Raleigh bikes I have loved and hated

My first raleigh was a Mustang, no photos however my first proper MTB was a USA built Technium, bought second hand from my local shop. It broke.



As a replacement I got a bonded dynatech, it had 2090 tubes and a serial number stamped that said DB07, I assumed as raleigh did not offer a bike with a 2090 tube set, it was a special for david baker.



This also broke, but it did not stop me buying a running a MTN02 as a hack bike. This thing was suberb, Mavic M6 rims, magura brakes, totally bomb proof.



The white one eventually debonded on a downhill in Kielder and I got a deal on a Ogre XT, one of the first ti bikes. It was superb, light, just right.



It also broke.

I got a replacement Torus frame which ran fine, and I sold it on the Bay a couple of years ago.

Dont know what happened the the black bike, I think I flogged it or it debonded but I do still have many of the bits that were on it, ie Mavic M6 rims, magura etc somewhere.

I dont have or plan to have any more of these bikes again.

ooh that Technium is a Chill which is what I want .. trying to get one off e-bay in the states at the moment .. What was it like to ride ??

Where did it break out of interest ?

I remember the ride being harsh, but I was 17, had ridden a heap of a bike before and this one was far better than anything. There has also been a lot of beers since then.

I remember that the headtube came unbonded, but the guy who I bought it off did not treat the bike well and came to me after a hard life.

Is the white one in the Raleigh / Castorama team colours, a la Laurent Fignon?

Wasn't David Baker a Team Peugeot rider rather than a Raleigh rider? 2090 tubes are pretty special - that was 753 type tubing I think and only used on the pro stuff. I had a Dynatech 700 roadie and that had a 2060 frame which was supposed to be equivalent to 653.

Not all Dynatechs break - I gave my roadie to a friend in exchange for some hi-fi stuff and he's still using it now. I have a Dynatech 300 as my winter / hack road bike and it's still solid, even after I cold set the rear triangle for 8/9/10 speed spacing.

My 'new' bike (finished about 6 weeks ago) is a NOS semi-titanium M-Trax which is riding like a dream at the moment and there's no sign of any ageing to the bonds - do you think they broke through manufacturig defects or do they have a lower ultimate tensile strength than a lugged frame?

Terry...

Hate to say it cdaimers, but are you a right fat biffer?
Its either that or you have been unlucky with your bikes. I have never managed to write off a frame yet, and you have had more than your fair share!!

Mate, that is an impressive archive! Maybe you need to build yerself a Tomes Replica?

Is the top tube on this one sagging?? :shock:

I'm no expert on the raleigh naming sequence over the years. but a few friends of mine 94/95 era broke a few of the ti tubed, bonded raleighs. mainly bonding coming loose.

You must have been gutted everytime?! I've only broken a few frames & its devastating everytime ( 005T2M RIP :shock: )

For the record

Terryhfs

The castorama colours were probably nicked from the shop, there is also a mint sauce sticker on there.

David baker road MTB's for raleigh

The 2090 tubes were special and only used on the pro MTB's and road bikes.

A friend of mine still uses his 1992 dynatech for work

A conversation with the factory when I had so many go was that the QA control on the amount of glue in the headtubes resulted in some failing some not.

gump

I am not a biffer, just 6 foot 1 and riding in Scotland. I have never since broken a frame and run a 1996 Zaskar.

Kingroon

The top tube was purposely bent, i believe the 20.5" models all had a curved top tube to allow standover. It was still a big frame.

scant

Everytime one broke I got an upgrade so I was ok with it. The last raleigh, a torus lasted me 6 years and I flogged it on the bay and still got £250 for it.

its got to be said that generally the bike industry generally deserves a pat on the back for warranty issues. such a grey area between use & abuse. 1 persons normal use is another persons abuse.

I'm not proud to say I abused 005T2M :cry: still a sence of guilt over that! ... tho I also got warranty