Raleigh Teton circa 1985
From smack dab in the heart of the Reagan Years this monument in all its chromeness is on display (for sale) at Bike Works. The Teton is an entry level model from Raleigh’s Mountain Tour Series. The only other place you could spot one of these is in the Museum of Mountain Bike History. At 35+ pounds of 410 steel this 23 inch frame is truly monumental.
When I hefted it into the work stand with two hands, I sent what some people still refer to as a photo text of the HUGE head tube to Sally. I’m the sad sack sucker still flipping flip phone fucker. I’m no twitterer but if I was I’d be tweeting #hugeheadtube.
Slack angles, giant clearances, very cool fork, chrome-o-rama. If this bike was a bit smaller I would build it up as a single speed cruiser and ride it on the beach from Grayland to Westport with a beer in hand and one in the bottle cage.
In 1985 I sold my BMX bike to a young kid and his dad through a classified ad in an actual print newspaper called the Spokesman Review. I had a Schwinn coaster brake cruiser but I was thinking more about taking driver's ed than I was riding bikes and I don't remember hearing the term Mountain Bike until I voted for Dukakis.
Bikes like this roll through every so often because Bike Works is like a garage sale, thrift store, bike swap every day. So the annual Cascade Bike Club sponsored bike swap doesn't look so attractive. But it is a good place to run into old bike messengers.
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