Raleigh 531c upgrading question.

cycletheroad

Hi, i have a Raleigh Equinox 531c - 23inch frame from 1990, it gave me many miles on the road but has been in storage now with the past few years and is still in good condition. The groupset is Shimano RX100 which was classed as an entry level groupset back then and worked very good, shifters on the down tube etc. I was thinking of giving it a new lease of life and would like to upgrade the groupset to a Sora and get new wheels and basically use it for a winter bike, has anyone done this before as in fit a modern day groupset to an older frame and have the shifters on the bars as with sora? fitting a new chainset? any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

gman2k

Here's what I did to my old Peugeot 501, so not as nice as your 531c!

No problems anywhere to note but;
I converted to the aheadset and stem system and ditched the quill and threaded route. So I'm not running the original threaded steel fork.
You might need to spread the rear stays slightly when fitting modern rear wheel (2mm either side)
I got the BB threads tapped out by a bike shop as they did not accept my new external BB, but that was just paint that had got in there during spraying.
I've a triple Sora chainset fitted, once the BB goes on, the chainset is not an issue.
Seatposts can be hard to source in the right size if you are getting a new one. A digital caliper will give you the exact measurement you need.
Nothing wrong with Sora! Mind you, I have Ultegra mechs bought, along with brake calipers. Just waiting on the right bargain for 10spd shifters to come along! (8 speed feels a little constricted)

cycletheroad

gman2k wrote: »

Here's what I did to my old Peugeot 501, so not as nice as your 531c!

No problems anywhere to note but;
I converted to the aheadset and stem system and ditched the quill and threaded route. So I'm not running the original threaded steel fork.
You might need to spread the rear stays slightly when fitting modern rear wheel (2mm either side)
I got the BB threads tapped out by a bike shop as they did not accept my new external BB, but that was just paint that had got in there during spraying.
I've a triple Sora chainset fitted, once the BB goes on, the chainset is not an issue.
Seatposts can be hard to source in the right size if you are getting a new one.
A digital caliper will give you the exact measurement you need.
Nothing wrong with Sora! Mind you, I have Ultegra mechs bought, along with brake calipers. Just waiting on the right bargain for 10spd shifters to come
along! (8 speed feels a little constricted)

Thanks for reply. Well if I could get it half as good as your 501, I'll be happy, your bike looks a fine job. You said you sprayed your frame. Did you source the decals for the frame then? Thanks for the other pointers as well.

gman2k

Ebay is a fine source for decals. The original 501 decals took a little longer to source on the 'bay. Lacquer finish over the decals is important!

cycletheroad

gman2k wrote: »

Ebay is a fine source for decals. The original 501 decals took a little longer to source on the 'bay. Lacquer finish over the decals is important!

Thanks for that.

studiorat

I'm doing similar, a rolling restoration if you will!! I'm wondering about spacing the frame out for new hubs? Again it's a 531 frame, should I get the ruler and car jack out?!! Or should I wait?

At the moment the plan is to save a few euro, take it off the road in November and send it back to the factory to get cable guides and vertical dropouts fitted and maybe a respray. But I would like to have any other new stuff fitted and working before that.

I'm currently running 105 mechs and a ultegra square taper chainset. They're great except I've been spoilt by mountain bike handlebars and STI shifters. Reaching down to change gears is an adventure most of the time, especially with current handle bars, hopefully get used to it. If I do change over, I'd much prefer to run any new gear cables under the bar tape, Shimano don't do that do they? What's the skinny on running Campagnolo shifters with Shimano kit? I read somewhere it was possible between maybe the Ergo shifters and 8 or 10 speed cassettes or something.

Regarding the new BB on the gmans bike, I always presumed the bearing cups on a hollow BB screwed in, do they press in? I thought they just faced off the outsides?

I'm also wondering about the threaded fork. Currently 531C threaded. Should I consider a threadless set up? At the moment the steel fork is quite flexible, I was quite surprised how well it handled road bumps. The only issue is the narrow handle bars. What's the usual quill type stem size? Will a 26mm bar fit in?

granda

i'm currently upgrading my 531 frame as well but with a sora groupset as far as frame spacing goes you cant go wrong with sheldon brown
http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

studiorat

granda wrote: »

i'm currently upgrading my 531 frame as well but with a sora groupset as far as frame spacing goes you cant go wrong with sheldon brown
http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

:eek:

That's just barbaric. I wouldn't have the stomach for that. It's one way to mess up the alignment good and proper.

cycletheroad

http://www.yellowjersey.org/vindecal.html,

Found this website tht does the vintage decals, 501,531,753,columbus etc.

Lumen

studiorat wrote: »

That's just barbaric. I wouldn't have the stomach for that. It's one way to mess up the alignment good and proper.

Sure, your plan to use a "ruler and car jack" is much better. :pac:

studiorat

Lumen wrote: »

Sure, your plan to use a "ruler and car jack" is much better. :pac:

I was joking, kind of.

It's bending one leg at a time I'd worry about.

gman2k

I done a bit of 'cold setting' on my frame, TBH I don't think it makes much of a difference. As Sheldon Brown says, moving up to the next spacing is ok on most bikes.

@ Studiorat - I don't get your query re the BB. All old bike shells and most modern are threaded. (the majority have english thread) An external BB such as Shimano road or MTB will thread on no problem.
The only difference between road and MTB is the length of the plastic sleeve.
You could go and get the shell faced if you are bothered, but there is not much metal down there on steel frames to face in the first place, plus you are now going back to bare steel again risking rust corrosion.
I prefer the external BBs to the older axle types, as you don't have to worry about BB widths so much - spacers on the BB sort that out. They are more rigid also, and way easier to service IMO.

Also, there are methods out there for using Campag with Shimano, but, I think you are always better off running like with like, potential problems are eliminated from the outset.

granda

sheldon also explains how to make sure the alignment is ok