special-k told me this thread is talking about muscle bicycles! My parents got me this, wiped out the first day on sand that washed onto the street (bent handlebar). After looking at the picture, remember the chain guard was removed because I tore pants. I lived in Tucson, rode it like a BMX bike, the parallelogram frame collapsed after a few jumps. One time I crashed, was knocked senseless, managed to walk back home but didn't know my name.
I worked a short stint at a bike shop in the early 80s. Someone brought this in, asking about fixing the bent gooseneck. The owner gave a quote, the guy flinched, I asked to buy it, SOLD! It's rideable enough, did a 4th of July parade with the bike club. Then hung in the rafters of my shop, where it's been about 35 years. Almost hurt myself getting it down yesterday, weighs a ton! Cleaned and lubed, but need to replace the brake cables, and see if the bike shop can get the 3 speed to shift, seems to be stuck in 3rd. Made the chain-guard from a scavenged stove door, hardly a replica, but it's not worth restoring.
Found a good location to take lots of pictures. LOL
I looked at Flickr for pictures, noticed my model with 5 speed and high sissy bar is really rare. Figures, story of my life. At least this one is a Mk1, probably 1970. In Ireland they have rallies where people do group rides. This bike saved Raleigh from bankruptcy. The safety was questioned in Parliament. There are museums with them on display. I never knew......
Anyway, now that I'm in the Fakebook klink for 30 days, I'll be on this forum more often.
