1975 Raleigh Team Europa build.

[stuwillem]

Barry Bonds hit the homerun that broke Hank Aaron's all time record. 22 year old fan Matt Murphy caught the ball - he sold it for $750,000.

Fashion designer Marc Ecko bought the ball and created an online voting site for fans to vote what he should do with the ball. 10 million fans voted, with the verdict for Ecko to brand the ball with an asterix (*) and send it to the baseball hall of fame. The ball now sits on display in the hall of fame, branded with people power that says "you're a cheat".

Barry is still very rich.


So I've got this 1975 Raleigh Team Europa - it's a heavy replica frameset and needs some love and must be rebuilt. What to do... what to do.

I also have the forks.

I have ordered some NOS centrepulls and have some Weinmann 6sp wheels (just lying around) that I can clean up and make single speed. So that seems to be the option right now.

I need to get;
Cranks
Bottom Bracket
Cables
Saddle
Stem
Bars (have old alloy drops - but am leaning towards flat, bullhorn or moustache on this one)
Grips
Chain

So I'm after some thoughts.

Do I strip and respray the frame.
Do I clearcoat (if this is possible) and leave the dirty rat look

Colours - black or silver components.
Saddle
mudguards
rack?

Let's get peoples thoughts and get the build going. It'll take time - and I don't have an endless fund pool but all ideas are good ideas.



What do you reckon?

[leighthebee]

Strip it.

[HappyHumber]

.... but all ideas are good ideas.

Strip it.

Leigh you 5h!t stirrer...

Stu.. What's the significance of the story about the baseball? Did the catch happen in 1975 or sumthin?

I like the patina as is. It makes a bike more unique and just screams "I've got history!" If only duco could talk Would be curious to see the forks finish to compare.

So when you say it's a heavy replica frame set - it's a sorta in house knock off of one of their higher end professional series?

[stuwillem]

Ahh. The crappy baseball story... public opinion. I want ideas on doing this up and what people will think is the best colour combo etc.

The original forks are in the same condition as the frame.

If I can get a set of Proper Decals, I would consider;
Stripping and respraying the original colours
Polish up some deep dishes (I have)
Fit out in polished alloy cranks, headset and stem.
Shortened Flatbar
Put a black brooks on top and some gumwalls.

[HappyHumber]

Ahh. The crappy baseball story... public opinion.

OK, I think I get it.. Why was Ecko a cheat though?

[stuwillem]

For the kiddies at home...

Barry Bonds was the cheat... 10+yrs of steroids to beat a home run record then lied about it (refer Balco affair).

Ecko spent $750k+ on the ball that broke the record (undeniable peice of sporting history) and at the request of the public defaced it with the asterix symbolising extenuating circumstances, in this case representing Bonds as a cheat.

If I may ...
Floyd Landis*
Alberto Contador*
Mikael Rasmussen*
and so on.

Get's me back to this rebuild.

I'm happy to get people to put forward suggestions, and build the bike that way... but I'll do it without doping.
As suggested, this is a 1975 workshop bike, but not a team bike per-say (hence Team* Bike).

[HappyHumber]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAhh....

Now it's clear. Probably helps if you're a baseball fan.

[cycles gitane]

Ahh. The crappy baseball story... public opinion. I want ideas on doing this up and what people will think is the best colour combo etc.

The original forks are in the same condition as the frame.

If I can get a set of Proper Decals, I would consider;
Stripping and respraying the original colours
Polish up some deep dishes (I have)
Fit out in polished alloy cranks, headset and stem.
Shortened Flatbar
Put a black brooks on top and some gumwalls.

Some of the decals are on this set..... designed for use on a 531/753 frame

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Raleigh-TI-5 ... _500wt_922

cycles gitane

[stuwillem]

I did see this - but they look like stickers and not decals... what are your thoughts?

H lloyd cycles website (UK) sells the individual decals. They have seat tube "Raleigh" and top tube "Team Raleigh" but not the Olympic Rings, nor the Europa. They also have the Downtube "World Champ" sticker, "Made in England" and downtube "Raleigh" from the professional model.

But I'm thinking that if I was to respray, it wouldn't be original so there's no point sticking the Europa back on anyway.

If I'm going to respray, then I'd lean towards the Seat-tube and Down-tube decals (replace "Europa" with "Raleigh").