Trackers

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I remember tracker bikes, I had a few when I was at middle school (1985)...
We used one of our dad's 'borrowed' gaz stoves to heat up the forks before making them straight :shock:
Also the short little mudguards that were only about 150mm long.
And the extra fork braces that bolted to the handle bars and front axle, bolt on axle of course :)
Had to buy new tires all the time as they got worn out doing skids.

I think I upgraded to a Raliegh Maverick after that :facepalm:
 
i was thinking about this last night as jabberingjimbo said , some had really short alloy mudguards , I guess the theory was to keep crap off the brakes ?

I didn't have straight forks , I don't think anyone in our "gang" did , but the cycle speedway bikes did.

There was a bit of woods over by Queens Park in Bournemouth that was epic , huge drop off hills and mounds to get air-borne .

There was one guy , who was brilliant at bunny hops , so off a jump he would get massive air .

I remember him going off a small mound and landing with such force the rear wheel literally exploded , there was an angry porcupine where the back wheel used to be , with shards of rubber and steel scattered all around !
 
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ferrus":7d453bgv said:
Top kid at school on a tracker was Darren Atkins who used to thrash the local fields jumping brooks', sometimes with a string of young pretenders in tow. I used to think that he'd have made a great MTBer - turns out he wasn't a bad CX rider, a few years later!
I think Darren now runs Coventry Cycle Centre; back in the 80's when it was John Atkins, trackers were so popular in Cov' that the shop sold new, custom bikes complete with anodised cycle speedway rims etc.. I only knew of two kids who had one though and one was 'Akky' himself. A bit too posh and expensive for anybody I knew and not really in the bodging spirit of trackers - but man, I fancied one. :)
Nah, Darren runs (owns?) Ride in Coventry. Cov Cycle Centre (ex-John Atkins) folded last year, owned by someone else altogether.
 
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You need Schwalbe speedway pros, 26 x 1 3/8. I still have my tracker bike, made from a 1953 Phillips, with stainless rims and Sturmey Archer 3-speed. It had a special chainset (Williams?) with a small-ish chainring so I could use it offroad. A bit like a modern 1x10 setup, but only 1x3! I rode that bike for years, all through the 70s and 80s.
Thanks for making me feel old!
 
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We all rode Trackers round our way in Manchester... the sight of a pair of forks snapping at 20 mph on a 'downhill' will live with me forever. Loved these bikes, but hell we used to nail some random stuff together. Nothing comes close to riding an old Raleigh racer with a fixed gear and massive Renthal Speedway bars offroad with your mates on the Mersey banks.

I wish I was a kid again.

al.
 

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