Am The bike that brought mountain biking into the public vernacular. Murray was quick to jump into mountain bikes in the early 1980’s. Their approach was to effectively scale up the size of their BMX frames to accommodate 26” balloon tires and add a drivetrain from their family road bikes. No lie, the first time I had ever heard or seen anything like a mountain bike was through Murray’s Saturday morning ads that ran during cartoons. Whatever your opinion is of department store bikes (BSO), there is no denying that the Murray Baja is a big piece of mountain bike history.
Tennessee, USA-made chrome-plated steel frame and fork. It is incredibly heavy. Heavier than you think. Frame is MIG welded with stamped and crimped, horizontal (BMX) rear dropouts. 17” (c-c) frame. Frame has plenty of scrapes and scratches throughout (see photos). Some surface rust that can easily be removed. No dings, dents or cracks that I can find. Graphics have scrapes and scratches as shown. Frame and derailleur hanger appear straight and undamaged. Fork appears straight, plenty of scrapes and scratches. Headset feels okay, seat post is free, hubs, freehub and BB feel okay, but certainly need overhaul.
Components mostly all Murray, with basic SunTour front and rear derailleurs. All parts appear to be original to the bike except the saddle. Even has the original tires. Bike is as-is and will need full tune up/restoration to make rideable.
Year: 1981
Brand: Murray
Model: Baja
Size: 17.0” C-C
Top Tube: 21.0”
Standover: ~29”
Weight: approx.
Frame Material: Steel, chrome-plated MIG/crimp
Fork Material: Steel, chrome-plated
Color: Chrome
Rims: Rear- steel, front-steel
Spokes: zinc plated
Hubs: Rear- unbranded steel, front- unbranded steel
Tires: Carlisle
Crankset: BMX-style one-piece, ?mm arms
Chainrings: double, steel
Cassette: Freewheel unk 5-speed
Shifters: thumb
Derailleurs: SunTour rear, SunTour front
Brake Levers: Unbranded
Brake Calipers: Unbranded caliper
Handlebars: steel
Stem: Steel quill 1”
Headset: 1” threaded
Seat post: Steel 22.2mm
Saddle: Redline