Classic & Vintage - Tell me about Raleigh's Rampar bikes

Found one at the thrift store for $13 that I'll probably grab just for the Suntour derailleurs. Never actually saw one before and only have a sketchy knowledge of them. What's the story?

Found one at the thrift store for $13 that I'll probably grab just for the Suntour derailleurs. Never actually saw one before and only have a sketchy knowledge of them. What's the story?

Ummm..... YOU found it?!?! :p

John D.

Ummm..... YOU found it?!?! :p

John D.

Yeah -- since you didn't buy it and bring it over for me I had to go looking for it, so technically I found it. :p

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to give credit where credit's due; bigbossman did indeed discover the Rampar -- while he was poaching the thriftstore in my backyard, but that's another story -- and told me about it. At least he didn't drop it on my doorstep and present me with a bill for $20.

I only remember Ramapr from my BMX days.

I want to say they were made in India for Raleigh so they could compete with the then cheap labor prices in Japan. I remember them mostly as entry level 10 speeds with a mix of Japanese components.

Nothing real special but a well kept one should have alot of life in it yet.

:beer:

I agree that Rampar was a cheap raleigh. I recall seeing them
in some chain type bike shops (like spectrum). I don't ever
recall seeing a high end Rampar.

Marty

Serial number. Should tell where it was made.

Rampar was Raleigh's effort to reduce production costs on lower end bikes. Not horrible (though Syd may disagree), but something you can cannibalize and not lose sleep over.

This one was built in Taiwan. Yeah, it's got $13 worth of derailleurs and calipers on it, and I can always do something with the 19 1/2" frame later.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to give credit where credit's due; bigbossman did indeed discover the Rampar -- while he was poaching the thriftstore in my backyard, but that's another story -- and told me about it. At least he didn't drop it on my doorstep and present me with a bill for $20.

Yeah - poaching in your back yard. That is what I do. My Iranian friend calls me "The Scorpion", and I wear it with pride..... :D

My wife still has a Rampar R-4 model from the late 70"s. It came with the Shimano "Front Freewheeling" system -- all steel crank -- pretty heavy.

I have the Rampar R-4 with the "Front Freewheel System" (FFS) too. It's a heavy bike. about 30 lbs with everything. I'm making into a singlespeed.

Way to bring back a Zombie thread.

My Rampar is a $15 "R-2", I'd say it was on par with a Nottingham Record, if slightly heavier. Made in Japan. Raleigh did sell some Rampar's outside of the "R" series, that were real pieces of crap.

The 1981 catalog is crawling with Rampars:

http://www.jaysmarine.com/TH_raleigh_cat_81.html

-Kurt