S&G Araya Muddy Fox MB-MF 26 A

[Gtpulse]

So I bought this https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/nos-araya-muddy-fox-f-f-£10.449421/

thinking it’s identical in all but size to my too-small-for-me bike that I already have
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/s-g-cycles-muddy-fox-mb-mf-26-b.435049/

The plan is to swap the parts over.

I’ve finally got around to having a look and found, 1). It’s definitely not NOS, 2). It’s definitely not identical!

Other than a cursory glance for obvious issues when it first arrived I left it in the box, quite a bit too long to approach the seller about the rear dropouts and mech hanger being out of alignment. Lesson learned. It was only 10 minutes with the right tools to put right but still annoying, was both the dropouts and the hanger.

After a quick polish it’s coming up really nice



And I’ve had these early IRC green wall tyres for a while which needed a home. I think they kind of work?

 

[Gtpulse]

As for the differences, the new bike is Tange Champion tubing, the other is Ishiwata. The new bike has the classic “A” Araya ends to the top of the seat stays, the other does not. Both have 1984 Araya serial numbers and are 700 frames apart if I have deciphered correctly.
Forks on the new one have a nicer bridge than the old too.

It’s obvious now that the model numbers are different, one being an A and the other a B. I’d say the A is a nicer frame in terms of build quality. The seat clamp area for example is almost pressed/folded on the B but brazed fittings on the A which look much neater.

Final difference for now is the seat post clamp which I’ve spent some time on this evening. I went to fit to the new bike and it’s too thick to fit. A post for one for sale got me thinking can I adapt/make one? I had a search for the correct Suntour one and found it would be at least £50 plus postage etc from over the pond so was fully engaged in not spending that!

 

[Gtpulse]

I found a bent and mangled Maillard wheel skewer in the drawer of doom and set to work - it was the only one that looked close without me sacrificing something shiny and complete.

Suntour thick’un at the top of the photo




I wanted to retain the Suntour end as it’s branded as well as the lever so was crossing my fingers it would be similar when dismantled

And it was!



I think I may have thought about adapting wheel skewers to seat skewers at some point as I already had the correct size die - I’ve seen it suggested that these threads should be rolled not cut but this is what I’ve got.



So I cut the new skewer to size and finished it in my Makita cordless lathe with a file - engineers look away now



Et voila



The finished article, found an end that looked appropriate



On the bike



And I’ve ended up with enough bits to make the Maillard in to a thick seat skewer, reckon I’ll eBay it for PayPal tokens!



However, one door opened and another closed, I found now that I can clamp it, the new bike needs a 26.8mm seatpost not a 26.6mm! Thought this was going to be a quick swap.

 

[longun]

Proper workshop tinkering, love it. Wish I'd kept my s&g again now haha

 

[Gtpulse]

Sometimes I frustrate even myself - thought I’d have a look for a catalogue to see If I can pin down what’s different about this model to the other.

I found one on here then realised it was me that posted it and all the information I needed was in a drawer in the garage, hmm.

So the new bike is a very early Explorer and the old bike is an Adventurer. The Explorer being ever so slightly higher in the range.







It’s got a mixture of Shimano and Sugino in the transmission/drivetrain department vs Sugino/Suntour of the Adventurer which is what I was going to transfer. The wheels, seat/bars/brakes are close enough to what I’ve already got to leave them as is.

National Panaracer tyres - hmmm no chance whatsoever of finding those, will be going with the IRC Racers For now.

 

[Gtpulse]

I really can’t make this up - once I’d read the specs for what I’ve actually got, I realised the seatpost is a fluted SR 26.8mm. An experience many Retrobikers have had - these revelations go one of two ways - 1). I’ve got one of those somewhere if I could only find it, 10 boxes of tat later you realise it’s something you sold or gave away. 2). You’d forgotten even owning it but trawling through the boxes of tat for something else you see it staring up at you.

This was the latter of those two possibilities. So minutes after my last post I was out in the cave cleaning up a 26.8mm SR fluted seat post!



Didn’t fit straight away and I questioned myself, logic prevailed - a 26.6mm definitely too small so it must be a 26.8mm.

Engineers look away again, I put to use my cylinder honing tool seat tube cleaner in the cordless Makita mill and made good.



A quick shine of the post with some 400 wet and dry, a dab of grease on both surfaces and it fits like a glove.

---

 

[27motorhead]

Loving this thread for a number of reasons:
The era of the bike
The brand of the bike (when Muddy Fox were good)
The creative engineering
The small insight into your garage workshop space/mess
Seeing tools that look like they've survived several generations

Keep up the great work!

 

[Gtpulse]

Loving this thread for a number of reasons:
The era of the bike
The brand of the bike (when Muddy Fox were good)
The creative engineering
The small insight into your garage workshop space/mess
Seeing tools that look like they've survived several generations

Keep up the great work!

It’s odd that I’ve also got a soft spot for this era as I would have been about 5 or 6 years old and riding my first Raleigh Burner when this came out. I really love working on and owning all ages of bikes but there’s something that clicks with the earlier stuff.

My bodging has got more refined over the years to the extent that it almost looks like I know what I’m doing.

I’m assuming you mean the woodworking stuff in the background - as well as bikes I’ve got a thing for woodworking planes, chisels, measuring stuff etc. Some of it is indeed from previous generations - it amazes me how much stuff people see as junk that’s actually really decent tools. I always look at stuff and think how much work it would have taken the person who owned it to buy what would have been an expensive purchase, if I’m able to give it another life or just preserve it I feel I’m doing something worthwhile. I’ve often got woodworking projects on the go, nothing fancy but means I get to use most of the lovely tools I’ve saved. Maybe hoarding a bit too hence the mess!

Thanks for your kind comments!

 

[Gtpulse]

A couple of minor updates.

Replacement decals for the faded ones on the rims arrived, not an essential but it makes them look that bit better than leaving the faded out ones on.



Then something I’ve been itching to use on a bike for ages. One of my other bikes which is also an Araya was supposed to have a Suntour Le Tech rear mech (3 pivot design quite neat) which really don’t come up for sale very often. While waiting for one to come up I bought this 3 pulley Le Pree rear mech of similar age to get it going. Then as always happens 2 Le Techs came up one after the other, I snagged both and this went back in the drawer. It’s a quirky and short lived design. I’ve seen this on XC mechs as well. Looks like an inline skate!
I’ve still got the original mech for the bike, I’ll see how it goes with this one, it’s a bit more interesting and I’d like it on a bike not in a drawer.

 

[27motorhead]

It’s odd that I’ve also got a soft spot for this era as I would have been about 5 or 6 years old and riding my first Raleigh Burner when this came out. I really love working on and owning all ages of bikes but there’s something that clicks with the earlier stuff.

My bodging has got more refined over the years to the extent that it almost looks like I know what I’m doing.

I’m assuming you mean the woodworking stuff in the background - as well as bikes I’ve got a thing for woodworking planes, chisels, measuring stuff etc. Some of it is indeed from previous generations - it amazes me how much stuff people see as junk that’s actually really decent tools. I always look at stuff and think how much work it would have taken the person who owned it to buy what would have been an expensive purchase, if I’m able to give it another life or just preserve it I feel I’m doing something worthwhile. I’ve often got woodworking projects on the go, nothing fancy but means I get to use most of the lovely tools I’ve saved. Maybe hoarding a bit too hence the mess!

Thanks for your kind comments!

There is something lovely about 80s MTB’s where they transitioned from random parts to first generation ATB/MTB focused groupsets.

Nothing wrong with saving old tools. The materials used are normally vastly superior and they were designed to be repaired/sharpened/customised. Each one will have story behind how it’s ended up being chopped or ground down or repurposed. Plus like old MTB’s they can also just look gorgeous!

Around 1991 a neighbour up the road had an old S&G Muddy Fox. He came to mine as he had a problem with it and whilst I was fixing it I discovered his dropout had broken free from the brazing so I ended up inheriting the frame & forks, but never ended up doing anything with it and one day my dad told me I had to tidy up the garage as it was full of too many bike related items and it still haunts me to this day that...

I put it in a skip the council placed in our village (back when they had money!) along with a Mongoose California I got for free from another neighbour!!! WTF was I thinking???? Guess I was young and only focused on newer stuff at the time?!*