Falcon Rapier - advice needed

Paul F wrote on 09/11/2006 12:18 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Hello all

Does anyone have any knowledge of the Falcon Rapier? What sort of quality
was it?

Any web references would be appreciated too. I have a chance to acquire one
of these very cheap.

You'll be paying too much however cheap it is.

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

"Tony Raven" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

You'll be paying too much however cheap it is.

--
Tony

Thanks for that. Not good then?

PaulF

Paul F wrote on 10/11/2006 09:24 +0100:

Quoted message said:

"Tony Raven" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

You'll be paying too much however cheap it is.

--
Tony

Thanks for that. Not good then?

Falcon is a cheap bottom of the range brand so not good new and at that
price point they don't last either so second hand is even worse. Its
not like a quality bike that has been used but is still worth keeping
and doing up.

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

Tony Raven said:

Falcon is a cheap bottom of the range brand so not good new and at that
price point they don't last either so second hand is even worse. Its
not like a quality bike that has been used but is still worth keeping
and doing up.

My first adult bike was a sub-£200 Falcon (Fat Track, IIRC). It
provided me with good, reliable, daily service for the 2 years that I
had it, and was a damn sight better than the similarly priced Muddy Fox
Explorer Mega that I replaced it with after it was stolen.

I managed to keep the Muddy Fox on the road for 7 years, but it was hard
work keeping it going for the last 4 of those.

--
Danny Colyer <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Paul F said:

"Tony Raven" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

You'll be paying too much however cheap it is.

--
Tony

Thanks for that. Not good then?

Can't see the Rapier on their website.

Falcon are pretty low range bikes now and presumably are all off
road/hybrids as their road bike range are almost all badged as Claud
Butler (with the exception of the gas pipe cheap and nasty Corsa). I
had Falcon road bikes for years and they were very good value; although
needed a lot of upgrading like all cheap bikes with only a few big
brand components but pretty good frames.

If it's an MTB it's likely to have lots of heavy and useless bling
attached; you could do better for a reasonable amount by going for
something like a Trek or Giant. How much were you thinking of paying?

MartinM said:

Can't see the Rapier on their website.

ignore that, it's an old model. Depends what frame it has I suppose; if
the frame's made of gas pipe it's academic what the rest of it's like.
Any idea how old it is or what components it's got?

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

MartinM said:

Can't see the Rapier on their website.

ignore that, it's an old model. Depends what frame it has I suppose; if
the frame's made of gas pipe it's academic what the rest of it's like.
Any idea how old it is or what components it's got?

If it is a steel frame that is worth upgrading it should have material
manufacturer's identification label. In the 80's, Falcon had everything from
real budget machines to Renolds 531 racers handbuilt by Ernie Clements
(quality), a friend had one of these. Anything with Reynolds 501 and above
should be salvagable.

--
David Lloyd,
The pub is responsible for my opinions.

David Lloyd said:

If it is a steel frame that is worth upgrading it should have material
manufacturer's identification label. In the 80's, Falcon had everything from
real budget machines to Renolds 531 racers handbuilt by Ernie Clements
(quality), a friend had one of these. Anything with Reynolds 501 and above
should be salvagable.

agreed; I think I may have had a Rapier; it was a £6 green boot sale
special which I used as a winter dog, it had a no name steel frame.. My
last one was a 501 framed Echelon (in Banana colours but without the
branding) Very nice after I'd changed everything but the frame.

In article <[email hidden]>

David Lloyd said:

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

MartinM said:

Can't see the Rapier on their website.

ignore that, it's an old model. Depends what frame it has I suppose; if
the frame's made of gas pipe it's academic what the rest of it's like.
Any idea how old it is or what components it's got?

If it is a steel frame that is worth upgrading it should have material
manufacturer's identification label. In the 80's, Falcon had everything from
real budget machines to Renolds 531 racers handbuilt by Ernie Clements
(quality), a friend had one of these. Anything with Reynolds 501 and above
should be salvagable.

The finish on some of those older Falcons was less than wonderful, but
the materials, components, design and construction were generally fine.
I wouldn't dismiss a bike just because it wasn't labeled 501 or better -
my old Viscount used anonymous tubing but it was well constructed with
good geometry and ride.

"Rob Morley" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The finish on some of those older Falcons was less than wonderful, but
the materials, components, design and construction were generally fine.
I wouldn't dismiss a bike just because it wasn't labeled 501 or better -
my old Viscount used anonymous tubing but it was well constructed with
good geometry and ride.

Thanks for this stuff Rob and Martin. I haven't actually seen the bike
myself yet - all I know (from a photo) is that it looks like a road bike,
it's quite old and it's blue! Not sure about a price - it would probably be
a question of 'make us an offer'. Someone just left it and moved on, nobody
even knows who.

I'll go and have a look, now I know it may be worth that at least, and let
you know what's to do.

Any idea of when this model was manufactured?

Best wishes
PaulF

Paul F said:

"Rob Morley" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The finish on some of those older Falcons was less than wonderful, but
the materials, components, design and construction were generally fine.
I wouldn't dismiss a bike just because it wasn't labeled 501 or better -
my old Viscount used anonymous tubing but it was well constructed with
good geometry and ride.

Thanks for this stuff Rob and Martin. I haven't actually seen the bike
myself yet - all I know (from a photo) is that it looks like a road bike,
it's quite old and it's blue! Not sure about a price - it would probably be
a question of 'make us an offer'. Someone just left it and moved on, nobody
even knows who.

I'll go and have a look, now I know it may be worth that at least, and let
you know what's to do.

Any idea of when this model was manufactured?

I think 80s, which as others have pointed out, was a period in which
decent Falcons were made.

I think the Rapier was one of the cheaper ones (not Reynolds tubing) but
it should be a reasonable lugged steel frame with probably 10 or 12
speed budget Huret gears, and chrome-plated steel rims.

I would say if the condition is OK such that you can ride it around then
why not, but not worth spending much money replacing things.

in message <[email hidden]>, Paul F

(') said:

"Rob Morley" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The finish on some of those older Falcons was less than wonderful, but
the materials, components, design and construction were generally fine.
I wouldn't dismiss a bike just because it wasn't labeled 501 or better -
my old Viscount used anonymous tubing but it was well constructed with
good geometry and ride.

Thanks for this stuff Rob and Martin. I haven't actually seen the bike
myself yet - all I know (from a photo) is that it looks like a road bike,
it's quite old and it's blue! Not sure about a price - it would probably
be a question of 'make us an offer'. Someone just left it and moved on,
nobody even knows who.

Well...

Ting the tube along the top, seat and down tubes with a metal something. If
the tube is double butted you should hear a distinct change of tone about
two inches in from the lugs. Double butted = worth salvaging. Next to look
at is componentry. If the componentry is OK (Campag, Mavic, SunTour,
Stronglight, TA are all good signs; Huret, Simplex and Weinmann on the
whole bad signs, although all those manufacturers produced some reasonable
kit) then it's probably worth salvaging, because manufacturers rarely put
good kit on poor frames.

Obviously a Reynolds sticker is a good indicator of a reasonable frame.
Frankly I personally would not bother to salvage a 501 frame - it's not
special. But 531 is and anything more specialised than 531 definitely is.

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

[ This .sig subject to change without notice ]

Quoted message said:

chrome-plated steel rims.

<shudders> Prolly not worth spending money on any bike with steel rims
unless it's an absolute classic. The braking in the wet is terrible, even
after you've fitted dual pivots.