Decent Falcon MTB

Falcon, a house of many brands, made decent MTBs such as the Claude Butler Canyon and the odd nice Holdsworth here and there, starting in '87, while only BSOs were Falcon

Apart from this one! Cheers to KermitGreenKona88 for dealing it on to me:



Some mysteries apparent and lots of destroyed/missing decals:

1) Model?
2) Year?
3) Tubeset?

So I embark upon a mission of MTB archeology - Always got to find answers as far as possible!

1) Model? No idea no leads either, the decal remnants on the TT are 100% indecipherable

2) Year? The canyon appeared in 85, with 99% similar kit to this one but low flange hubs, this one has high flange Suzue (only one present, drat) and a matching Suzue seat binder, so I'm pegging it at '84



My lonely hub!



3) Tubeset? Head badge happily proclaims Made in England, so I was thinking Reynolds naturally, tubeset is seamless and not weighty/thick walled but can't be 531 due to being TIG welded, can't be 501 because this tube is seamless... Oh dear what the hell could it be?





Took off the (very pretty) forks which are lugged and they are Japanese, Akisu, Tange Chamipon 2, So Falcon cheated and bought them in off the peg





With Suntour Dropouts also being used I would suspect the frame is likely the same stuff, bought in, fabbed up in the UK, Falcon built TIG welded BMXs...

Almost seems obvious the tubes would likely be Japanese with all the other Japanesery around the place

I guess this bike could represent Falcon's first foray into the world of MTB before the Canyon under the CB brand? Where they went the more orthodox (for the UK) 531 lugged route, as they did for Holdsworth too and 501 for the entry level frames

All in all interesting stuff and I'm very pleased with it - some best guessing and inference... So info / comment / opinion invited..- But overall, a decent Falcon MTB?

DOES EXIST!

My brother's 89 Claud Butler Spirit was Tange framed without lugs unlike the rest of the bikes in the brochure (all Reynolds with lugs). My guess is they sometimes brought in generic frames from the far east to satisfy demand before MTB sales took off in the 90s.

The extra tyre clearance on the chainstays is not something they did even in 1989 so suspect the whole frame was off-the-peg. Routing of the rear deraileur cable is also not what you'd expect from Falcon.

Nothing like a challenge! I don't know much about these bikes but I do have a high flange front hub from the period that you can have to keep your Suzue company. It's early XT and a bit grotty, but you might be able to save it. PM me if you want it.

doctor-bond":389f4dch said:

Nothing like a challenge! I don't know much about these bikes but I do have a high flange front hub from the period that you can have to keep your Suzue company. It's early XT and a bit grotty, but you might be able to save it. PM me if you want it.

Click to expand...

Cool will do!

lrh":1df5bqzn said:

My brother's 89 Claud Butler Spirit was Tange framed without lugs unlike the rest of the bikes in the brochure (all Reynolds with lugs). My guess is they sometimes brought in generic frames from the far east to satisfy demand before MTB sales took off in the 90s.

The extra tyre clearance on the chainstays is not something they did even in 1989 so suspect the whole frame was off-the-peg. Routing of the rear deraileur cable is also not what you'd expect from Falcon.

Click to expand...

Hard to see in the pics, due to flash, but this one says 'Made in England' in tiny gold letters on the head badge, although the forks are definitely made in Japan

I'm really leaning toward thinking this was a sort of first effort, built out of readily available gear. Never known any Falcon brand to use stuff like Akisu forks and Suntour dropouts. They can make their own a lot cheaper!

KermitGreenKona says he remembers seeing one of these with a Champion Number 1 frame decal... I was close... According to Sheldon Brown it's almost impossible to tell the difference anyway!

I know someone who worked at falcon throughout the 80's , I am trying to contact him through his son on Facebook. I am pretty sure he would remember the better falcons

lewis1641":ae8u0mem said:

I know someone who worked at falcon throughout the 80's , I am trying to contact him through his son on Facebook. I am pretty sure he would remember the better falcons

Click to expand...

That would be cool! If he can shed some light, maybe even offer the model name?

So, I've got most of the parts for the build of this, gonna be a patina build

What do you reckon to this crank set on it?

Mm do it. Very nice

I really like those forks.