Hi all. Has anyone heard any whispers of a trials Matchless for sale at all? I trawl the net every evening but nothing ever surfaces. I built one about 30 years ago and wish I still had it but that`s life. Any news gratefully received.

                                                   Hazel

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1164445

 

Ha, thanks Craig, I was there just 5 minutes ago. Apart from being just out of my reach I noticed that it was built around a heavy, lugged, roadster frame. That makes it darn heavy and over-long in the wheelbase. I do appreciate your interest though.

                                     Many thanks, Hazel

I'd be confident to build a more suitable trials Matchless at less than the asking price on this. 

There are lots of parts on this that could be used for a trials version. You are right about the frame, but at that mo ey it would be too expensive to swap out.

There are a number of sources for replica or "modern geometry" frames which could actually be used on the current pre 65 sections. I expect you would also need to swap out or modify the forks and suspect you would need to look at the gear ratios... 

Really depends on weather you want someting that you can use in pre 65 events, and how competitive you want to be, or are you looking for a trials styled road bike?  It also depends on your timeframe and how much work you want to fund or do yourself.

Thanks Rusty. I looked at the pic carefully and there is just too much wrong with it for a serious trials bike. It`s also way too expensive for what it is

                                                                Thanks again, Hazel