Al Carter Black Panther - Leyland

[mynchiboy]

Has anyone actually ridden one of the Al Carters? Any good or as bad as a Townsend? Used to have em at my LBS BITD so do have a soft spot. Was tempted but already rebuilding a Yokota!

IIRC they were churned out of the same Taiwan factory as the Fishers of the time, hence they came with 1 1/4" evolution size head tubes rather than 1 1/8" which was of course still the big thing. Tange DB tubing tends to make for a smooth and sturdy ride so the parallel to Marin is fair. The Townsend group branding and fashion towards brands such as Marin, Kona and GT at the time affected the image I guess.

Still, you can't score a full DX groupset in many other places - including pedals

 

[reanimation]

Ah interesting!
Will have to have a closer look at my Yokota, maybe it's also churned out of a similar place, it's also black same era, Taiwan I think and 1 1/4 head. Strange but kind of cool to see on a steel frame.

Will have to make a point if not spending £130 on it somehow. Already £37 in!