A bit of a unicorn for me, this one.
Growing up in Nottingham I've had a lot to do with Raleigh in one way or another since I got into cycling.
My first MTB was a Marauder, my brother had the Mustang. I've had a Raleigh of some description almost continuously since that day, I've realised. Everyone around here rode a Raleigh pretty much, before the name was soiled. I worked at a Raleigh dealership for a time, too.
The Avanti was before my time of working at Raleigh but I do remember as a kid seeing it in the showroom and giving a cheeky squeeze of the brake levers. It was an understated and classy machine. High spec and a price tag out of my reach. I haven't always coveted it like we do a lot of our unicorns but to me now there's something cool about obtaining a bike from the top of a range I am so familiar with.
Lately I'd been looking for an early MTB fairly seriously. I quite fancied something 80s or even late 70s with bullmoose bars and 15 speed. But really I wasn't sure what I was after. But then this little number popped up for sale very locally and I knew I had to have it:
A rare sight these days because they're so often pillaged for their XT components, but I bought this example from the widow of the original owner who was a keen cyclist by all accounts.
It clearly lived an active life throughout the glory years, picking up a few stickers and a pair of Onza bar ends along the way. It also has a nifty little pump attached and a saddle bag containing a tool kit and a spare inner tube so this old girl was prepared for a lot more than a quick trip to the local park. Clearly it has seen some adventures.
My favorite part of these earlier MTBs is the wide rims so i was pleased to see this Avanti still has them fitted, along with a pair of chainstay-tickling Specialized Team Controls.
So, the plan.
I want to simply be able to swing a leg over this one and hit the trails. So first I'll take all the accesories off so I can see what I'm looking at. Then it will be a deep clean to assess the condition of the paint and components (although at this stage it all looks pretty good). I like the tyres but rather like amber walled tyres on this vintage of bike.
I think I'll be losing the bar ends and also the MBUK stickers. Thoughts?
Growing up in Nottingham I've had a lot to do with Raleigh in one way or another since I got into cycling.
My first MTB was a Marauder, my brother had the Mustang. I've had a Raleigh of some description almost continuously since that day, I've realised. Everyone around here rode a Raleigh pretty much, before the name was soiled. I worked at a Raleigh dealership for a time, too.
The Avanti was before my time of working at Raleigh but I do remember as a kid seeing it in the showroom and giving a cheeky squeeze of the brake levers. It was an understated and classy machine. High spec and a price tag out of my reach. I haven't always coveted it like we do a lot of our unicorns but to me now there's something cool about obtaining a bike from the top of a range I am so familiar with.
Lately I'd been looking for an early MTB fairly seriously. I quite fancied something 80s or even late 70s with bullmoose bars and 15 speed. But really I wasn't sure what I was after. But then this little number popped up for sale very locally and I knew I had to have it:
A rare sight these days because they're so often pillaged for their XT components, but I bought this example from the widow of the original owner who was a keen cyclist by all accounts.
It clearly lived an active life throughout the glory years, picking up a few stickers and a pair of Onza bar ends along the way. It also has a nifty little pump attached and a saddle bag containing a tool kit and a spare inner tube so this old girl was prepared for a lot more than a quick trip to the local park. Clearly it has seen some adventures.
My favorite part of these earlier MTBs is the wide rims so i was pleased to see this Avanti still has them fitted, along with a pair of chainstay-tickling Specialized Team Controls.
So, the plan.
I want to simply be able to swing a leg over this one and hit the trails. So first I'll take all the accesories off so I can see what I'm looking at. Then it will be a deep clean to assess the condition of the paint and components (although at this stage it all looks pretty good). I like the tyres but rather like amber walled tyres on this vintage of bike.
I think I'll be losing the bar ends and also the MBUK stickers. Thoughts?
