Old School Legend: 1989 Fisher CR-7 Mountain Bike

There are a few bikes out there from the early pre-suspended days of Mountain Bikes (pre-1990) that have rightly earned legendary status for their combination of ride quality, ground breaking design, and aesthetic appeal. Fewer still, were durable enough to be rideable today, twenty plus years on. This rare vintage Fisher CR-7 composite mountain bike frame (he wasn't Gary back then, just Fisher) is one such bike. It was raced by Fisher's Mountain Bike Team, praise was lavished upon it by every test rider that swung a leg over it, and it was considered the ultimate ride from one of Mountain Biking's first practitioners.

The main triangle is aluminum and the rear triangle is steel. The rear triangle bolts onto the front portion. Clever idea. This is the production version of the very rare Mantis XCR Composite frame designed by Richard Cunningham to exploit the merits of both materials. The fat aluminum tubing used for the front triangle of the frame is stiff due to the large diameter tubes, but it is impossible to use such tubes for the chainstays and seatstays without excessive crimping, so steel is used in those locations. The two materials cannot be welded so the rear triangle is bolted on using heliarced inserts in the aluminum and steel allen bolts.

The main triangle has had the black paint removed, although some remnants remain on the bottom bracket. The welds are very nice. I could find no dents or damage to the frame.

The chainstays are built from Fisher specified Tange chromoly tubing and are very rigid, allowing very positive braking, and have investment-cast fittings welded to them. Unusually for a team race bike, the CR-7 has fittings for mounting rack and fenders, making it unique among Mountain Bike legends.

Fisher built the frame with a special bottom bracket which is 15mm wider than a conventional unit, providing greater tire clearances than any other frame at the time.

Another Fisher innovation is the 'Fisher Evolution Headset' which is oversized, being 1-1/4" instead of the 1" which was the standard at the time. As contemporary testers put it - "The headset and steering column are about 25 per cent larger in diameter than conventional units. This makes an astonishing difference to the steering characteristics. The design is based on tests that showed the major stress point on bicycle frames to be around the bottom of the headtube. Fisher saw this as the obvious place to concentrate strength. This he achieved by making the whole unit bigger...Gary Fisher stuck his neck out, produced a unique headset and brought in a winner.

I'm not sure what I am going to do for a final finish - the original Fisher color scheme and graphics seen on the similar bike above, are classic looking, but I may also opt for a stealthier custom look in plain black, perhaps with an Archer logo!

1989 Fisher CR-7
Seat tube: 19" c-c, 20 1/2" c-t

Top tube: 22 1/2"

Chainstay: 16 7/8"

Head tube: 4"

Uses a 31.6mm seatpost (not included)

Rear dropout spacing is 135mm

Bottom bracket height is 12"

Standover height is 31"

Head tube takes a 1 1/4" headset

Serial number is Y98278.

The Archer Workshop - serving the classic and performance bicycle enthusiast

Introducing the Archer workshop in all it's glory. We are currently going through a major reorganization. In stock - spare parts, vintage parts, tires and accessories. Bicycles for repair and restoration.

New bicycles just arrived, including a 1970 Raleigh Sports Ladies Bicycle.

Also in are some legendary classics from the world of Mountain bikes - 1998 Spooky Metalhead, 1990 Yeti For Racing Only (FRO), 1998 Yeti DH-6 and a 1994 Yeti ARC-AS-LT. We look forward to bringing you more information about these and other project bikes in the future.

1953 Raleigh Sports, Part II

Here are some detail pictures of my 1953 Raleigh Sports, made in Nottingham, England. It is amazing to think that this bicycle was built 57 years ago. It is a survivor, rather than a restored museum piece, which I like because that means that I can use it, and not feel too guilty if I add a little more 'patina' to it. It has a few dents and the decals are scratched off in places, but it wears it's original paint and most of its original parts.

The original headlight has a black painted body, much like the lights on a 1953 Jaguar XK120, which were also painted instead of chromed due to a chrome shortage in England at the time.

The brake levers are very clean and unmarked - newer replacements perhaps? The brake cables and housings look very aged, and it is going to be a tough call whether to replace them with new for the sake of performance, or to keep the ones that are on there for the sake of originality. 

The saddle is an old brown Brooks B66 sprung saddle. I have the original one safely stored but it is too decrepit to use, the leather nose has torn clean off. This one is a vintage model of very similar colour and finish, unlike the new Brooks B66 which has a texture to it.

The chaincase is a very desirable feature, as it means that you can wear any clothing you please without getting grease or dirt from the chain on yourself. The chain is also protected to some extent from dirt and debris, and thus can go longer between services.

The shifter chain and cable for the 3-speed Sturmey Archer rear hub exits through the hollow hub axle, which makes for a very clean design for the chaincase. 

The dyno front hub has two pick-up points for the positive and negative wires for the lighting system. The front headlight then has a switch on the underside so that the system can be switched off during the daytime - I have read that this reduces the drag from the front wheel but I have not been able to test this. At the moment the system is not working and I need to troubleshoot it. There is no noticeable drag from the hub at the moment.

Here is a great shot of the 1953 Raleigh logo - so stylish.

The pedals are also stamped with the Raleigh logo.

The rear hub is a Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub. It has an oil port which you put a few drops of motor oil into. These bicycles need automotive lubricants, not modern lightweight oils. They are designed to be serviced at long intervals.

The classic English white tail to the mudguard. Also notice the leather hubshiner, and the rear dynamo light.

The original stem is very compact and does its job beautifully. It reminds a lot of many high end cnc'd mountain bike stems, but in a much smaller size. The bell is a new Japanese brass bell - there is a fashion at the moment for installing these on the neck of the stem, so I am giving that a try at the moment - not sure about it though, as I imagine that you would want the bell closer to your hand in a panic situation. The Sturmey Archer 3-speed thumbshifter is another original piece that reminds me of my mountain biking days - remember the 1989 Shimano Deore XT Thumbshifter? SIS, or Shimano index shifting, was only a few years old, but these English bikes had it long before!


 

These bikes came in different sizes, and I think that this is the largest - a 23" frame. It is a great fit for me and the bike is very comfortable and pedals efficiently. The cranks are 170mm long, and I am used to running 175mm long crankarms. I am still refining the riding position, but this is pretty close to what the final position of bars, stem and saddle will be. Next on the list is taking the bike apart and going through it - tuning, tweaking, new tires, a rack, and getting the lights working.

1953 Raleigh Sports - Dynamo Lighting, Enclosed Chaincase

It wasn't easy to find, but eventually two popped up on ebay and I was able to choose one that was intact and all original - my 'new' 1953 Raleigh Sports!

It's in original condition, with beautiful original paint and markings. However, it needs attention before it can be properly used - a tune up, new tires, etc. I also need to find and install a rack. I'll take you through the bike in detail in a future post... 

The decision to buy a practical bike -

Once the decision has been made to purchase a bicycle, the first question to ask, is what is it's practical use? The last twenty bikes that I have purchased have been for 'racing', which was really a case of that being the prevailing culture in velodom, rather than that they were actually raced (they were, except for 2, not raced). This purchase has been different. I was honest, mature, and I took my time, did my homework. I already have a full compliment of racing machinery, and what I really needed was a practical means of getting around - a practical bicycle.

What is my perfect practical bicycle? Well, it needs to be comfortable to ride in all situations, safe to manouver through traffic, bumps and potholes.

This period photograph of a pair of 1932 Raleigh Sports gives a good idea of what the practical but stylish cyclist can achieve.

However, ideally I would prefer not to need to wear plus fours or tuck my trousers into my socks. I also need to carry stuff - so my practical bike must have a rack to carry a briefcase, or a tote bag, and I must be able to hop on it anytime, without needing to change my clothes, so it must have a fully enclosed chaincase.

This elegant Milanese gent has the right idea. I imagine that using a bicycle for him allows him to avoid the traffic and parking hassles of a car, and the dirt and enclosure of public transport, without having to make any sacrifices in his grooming or wardrobe. I wonder if that satchel briefcase is made especially to be slung over the top tube or is a regular model that he has installed that way?

I envisioned my typical trips with the bike - running errands in the village, to the farmer's market, the library, the post office and the bank. I also thought about longer rides to the local swimming pond, and a favourite lunch spot. I could also bring it with me on trips into town, riding around in a suit and tie.



Here is an early advertisement for a Raleigh Dawn R Toursit model. The enclosed chaincase is exactly what I am looking for, and the bicycle is of English manufacter, which suits me as I am both English and a New Englander. I will begin my search here...

In the beginning...

This is the Archer Bicycle blog! Welcome to the first of many posts. I just found this wonderful 1953 Raleigh Sports vintage bicycle with a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed rear hub and am planning to restore it. For now I have been using it to get around the neighborhood, which has been a revelation, simply because the last time I owned a bike with a kickstand was when I was a kid! Then in the mid-1980s Mountain Bikes started to appear in my local Bike Shop and I ended up having a bike shed full of mountainbike race bikes. I realized recently that I really missed having a practical bike in the 'stable' and thus started the search that led to this....