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so years ago, i think 1990 i bought my first real mountain bike, a used Muddy Fox Seeker from a dodgy old bastard called Keith who ran the local lawn mower and cycle repair shop, he was awful but that's a long boring story.
after getting the bike i knew it needed a bit of work, cables, BB rebuild etc, Muddy Fox at that time i think was the bike to have, Orange wasn't even really known to me at that point, maybe not even Kona, the Muddy Fox bikes had a cool image at the time, i remembered seeking one kid at school with a Muddy Fox, it was white with a flouro pink BB, no other bikes looked like it and i wanted one, having checked, that bike was a 1988 Road Runner.
anyway, over a period of a year i upgraded the Suntour XCE to a mix of Deore DX, and for some reason i had it painted white, (something i would consider wrong for this bike now) not long after i had done that the bike was stolen from Southampton Tech College, it had 4 locks on it, the bastards. i didn't even know how to get home, i pretty much had never caught a bus at that point, i didn't know where the bus stops were, i didn't know how much it would cost, and frankly i think i was in shock, it was the first shitty thing that have ever happened to me to be honest, i think it took the naivity away from me, "why would someone take it? it's not theirs" blissfully ignornt of how crap people can be.
it always bothered me, about 15 years ago i found retro bike, by that point Muddy Fox bikes had become the crap that we know today, the stuff i was interested in was Orange's, Kona's etc but that Muddy Fox being nicked and someone posting a thread about their Muddy Fox Seeker made me think about looking for one.
i found a Courier Comp for sale not long later, bought it for £40, i was a wreck, i picked it up from Bristol on the way to a ride in Wales, i decided to drop in to Argos Cycles to ask about a repaint, i sent it up a week later for a repaint, i initially built it with Suntour XC Pro/Comp mix but later went 24 speed Deore LX on it, i still have it, rarely ride it but that bike was supposed to cathartic for the loss of the Seeker, it kind of was.
cut to about 4 days ago, someone on here posted about a Kona Low rider on facebook market place, i was thinking i'd have it for the shop as a talking piece if it wasn't too much, i found it but it was too far away for collection, but right next to it was a Seeker! so thanks to who ever posted about that Low Rider! i contacted the owner to confirm the size, it was a 19" which was perfect, we agreed a price, £125 and yesterday i collected it from him near Poole, i told him why i wanted it, he told me he'd been given it from his father in law (i think) and had been usung it as a pub bike, i told him what i was gonna do with it and he said he was pleased it ws going to someone who was gonna look after and would let his father in law know, i told him i'd send pictures when it's done.
so what's wrong with it?
BB is rough, rear hub is loose, gears feel heavy due to sticky cables, brakes need pads and cables, spokes are rusty, tyres are dead, paint is in typical survivor condition.
what am i going to do with it?
i kind of want to go full restoration, frame wise i could just clean the hell out of it, but i think i'll have it refinished, original. i want to use as much of the original parts as possible, so i think i'll rebuild the hubs, re-spoke the wheels, i may put some nicer mavic rims i have on though, more to get a machined rim service to improve the brakes though, i intend to keep the gearset, worst case fit a new freewheel (yes freewheel not cassette) and chain, the rings i think will be ok, i also have a pair of panaracer dart/smokes i can fit.
the only other thing i have noticed that is a little weird is when i got there to collect it i noticed it had a rear U brake, something i didn't remember mine having, so digging in to the catalogues here i found the 1989 catalogue, sure enough the Seeker is in there, shown with cantilever brakes front and rear, so i checked the 1988 catalogue, alot of those bikes had rear U brakes, so i think i have a very early 1989 model, a half year kodel maybe? whatever, i don't mind either way.
anyway here's some pics so you can see where it started
after getting the bike i knew it needed a bit of work, cables, BB rebuild etc, Muddy Fox at that time i think was the bike to have, Orange wasn't even really known to me at that point, maybe not even Kona, the Muddy Fox bikes had a cool image at the time, i remembered seeking one kid at school with a Muddy Fox, it was white with a flouro pink BB, no other bikes looked like it and i wanted one, having checked, that bike was a 1988 Road Runner.
anyway, over a period of a year i upgraded the Suntour XCE to a mix of Deore DX, and for some reason i had it painted white, (something i would consider wrong for this bike now) not long after i had done that the bike was stolen from Southampton Tech College, it had 4 locks on it, the bastards. i didn't even know how to get home, i pretty much had never caught a bus at that point, i didn't know where the bus stops were, i didn't know how much it would cost, and frankly i think i was in shock, it was the first shitty thing that have ever happened to me to be honest, i think it took the naivity away from me, "why would someone take it? it's not theirs" blissfully ignornt of how crap people can be.
it always bothered me, about 15 years ago i found retro bike, by that point Muddy Fox bikes had become the crap that we know today, the stuff i was interested in was Orange's, Kona's etc but that Muddy Fox being nicked and someone posting a thread about their Muddy Fox Seeker made me think about looking for one.
i found a Courier Comp for sale not long later, bought it for £40, i was a wreck, i picked it up from Bristol on the way to a ride in Wales, i decided to drop in to Argos Cycles to ask about a repaint, i sent it up a week later for a repaint, i initially built it with Suntour XC Pro/Comp mix but later went 24 speed Deore LX on it, i still have it, rarely ride it but that bike was supposed to cathartic for the loss of the Seeker, it kind of was.
cut to about 4 days ago, someone on here posted about a Kona Low rider on facebook market place, i was thinking i'd have it for the shop as a talking piece if it wasn't too much, i found it but it was too far away for collection, but right next to it was a Seeker! so thanks to who ever posted about that Low Rider! i contacted the owner to confirm the size, it was a 19" which was perfect, we agreed a price, £125 and yesterday i collected it from him near Poole, i told him why i wanted it, he told me he'd been given it from his father in law (i think) and had been usung it as a pub bike, i told him what i was gonna do with it and he said he was pleased it ws going to someone who was gonna look after and would let his father in law know, i told him i'd send pictures when it's done.
so what's wrong with it?
BB is rough, rear hub is loose, gears feel heavy due to sticky cables, brakes need pads and cables, spokes are rusty, tyres are dead, paint is in typical survivor condition.
what am i going to do with it?
i kind of want to go full restoration, frame wise i could just clean the hell out of it, but i think i'll have it refinished, original. i want to use as much of the original parts as possible, so i think i'll rebuild the hubs, re-spoke the wheels, i may put some nicer mavic rims i have on though, more to get a machined rim service to improve the brakes though, i intend to keep the gearset, worst case fit a new freewheel (yes freewheel not cassette) and chain, the rings i think will be ok, i also have a pair of panaracer dart/smokes i can fit.
the only other thing i have noticed that is a little weird is when i got there to collect it i noticed it had a rear U brake, something i didn't remember mine having, so digging in to the catalogues here i found the 1989 catalogue, sure enough the Seeker is in there, shown with cantilever brakes front and rear, so i checked the 1988 catalogue, alot of those bikes had rear U brakes, so i think i have a very early 1989 model, a half year kodel maybe? whatever, i don't mind either way.
anyway here's some pics so you can see where it started
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