the front end failed (debonded).

However some of the 93 and 95 model M Traxs are shown in the catalogues with a suspension option, which tells me you might be OK.

 

[paul6693]

never had a dynatech or m-trax break on me and I've had a few here's my mt4 from way back when and my latest m-trax ti1000

 

[shinobi]

Re:

Thanks again for the replies there guys , i only used the Tora s for one ride running Pace rc35 mxcd at the moment , The M Trax looks much better with flat bars but my back and wrists say low risers im afraid :roll:

Paul

 

[ultrazenith]

Out of 3 of us who used Dynatech / M Trax bonded frames in the 90s, only one of us had a frame debond. In his case, the down tube popped out of the bottom bracket lug. The weird thing is the Raleigh brochure from those years used to claim that the bonds are 30% stronger than welds.

I used to use a Rockshox Q21R which I think had around 60 mm travel, I rode it hard for several years and never had the frame debond on me.

Has anyone ever heard of UGLI forks debonding?

 

[mattr]

The problem with bonded frames (or any bonding process TBH) is that so much of the strength is down to preparation, not the actual adhesive.
Leaving the frames out for an extra half hour between cleaning and bonding, falling joint.
Not quite completely clean, failed joint.
Too warm, too cold, too damp, too dusty, failed joint.
The perfect joint is really strong, just a bugger to do it the same every time.
FWIW, our local Raleigh dealer had about a 75% returns rate on the bonded frames, and I understand that the total returns rate at the factory was utterly eye watering, considering most models would probably be a fraction of a per cent.

 

[barry2017]

There is (was) a really nice quite late all steel Dynatech at Cash Converters in Burton on Trent the other week.

They wanted £120. I thought that wasn't a bad price, it had barely been used. Worth a look if anyone's out that way.

 

[Mahoney1978]

Cheers guys, interesting stuff. Plus, if Raleigh had a blank canvas to work from when they were building/painting my new frame, the head badge could easily have been added (as they were painting the frame any way? Edit, just seen doctorstewie's reply -exactly that)

I must admit, I want it to be a Dyna Tech as this is what I bought with the original Sentinel.

The story behind how I got it back is pretty cool too. It was sold twice (once to a mate from university. He then offered it back to me and I said no, but luckily my brother bought it). I'd forgotten about it until I found this site a few years ago and didn't know if my brother still had it! He did and gave it back to me! And got a mate to help him strip it back to just frame/forks.

Its taken me about three years to save up the funds, but a top member on this forum helped pick it up from my brother, fit it into a small (as possible!) box, send it and now I have it.

Keep the ideas coming if anyone has any other opinions, and yep I think it is pretty much a one off frame. A 1994 dressed as a 1991.

This thread may help. Looks like the 1994 Dyna Tech and M Trax frames were identical, bar the head badge.

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=175588

Anyway, any U.G.L.I forks out there that someone wants to get rid of? I'm keen, especially on the Ti version.

 

[Twistedmart]

92. Or 94 torusRe:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281461527223