1983 Cleland Aventura (Highpath)

1983 Cleland/Highpath hybrid 3 wheeler Tandem

1983 Off-road, three wheeler tandem
:idea: I mean Cleland, in off-road tag-along mode :idea:

1983 Cleland/Highpath hybrid

Try this link for the history of Cleland Cycles...

http://www.james-walters.net/cleland/cl ... story.html

Cleland, the first British Mountain Bike? (ie. the first bike to be riden up a British mountain?)
There is little doubt that the Geoff Apps designed Range Rider was the first ‘Mountain Bike’ to be made in Britain. The first prototype was made in 1968 based on a Raleigh Explorer frame. Experiments using a variety of road bike framesets continued throughout the 1970s. His bikes mostly used 2 inch wide, 650b, knobbly snow tyres from Finland. His first Range Rider bikes, using a custom designed (un-braced) framesets were designed in 1978) I believe the frames where made by Dees Cycles of Amersham in 1979. These bikes had all the features of the Mountain bike, though their design was arrived at independently. I believe that these bikes were the first British made Mountain Bikes. (One had drum brakes the other cantilevers).
Later versions of these were sold by Cleland Cycles (Geoff’s own company), English Cycles, and Highpath Engineering over the next ten years. They were built to order and as far as I know, never mass produced. In October 1981 Nick Crane rode a third generation Range Rider prototype up Snowdon.

:!: Joe Breeze on the subject of Cleland Cycles... "I think Geoff Apps and his Cleland bikes have evolutionary linkage. Not to Marin, but he had (has?) a following in the UK. His line might even precede the Marin lineage." :!:

In reality the two lineages ran separately until about 1981 when Geoff read about what was happenning in the States and made contact. The early English movement was later to be swamped by the import of cheaper US derived bikes. Today the tradition is continued by a small group of enthusiasts who appreciate the unique character and ethos of these bikes.

It's not just a retro-tradition based on nostalgia either, as these bikes work extremely well. Geoff Apps and others continue to develop and improve them by creating and testing new prototypes. If you suffer from back or wrist fatigue or are simply fed up with: muddy wet clothing, mud damaged components, and the hassle this creates, the Cleland may be the ideal design solution for you.

:twisted: One problem is that a bike industry that makes lots of money from worn out parts, is not keen on low maintenance practical designs. :twisted:

:xmas-cool: So the Cleland is one of only a handful of mountain bike designs that did not develop from the 1970-'80s' Marin bikes. Instead it connected to the English green-laning tradition known as the 'RoughStuff Fellowship' which was founded in 1955 :xmas-cool: From this handful of parallel designs, the Cleland lineage is the only tradition that continues today. An endangerd bike species, yes! But extinct no! Not as long as they're still being ridden.

Check out this link for the history of Cleland Cycles and the beginnings of of Mountain Biking in Britain.

http://www.james-walters.net/cleland/cl ... story.html

The First Cleland/Highpath, Hybrid Bike

The first Cleland/Highpath, hybrid bike

When engineer and sculptor David Wrath-Sharman bought a Cleland' Aventura, he soon set about improving it. Made about 1986, this is the result of this work. It was the first bike to display the Highpath name.

Note the re-engineered brakes. During its upgrade, they were also added to my bike.

Cleland Aventura restoration

Hi,

Great to see all these photos on here! My Dad has an Aventura which he has been restoring. Did not come with any of the bash guards or chain guards so its great to see good photos of them. Also the handle bar and stem although period parts seem to offer a more stretched out riding position than all the other images on here.

Cleland Aventura restoration photos

Heres a few pics of the initial rebuild after a respray at argos :

apart from the "saddle" it looks really cool!

Now that is proper vintage! Wonderful. Yeah the seat doesn't look right some how. ... Brooks??

Cleland Aventura restoration photos

Hi Rainard, it's great to see that another Cleland Aventura has survived.

The frame looks like an early example, does it have a frame number on the bottom bracket shell? (This may be difficult to spot on frames that still have their original, protective, powder-coating).

Do you know which part of the country the bike comes from? I may be able to track down some details of its' history. The bikes' wheels are of a later date than the frame and are similar to those made by David Wrath-Sharman in Surrey about 1986.

Your chainset looks totally original and the these bikes were supplied with cheap saddles intended to be replaced after purchase. So any saddle of the period could have been used.

The key characteristics of the Aventura (compared to Clelands' earliar Range-Rider model) were: its' integral rear rack, 90mm bottom-bracket and the CW minibars and the upright riding position these provided.
None of the original Clelands had a stretched forward riding position like your bike. David Wrath-Sharman did however build a Speedlite racing version about 1987. This had widened drop handlebars.

I will post a picture of an 1983-84 Aventura, complete with all its' original components & logos.

Heres a few pics of Rainard's Cleland Aventuraduring the initial rebuild, after a respray at argos :