Townsend Bikes

[davemev]

Hi guys

I am trying to remember what my first mountain bike was. I'm sure it would have been late 80's early 90's. My brother and my friend all got one at the same time. My brothers was a red and black Townsend Hot Iron. My Friends was a grey Smokey Bear with a smokey paint job. But mine I cant remember. It had a pain job similar to the smokey bear but it was green and blue.
Does anybody have any idea? I know they are not desirable bikes anymore but I would really like to work it out for my own sanity.

Thanks

Dave

 

[velomaniac]

Problem with Townsend is there were oodles of names for basically the same bike. At the budget end of biking the only thing the manufacturer could do to keep the model line fresh was new paint and graphics. My first mtb was a Townsend Beartooth which was gloss black with red decals.
Wish i could help but the name could be anything.

 

[sherlylock]

I've always wanted to find out what my Townsend bike was called. Not interested in buying/finding one as it was a POS.

IIRC it was a Rhubarb & Custard two tone coloured frame. And it had thumbies too. And it was heavy. But that's about all I can remember......

 

[Once A Hero]

I've always wanted to find out what my Townsend bike was called. Not interested in buying/finding one as it was a POS.

IIRC it was a Rhubarb & Custard two tone coloured frame. And it had thumbies too. And it was heavy. But that's about all I can remember......

Excuse the thread revival :shock:, fell into a bit of a rabbit hole trawling for something and ended up here...

A Rhubarb & Custard two tone coloured Townsend sounds like my first MTB - which was a 'Townsend 2000'. I'm not sure what the 2000 was in reference to (perhaps weight in KGs, or the number of minutes of the bikes design life), as I'm sure I acquired it in the summer of 1989.

I traded it in against a MuddyFox the following year, and received the princely sum of £82 off the MFs £282 price tag in doing so

 

[Moqi]

Re:

First MTB for me as well - surprised i continued cycling after that. Cranks fell off due to ill preparation by shop. Actually managed to bend the chainrings and i'm not renowned for the power put through the pedals. Had chainset marked "shark" or something equally naff. Glad to see it go.

 

[shedobits]

Re:

Bought one of these for 65 quid from someone selling catalogue returns in about 1985. The factory had put the BB axle in the wrong way round so that two of the chainring bolts fouled the chainstay.
Later the saddle kept tilting upwards and the front brake caliper bent forward so that the pads dug into the tyres!
It was a P.O.S. but with a compass and O.S. map I discovered off road riding and I went on to find a hobby for life, so in a sense it was money well spent.

 

[FluffyChicken]

I had a blue Townsend, at least my memory says it was blue. Has 200GS and I still have some of it, namely the non-drive side crank arm I use as a hammer for some thing. (nice plastic coated lump of iron )
That's about all I can remember, but did most my modding on it, It ended up with XT parts and some DX bits, also mods for 8 speed with dodgy screw on rings. good days and must have been good and fun rides.

Got nicked though and ended up with a Black Orange prestige, with the nice Alu forks and full XTR setup from the insurance.
feck knows how (well a bike shop valuation, frame and stuff purchase and parts from an importer-ish near snaith).
That quickly got nicked and ended up doing my paper round and riding and a few fun races on a 1991 Rocky Mountain Altitude kitted to the top and suspension, also frame a parts mainly purchased from said 'importer' though this was via the uk team.
and I still have the bike to this day.

Odd how a Townsend turns into something else :-D

 

[sherlylock]

I've always wanted to find out what my Townsend bike was called. Not interested in buying/finding one as it was a POS.

IIRC it was a Rhubarb & Custard two tone coloured frame. And it had thumbies too. And it was heavy. But that's about all I can remember......

Excuse the thread revival :shock:, fell into a bit of a rabbit hole trawling for something and ended up here...

A Rhubarb & Custard two tone coloured Townsend sounds like my first MTB - which was a 'Townsend 2000'. I'm not sure what the 2000 was in reference to (perhaps weight in KGs, or the number of minutes of the bikes design life), as I'm sure I acquired it in the summer of 1989.

I traded it in against a MuddyFox the following year, and received the princely sum of £82 off the MFs £282 price tag in doing so

Another thread revival! Since I made that comment I found out that it was indeed a "Townsend 2000".....I walked past one a year or so ago, chained up outside a local pub. Couldn't believe it when I saw it. Brought back some memories......

Found a pic online:

Bought from the catalogue for Christmas in 1989. Wonder if my folks have finished paying for it (and the interest) yet.......

 

[Duxuk]

I rode a few times with a local fellow around 1996. He had a brand new Townsend which he got very cheaply. His father had just been laid off when the company went under. So you think you had it bad?

 

[Duxuk]

Looks like it was 1998, actually.
https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/n ... for-bikes/
ONE of Journal-land's major companies is closing with the loss of 180 jobs.

Townsend Cycles is making 180 redundant at its Leigh factory because of the strength of the pound.

The move to shut the plant comes just months after staff were put on a three day week.

The company, which makes a range of mountain bikes, was Britain's second largest bicycle manufacturer.

It built its business by specialising in low budget machines as the mountain bike boom took off.

But the strength of sterling means that bikes can be imported more cheaply than its costs to assemble them here.


The firm started life in Bolton and opened its £6 million plant in Horizon Park, Leigh just over three years ago.

Parent company, Tandem, intends to now concentrate production at its Falcon Cycles factory in Brigg, North Lincolnshire, where a further 180 people work.