The 2006 Toyota.... Rav2? (Toyota MTB)

[CrazyCatman]

I have read that in France it is possible to buy an electric Toyota car-go bike - that doesn't really have the Toyota Tjarm (charm). In the old days a subsidity of Toyota made the Toyosha bicycles - and we all know that BMW and Mercedes-Benz is making mercendise bikes (I've even seen a Honda CBR bicycle!).

Here is my latest Toyota vehicle - a mountain bike from Toyota. I do now know who made the frames, but the gear group were Shimano Acera (3x7), it has Promax disc brakes with mechanical brakes and a low budget RST Capa T6 spring fork. The bike is the 106th (or 6th) produced according to the manufacture's serial number and 18th imported to Denmark according to the Danish frame number, which it was done in 2006. The price in 2008 were DKK 4.495 - which were roughly £400-450 at the time I think. For today's money it is around DKK 5.850 or £672 - I don't know about prices in the UK but here that would have been an entry bike, if I remember correct.

I have bought it second hand, so it does not have all the original parts anymore; the freewheel have been changed (most likely due to wear) to a SunRace freewheel - and for reason's I can't quite figure out, the rear gear selector have been swapped out for a Sram X7 9-speed selector. The handles have also been changed - those are also getting a bit worn, as are the chain rings. The seat was the first I changed as it had a gaping hole in the upholstry.

 

Apart from changing the saddle and adding a few features such as a bell (required by law), mud guards and bottle cages, I have decided maybe it is time to do some upgrade on the bike:

• Fork: I have a RockShox Recon Air - it is a 27.5" fork, but should work out fine.
• Pedals: I have gotten a pair of Specialized Bennies - in red; it looks like it's almost the same colour as the bike
• Gearing: Here I might change a little more than just get new parts - I've found a few Deore 2x10 speed crank and pedal arms with Octolink (this will require the crank box being changed as well) - this will also require a change in the rear gearing to a 10 speed (cassette), which will require me to change my wheel to one with a freehub, my derailleurs, chain and shifters.
• Brakes: I have found a complete Deore XT hydraulic brake set - might go for that!
• Handle: Since I need to change it anyway I decided to get something crazy expensive but really nice! This was planned before things went crazy. I am going for a pair of Matrix G59 handles in leather and alloy - this is kind of to resemble the cars I have which both are leather and metal in the cockpit. This set of handles cost the same as I bought the bike for (DKK 400 / £ 46).
• Mud guards: Yes I have already fitted some on, but I really don't like them: I want to change them to something else.

Before all this crazyness is happening, here is the photo of how it does look now:

Today it's not possible to get a Acera freewheel only a Tourney, and generally freewheels are scares compared to cassettes, so this is one reason for why my project suddenly went crazy.

What I don't know is if I should keep the original parts to have the original option, sell them or use them to build a spare bike. To begin with I will keep them as I need to test ride that new fork before I can decide if the larger fork will change too much on the ergonomy of the bike. Instead of changing the entire wheel I am also considering to just change the hubs with some Shimano hubs with a freehub and disc brake mount and have it set up at a local bike shop to keep the original 36 spoked Jalco wheels. 

The cables have also eaten away a little bit of the colour of the front, so I have installed some rubber frame protectors, but I would like to fix up the colour of the head tube - I imagine this should be an original Toyota colour, I am just unsure of which one it is 😉