AdamMort
Retro Newbie
Hullo Retrobike denizens, I'm looking to build a sturdy steel-framed bike for winter use, upright riding position with hub gears and enclosed chain, kind of like classic English roadsters of old but without the headaches involved in getting spares or fitting modern parts. I'd like to use a large-framed retro MTB of some kind, needs to have horizontal dropouts for fitting a Nexus hub gear at the back.
Ideally, I'd get a decent Specialized, Marin or GT of some type and fit new bars, hub gears, fenders etc to it, but I am on a strict budget of £100 + delivery, and I'm having some trouble finding bikes that fit my criteria at the minute (Needs to be at LEAST 19" frame size, preferably bigger). Are there any lesser-known makes, or good bikes from not-so-reputable manufacturers that would fetch lower prices but be suitable for my needs? I've seen things like Raleigh Nitros online for pretty good prices but from what I gather they (like most of Raleigh's MTB offerings) are not well thought of. Saw an ad for this Raleigh "Spirit" very close to me, good size with V-brakes and in the ideal colour of red, but I can't find any info about it on the web or this forum and I suspect it might not be very good for the price they're asking.
Hence, I thought I'd consult this forum for advice - I'm sure there are reasonable bikes out there to be had, I've got a '91 Hardrock sitting in the shed that I got for 80 quid off Facebook so I know it can be done! Am I barking up the wrong tree with my budget here, or do I need to just bide my time for a while?
Ideally, I'd get a decent Specialized, Marin or GT of some type and fit new bars, hub gears, fenders etc to it, but I am on a strict budget of £100 + delivery, and I'm having some trouble finding bikes that fit my criteria at the minute (Needs to be at LEAST 19" frame size, preferably bigger). Are there any lesser-known makes, or good bikes from not-so-reputable manufacturers that would fetch lower prices but be suitable for my needs? I've seen things like Raleigh Nitros online for pretty good prices but from what I gather they (like most of Raleigh's MTB offerings) are not well thought of. Saw an ad for this Raleigh "Spirit" very close to me, good size with V-brakes and in the ideal colour of red, but I can't find any info about it on the web or this forum and I suspect it might not be very good for the price they're asking.
Hence, I thought I'd consult this forum for advice - I'm sure there are reasonable bikes out there to be had, I've got a '91 Hardrock sitting in the shed that I got for 80 quid off Facebook so I know it can be done! Am I barking up the wrong tree with my budget here, or do I need to just bide my time for a while?
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