Every once in a while when I worked in a bike shop that specialized in refurbishing bicycles which had been donated or abandoned at a local university, a bike would call out to me, tempting me to buy it. One such bike is my 1988 Raleigh Technium mountain bike, and when it turned up in the shop I immediately asked my boss how much he wanted for it. He said $150 as-is, and I put down the money on the spot.
I did a little research and found that this is is a 1988 model Raleigh Technium mountain bike branded as ‘The Chill’. The marketing literature quips that ‘Bicycle performance accented by striking graphics on Arctic White will send shivers through your spine’. The bike was originally specced with a Shimano Deore groupset, but I swapped out the crankset to a Shimano Alivio triple with shorter crankarms and smaller chainrings to better suit my riding style. It also came with a white color matched stem, but I swapped it out for a black one because I think that the black better accents the rest of the graphics in the frame. The current spec of the bike is:
Frame: Raleigh Mountain Technium ‘The Chill’ w/ Moonstay Wishbone rear triangle, aluminum/chrome-alloy composite, 135mm spacing
Fork: Rigid Steel, 100mm Spacing
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore RD-MT60 Long Cage
Front Derailleur: Shimano FD-MT60
Shifters: Shimano Deore SIS 6-Speed Index/Friction Switchable
Crankset: Shimano Alivio FC-MC18 Mountain Triple 22/32/42 Tooth, 170mm Crankarms
Freewheel: Shimano MF-HG22 14-28 Tooth 6-Speed
Brake Levers: Shimano Deore BL-MT60 4-Finger Short Pull w/ Reach Adjust
Front Brake Caliper: Shimano Deore BR-MT60 Wide-Profile Cantilever Brake
Rear Brake Caliper: Shimano Deore BR-MT61 U-Brake
Handlebars: ITM Italmanubri Silver Alloy Wide Riser Bars
Stem: Black Generic Aluminum
Headset: Tange-Seiki Passage
Grips: ODI Rogue Lock-On
Wheels: Araya RM-25 w/ Maillard Hubs, Quick Release, 26″
Rear Tire: Kenda K-Rad 26 x 1.95″ Dual Tread Compound 60Tpi
Front Tire: Kenda K-Rad 26 x 1.95″ Dual Tread Compound 60Tpi
Saddle: MSW City Saddle
Seatpost: SR Laprade 26.8mm Alloy
Pedals: MKS C-5000 Black Plastic
Other: Zefal Plastic Spring Bottle Cage, M-Wave Bella C-Yell Mini Bicycle Bell
Marketing
The interesting thing about the Raleigh Technium series of bicycles is that the frame is made of aluminum tubing thermally bonded to steel lugs and stays. The marketing literature states that ‘Mountain Technium frames have tested nearly twice as strong in torturous fatigue testing as any major competitive brand bicycle frame’. It continues on to claim that the chrome-moly used in the lugs and stays (a ‘resilient alloy used in aircraft landing gear’) ‘absorbs shocks, reduces rider fatigue and resists cracking and corrosion’. Furthermore, the Mountain Technium line features the ‘revolutionary Moonstay Wishbone rear triangle’ which gives ‘unbelievable strength without adding unnecessary weight’.
Apparently, the Moonstay Wishbone’s increased rigidity ‘means more of the rider’s energy is transferred directly to the power train for superior performance in both climbs and descents’. After waxing vainglorious about the benefits of the bike’s aggressive geometry, the catalog finishes with ‘There is more, believe it or not. Each Mountain Technium is equipped with the smoothest components and beefiest rims demanded by mountain biking racers and enthusiasts… Bikes like these used to cost thousands of dollars, but Raleigh continues to turn the extensive research, development, testing and racing results into affordable, superior performance bicycles for real people.’ That is quite a lot to live up to.
Frame design, geometry & aesthetics
I bought this bike to be an around-town cruiser but I have taken it out on some local mountain bike trains, and in the age of slack geometry and disc brakes this bike actually works surprisingly well out on the trail. The bike really does feel stiff allowing me to feel quite connected to the ground, as long as the terrain isn’t too rough, and the short chainstays and steep head tube angle make the bike climb like a dream. I currently have 1.95″ tires on the bike, but the frame clearances are actually massive, and I think that I could easily fit 2.125-inchers. The limiting factor is actually the clearance around the rear U-brake, but with a different brake caliper 2.3’s would also probably fit.
I also really like the handlebar shape for off-road riding – it’s a wide, fairly high riser bar with a slight back sweep, and I think that it allows for very good bike control. Sure, the aggressive geometry means that the bike isn’t quite as sure-footed on the descents as a modern hardtail, but overall the bike is surprisingly capable for its age and definitely makes those mild green and blue cross-country trails fun again.
This is one of those bikes where the colorful frame graphics give plenty of scope for color-matched or even contrasting cable housing, but in the end I decided to go with plain black to really show off the ‘Chill’ vibe of the frame. But it is not only the frame’s graphics that are cool – there are some interesting design details in the frame which really allow it to live up to its frigid name. The Moonstay Wishbone rear triangle gives the bike a clean look overall, an effect which is enhanced by the lack of a brake mounted to the seat stays. Instead, this bike uses a U-brake, a chainstay-mounted caliper brake which were a fad on mountain bikes for a short period in the 1980s… but are mainly used on BMX bikes these days.
The chainstay-mounted U-brake really only has the practical advantage that it is tucked out of the way in front of the rear wheel, but the disadvantage is that it is susceptible to mud build-up in this position. Because of this the U-brake fashion only lasted for a few years, but I think that it looks cool and massively adds to the uniqueness and collectability of the bike.
Drivetrain
Like all mountain bikes of the era this bike is fitted with a mountain triple crankset. It originally had 175mm arms and was geared a little high for my liking so I replaced it with a Shimano Alivio model with 22, 32, and 42-tooth chainrings. It has a 6-speed 14-28-tooth freewheel, and with the 26″ wheels and 1.95″ tires the overall range of this bike is 20 to 78 gear inches. I was surprised that this bike has such a narrow range considering that it has three chainrings, but I guess the 6-speed freewheel really limits the possible range of gears. Nevertheless, the gears are perfectly adequate for around town cruising, in which case I normally just leave the front derailleur shifted to the middle 32-tooth chainring. The low gears are also plenty adequate for my local trails, but modern mountain bike gears are overall much better suited for off-road riding, both in terms of how low the lowest gear is and in terms of overall range.
The Shimano Deore shifters are of very nice quality and mine are set to friction mode, allowing me to trim the derailleurs as needed to prevent chain rub. Although I am personally a big fan of the simplicity of modern 1x setups, this bike shifts well enough and the gearing of this bike is certainly adequate for my needs.
Brakes
The brakes on this bike are pretty standard for the age of the bike. As mentioned above, the rear brake is a U-brake, which is mainly noteworthy for its interesting position in front of the rear tire on the chain stays as well as its cool factor, which is through the roof. The front brake is a wide-profile cantilever brake, which is arguably even cooler than the U-brake (in fact, cantilever brakes, especially wide-profile cantis, are my absolute favorite brakes from an aesthetic point of view). The performance of both brakes is actually pretty good, but it’s certainly no comparison to modern disc brakes. The feel of the brakes is also quite good good – the 4-finger brake levers feel great in my hands, and they have excellent modulation. Overall I like the brakes quite a lot, especially if considered within the context of their time.
Wheels & Tires
The wheels on this bike are Araya RM-25s which are basic double-walled aluminum mountain bike rims. I rebuilt the hubs when I got the bike, and I haven’t had any problems with the wheels, but there is also nothing particularly special about them, especially compared to modern wheel options. I’m not sure what the original tires were, but I put on a set of Kenda K-Rad 26 x 1.95″ tires and I absolutely love them. They roll well, are surprisingly supple considering the low 60 tpi thread count in the casing, and I think that the compound is pretty nice too – it seems to be on the soft side, which adds to the comfort and traction of the bike. Overall I have had excellent luck with these tires on pavement, mild off-road trails, and gravel.
Contact Points & Accessories
The handlebars on this bike are very wide considering the age of the bike, which is great for bike control, but also means that there is plenty of room for grips, shifters, and accessories. The grips I ended up installing are a set of ODI Rogue lock-on grips, which are the same ones I use on my Pinnacle Iroko 2 mountain bike. I like these grips very much – they are nice and wide so they fit my hands well, and the compound is very nice – not too soft, but not too firm either. The texture is also quite coarse, which I like because it feels nice against my skin.
The pedals are a set of MKS C-5000 plastic platform pedals which came off of a vintage Miyata mountain bike I had at one point, and I really only threw them on there because I had them – I will likely eventually change them over to some bigger platform pedals, maybe in a cool color that is not black. They work fine though, and I don’t see the need for anything fancy on this bike – I won’t be riding this bike long distances, so I didn’t feel that SPD pedals are necessary, although I could certainly install a pair in the future.
The saddle is a basic MSW-branded utility saddle which we happened to have in stock in the bike shop while I was refurbishing this bike, and I actually like it quite a lot. Like the grips, it is not too soft and not too firm, and I think that it is reasonably comfortable. The only thing that is kind of weird about this saddle is that it is a little bit more grippy than other saddles I have used, so I feel like it prevents me from sliding around on the bike and holds me in place more than what I am used to, but I haven’t decided yet if this is an advantage or a disadvantage. Overall I think that the saddle is fine, nothing special but surprisingly comfortable and perfectly adequate for what I use the bike for.
I don’t have too many accessories on this bike, but I did put on a standard Zefal plastic spring bottle cage, which is my go-to on all of my bikes, and I also added an M-Wave C-Yell mini bell. I came across these bells while looking at bike parts in Germany, and I like them a lot – they are inexpensive, sound good, and they mount to the handlebars using a metal strap, which is extremely secure and makes the bell much more durable than bells which use plastic hardware.
Conclusion
Overall I like this bike a lot – much more than my Univega Range Rover, in fact. This bike is much higher end than the Univega, its geometry is better, it’s lighter, and I think that its overall design was actually quite a bit ahead of its time – it just feels like more thought was put into designing this bike for people who actually want to ride off-road trails. The wide riser bars give this bike a riding position that is more similar to modern mountain bikes than to a lot of other mountain bikes of the era and I think that it climbs well and is easy to control. While I’m not sure whether or not the steel/aluminum composite construction and Moonstay wishbone actually make a difference or whether they are marketing hype, I think that this bike is comfortable and surprisingly capable both on and off road.
This bike is perfectly functional as is, but it is not true to its original configuration because I replaced the crankset with one with lower gearing, and I replaced the color-matched white stem with a black one. Personally, I would rather have a bike suit my style than be stuck in the past the way it came from the factory so I have no problems with changing things from the way they were originally. Although it works well as-is and is already lot of fun to ride, I think that this bike would actually be a great candidate for a fully modern restomod. If I were to do this I would keep the bars, brake levers, stem, and seatpost but install modern U and cantilever brake calipers, and convert the drivetrain to a 1×10 with a new set of wheels and larger tires. This would definitely improve the gearing of the bike overall, but the conversion from a freewheel to a cassette would also increase the strength of the wheels, and I think that some newer brake calipers would work better and possibly allow for larger tires as well. Stay tuned for a potential future update about this bike!