Raleigh Pioneer 140

[JhnBssll]

Hello all,

I've just bought a Raleigh Pioneer 140 on eBay; it seems like a good buy, cost me £40. The advert states 2 flat tires and that the brakes need adjusting, otherwise very good condition.

I've got plenty of odds and sods in the garage if bits need replacing including tires and tubes but just wondered if anyone had any experience of these or knew if this is one of the newer imported Raleighs or an older UK manufactured one?

If it doesnt turn out well I can easily sell it on but if it works out I might have a nice little run around for my wife once it's had some TLC

This is the best photo from the eBay ad:

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

It's one of the later imported ones. Probably early to mid 2000s in date. I bought a Pioneer 160 for my Dad around that time and I see certain detail similarities on yours.

It's a decent, solid bike and will make a great runabout once fettled up.

 

[JhnBssll]

It's one of the later imported ones. Probably early to mid 2000s in date. I bought a Pioneer 160 for my Dad around that time and I see certain detail similarities on yours.

It's a decent, solid bike and will make a great runabout once fettled up.

Good to know - I was a bit concerned I'd bought a BSO but everything I've heard and read seems to suggest they're a good bike

 

[raleighnut]

Nice

 

[tom73]

look's good be even better once you get the bling fitted

 

[Cycleops]

Wow! What a bargain. Looks it might have come from Raleigh Canada or USA, there should be a sticker somewhere.
I think this is bike that gets @SkipdiverJohn all worked up!
Even got a rack.

 

[JhnBssll]

The rack looks good actually - I realised after winning it that I spent more on my commuter's rack than this whole bike

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Hello all, I've just bought a Raleigh Pioneer 140 on eBay; it seems like a good buy, cost me £40. The advert states 2 flat tires and that the brakes need adjusting, otherwise very good condition.
I've got plenty of odds and sods in the garage if bits need replacing including tires and tubes but just wondered if anyone had any experience of these or knew if this is one of the newer imported Raleighs or an older UK manufactured one?

An extravagant purchase by my standards all the same , but nonetheless you certainly weren't robbed. Pioneers are an odd bike; they aren't junk, yet they don't usually fetch good money secondhand. Maybe they aren't bling looking enough?
I think you may have a transition model made after 1999, where the frame was imported but the bike still assembled in Nottingham, before they shut down the whole factory. I still prefer my lugged & brazed Nottingham frame myself, but there's nothing wrong with yours in quality terms - and the colour is very similar to mine.

Good to know - I was a bit concerned I'd bought a BSO but everything I've heard and read seems to suggest they're a good bike

No Pioneer can be called a BSO, even the later imported ones are still a decent bike and can be expected to give dependable service. If you're looking for a BSO, this is more like it:-

Found one dumped at work, what a flipping heap - there's the makings of another thread on that subject...

I think this is bike that gets @SkipdiverJohn all worked up! Even got a rack.

It's true that my main bike for going any further afield than a few miles is a 1995 Pioneer Trail 18, and I rate it highly on ride quality, build quality, and old-school style. I also have a 531 Gemini 18 hybrid built in 1988/89 which is equally good and marginally lighter. I don't want anything more "modern" than 1980's/1990's classic steel bikes.

The rack looks good actually - I realised after winning it that I spent more on my commuter's rack than this whole bike

If I spent that much on just a rack I'd have a nose bleed! I stripped a pair of Far-East built Treks recently that I paid £7 for as I wanted the Blackburn racks off them and ended up with a load of other useful spares as well.

 

[MichaelW2]

I toured Ireland on as bike hire Raleigh Pioneer, a few steps up from a BSO, good enough for regular commuting over the long haul.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I toured Ireland on as bike hire Raleigh Pioneer, a few steps up from a BSO, good enough for regular commuting over the long haul.

The Pioneer range was pretty wide, from poverty-spec basic 6-speeders with steel wheels and hi-tensile frames right up to pretty decent 18 or 21 speeds with Reynolds 501 or 4130 cro-moly steel frames. Even the lowest spec ones will do the job, but the top of the range ones were really quite nice quality machines. Mine is an 18 speed 501 model and in today's money would cost around £450-500 allowing for inflation, so way above a BSO in quality terms.