Raleigh fixie build (image heavy)

[hondaboy]

Hi guys,

Picked up an old school Raleigh a few months ago for $40 out of Gumtree, straight frame and forks. Have already started work on it, will post more pics shortly.
Can anyone with Raleigh expertise help to identify the year/model of this bike? It's a 10-speed with cotter cranks, not sure what other components can be used to identify the year/model?
Cheers

[.isaac.]

Sweet Bike. I'm surprised that you picked it up off gum tree for 40. I can't seem to find a decent 80's roadie on their for under 150. The saddle is original and retro and could be added to the final product I 'spose. You've done well in finding this.

[brauluver]

Nothing special, probably a lower end model like a scorpio.

[rkelsen]

Luckily, there's loads of info about Raleigh bikes on teh interwebs:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/dating.html

Enjoy!

[.isaac.]

Paint it Black!

[hondaboy]

Sweet Bike. I'm surprised that you picked it up off gum tree for 40. I can't seem to find a decent 80's roadie on their for under 150. The saddle is original and retro and could be added to the final product I 'spose. You've done well in finding this.

A Brazilian tourist was selling it, he was initially asking $50 but I told him it was a bit worn and a few parts needed replacement

Nothing special, probably a lower end model like a scorpio.

Luckily, there's loads of info about Raleigh bikes on teh interwebs:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/dating.html
Enjoy!

According to the serial number, it's a 1974 model. None of the 1970 models have the rear brake cable running along the top of the tube like mine

Paint it Black!

Too late
It does have some black in it though... more pics to come

[drubie]

Looks early 1980s to me - black plastic on stem shifters, foam grips, turbo copy seat etc. Too early for aero levers.

The Australian sold Raleighs *might* be different to Sheldon - it wouldn't surprise me if it was an asian sourced frame that the local distributor badged up.

[HappyHumber]

If any/many of the components are Shimano, you could look for the two letter date codes which indicate Year & Month of manufacture. Sheldon had a summary table on his site somewhere.

Of course, there's no guarantee those parts are original, so if you can find a few such codes - take an average them for a rough guide. Even then, you're likely to get some time disparity as the bike manufacturer/assembler sourced different stock from Shimano. The complete one-owner original Indi Hawk I've been given had a range of Shimano codes spreading over about 18 months from late '79 to early '81.

[hondaboy]

The rear brake has "Japan" and "0483" stamped stamped on it, the front brake is different
That's all I've come across so far, will keep searching parts for clues

[sturmey archer]

Looks early 1980s to me - black plastic on stem shifters, foam grips, turbo copy seat etc. Too early for aero levers.

The Australian sold Raleighs *might* be different to Sheldon - it wouldn't surprise me if it was an asian sourced frame that the local distributor badged up.

My Raleigh "Team 12" frame has a serial that doesn't line up with Sheldon at all - TI88060807. The Shimano bits had date codes from 1988/1989 and it has Panasonic team colors. It has top tube brazed on cable guides like your frame.

[hondaboy]

My serial number is M3-G4470

[.isaac.]

When are you going to start on the conversion hondaboy?

[hondaboy]

Ok it's all done and here's my write up. Keep in mind I've never worked on a pushbike before and the intention of this build was to keep it simple and cheap. I will eventually build myself a decent quality fixie when I get bored of this one.

Total cost - $364:
$40 - frame… including forks, seatpost, crankset, handlebar etc (Gumtree)
$100 - wheels (Catch of the Day)
$102 - tubes and tyres (eBay)
$29 - paint (Bunnings)
$1 – rear axle spacers (Cycle Centre)
$21 - new bearings and 15T rear sprocket (eBay)
$10 - brake lever (eBay)
$18 - pedals (eBay)
$9 - bar tape (Torpedo7)
$9 - brake pads (Torpedo7)
$25 - saddle (CoTD)


Total weight saving - 3kg:
1.4kg: new alloy wheels + tyres vs original wheels + tyres, single gears vs 5-speed cassette (3.3kg vs 4.7kg)
0.15kg: plastic pedals vs steel (200g vs 250g pedals)
1.6kg removal of:
Gearing components: front rear derailleurs, levers, outer chainring, cables and guides.
Brake components: rear brake, lever, cable and guides
Handlebar ends
~4” of chain


Special thanks:
The late Sheldon Brown, for not being there to answer my questions via email. RIP Sheldon Brown.
Cycle Centre, Perth. For axle spacers, and also advising that 3/32” fixed sprockets simply did not exist, when in fact they were all over eBay.
eBay, for providing parts that supposedly did not exist, and helping exploit Asian children in the production of these parts.



First purchase:
Budget STARS 700c flip-flop wheelset
Front 1000g, rear 1235g
This was actually an impulse buy months prior to any definite wheels in motion for a fixie build
$100 landed from Catch of the Day



16 tooth fixed sprocket/16 tooth freewheel sprocket
Quando hubs, bladed spokes



Second purchase:
Michelin Lithion Race tyres (700x23c in blue)
Continental race tubes with presta valves
$102 landed from eBay



The old-school 80s forks ends were just a couple mm too narrow to house the new axle. A bit of rubbing inside and it opened up quicker than a Catholic school girl.



With a single sprocket now substituting a cassette of gears, the rear fixie hub was 20mm too narrow for the frame. I popped into Cycle Centre in town, had a rummage through their spare parts bin and $1 later had a couple of spacers. One spacer added on the right.



I later discovered the flip-flop sprockets were different sizes. The freewheel sprocket was designed for a 3/32” chain (same size as the original chain on the bike) whilst the fixed sprocket was designed for a 1/8” chain (typically used on single speed bikes). No idea why they were mismatched but it kind of defeats the purpose having a flip-flop setup, possibly why it was going dirt cheap on CoTD in the first place...



So I turned to eBay and discovered most of the fixed sprockets were in fact designed for a 1/8” chain, but eventually stumbled across 3/32” size fixed sprockets.
$11 delivered.



I opted for a 15 tooth sprocket (right) over the original 16T, to keep in line with the advice of Sheldon Brown:
http://sheldonbrown.com/fixed-conversion.html#flip-flop



15T fixed / 16T freewheel
Both now 3/32" ^_^



Decided I wasn’t going to bother with a rear brake for a couple of reasons… the front brake does most of the braking anyway, and if need be rear braking would be applied via opposing force on the pedals. I took to the frame with the angle grinder and removed the rear brake cable guides along the top tube, and the derailleur cable guides on the rest of the bike.



Being a budget fixie build, I opted to use the existing cottered crankset instead of buying a new crankset. This also meant not having to replace the bottom bracket. Since the inner chainring provided a straight enough chainline, I removed the outer chainring.



Sanding back the frame and forks proved a tedious process. I used a circular wire brush drill attachment for the job, well, 3 in total. Managed to get it to a bare metal state, apart from the underside near the bottom bracket, not that it matters as the sun never shines there anyway.



Sanding the lugs and inbetween >.<



Sanding disc a bit worn v_v





Temporarily pieced together



Thought it would be worth inspecting the bearings on a racer that had stood the time of roughly 3 decades. Pulled apart the bottom bracket and steering brackets and cleaned up what I could. Replaced the bottom bracket and steering bearings for $10



Bottom Bracket bearings: old vs new



Steering bearings : old vs new



One coat of primer


Finally matt black forks and a blue frame emerge





Cleaned up with the rest of the original parts.



Wheels on



New pedals $18 landed from eBay, 150g lighter than original



Bit of matt black love



New levers, I sprayed then front one matt black.
These were $10 delivered from eBay



Matt black front brake with new pads



Goodbye handlebar ends



Hello new flipped over handlebars



Add 1 x front blue brake lever.



Finally pieced together (minus new saddle)



Back from first ride



Back in the bike garage with the tandem and roadie

[nathann]

Well... that was picture heavy.

Anyway, looks pretty good, except that I dislike how high you put the stem (but that's probably cause you need it like that) and that's about it.
What happened to the Raleigh badge on the headtube?

[hondaboy]

Sorry, thread title amended.

I have short arms

I accidentally destroyed the badge, it was a really weak alloy and pretty much melted when sanding the frame.

[hondaboy]

Hey guys, any other feedback (positive or negative) for my first budget build?

It rides really smooth btw, took it out for a 20km run and was a dream to ride (for me anyway, I have nothing else to compare it to)

[Moe]

I would recommend getting some new cranks. That chainring looks very small, you will probably find yourself spinning out down hills.

Otherwise, good job, looks great. I would have left the brakes, stem etc... nice and shiny though.

[elStado]

Wow- this is almost exactly what I have been planning for my roadie project, blue frame and blue/black tires, except I am planning on getting the frame sandblasted and powdercoated and I am also going to keep the drop bars for now and see how they go.

I am still deciding on tires, I was thinking of getting the Bontrager Race Lite which are about $28each from Evans cycles. The tires need to be quite tough as I will be riding it in all conditions and I dislike having to patch punctures. I am also deciding on grip tape, was thinking of getting blue, but that might be too much colour, also considered some ridiculous 90s pattern just for a laugh.

Very nice built, looks very clean and fun. Paint job looks great too (from what the photos show).

Great to read through your and see how you did certain things and also where you got your bits and how much it cost. Very useful.

What brand/type paint did you buy? Also what seat did you get? I got some cheap $25 seat from CotD as well, last week when they had a bike sale. Seemed decent enough for a spare seat for the project bike. The current seat on the bike is literally falling apart.

Oh, as Moe mentioned, how have you faired with those long cranks and smallish chainring? Looks like it would be pretty tricky to deal with down slopes.

[rkelsen]

Those Quando hubs always make me think of this:

"Se vuoi dirmi di sì,
divertirlo perché,
non ha senso per me,
la mia vita senza te.
Dimmi quando tu verrai,
dimmi quando quando quando?"

Courtesy of the inimitable G. Morandi, (but as sung by Murph and the Magic Tones).

[elStado]

Also, what did you use to clean up the components (crank, chainring, bars etc)? They look very shiny and clean.

[hondaboy]

I would recommend getting some new cranks. That chainring looks very small, you will probably find yourself spinning out down hills.

Otherwise, good job, looks great. I would have left the brakes, stem etc... nice and shiny though.

It is small but for the riding I do it's manageable. The intention of the build was to keep it cheap and simple, changing the crankset would also require a new bottom bracket.

I thought the matt stem/brakes would compliment the forks. It will eventually scrape off anyway I guess.

[hondaboy]

What brand/type paint did you buy?

Also what seat did you get? I got some cheap $25 seat from CotD as well, last week when they had a bike sale. Seemed decent enough for a spare seat for the project bike.

A cheap brand from Bunnings, ~$3 a can. I'll definitely have my next frame blasted/coated the spraycan job doesn't cut it if you're doing a nice build.

Yeah would have been the same one, yet to have mine delivered. Time will tell how bad it is for a cheapie!

[hondaboy]

Also, what did you use to clean up the components (crank, chainring, bars etc)? They look very shiny and clean.

Either turps or metho spirits, whatever I found in the shed I can't remember haha

[elStado]

A cheap brand from Bunnings, ~$3 a can. I'll definitely have my next frame blasted/coated the spraycan job doesn't cut it if you're doing a nice build.

Yeah would have been the same one, yet to have mine delivered. Time will tell how bad it is for a cheapie!

Cool, I'm not doing a super nice (expensive) build, but I figured that $70 to have the frame and forks sand blasted and powdercoated would be a good cost effective, easy and durable option. I have done some spray painting in my time and it is so annoying and time consuming, not to mention all the mess and fumes. Rather leave that business to the pros.

Either turps or metho spirits, whatever I found in the shed I can't remember haha

Ok, I thought you might have used polish or something.

As soon as I get my gear from CotD, I ordered that saddle and the toolkit, I'll dismantle my bike and give all the parts a good clean. I'll also check out the lube and bearings to make sure they are tip top and I might replace the brake cables, although they are in OK condition for an old bike (no visible damage or fraying etc).

I finished Uni in a week.. can't wait to have some free time to get my project bike cranking.

Just gotta write one more report..

[hondaboy]

Cool let me know how it goes and if you need a hand with anything.