Tensor Cycles, Darlington

[email hidden] pretended :

Quoted message said:

Hi there

Just wondering if anyone knows anything about Tensor Cycles (I was told
by a regular contributor here that she thought there was someone who
actually had one of these bikes).

My girlfriend's dad fished one out of a skip the other night for me -
nice looking thing which with a respray and a bit of TLC could be a
nice fixed gear commuter. Appears to have been made in 'Western
Germany'. I think it's just an Alu alloy, but the lugs are nice and it
all feels pretty solid.

Well, I don't think "nice" is an adjective I'd apply to anything made
by Tensor, TBH. They're (possibly high tensile, but even that may be
being generous!) steel-framed, not aluminium. The components visible on
the two of your pictures I've looked at are cheap.

I agree that they're solid, as long as we're sure about the distinction
between "solid" and (e.g.) "durable".

I'd have left it in the skip. Sorry. :-(

--
Simon
www.simondaw.freeserve.co.uk

On 19/03/2006 10:59, [email hidden] said,

Quoted message said:

Just wondering if anyone knows anything about Tensor Cycles (I was told
by a regular contributor here that she thought there was someone who
actually had one of these bikes).

I wouldn't touch it with someone else's 15ft bargepole. I started off
with one of these as my first "proper" bike years ago, and all I will
say for it is that it got me into cycling, and it was very cheap. Forks
used to break with alarming regularity on mine and my brother's. This
was just normal riding on roads - nothing heavy. As you can imagine,
this is mildly dangerous!

What would actually happen is either the steerer tube would fracture
just above the bottom bearing, or one of the fork legs would work loose
from the crown.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Paul Boyd said:

On 19/03/2006 10:59, [email hidden] said,

Quoted message said:

Just wondering if anyone knows anything about Tensor Cycles
(I was told by a regular contributor here that she thought
there was someone who actually had one of these bikes).

I wouldn't touch it with someone else's 15ft bargepole. I
started off with one of these as my first "proper" bike years
ago, and all I will say for it is that it got me into cycling,
and it was very cheap. Forks used to break with alarming
regularity on mine and my brother's. This was just normal
riding on roads - nothing heavy. As you can imagine, this is
mildly dangerous!
What would actually happen is either the steerer tube would
fracture just above the bottom bearing, or one of the fork
legs would work loose from the crown.

I've got one. I bought it in 1981 when I was a poor student. It's
sitting in the garage at the moment, it's ridable but needs a bit of
work done.
The only trouble I had with it was when the front wheel collapsed but
the frame and forks still seem solid and straight.
--
Cheers
the.Mark

On 19/03/2006 12:31, the.Mark said,

Quoted message said:

I've got one. I bought it in 1981 when I was a poor student.

Oddly enough, that's pretty much exactly when I got mine, although I was
still at school then thinking about the O-levels coming up. I used it
whilst also a poor student, commuting 5 or 6 miles each way to and from
my digs, as well as general riding. Perhaps the roads in Bristol &
Leicester were just too much for it!

I think I got through three forks in the roughly 5 years I had the bike,
before buying the bike of my dreams (at the time) - a Raleigh Weekender,
with 15 speeds!!

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

in message <[email hidden]>,

(') said:

Hi there

Just wondering if anyone knows anything about Tensor Cycles (I was told
by a regular contributor here that she thought there was someone who
actually had one of these bikes).

My girlfriend's dad fished one out of a skip the other night for me -
nice looking thing which with a respray and a bit of TLC could be a
nice fixed gear commuter. Appears to have been made in 'Western
Germany'. I think it's just an Alu alloy, but the lugs are nice and it
all feels pretty solid.

It's not aluminium, it's steel. Yes, should make an OK fixie.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth
;; knowledge increaseth sorrow.." - Ecclesiastes 1:18

Paul Boyd said:

On 19/03/2006 10:59, [email hidden] said,

Quoted message said:

Just wondering if anyone knows anything about Tensor Cycles (I was told
by a regular contributor here that she thought there was someone who
actually had one of these bikes).

I wouldn't touch it with someone else's 15ft bargepole. I started off
with one of these as my first "proper" bike years ago, and all I will
say for it is that it got me into cycling, and it was very cheap. Forks
used to break with alarming regularity on mine and my brother's. This
was just normal riding on roads - nothing heavy. As you can imagine,
this is mildly dangerous!

What would actually happen is either the steerer tube would fracture
just above the bottom bearing, or one of the fork legs would work loose
from the crown.

I had one about 25 years ago and both fork legs worked loose. I replaced it
with the fork from my sisters old bike which was pink unfortunately and
looked a bit odd with the silver frame.

TheMgt formulated the question :

Quoted message said:

Paul Boyd said:

I started off
with one of these as my first "proper" bike years ago,

I had one about 25 years ago...

[snipped]

Since everyone seems to have had one about 20+ years ago - and that's
when I was aware of them being around - I googled for them. It seems
that they've moved out of the cycle trade and now market a range of
other, erm, "high quality goods":

http://www.tensormarketing.co.uk/

--
Simon
www.simondaw.freeserve.co.uk

Quoted message said:

Just wondering if anyone knows anything about Tensor Cycles (I was told
by a regular contributor here that she thought there was someone who
actually had one of these bikes).

Tensor used to assemble, I was never sure that they manufactured, bikes and
sell them at relatively low prices. My mother used to live just down the
road from the 'factory'. I wasn't aware that they made racing bikes, I was
only aware of rather heavy BMX and mountain bikes that were barely fit for
purpose. Production stopped yonks ago to the best of my knowledge. Not
even sure if the company still exists.

Thank folks - I've got kind of attached to this bike now... Going to
strip it down and see what it looks like 'bare' before making a
decision on it.... Didn't 'ping' like my steel MTB, sounded more like
the deadened road bike, hence the mistake over that.

On 19/03/2006 17:17, blackpuddinonnabike said,

Quoted message said:

Didn't 'ping' like my steel MTB, sounded more like
the deadened road bike,

Sure it wasn't the dull thud of cast iron tubes? :-)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/