Townsend Bikes

[Oldskool13]

Re:

Sinnerman I think I owe you an apology, I had you down as an ultra bike snob. I understand where you're coming from now.
Reading your post makes me sad, I can't get my head around how a company had so little regard for its product that they couldn't even pack it properly. OK they were budget bikes but that's no reason to build them so poorly and send them out knowing they would be damaged and not give a stuff about their reputation.

I will always have a soft spot for my Colorado because it got me back on two wheels and rekindled my love of bikes. It was bought with no prior knowledge of the brands reputation, and I still think it's not a bad bike, probably because it was well maintained and possibly upgraded.


The only problem now is I have an anti-clockwise brain. When someone tells me not to do something, I usually go ahead and do it. There's a part of me that wants a Apocolypse or Shaniko! :facepalm:

 

[sinnerman]

Re: Re:

Sinnerman I think I owe you an apology, I had you down as an ultra bike snob. I understand where you're coming from now.
Reading your post makes me sad, I can't get my head around how a company had so little regard for its product that they couldn't even pack it properly. OK they were budget bikes but that's no reason to build them so poorly and send them out knowing they would be damaged and not give a stuff about their reputation.

I will always have a soft spot for my Colorado because it got me back on two wheels and rekindled my love of bikes. It was bought with no prior knowledge of the brands reputation, and I still think it's not a bad bike, probably because it was well maintained and possibly upgraded.


The only problem now is I have an anti-clockwise brain. When someone tells me not to do something, I usually go ahead and do it. There's a part of me that wants a Apocolypse or Shaniko! :facepalm:

There's no need to make an apology, especially to me. Had it not been for companies like Townsend filling the market at the price points mentioned, im sure half of us here would never have got on a bike. The Mountain bike boom changed the way households looked upon cycling and for the first time since the previous century it became popular again.

Sadly, trying to compete with Far east imports was never going to be easy, and it was a fore gone conclusion they would import and sticker more in the end, than they made themselves, supply and demand and all price led, especially pre-internet. Having to hit price points to ensure turnover and then profit, as always leads to matieral costs having to be reduced.

I guess the Packaging too was a cost cutting measure, not just in the materials, but how many you could get in the lorries. Bearing in mind big dealers could sell in excess of 150 units on any given Saturday and sunday….., Im not kidding it was that big a market back then, especially when you could advertise in the local paper...Was £199 ….NOW only £139/129 etc...., People would be fighting for them.

Whats counts the most is the Journey, and you have found yourself here, and because of your choices so far, you can take the next path and you already know what you like, exploring the next step for you, will keep you here a long time im sure.

Just ask the History man, and then look at the bikes he has now from when he came here, im sure he will agree, hes loving the journey and having now explored some high quality older bikes ..........hes found his calling. (careful though, hes a giant mad hatter...).

 

[velomaniac]

Re:

You'r right Sinnerman, your not a snob, I was just a wee bit attached to my Townsend

As for THM, if a bike existed called the "Giant Mad Hatter" you know he would have to have one probably in anodised rainbow

 

[CassidyAce]

Re:

Sometimes a bike is called a POS because of snobbery; sometimes a bike is called a POS because it is a POS.

I wouldn't call myself a bike snob, but I do find something really cynical and distasteful about the real BSOs, the full sus Apollos, the £99 Sports Direct bikes, etc:

1) they fail sooner so they waste scarce resources
2) they put people off cycling because they're heavy, have rubbish tyres, poorly functioning gears . . . And people who could lead fitter, healthier, longer lives don't.
3) they cynically target the less well off, who will spend money they can little afford on something that will perform badly and let them down sooner rather than later; in other words, it's deliberately selling a false economy to those who can least afford a false economy.

My wife bought a Townsend in the 1990s: it put her off mountain bikes and, indeed, gears for over a decade!

 

[Scooby doo]

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

Hi dave I'm trying to send a pic of my smokey bear hope this is of help☘

 

[Pitpopsy]

Boom! There it is!
Surprised you saw one out in the wild still! Every now and then I do a eBay search for one, but I'm never disappointed that the search brings up no results! What would I do if I found one... :shock:

As an aside - riding through London the other day I spotted my first road bike chained up, a Raleigh Winner, and if I wasn't pushed for time I might have left my details on it in case the owner wanted to sell it...

I've got a Raleigh Winner for sale as a restoration project. Still interested?

 

[Once A Hero]

I've got a Raleigh Winner for sale as a restoration project. Still interested?

Thank you but no. I’ve thought about it numerous times, seen several for sale, but I just can’t bring myself to give up the garage space for one.

 

[Antwack]

Apologies for the thread resurrection!

It was only a couple of weeks ago that I remembered a lad in my street about 30 ish years ago having a yellow Townsend Colorado. At the time I thought it was a decent looking bike!

I couldn’t remember the groupset it had so I tried Google images. To my surprise I found one very local for sale for £30. I got in touch but didn’t manage to pick it up before Christmas but hopefully should collect it tomorrow.

I recall the black rims with Mavic looking decals and also BioPace chainrings?

Does anyone have a catalogue or anything similar?

 

[Antwack]

I’ve just picked it up. I can start a new thread if anyone is interested?

 

[DrewS]

I’ve just been out on my Townsend Action 500. Think it must be about 33 years old now! Still works after zero servicing in years!