Retro MTB challenge: A rare classic for under £200?
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- Can it be done? Time after time my answer is yes. Here I demonstrate how you can procure and restore a classic collector's item - a top quality late 80s mountain bike - for well under £200.
OK, there are some disclaimers. First of all, this budget doesn't include tools and cleaning products. But even the occasional hobbyist will have most of the basic stuff needed to do this. Secondly, it requires some expertise. But everything I show in my videos can be learned either from this channel or from other bike restoration and maintenance experts on UA-cam.
Also it's worth noting the difference between restoration and restomod. I tend towards the former, I like to keep my builds period-correct and respectful to the original design and purpose of the bike. It would have been easy to put V-brakes, a suspension fork or a 1x drivetrain on this bike, which could have made it lighter, more comfortable, more modern, easier to set up and functionally improved - but that would have been sacrilege in my opinion. I have plenty of other bikes like that, but this one is a piece of history and deserves respect.
This must be my most favourite vintage MTB channel on whole yt, it has everything: humour, cool looking bikes and great videography. Love that you restore and preserve the frames rather than strip and repaint them. I also remember how you said in some older video, that you collect expensive vintage bikes rather than cars..
red_dread: i collect bikes rather than cars
also red_dread: * gets into McLaren GT to get sub £200 bike *
:DD
Love it, keep it up!!
Thanks for the kind comments - and glad to hear you agree about preserving original features. I think a part would have to be totally wrecked for me to want to go to the trouble of prepping and painting (like that Pace fork I painted badly last year). As for cars, I do love them but there isn't a car on earth that gets me as nostalgic or emotional as a good old bike!
I love fixing up bikes for friends. Especially if it gets them back into the hobby. I think I almost enjoy tinkering with them more than riding them.
I must admit I prefer tinkering to riding, especially when the weather's like this - also I seldom have any time for hobbies during daylight hours so riding is out for me at the moment!
@@red_dread I also love cleaning and polishing old parts. It's so satisfying.
Putting some Class back into a Classic...
Another top quality build, like others have said - I love that you keep the patina in these machines, they turn out looking so honest. And your joke about the vintage vinegar had me in stitches. Bravo!
I'm all about keeping it original with patina wherever at all possible. I think it looks so cool while respecting the history and original intentions of the manufacturer. I'd only go down the "restomod" route if the bike was of little inherent value. And you're the first person to notice my Aile d'Argent gag - clearly another gentleman of exquisite tastes!
Honestly thought I wouldn't like the pink but I was wrong looks really good on this one
I still think this is aesthetically my favourite build. Something about that battleship black with the occasional highly polished alloy parts and flashes of late-80s neon, looks pure class.
Got given a kili flyer for my thirtieth birthday....we did two trips to Morocco and countless km commuting still got the frame.... Renovated last year.... still makes me smile on rides
That’s a real dream bike - I never saw one in real life back in the day because they were special order only!
Very nice work - I have rebuilt/rescued a lot of bikes and share your enthusiasm for 80’s rigid frames and groupsets.
I absolutely cannot resist a quality bike from this period. It's a real addiction! And the stuff was so well made back then - it's usually got another few decades of life left in it once you get all the grime off.
@@red_dread - absolutely- and so easy to work on...keep up the good work!✌️
I love your video and passion for vintage mtb's!!!
I can appreciate the preserve the patina ideology but the perfectionist in me can't help but to make it like new. Paint it and find or have decals made for it. Especially if it's a keeper with home grown sentimental value. I live 50 miles from the original Klein factory. That will be my next project hopefully.
Thanks - I think I'd go for respray and new decals if it was past a certain point of damage, but a few scars on a generally salvageable frame look good in my opinion. If you got an original Klein (pre-Trek obviously) then that would be a hell of a project, especially given those paint jobs. They were in a league of their own!
I still have my 1996 Saracen Forcetrax. I converted it to a camping bike some years ago (mudguards, racks, panniers..etc). V-Brake conversion was a good upgrade (because Cantis are dreadful) but it's still on original 21spd drivetrain. I added decent brake levers and shifter when I put some SJSC bars on it, for comfort.
A bloody lovely Tange frame though. It's paid for itself a hundred times over.
Your timing is excellent - I’m currently putting the finishing touches to my next film, which is another love letter to another early Saracen. Those things were awesome.
@@red_dread Yes, the 90s were a golden period for Saracen mtbs. Those Tange cromo frames were superb.
Remember the Saracen Kili range? I couldn't afford one.
You absolutely should do more of these challenge videos, love the budget aspect, would have been good to see the part of the video where you source the bike and the other options available. Keep up the excellent work. Rework Reuse Recycle!!
Glad you like the format - there will definitely be more challenge videos to come. Unfortunately the sourcing of this one wasn't that interesting - it just came up on Facebook Marketplace and I decided I had to snag it for someone! I wasn't weighing up any alternatives at the time. I'm always on the lookout though...
I’m so glad UA-cam has a little corner of the earth for me. Thank you for your continued inspiration. I’m currently restoring a 93 Trek Singletrack 930 in electric plum. I had no idea how thrilling this whole process would be! Big fan from Indianapolis.
Thanks for your kind words - will you be documenting your restoration anywhere online? I'd love to see it.
@@red_dread not particularly. I’ll send you some pics of the process upon completion. Thank You for being you!
Yesterday I was riding my "brand new high-end carbon full suspension 12s mtb" and thinking that it gives me the exact same joy that my first mtb, an earlys 90´s entry level "no suspension thumb levers cantilevers cromoly " ones. The new one just allows me to hit the contemporany XCO circuits and be competitive, just it. But I do miss the simplicity of "just ride" from my first mtb.
I totally agree - a modern carbon full-sus 29er is an incredible thing to ride, but somehow the nostalgia factor of these old fully-rigids makes them just as compelling to grab and go out on. It's a totally different experience and great to mix things up.
Hi Red_dread. Great restoration! I was a Saracen limited edition owner back in 1990. End of line Kili Flyer. Prestige fillet brazed beauty of a frame with DX components and short cage derailleur- also Specialized ground control extreme tyres- remember them? I may have your next project if you’re interested. 1989 Muddy Fox Explorer ( candy yellow) 95% original . Full grey Suntour / dia-compe group set. Components show minimal wear. I wholeheartedly agree with your ethos of preservation over profit and would love to see it up and running in its former glory. Let me know if you’re interested.
Hi, I don’t think I ever saw a Kiki Flyer in real life but I know from the magazines how special it was. How we all craved that short cage rear mech in 1990! I read that the pros started using 105 ones to reduce chain slap and then we all copied the look. As for your Muddy Fox, I’m very interested! Can we email? Oliver.chesher@yahoo.co.uk
@@red_dread of course! I’m a teacher working from home so I’ll send over some pictures and information today in between setting work for my classes!
Hey! :)
Yesterday i bought a Wheeler 4500 Pro Line with full Exage 500 set. It cost under 50£, and maximum ran 100-200km. So, its in new condition! :) I really love your channel! Still feel the 90s ;)
I just saw your video! That's a seriously satisfying clean-up, and what a bargain. Looks perfect.
Saracens and GTs are such good value at the mo. I do love Kona’s and Specialized of the time but these Cro Mo frames with decent drivetrains are every bit as good to ride. Nice job!
The market is crazy at the moment - I keep seeing half decent bikes online with insanely high asking prices, and then the occasional gem like this hidden under dirt and grime for pennies! Glad you like it, plenty more to come.
Wow great job! The original components were in excellent condition under a bit of grime. It probably never did many miles. I just finished putting my much-ridden c. 1989 Claude Butler MTB back together. The only original components are one brake caliper, the brake levers (but with the original integrated shifters sawn off), the handlebar, half of the stem (I converted the original quill stem to threadless), and the spirit of the late 1980s.
Wasn't it an amazing find? £30!! I hope your Claude Butler comes up as nicely, that's a piece of history to be respected.
@@red_dread It isn't really recognizably a Claude Butler any more :) The new TIG Reynolds 631 frame and CrMo fork I made for it did come in a full 2kg lighter than the original lugged Reynolds CrMo (a rare Reynolds brand of the time) however and it rides like a dream. The original frame is going to remain hanging from the rafters indefinitely though.
Wow, what a great looking bike after giving some love. A nother example to rescue and rebuild old bikes. You do a great Job. Best regards from germany. Stay well my friend
Thank you! I hope to preserve many more.
I've just picked up a Saracen Super Edition...it's very quickly becoming my favourite bike
Of all the countless projects I’ve done, this Saracen is still the one that stabs me in the heart every time I see it. It’s such a cool bike.
@@red_dread I can relate.
I have a few prized retro bikes and this one was picked up by my misssssus to sell on.
She's now been trafficked, and I still have the Saracen.
Pleasure to watch. I've just got a raleigh discovery hyperglide with original everything for £25...😆 was debating a respray due to the usual rust and scratches but not any more. New tyres, grips, seat and cables and I'm done. Can't wait to get started. Thanks for the video 👍🏻
Will you be documenting the restoration on UA-cam? I'd love to see it! Also good call not to respray it, I think the scars of history should be preserved. Those Discoverys are great bikes, you got a hell of a bargain there.
Absolutely gorgeous. Another brilliant job. You are a real inspiration, keep them coming.
Thank you - I regularly see my mate with that Saracen and still think it's one of my favourite builds ever. The colours and the sheer toughness of the thing - for that price it's a heart-stopper.
love this kinda of project! haha maybe because i always recycle (aka tight ass) my parts lol. the bike turned out great and love the pink highlights! i also like the look of those shifters, looking retro but futuristic at the same time. agree with the feeling of finishing a build haha! what next????
The shifters are so cool aren’t they? Exage stuff always had that 80s retro futuristic vibe. Sadly they’re quite brittle plastic so they don’t last forever like Deore+ stuff will. Next build is already lined up!
@@red_dread ahhh true plastic never holds up well / last long, looking forward to it ! cheers!
Its great to see these old mtb getting their recognition. I own a hooger booger booster. I've owned it from new way back in 1993 with. its original receipt £360. It's has the unusal yeti style frame. Unfortunately in my younger years I destickered it. It's still my most used mtb today.. Just though you might find this interesting as I've never seen another one, apart from on Google images.. Good work and take care..
Those Hooger Boogers are rare indeed - I’ve certainly never seen one in real life. Good to hear it’s still in regular service. 93 was a good vintage!
Nice one, I saw this go up at like 1am I think it was but was too late for my tired eyes to stick it out and watch the whole thing. Budget builds are always great it’s how I got into watching bike videos and then building bikes myself. Love the videos mate (and your car).
Yes, unfortunately my videos always get uploaded in the dead of night because I only get to finish projects when all the kids are asleep and the day's devastation is cleaned up! But it's lovely to wake up the next morning to all the comments from our friends in different time zones. Glad you like the vids, there'll be plenty more budget challenges because I'm bullying all my mates into joining my cartel of collectors.
@@red_dread Brilliant! My mates don’t understand why I get so excited about retro bikes. I just love how something 25+ years old can still perform properly after all that time. Love you’re channel always makes me laugh.
Fantastic. I love the adventure DNA of this bike.
Yes, I laugh when I see hipster bell ends paying thousands for modern heavyweight adventure bikes when things like this have literally been up Kilimanjaro and still exist! You could tour the world on this bad ass.
Nice find for £30. I've just put the same groupset on a bike. Lovely bike!
A full Exage Mountain groupset would have made me seethe with envy back in 88! I had a mix, mainly Exage Trail - you can see it on my Ridgeback video from last year.
Stunning Sir
I'm really proud of that one, thanks!
Great restoration, I have a couple of old Saracen's they are a great ride.
Thanks, those early Saracens are absolutely fantastic bikes.
I have a suggestion of sorts. A power point presentation perhaps, running through common groupset ranges, exage, deore, deore xt etc. Perhaps with examples from your collection. I did not grow up in this era so the information is not as engrained as I would like it!
Or steel ranges!
Don't tempt me, this is the sort of thing I could spend many hours doing - if I actually had the time! I could never create a resource as accurate as the ones that already exist though - you can find all that information on either Sheldon Brown's archive or retrobike.co.uk, including every spec list from every year. I love stuff like that.
Great to wake up to on a Sunday morning. You scared the living daylights out of me in the McLaren that night 😵
I bet db's car is miles faster and scarier, but he's likely a slightly more skilled driver. Giving me a V12 is like giving a toddler a machine gun.
It looks great, he would have to be very happy with that.
He is indeed - I love seeing people enjoy the bikes I've built.
Very good. I liked the music when you pulled back the tarp. If you want to go "full Discovery Channel" you could do a split screen with bullet points when you go through the budget (like in Wheeler Dealers). Perhaps some zany client reveal (with unrealistic reactions) at the end, although you guys have to keep your identities secret I guess? Keep up the good work.
The little stabs of audio samples give me joy. Did you get the Prince one when I did the colour reveal in my Pink Pace vid? More to come, hope I don't get sued for copyright. I was toying with the idea of putting up the £££s on screen with a cash register sound effect but I couldn't be bothered. Maybe next time. As for a face reveal, you are absolutely right that my cartel must remain in the shadows. When are you going to feature in another of my masterpieces?
Beautiful job well done 👍
Just finished a Marin Hawk Hill from 1996, clean up and polish reusing all original parts, Shimano Acera X groupset cleaned up nice, few touch ups on the frame with the wrong colour paint to finish it off.
Touch-up paint is almost impossible to do well in my experience! Some of my best vintage bikes (including the really high-end '94 S-Works) are just covered in scars and chips and I prefer to just leave them bare.
Nice classy rebuild, wish you could do the same to my 90s killi racer
I seem to have a backlog of old Saracens at the moment!
Oh bravo sir. You are making me very sentimental in my old age. Yet you didn't put the Tranz-X bar ends back, why? Now talking of it's predecessor The Saracen Conquest 531 (my 2nd bike in 1985), that would be amazing if you could find one of them.
A Conquest would indeed be something special! As for bar ends, I would never violate such a piece of history with an obscene excrescence like that. Those Tranz-X went straight into my vault of most hated bike parts, only to emerge one day as a punishment for some enemy.
@@red_dread 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Crikey, I'd like to have a look in your vault then 😂.
Looking forward towards your next restoration.
I have a 1993 Haro Impasse with Shimano 200GS and a mid 80's Schwinn Sierra and a Specialized Rock Hopper from the 90's - if I could strip them down like you can I would do it ... love 80's and 90's road and mountain bikes. I have a 1983 Trek 560 road bike that is a museum piece, acquired it with under 20 miles on the bike.
You definitely should! It doesn't require too many specialist tools and the process of cleaning and reassembling is really satisfying. There's so many instructional videos online too, you can't go wrong.
@@red_dread TY for encouragement - I just bought some tools (that would be a good video BTW - yr. favorite wrenches and specialty tools) - removing cassettes and bottom brackets is daunting to most shade tree mechanics.
"I'm going to slink out of my house with my customary stealth and discretion..." Then hops into McLaren with giggles and laughter. Well played sir! I am wondering where the Saracen went for the trip home? Very sympathetic restoration BTW. I can't help but agree with your ethos which respects the journey the bike has already undertaken.
Ha, bit of artistic licence there - I actually brought the Saracen home in my Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake, a much more appropriate vehicle. But I happened to have that footage of us giggling and hammering the McLaren on another night, and I couldn't resist! It fits with the stealth mission theme perfectly I think.
@@red_dread All we need now is one of the scenes in the style of Fast and Furious with lots of cut shots between people making car and / or stealth mission statements and you'd be gold! But Shooting Brake sounds very rogue gentleman. We call them Station Wagons in 'Straya!
wow, excellent bike. Very similar to my 1988 Ritchey Ultra
I imagine the Ritchey would be a bit more valuable, especially if built by Tom Ritchey himself?
Nice bike
Great job Sir
I will forget you said chump because you didn't desecrate the bike looks nice well done..
Protecting these bikes from desecration is my number one aim!
@@red_dread ive four saracens two muddy fox one lime green courier one pathfinder and I'm still looking for one more saracen the eiger team in black so if you find one and you want to sell it let me know thanks I do the same to them like you but really try to keep them original as possible
Good looking bike. Nice car too.
I do like cars, but I can't get as excited about them as bikes! Especially really grimy old ones with rusty bits.
A great bike, from a more noble age
The good old days indeed. Real craftsmanship.
Love the content still got my old Gary Fisher Tassajara
A legend in the game, but sadly I'm the wrong size and shape for the famous short wheelbase Fisher designs.
My first MTB was a Saracen Killi Flier, sometime in the early 80's; I remember thinking "crickey, 18 gears!".
Edit: it might have been fifteen gears.... still a "crickey" to someone of my age.
I only ever saw a Kili Flyer in magazines in the 80s, thought it was impossibly cool because the pop star Mike Edwards (out of Jesus Jones) had one. Pop trivia there.
@@red_dread I think you'll find that's poptastic trivia......not 'arf.
What a beauty!
Great vid as always!
"However, thankfully even he isn't that tight fisted..." I got a chuckle out of this.
Please add a repro flite saddle with the balance of the budget - trekker becomes racer!
That would be insane! The world's heaviest racer.
Rear tire is mounted in the wrong direction.
Here you don't find bikes from that period, other than race bikes and older race bikes. As you find one, you can get them for free because nobody wants them. You get way younger bikes for 30 pounds and less.
I bought my Bear Valley for £30, just like that Saracen it was ready to go but couldn't help sprucing it up a bit
A Bear Valley in any condition for £30 is quite some bargain!
Stunning 🤩
The pink touches look ace.
I'm a sucker for 80s/90s neon!
@@red_dread
I had a thing for purple back in the day.
Any progress with the rim and hub?
Hub is archived for something special in future - as for the rim, I hope to do an update video on the Quinny soon. It's on now and looks perfect, but I did a pretty shoddy job of tensioning it! I also remember now how hard it was/is to get tyres on and off an MA40, but so worth it.
@@red_dread
Yeah, I forgot about the tyres, a real pig. I used Ritchey Kevlar ones which made it a lot easier and plastic levers.
I had a exage crank on my first real mtb a claud butler, which my dad now owns and is giving back to me to make the ultimate sacrifice to rebuild my Sintesi Bromont. Alais the exage went in favour of stx rc many years ago.
The finish on STX RC was so cool, that was quite a desirable groupset. Are you going to cannibalise some parts off the Claud Butler to finish the Sintesi? That sounds interesting!
@@red_dread yes the Sintesi needs a period correct marzocchi folk which used to be on it till I upgraded buts now on the claud along with some bits of stx and magura hs33's for the bromont. Then I striped the Sintesi for another build but couldn't bare to part with it. Now I want to rebuild the Sintesi Bromont and have also acquired a Sintesi 707 hardtail which will be 1x with modern components, and the bromont as period as possible.
The stx is still going strong well the rear mech.
I'm restoring a 1992 Bridgestone MB-6, but I cannot find any 26 x 1.75 tan walled tires as of 09/13/2022. The supply chain issues are crazy!
Yes, that's a very hard size to find. One of my builds (the '93 Dave Quinn) has such tight chainstay clearances that anything bigger than a 1.95" carcass width rubs. For knobblies there's basically only the Smoke that fits. I solved this by moving to semi-slicks or slicks, such as the Schwalbe City Jet that is now on that bike. Great for street and gravel use, fast and of course most importantly tan wall.
You really like pink!
Anything neon/fluoro - but yes, pink is a favourite!
He'll do anything to avoid parental duties.
Au contraire, during daylight hours I'm out with a fleet of tiny bikes with my tiny girls on them! I only get to tinker when they're all asleep...
Since you mentioned the Tioga Avenger stem, I have to ask.
I got a Diamondback Axis from 1991 which has this stem, any idea how valuable the stem is to sell it?
It has a bit of faded rust and faded paint, but looks ok.
Also the bike, how rare is it? I plan to sell the parts (almost all is Deore XT), Mavic and Avenir rims, sadly the frame is too big for me and I don't have space to keep it.
I saw somewhere that in 1991 it was sold for 600 pounds, which seems to me quite insane.
An Axis from that period isn't rare, but it's certainly a high quality bike and has parts on it that a collector would seek, whatever the condition. I don't pay much attention to monetary values though I'm afraid. I seldom if ever sell anything, and most of what I buy varies wildly from unexpected bargains to insane money-no-object must haves. Best bet would be to auction it on eBay and let the market decide, plus the forums on Retrobike.co.uk are a good resource for valuing things.
Yet another beautiful bike; well done! I should send you my '95 Trek 930 for a refurb; although shipping would likely be expensive.
Um, seeing as you're an independently wealthy gazillionaire, think you could afford a clip-on mic? I hear they even make them wireless! I hear, 'talk talk talk', when you're behind the camera, then 'mumble mumble' when you're in front of the camera.
Yes, I'm getting lazy with the filming! I do everything on my phone nowadays - but then my earlier videos with all the GoPro/drone/sound edited stuff got barely any views and now me grunting with a spanner seems to be the winner... Always interested in acquiring new toys though, so might investigate that.
I see you have the rear tyre tread reversed; is that for extra traction or another reason?
Thanks.
Nice job by the way.
Can't remember, but I seem to recall that make and model of tyre is directional, which means there's arrows to indicate tread direction depending on whether it's on a front or a rear wheel.
What's your other socials? I'd love to give a follow and BS on all the retro glory.
I don't really put any retrobike stuff anywhere else to be honest, sorry. My Instagram is oliver.chesher but that's mainly just me and my family not doing a great deal!
Since you have time on your hand now why not have a bit of savory sausage and a bit of cake
Not sure how I gave the impression I have time on my hands. Mind you, there's always time for cakes and savouries.
@@red_dread 😁😂😂
Great videos!
Just wondering what do you think of the Saracen Protrax ?
Thanks very much. The Protrax is a great bike, if you see one for sale I'd say it's hard to go wrong, even if it's in need of a bit of restoration. It's not as historically or nostalgically interesting as this 80s model but it'll be lighter and higher spec, and a generally more modern and usable bike.
@@red_dread Thanks for that!
After watching your videos I see ones for sale locally..... I’m thinking about it?? 👍🏼
@@hibs1064 Do it! Restoring an old bike is one of the most satisfying pastimes there is, and it can also be extremely cost-effective compared to buying a new bike. I'd recommend getting one from a seller that can tell you about its history, and of course I'd also recommend documenting the restoration on social media! Keep me updated mate.
@@red_dread I’ve put an offer in so I’ll see what happens. 🤞🏼
Think of it as a public service Haha
It sounds sentimental, but I am really proud of my friends and family who work in healthcare. I wish I had skills to really help people like that, but in the absence of such, at least I can make people happy with bikes!
@@red_dread yes, indeed
where does all that dirty, mucky, chemical-laden water go?? down the sewer and into the river??
I save it all up and use it to hose the cats in the local cats' home.