$10 Memory Machine

[2Slow]

In 1981, on my 12th birthday I got a Murray Baja 10 speed. I loved that bike and rode it everywhere, delivered newspapers on it , and kept it until I moved out on my own. A little history.... The 1981 Murray Baja was the first mass produced cheap mountain bike style bike made. I always remembered the bike and wanted another. Yesterday I saw one at a yard sale and got it for $10. The seat and rack are older and not original. The rack is a pretty cool piece and looks to made of cast aluminum. I plan on cleaning this one up and keeping it. I only wish I still had hair, so I could grow it out, part it in the middle, feather it back and ride like I did on it in the 80's. OK maybe not.

 

[Unchained]

Cool. I have the 20" version of that frame... I'd way rather have the 26" like yours. :wink:

 

[KOTA]

Do what I do....Hold your head high and ride like ya got hair!.....Enjoy your find.

 

[deorman]

Nice cheap rider. 8) Later versions aren't as good. Pretty much standard pannier rack from the 10-spd era. Platform is cast, legs are extruded for resilience. Recently dug one out of the closet for a homeless guy who's modern seat-clamp type kept shifting.

 

[TheFlyingDingo]

Awesome!

All you need is some huge balloon mountain style tires!

 

[Pinche]

Oh man I've got that exact same rack also. I'm seeing that thing a lot around here lately.

 

[B607]

I think that's a Pleschert rack, made in Switzerland. I have one on a Continental. Common but nice...no-rust aluminum! Gary

 

[RatRodDad]

I got one like that from my neighbor. His son bought it new and rode it when he was young. Once he got older and stopped riding it, his dad put it up in their attic. He saw that I was always working on bikes, so he pulled it down one day - along with 3 others he had up there - and gave them to me.

I told him I would clean them up and then sell them and split the money with him - which is what I did.

The one he gave me was in super shape - and other than some rotten tires and a few shifter adjustments, it was good to go.

I put some different tires on it - along with a cruizer style seat - and rode it for a while before finally selling it.

The only reason I eventually sold it was because the thing was so danged heavy. Man, they used some heavy walled tubing to build them - I guess to handle the potentially rough off road riding.

Nice bike, though. Here is a shot of the one I owned not long before I sold it.