# raleigh mountain tour



## vdubbusrider (Jul 28, 2004)

i'm looing to at buying a Raleigh Mountian Tour. i dont know what this bike is. does anybody know if is it high end or low end? i have only seen a distant photo. it is definetly mid to late 80's but i cant see any of the components. if somebody could tell me its nothing than you would be saving me a long drive to see it in person.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

*The One I've seen....*

Looked to be built up pretty high end. Same build kit as a Stumpjumper, Ritchey or the like. The one I saw looked to be from around '86. I don't know about the quality of the frame though.


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

*Mountain tour*

I actually sold a bunch of those new (early-mid 1980's) and it was just a name for the mountain bike series but there should also be a model name. Sorta Like Trek (maker) Singletrack (series) 970 (model). If it was an earlier bike, the gray one was the Seneca (entry level good), the green was the Elkhorn (better) and the metallic red/burgundy was the Crested Butte (best). The Crested Butte used Shimano XT deer head stuff but Raleigh had an annoying habit of substituting private label stuff everywhere. I think they used the Mountain Tour name up until they introduced the Technium bonded aluminum frame.


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## Guitar Ted (Jan 14, 2004)

*There is a blue one also......*

The Tamarack. I have one in the basement that I rescued this past summer from it's original owner. 650b wheels, bullmoose bar/stem, Suntour Mountech derailluer, Raleigh branded hubs, and crank. DiaCompe brakes/ levers. Too bad the rear hub inner race grenaded on it.


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

First Flight said:


> I actually sold a bunch of those new (early-mid 1980's) and it was just a name for the mountain bike series but there should also be a model name. Sorta Like Trek (maker) Singletrack (series) 970 (model). If it was an earlier bike, the gray one was the Seneca (entry level good), the green was the Elkhorn (better) and the metallic red/burgundy was the Crested Butte (best). The Crested Butte used Shimano XT deer head stuff but Raleigh had an annoying habit of substituting private label stuff everywhere. I think they used the Mountain Tour name up until they introduced the Technium bonded aluminum frame.


Jeff, I think Ive mentioned to you before, the Elkhorn was my first bike in 1984 and it holds a special place in my heart. If you come across an 18"-20" let me know. Maybe there are a few still in your area since you sold a lot of them. I did finally find one but its a monster 23"er. I rarely see them.

On a somewhat related note, my friends mom had a Crested Butte model which he of course borrowed and thrashed but we didnt have a clue as to what Crested Butte was in 7th grade. He got the nickname "crusty butt" riding that bike. Its funny, at that point in time, neither of us had a clue as to which was the better bike between the Elkhorn or the CB. The Elkhorn for me brings back some great memories of jamming around on new uncharted trails. Those wheels seemed so big and stable coming off our BMX bikes. Anyway, mine ended up cracking at the seat collar and I got a super ugly Technium bike. I think Im tearing up.


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

*Elkhorn*

The Seneca was my first decent bike when I was in college and working @ a shop so I remember them well. I put yellow cable housing on it as I was building it and then managed to wreck it in the parking lot before loading it in the car!!

That is kinda funny, since we called the Crested Butte the "crusty butt" as well. I'll always remember those tapered reflectors, the "directional" tires and those little red Raleigh stickers that seemed to be placed on every part on the bike. I think we counted once and the word Raleigh was on the bike like 47 times or something ridiculous.

We do have one of the early Senecas, an Elkhorn and a little bit later Seneca on the web site.



Fillet-brazed said:


> Jeff, I think Ive mentioned to you before, the Elkhorn was my first bike in 1984 and it holds a special place in my heart. If you come across an 18"-20" let me know. Maybe there are a few still in your area since you sold a lot of them. I did finally find one but its a monster 23"er. I rarely see them.
> 
> On a somewhat related note, my friends mom had a Crested Butte model which he of course borrowed and thrashed but we didnt have a clue as to what Crested Butte was in 7th grade. He got the nickname "crusty butt" riding that bike. Its funny, at that point in time, neither of us had a clue as to which was the better bike between the Elkhorn or the CB. The Elkhorn for me brings back some great memories of jamming around on new uncharted trails. Those wheels seemed so big and stable coming off our BMX bikes. Anyway, mine ended up cracking at the seat collar and I got a super ugly Technium bike. I think Im tearing up.


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

First Flight said:


> The Seneca was my first decent bike when I was in college and working @ a shop so I remember them well. I put yellow cable housing on it as I was building it and then managed to wreck it in the parking lot before loading it in the car!!
> 
> That is kinda funny, since we called the Crested Butte the "crusty butt" as well. I'll always remember those tapered reflectors, the "directional" tires and those little red Raleigh stickers that seemed to be placed on every part on the bike. I think we counted once and the word Raleigh was on the bike like 47 times or something ridiculous.
> 
> We do have one of the early Senecas, an Elkhorn and a little bit later Seneca on the web site.


Ya, its those little things that I remember too. I really remember those tires and the Elkhorn Ive got now has a nice set on it. They actually seemed to be ahead of their time. Pretty wide (2.125 I think) and kinda like a Nanoraptor and the Maxxis Larsen mixed together! Those Raleigh stickered parts seemed to be decent stuff. A lot of it seemed to be the normal parts spec for that day with little Raleigh stickers on it. The rims were Araya 7Xs, etc.

Those reflectors were the first thing I ripped off of it! I remember the front brake cable was routed through a hole in the front reflector mount. I hacksawed through it to avoid having to redo the cabling on the front brake. Those were the days!


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## nolo85 (8 mo ago)

Fillet-brazed said:


> Jeff, I think Ive mentioned to you before, the Elkhorn was my first bike in 1984 and it holds a special place in my heart. If you come across an 18"-20" let me know. Maybe there are a few still in your area since you sold a lot of them. I did finally find one but its a monster 23"er. I rarely see them.
> 
> On a somewhat related note, my friends mom had a Crested Butte model which he of course borrowed and thrashed but we didnt have a clue as to what Crested Butte was in 7th grade. He got the nickname "crusty butt" riding that bike. Its funny, at that point in time, neither of us had a clue as to which was the better bike between the Elkhorn or the CB. The Elkhorn for me brings back some great memories of jamming around on new uncharted trails. Those wheels seemed so big and stable coming off our BMX bikes. Anyway, mine ended up cracking at the seat collar and I got a super ugly Technium bike. I think Im tearing up.



Hi Fillet-Brazed, 
I know this post is super old, but just wanted to see if you 1. still have the 23" Tamarack, and 2, if you'd be interested in selling it? I'm 6'5 and been trying to track down a big tamarack frame. Thanks!


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