Meet "Max" - My old friend has returned (Pic Heavy)

Hi.

Thought I introduce you to my Raleigh Max Cromo. I've had this from new, it being my first "proper" MTB. I bought it in either 94 or 95 (could be 95, based on a 95 Shimano Catalogue, can't seem to track down a Raleigh Catalogue from those years) from Crays in Maghull; Part Bike Shop, Part Electrical shop. It's still going I think.

I used the Bike until 98 when I built my Zaskar, at which time I passed it on to my dad. The changes I made were, Club Roost IDB Bar, X-Lite Endure Ski Bar Ends, Tektro Canti Bridges, STX Heasdet, and a set of Ballistics Forks. The Forks were removed and used on the Zaskar for 12 months until I got my Pace RC 36 Evo's. Sadly the Ballistics have gone (read: dad threw them out, I think) though I do have 2 unused red Elastomers if anyone wants them. I Loved the bike but I always wanted a Zaskar. It did get hammered though. I did the Red Bull Trail in Coed y Brenin, and a lot of trails int Dalby Forest, as well as The Inside Park trails. I Went over the bars at least once! For some reason I de-badged it as put a load of stickers from MBUK on it. I think it was to hide the fact it was a Max, and not an M-Trax or something cooler.

I know the bike spent quite a few years up in my parents loft and then was moved to the Lake District to my Parents Caravan, where its spent the last few years outside under a bike cover.

It was the last steel framed bike I bought, but I've been looking for one to build up as a winter commuter when my dad told me he no longer wanted the Max, so I grabbed it and moved it to my caravan and give it the once over.

Its in pretty good shape as far as I can tell, but there is some paintwork damage to the frame and the stem is pitted.

Here it is with all the crap my dad added to it:


This is the paint damage



The Stem Is in bad shape. Removing the sticker show's how it should have been


The Mech's don't look too bad, same with the shifters. The levers are a bit corroded.




Here it is with the dodgy crap and stickers removed. Looking better Already!


It still has it original tyres, wheels, saddle, etc. the groupset is as standard. I replaced the seat post but I do have the original, though it looks like this style is still available so I might get a new one.

So, the plan is, strip it and clean it, give it a thorough examination, and decide what to do about the paintwork, I don't think the amount of damage warrants a re-spray, but I don't know what its like underneath, there is no sign of bubbling.

The canti's are Alivio and are a bit corroded, but I am awaiting a lovely set of STX canti's from Crantinope (Thanks) so they'll go on, and i'll remove the multi coloured Tektro bridges, the Club Roost bar and the X-Lite Bar Ends. Sadly we havent found the original bar and bar ends, or grips, but I have an X-Lite Expert Cross County straight bar and a pair of silver X-Lite Enduro Stubbies that might look nice. Just need to decide what to do about the stem.

The Headset cups are starting to rust but I have a new pair which i bought BITD.

More pics soon.

Re: Raleigh Max Cromo (Pic Heavy)

Couple more pics.

This is the rear hub: Dredding stripping it down:


The Brakes


The Raleigh Badge is in good shape (Note the rust spots on the headset)


The original Saddle is fine, the rails need cleaning up and re-painting.


The Tektro Bridges (One blue and one red)


The Chainset


Some stickers

Re: Raleigh Max Cromo (Pic Heavy)

A couple more pics.

Still has it's original Tyres


Rigida Rims


I've managed to grab a decent looking pair of Chicken Stix in black/silver to replace the Alivio Levers and will pair these up with the STX canti's. These will also go nicely with the X-Lite Bar and Stubbies.

I would love to hear peoples thoughts on the paintwork, whether its worth bothering with a re-spray, but also on the stem, and some recommendations there.

Any feedback on the bike in general will be great too.

Thanks

Re: Raleigh Max Cromo (Pic Heavy)

I don't think the paint looks too bad at all. Some touching up is all I would do. Try removing the rust spots on the stem with a scouring pad, then some metal polish. If that does not turn out a satisfactory result, a rattle can respray in a colour of your choice would be easy enough.
About all the add-ons your dad attached, on first glange I though he'd actually added a plant pot complete with potting compost above the water bottle!
How does the bike ride with those oversize cromo tubes, by the way? They must be some of the fattest I've seen.

Re: Raleigh Max Cromo (Pic Heavy)

bikey :)":396qv1zm said:

About all the add-ons your dad attached, on first glange I though he'd actually added a plant pot complete with potting compost above the water bottle!
How does the bike ride with those oversize cromo tubes, by the way? They must be some of the fattest I've seen.

Click to expand...

I hadn't noticed the plant pot!

To be honest, I haven't ridden it since the 90's and I loved it then, even with the appalling Ballistics forks, but I had no basis for comparison back then. I do remember the difference between the Ballistics and the Pace RC36 when I upgraded to them on my Zaskar.

The only ride I've had on it since I got it back was a quick lap of honour around the caravan site but the tyres were soft and my wrist still wasn't up to the job after the break.

I do remember wanting the alu version badly but not being able to afford it and fat tubes being the in thing back then. Funny. This was my last steel bike and I've been craving one ever since i bought my full carbon road bike.

Sad that I actually know very little about the bike, I don't know what grade the tubes are (pretty low I suspect), the exact model name (I think its a cromo II) or the year I bought it (I think it was 1994 or 1995)

I'm hopefully bringing it home this weekend so I can start sorting it out

Hello.

Haven't been on here for a while. But I thought I'd update (with pics to follow) and ask for some advice.

I had the bike stripped and powder coated. Unfortunately they didn't have a metallic grey (would have cost a lot more to get it in) so I went with a non-metallic grey instead. They did a good job, unfortunately I wasn't happy with the colour, although as I've put components on the frame, its started to look better.

I can't get replacement decals for it, sadly, but as its going to be a commuter It's not that big an issue.

The real issue is: it has an Alivio FC-MC12 crankset, and whilst googling last night I discovered that this particular crankset was the subject of a recall in 1997!! apparently around 630 incident occurred in the US where this crank failed (the crank arm broke) causing injury.

Im now unsure what to do. I can stick with it and hope it never fails, after all, its lasted this long, or I can get a NOS FC-MC14 which looks identical, or I can get a FC-M570 LX Mega 9 crankset for the same price.

Im replacing the Alivio canti's with LX cantis, so Im not too concerned about keeping it original (that went out the window when it was powder coated). however, I did source a NOS alivio front mech and I've fitted a new 7-speed cassette (the wheels are NOS Alivio MC12 hubs 7-speed.

Will the M570 work with a 7-speed set up?

Many Thanks for your help

Pics.

I've put a modern headset on, a BBB Threadaround. very nice headset, alu with sealed cartridge bearings.

As its a commuter, I've got a set of security skewers

New Wheels.

Based on NOS Alivio Hubs. Same one's that are on the original wheels. but with modern rims, Mavic 317's. Build by an old school friend who runs the LBS.




I will be restoring the original wheels too.

Finally finished building the Max. Had its first reliability ride today, about 7 miles.

All went well, just a few adjustments.

Something so nice about older bikes, none of the complications that come with the latest machines; Tuning 7 gears is a lot easier than 10 or 11 and no hydraulic brakes to mess with. The Avid Elixirs on my modern MTB have seized and it was cheaper to replace them than to service them!!




Excuse The bell. The front end is all new (to the bike at least) NOS 3x7 Waveys & Chicken Stix. The RSP bar-ends are NOS. The original ones were stainless (the RSP ones appeared on later models of the Max)

Nice upgrade, from Alivio to STX Canti's. I have 2 sets of NOS LX canti's but I preferred the look of the STX ones.

the STX Mech is original and shifts as well as it always has (I've swapped out the jockey wheels for a new set of TACX one's. the originals were a bit chewed.

The Chainset is a NOS FC-MC14. the original FC-MC12 is still ok, but after discovering they were recalled, I decided not to fit it as I was to use this bike for commuting. Don't want the chainset to break while I'm riding it!

I know its not as cool as the other amazing bikes on here, but we have history, so It means a lot to me to get it going again.