Wanted some direction for my journey into retro world

Being a newbie I posted this in the Wanted section. RobMac pointed out the error of my ways so i'm posting here instead (with a couple of small amendments). I would link to my original posting but i'm a singlespeeding luddite that can't work technology!

Hi folks,

as per the title, i'm after a little direction in my retro quest. I have some ideas that i'm sure are nothing out of the ordinary.

I can't afford (financially, or spatially) all of these but it's a short list of things i fancy...

A Raleigh Freeride (just missed out on sketchyxup's),
A Raleigh DHO,
A Raleigh 853 offspring from the Freeride,
A Raleigh Ti (i'll come back to this in a minute),
A Pace RC200 (with the disc mounts) or a RC300
maybe a GT STS DH,
& finally a X-Lite titanium (I know it's just a rebadged Raleigh).

Now the conundrum is would a Raleigh Ti or X-Lite Ti be a good idea seeing as I used to own a '97 Mtrax Ti back in the day. I absolutely loved this but I'm slightly worried that having ridden modern bikes that I might find the old Raleigh a little odd and that I should just stick to fond memories.

Your thoughts, including tips of what to look out for (or redirection to other conversations), typical prices and other useful hints would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers all.

Re: Wanted some diection for my journey into retro world

As you seem to like Raleighs what about going a bit further back into Raleigh history with:

1. A Dynatech (Diablos come up quite often, so do the MT framesets, the Odysseys and Voyagers are nice and a fair bit rarer).
2. A USA Technium (personally I like the Chill but nevadasmith had a cracking Peak which has gone to a new owner on here).
3. A lightweight 531 (much rarer than the above, but proper old school lugged and brazed 531, Gravymonster has a nice Avanti and I keep searching for a Team Rep, An Appalachian, Ozark or Thunderroad would be a nice rare acquisition if you could find one).

Carl.

My best advice would be STOP NOW!

Abandon your foolish ideas and go back to modern bikes..........

Should you ignore my warnings, then the search function and the for sale section are a good place to start.

There was a freeride in the for sale not too long ago. Up until recently you couldn't give them away, but there seems to be a slow realisation that they are actually pretty good bikes.

Keep searching the bay and the for sales on here, all the Raleigh's you've listed turn up from time to time.

I can't advise on the ride compared to modern bikes, as I only ride retro.... except some of mine were new when I got them :shock:

Yeah, it was sketchyxup's bike that I just missed out on! It's his fault that i signed up. He seemed like a decent bloke soi though oh why not get involved...

A Pace will be a high cost entry into this wonderful hobby of ours.

If you're flush then go for it. But I suspect that the advice you've been given so far is a lot more useful!

To be honest I think bikes Are bikes. It's the ride itself that matters.
Retro Ti and steel does feel good to ride and quality retro bikes look far better than ugly modern eye sorrs.
only thing modern bikes have on older I think are the plush long travel forks and better brakes.
But my dynatech is rigid so it doesn't matter
The 97 mtrax Ti is on sale here, Barrie Clarke race bike.
viewtopic.php?p=1781496
This is for sale.

It all depends on your budget.

Look out for. Reynolds optima framed mtrax from 1997 98 . Mtrax 300 or 350 elite too.

Hi mate, gutted you missed out on it as I think you would of really enjoyed it. Literally it was about 5 mins between the phone calls so you missed it by the narrowest of margins.

At least it gives you the chance to get your feet under the table and see what comes around for a bit before you dive in.

As a rule im not a typical purist retrobiker but i think some of the best designs have been done now and a combination of retro and modern is the way to go. Im currently looking for a nice SV to build with modern parts and take it racing gravity enduro's.

There is no end to what you can want and the combinations that suit so just enjoy playing with bikes.

That Barrie Clark Raleigh would be ace but i doubt i could afford it. I used to have a 1997 MTrax 400 Ti back in the day. They ride really nicely, albeit with a relativly short top-tube. Unfortunately I cracked my one at the head-tube welds . Raleigh warranty was brilliant though.

I did hit buy me now for an eBay listing on Friday but the seller has gone quiet on me since his initial message. He seems legit but wants paying up front. I would prefer to pay cash on collection, failing that half up front and half on collection. I've messaged him on eBay but i've heard nothing. Hope he doesn't think i'm a timewaster. That's not my intent, i'm just cautious. I don't want to let the cat out of the bag what it is just yet as i don't want to jynx the transaction. Needless to say, it's something i've fancied for a very long time. There have been one or two of them on here so they are not uber rare but they aren't as common as say Kona's or Kleins (sorry to all you Kona and Klein fans). It's post 1997 too. No more hints though...

Mark.

going by your user name what about a voodoo djab?

I am not sure how ebay UK works... but I paid with paypal for a local pick up in the States... ebay/ paypal kept his money till I sent feedback that the transaction went OK