Raleigh MTrax + Hello

Apologies if this is the wrong section ... but I thought I would say hello and at the same time ask some questions about my 'retro' bike.
Hello from me .
I am a recent mountain biker (having come from Enduro motorbikes, in an effort to get fitter as I age).
Ride the Surrey Hills 2 or 3 times a week (even in winter midweek - thanks to the excellent MagicShine lights).
And for this I bought a hardtail Specialized Rockhopper.
Its hydraulic disc / xt mechs / rockshox sid front forks etc .. and is more than anough for my limited skills.

Anyway - on to the retro bit (apart from my age).
Been riding the mountain bike for a year or so now. ... and seem to be constantly buying new bling bits.
Then last week the wife comments "Why are you buying all this stuff ... cant you just do up the old bike by the shed?"
It took me a few seconds to defend my expendature.. and also to realise that I had an old bike laying about behind the shed.
I had totally forgotten about it for the past 15 years
Its been sat there ... uncovered .. and with a hedge growing through it for at least 15 years.
So I drag it out and decide to spend a weekend getting it working again.
And this is where I have some questions.

All I know is I bought it second hand about 15 years ago.
Its an MTrax 2000 ... with Shimano Alivio equpiment.
The guy I bought it from owned it for about 5 years and also never rode it. ... but he did say that it was the top bike of its time.
I do remember the gears worked so smoothly and accurately when I did ride it the once
Does anyone have any further info on this bike.
Was it good ? What year was it made ? Worth doing up ? Selling (what would it be worth?) etc etc.

I took every nut and bolt apart ... bottom bracket was pretty rough ... but apart from bolts showing signs of rust etc.. then thing cleaned up lovely.
Almost like new.
The bars are quite funny... just a flat tube.

Thanks in advance,
Silky

will attach pics once I am allowed


Frame after a clean:


Are the brakes the right way round ? I took them apart and forgot how they go back together:

hi and welcome


pics will help age the thing once you have done your first few posts

MAXTHEROTTI":1qreahvc said:

hi and welcome
pics will help age the thing once you have done your first few posts

Click to expand...

Yes .. I am hoping that this reply counts as a post
Lets see ... yep thats done it.

Images added to the original post.

though it would lol

bike looks nice chap

get ready to spend a fortune in here for bits you NEED for it lololol

Right ... a few days of hard graft and I am well chuffed with the result.
I took every nut and bolt off and stripped the bike back to every component.
Then greased/oiled/coppered everything.
Only thing I have replaced is to put new inner cables in + an old 9 speed chain (it wont hurt going onto a 7 speed cassette will it ?).

One thing that I am totally amazed at is how well it shifts.
I have an XT shod Specliazed mtb that I use 3 times a week... and it doesnt shift as smoothly as this thing (which has been left outside for years )

Where can I get new stickers / transfers ?

Hope you like it:

M-Trax

Nice bike!! I've also got 2000L model with the same gears as yours and your dead right about the shift, it's super smooth and quiet.

I think these bikes are very underrated, which it's probably down to the Raleigh brand, it's just not 'cool' enough...

I've not seen many M-Trax owners on this forum and I'd love to hear from anyone else who has one.

Happy riding.

Has that bike really been left outside for 15 years :shock: :shock:

It looks really good and says a lot about the quality of the M-trax and the kit on it as many bikes would have been almost unusable after that time and treatment.

Re: M-Trax

ket01":32gxw4pr said:

Nice bike!! I've also got 2000L model with the same gears as yours and your dead right about the shift, it's super smooth and quiet.
I think these bikes are very underrated, which it's probably down to the Raleigh brand, it's just not 'cool' enough...

Click to expand...

gerryattrick":32gxw4pr said:

Has that bike really been left outside for 15 years :shock: :shock:
It looks really good and says a lot about the quality of the M-trax and the kit on it as many bikes would have been almost unusable after that time and treatment.

Click to expand...

Thanks guys. I loved doing it up (its still not finished really) ... and can now see why people get hooked on doing old bikes up. Good fun

How long outside ??? hmmm? well let me work this out accurately.
I may have been exaggerating with the 15 yrs.... eeerrm..... (works it out by thinking of when kids were born and where I was working at time )... eeeerm.
The bike is more like 15 yrs old.... I bought it 2nd hand (he rode it once to a mates, got drunk and left it there) 13 yrs ago ... I then rode it 3 times ... where it stayed in the hallway... then moved 6 months in and thats when it was put into the garden.
So safest, and minimum, guess is 12 yrs outside.
And in those 12 years it has never been ridden ... there was a tree overhanging it ... but it was still open to the elements and when I 'discovered' it again the bramble hedge has half absorbed it .

Restoration wise:
Chain was one lump of solid rust .... 2 mole grips could not even move a single link. So I ditched that and used an old 9 speed chain.
Everything had a thin film of rust / almost mud like coating / alloy white corrosion.
But, bit of autosol ... a fine brass brush for the bolts etc ... and a good clean and GT85 (wd40) .... and things looked almost new.
I was really impressed with how well the mechs came up .. they looked a right state to begin with.
Cables looked horrific ... again, some GT85... bit of scrubbing and some new inner cables and all is smooth as silk
Stickers (I think they are transfers) have mostly peeled off or badly discoloured.... but the frame overall looks brilliant.
I even have the original grips and saddle -- they were all green... but a good scrub and now look ok.
oh! the 'cow horn; things on the ends of the bars did go rusty ... might not be able to restore them, as they were chrome.

Summary:
It genuinely shifts smoother than my modern XT kit. The shifters have a lovely soft click to them + not much travel ... and the gear changes, sometimes without you hearing it from the back (I will video it and post it up)

Outside for 12 yrs rotting away.... and the only bits that are badly damaged are the chain and anything that was chrome (bar ends + saddle struts)
The alloy components and the frame (so 98% of the bike) just needed the top layer of corrosion removed with some autosol or elbow grease.
Jobs a good 'un

It indeed does say something about the build / component quality of the bike.

I'm ignorant about M-Trax, but from here the top and down tubes look like titanium bonded into cromoly rear tubes and front end, like a Dynatech. I would date it to c1996, possibly a successor to the Dynatech? Is the handlebar ti as well? What do the stickers say?

Anthony":267m8jrr said:

I'm ignorant about M-Trax, but from here the top and down tubes look like titanium bonded into cromoly rear tubes and front end, like a Dynatech. I would date it to c1996, possibly a successor to the Dynatech? Is the handlebar ti as well? What do the stickers say?

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M-Trax was another sub-brand created to apease our 5* retailers who as solus accounts, could only stock Raleigh bikes.

It was positioned as a step between the mass market products from our main factory, and the Dyna-tech branded products from our SPD division.

Dyna-tech began as a bonded frame product, which was eventually replaced by plasma-arc welded titanium frames.

Best regards