Recent impulse buy on UK ebay shown here. Assumed it to be an early MTB, but the composite alloy & steel frame is what really caught my attention/interest.
It appears to be a Kent, USA made Raleigh from 1989. When Derby Cycle owned the operation. Was that a division of Huffy? I think so.
WTB = Wilderness Trail Bikes, & there is, maybe, the clue about its intended use. This frame has braze-ons/eyelets for racks & guards, both ends! I didn’t notice that in the ebay pics. Not your regular MTB then?
It looks like it’s designed for carrying loads off road. Off road Tourer then?
A ‘Trail Bike’ over the pond? OK, I didn’t get that before.
Has its 3 main alloy frame tubes bonded to steel ends. The rear triangle is tough & well put together. The straight forks are tough also!
An interesting current project anyway: )
Right now I’m assuming this is a 6061 T8 Aluminum with the CrMo ends.
As with the Raleigh Obsession/Heat/Chill frames.
Neither of those had these extra guard/rack fixings though…
That’s what interests me next; )
Update 21/12/19.
Research is just such good fun. Sometimes.
Today I think I decyphered the SN. (Thanks to T-Mar on BikeForums: )
R810990045.
109th day in the year 89.
0045 = sequential frame number.
Telling me this is an early frame?
Yet more interesting: )
Not sure of the model yet.
Chill? Frenzy? Killer Instinct?
Built it up as seen here. With Shimano Nexus 7 speed hub gear & V brakes.
Used an Ahead converter in order to have a choice of bars, stems already in my spares box: )
It’s way too small for me, but it’ll suit a taller child/small adult admirably. Has braze-ons for racks & guards both ends, so it’ll make a great, all weather town bike, or a light tourer for roughish roads: )
One thing that currently puzzles me is why there are no decals on the unpainted alloy main tubes?? Nothing. No evidence that decals have been removed. The head decal says WTB. No evidence of anything under it.
These machines were sold in Europe (Germany at least) in small numbers so I assume this is one of them. I’m still curious about any WTB connections!
Probably someone has replaced the Raleigh head badge with the WTB decal. But why would you do that? I don’t know…
Now found the correct Shimano non-turn Black washer! Gives a much nicer cable input line.
And, amazingly, does not need a chain tensioner with 38t front & 21t rear cog. (If you look at the rear ends it has a very small amount of front/rear movement. Definitely not Track Ends.)
How neat?
If you need a chain tensioner it’d look like a derailler rear. Over complicated too.
I do like the way this has turned out.
Been looking for more info online, but not findng much. Can’t even find another with the same Raleigh USA downtube decals.
The WTB head decal is perfectly positioned & there is no trace of a Raleigh America head-badge. (But it is not difficult to remove glue…)
I did start a thread on Bikeforums about it & learned some interesting details. But not many.
The composite frames are looked down on by some, but I’m thinking they are a period (1990ish) example of the move from steel to carbon.
I don’t know how long the ‘glue’ will last, but I don’t care actually. It’s in fine condition & deserves to be used.