Apocalypto tip find - the coronabeagle

531 and LX 550 for a fiver...couldn’t resist...the trouble is that while it’s a perfectly sensible buy as a parts donor, as an idiot I’m obviously considering a full on resto. Assuming it’s not too rusty under the grot...

On the plus side, the seatpost isn’t stuck.

Welcome your thoughts on whether the frame is scrap or worthy of some love. It’s such an underdog that I’m tempted to rescue it, but maybe it’s just a dog?

Anyone ridden one?

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Spend £100+ on fully restoring it, then sell it for £25 in six months time, Bob's yer Uncle

Or just take the parts you need & return it from whence it came.

Re: Re:

jimo746":2k719a76 said:

Spend £100+ on fully restoring it, then sell it for £25 in six months time, Bob's yer Uncle

Or just take the parts you need & return it from whence it came.

Click to expand...

Indeed...

but then, who’s ever made a profit on a retro MTB restoration? I could always restore a Klein and lose even more...

Might go clean up the bits, poke at the rusty bits and see what we have.

I'd get it in working order and then see if it's nice to ride. It could be a good touring frame.
Borrowed a British Eagle Boss once, which seemed determined to kill me at every corner.

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Build it, ride it, love it. Often wish I'd kept my Raleigh Team 531 which was not high end exotica but handled ruddy well

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You could trade it for a new house after the pandemic really kicks in full force...

Just kidding

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Stripped it!

All (mostly) came apart ok. I’ve started cleaning up some of the bits. They’re caked in some seriously nasty sticky stuff, god knows what the previous owner used for lubrication... The good news is that so far none of the rust seems terminal - only surface. Chain is unworn and derailleurs also look good. It has a sealed BB in good condition...

I may ride this yet...

...dunno why my photos are upside down though.

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Good job those tubes have decent wall thickness :shock:

Reminds me of my British Eagle Inferno (cca 1990), frame has some similar details, dropouts differ. The Inferno is lower (maybe even the lowest) tier, made of Reynolds 500 and originally equipped with 200GS. I got it incomplete, a rusty frame with stem, bars, seatpost and such, first tried 3x8 dropbar conversion, then equipped it with this exact M550 groupset, fenders and rack and used it for winter commutes, but also did some 120kms a day trips (slick tyres). Now it is back to bare frame and waiting for spare parts.

It was not the best ride, but was comfortable enough for me. Anyway, when I got back to other bikes after winter, I always felt I don't wanna see it anymore. If I remember correctly, it had really narrow dropouts on both forks (might not be your case) and weird fork angle (based on geometry, not bent). And the chainrings on M550 wear off so fast.

Wouldn't expect miracles from the bike, but might make fine commuter with lots of patina.

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jimo746":vz6q15o3 said:

Good job those tubes have decent wall thickness :shock:

Click to expand...

Rust isn’t as bad as it looks, tubes feel thin when tapped and according to the sticker are butted... frame seems fairly light, forks less so. The handlebars/stem/shifters/brake levers probably weigh more than the frame... so definitely room to shave some weight off.

We’ll see, the less love there is for this, the more tempted I am to build it up... :mrgreen:

Unfortunately though the chainset is possibly f**ed... and that was probably the nicest bit on it.