# Found my first MTN bike- '85 Mountain Tour



## neo_pop_71 (Apr 11, 2008)

Lady Luck smiled on me over the weekend and I was fortunate enough to find and reacquire my first mountain bike. Not much had changed, only a few parts (the grips, saddle, and tires), since selling it 20 years ago, miracle! The previous owner or owners weren't as loving as I was, it looks like it lived outdoors for some time... but a little TLC should bring back the original luster. I did a little searching and found out that in 1985 Raleigh made three model with triple butted steel frames, the Seneca was third, just below the Elkhorn and (the top) Crested Butte.

There is a strange picture from a 1985 issue of Mountain Biking (on MOMBAT's Raleigh page):

https://www.mombat.org/685Bikes2.jpg

Basically, three $500 production bikes, a Schwinn, Ross, and Raleigh, up against a $2,000 Potts? C'mon! I read the article that reviewed the rides and asked the $2,000 question. I especially laughed on page 3 where it likened the Raleigh to Tom Ritchey and Gary Fisher with their "California geometry"... seems like those names shouldn't be in the same sentence together. I'll attach pictures of both, this '85 Seneca and my old '85 Timber Comp and you be the judge how their geometries differ.

For reference to the specs, check the link to MOMBAT's Raleigh page:

https://www.mombat.org/1985_Raleigh_Elkhorn.htm

The bikes were spec'ed almost the same but the Seneca had the cool (IMHO) DiaCompe cantilever brakes the used a small pulley for the cable saddle (hard to make out in my pictures, sorry). Both bikes had the same nice set of wheels, the set was laced to a pair of solid high flange Malliard (Sachs) track hubs. Given the moderate price, it was hard to beat the 575 triple butted cro-moly frame with the hi-tensile lugged crown fork. Sure I dreamed of owning a Ritchey but as a freshman in high school, my Ritchey was years away (I did eventually get '85 Ritchey Timber Comp, but now it's in Aemmer's stable). I need to get the Seneca cleaned up and put right but I have a uneasy suspicion that the Raleigh isn't going to ride quite as nice as the Ritchey. It's still nice to have the old "boat anchor" back, I never expected to see it again after it left our garage sale that Saturday morning.

Thanks for taking a moment to check out my silly posting!

-DON-

p.s. Hey Tim, interested in a trade?


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## Ride Free or Die (May 4, 2010)

Thats cool you were able to recover your first, especially considering its age. I'm sure many of us wish we could do the same....


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## neo_pop_71 (Apr 11, 2008)

*I almost didn't recognize it...*

Thanks R. F. or D. for the comment, it was a really cool thing once I realized it was my old bike, but I didn't figure it out immediately with the funky set up (as pictured). The guy said his uncle bought it years ago at a garage sale. I asked him did he know where or what city. He replied, "No, but my uncle is kinda' a home body and doesn't venture too far." Being it was only one city over from my dad's home, I took a closer look. When I sold it, the paint shined like new, it had the leather portage strap that said Seneca, and the SR BMX pedals had toe clips and straps. Now, the paint is dull and oxidized, no portage strap, and the toe clips are missing... but it has been 20 years. The originality and condition were my bargaining points and my rational for not selling it for a penny less than $100.00. Pretty fair deal back to me because I only paid $15.00 for the bike. I'm not going to lose my mind fixing it up but I do have some spare parts... fun project!


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## kpomtb (Feb 2, 2006)

That's awesome. I'm not sure what happened to my first bike, a 1988 Jamis Dakota. But last week I arranged to buy back my second. A Trek 990 from 90 or so, that I bought frame/fork and pieced the rest together. I should have it back later this week and will post pics. It will be interesting to see how it rides compared to the others. I still have my 3rd frame, waiting to be rebuilt (94 Salsa A La Carte), and several others that have followed. Would love to find the first too, but the last time I saw it, it was doing blue collar duty for someone with some chemical dependency issues. I worry that it probably didn't survive the last owner.


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

Cool, and congrats for getting your first bike back. How do you know it's the same one though?


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