doing up a old bike

dickidy

Hi,

i am thinking of doing up an old raleigh road bike (1970s) i think.
Is there any forms I could read up on or anywhere i could get some info.

Thanks

8valve

retrobike.co.uk is an excellent forum, covering mtb, road bikes and BMX.

I do a lot of bike restoration, mainly road bikes and a few BMX, so feel free to ask for any info you need, or just post in this thread; I'd be happy to help.

Check my instagram account paul.carroll.8valve and you can see some of the bikes I've done over the last few years.

Any questions, feel free to ask!

Great to see another old bike being saved!

lescol

Good luck with the bike, I love an old "steelie":D

BikeRadar have a vintage bikes forum:- https://forum.bikeradar.com/categories/vintage-bikes-forum

Youtube have loads of restoration videos, a nice one being:- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_gVGHWkAmy2gPuImt3lWLg

greenspurs

You missed a killer thread name …………



Recycling an old Bike …….

magicbastarder

lescol wrote: »

Youtube have loads of restoration videos, a nice one being:- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_gVGHWkAmy2gPuImt3lWLg

there's a chap calling himself monkeyshred too, who mainly does up 90s mountain bikes, also worth a follow.

8valve

greenspurs wrote: »

You missed a killer thread name …………



Recycling an old Bike …….

Is bike recycling just getting on your bike again???:D

dickidy

cheers folks,
I will try posts pic before i start and during.
feel free to throw suggestions at me or tell me if i am making a bollix of it.

fryup

this video should inspire you, an old raleigh featured in it too.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmVkOlZFF3Y

Macy0161

I've my old 5 speed "racer" that I found clearing out my mam's. I suspect it's more gas pipe than high end steel, but now I can see it is tourer, given the mounting points, dynamo mount.

Anyway, there's lots of info out there depending on how you want to go about it. I'm planning on hand painting, as I'm not convinced it's worth too much investment in stripping/ powder coating. Similarly with the other components, trying to do it with old or old style components isn't cheap.

fwiw, without frame setting, there was enough flex to fit a modern hub in the rear, which has very mixed opinions when you search (some warning against doing it that way, others doing it for years with no issue!).

Plastik

Posted these before. Bit of a labour of love. Powdercoat job, most of the parts were salvageable.

dickidy

This is it.

mamax

This will help you date it
http://www.kurtkaminer.com/TH_raleigh_serials.html

And some info on reynolds frames
http://www.equusbicycle.com/bike/reynolds/reynolds.htm
http://www.equusbicycle.com/bike/reynolds/images/006reynolds80brochure.jpg

8valve

Plastik wrote: »

Posted these before. Bit of a labour of love. Powdercoat job, most of the parts were salvageable.

Nice work! Great to see another one saved!

8valve

dickidy wrote: »

This is it.

What you have there is a Raleigh Road Ace, if I'm not mistaken.


It was a high-end, off-the-peg bike available from Raleigh dealers in the mid to late 80s.



A nice, hand-built frame, made from Reynolds 531 lightweight steel tubing, equipped with the excellent Shimano 600 groupset of components.


They were/are a great bike and a fantastic project to salvage.


I look forward to seeing progress; don't hesitate to give me a shout if I can be of assistance.
Paul.

2 Wheels Good

GCN Tech did a very good 3 video series in the summer on doing up a 90s mtb and converting it to gravel
It inspired me to finally get at my old British Eagle and get it back road worthy.

Retrobikes is good as well

I've it down to the bare frame, weather is the only hold up to get it sprayed and start the rebuild

Wheels €80 and shifters €70 were the biggest expense. I'm recycling what I can



May as well add a before shot

micheal100

greenspurs wrote: »

You missed a killer thread name …………



Recycling an old Bike …….

I might have to rob this for a youtube video I might do on my "90's MTB to gravel" build! (except it's not gravel cos we live in Ireland)

micheal100

I've actually started doing a blog on my build.

Here's the original frame:



And here it is bare metal



I need to get the next post up, have it sprayed and got a custom decal for the downtube, but need to get the pics done. Complete project bike, often think I could just as easy buy a brand new one for the money, but I'm learning as I go, so not a bad way to pass a few hours at night.

saccades

I saved my brothers 90's kona mtb from the skip, used during the footie season as a pub bike and in summer it`s the carthorse for trips around the country with the kids (fitted with a rack and panniers).

Bit small for me but will only be another summer until the oldest will use it.

2 Wheels Good

I'm using Spray.bike paint
They come well reviewed and while it won't match a custom spray it's not bad for €45. That's for primer, 2 colours and a transparent finish for the top coat

dickidy

Thanks a million. I've never tried to fix or service my own bike as I didnt want to damage it. I am using this as a learning curve so I can get to grasps with the mechanics of a bike.
I have striped it down tonight and everything seems to be in working order.
The wheels seemed buckled so will need new ones but that's miles away. Going to start the decreasing and cleaning of the components the weekend
What should I use or more to the point shouldn't use

2 Wheels Good

dickidy wrote: »

Thanks a million. I've never tried to fix or service my own bike as I didnt want to damage it. I am using this as a learning curve so I can get to grasps with the mechanics of a bike.
I have striped it down tonight and everything seems to be in working order.
The wheels seemed buckled so will need new ones but that's miles away. Going to start the decreasing and cleaning of the components the weekend
What should I use or more to the point shouldn't use

Have a look at the GCN video, he goes through it all. It'll give you an idea what needs replacing and what will do with a clean
The good thing working on a steel frame is they're a lot tougher
Wheels, mine were shook so i'm going to reasonable newer wheels and going from a 3 x 7 speed to 1 x 10
I'm keeping the seatpost and saddle, I'd a spare road stem/handlebars so I'm adding a quill stem adapter for that
I got a new bottom bracket on ebay for <€10 so that made sense, I'm reusing the cranks and adding a narrow wide chainring

The tax man

8valve wrote: »

What you have there is a Raleigh Road Ace, if I'm not mistaken.


It was a high-end, off-the-peg bike available from Raleigh dealers in the mid to late 80s.



A nice, hand-built frame, made from Reynolds 531 lightweight steel tubing, equipped with the excellent Shimano 600 groupset of components.


They were/are a great bike and a fantastic project to salvage.


I look forward to seeing progress; don't hesitate to give me a shout if I can be of assistance.
Paul.

Certainly not a colour scheme used on a Road Ace. Looked familiar as a lower end bike, a Raleigh Quasar but that was made with 501 tubing and didn't have the shot in seat stays.
The only other 531 frame that had the same paint scheme and shot in stays was the Raleigh Gran Course frame set.

http://www.bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/Raleigh84/ral84_15.jpg


http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=299843&hilit=raleigh+gran+course


Best of luck with the build, I've a collection of Raleighs myself so always nice to see another one coming back to life.
A good bike de-greaser like Fenwicks FS-1 or similar and an old toothbrush will cut through all the old crap stuck on drive train components and bearing races without being too harsh. May need to remove the bottom bracket and headset to see what condition the races and cups are in.

micheal100

2 Wheels Good wrote: »

I'm using Spray.bike paint
They come well reviewed and while it won't match a custom spray it's not bad for €45. That's for primer, 2 colours and a transparent finish for the top coat

That's what I used on mine. I was happy with the main one, but if I had to do it again I'd have done more sanding.

Also, I used a different spray for some of the details, and it bled under the masking. I was really, really impressed with the spray.bike stuff.

Another big tip, make sure you pay attention to the temperature: I kept the frame in the house, and used a heater in the garage when spraying/drying, and that seemed to help

micheal100

2 Wheels Good wrote: »

Have a look at the GCN video, he goes through it all. It'll give you an idea what needs replacing and what will do with a clean
The good thing working on a steel frame is they're a lot tougher
Wheels, mine were shook so i'm going to reasonable newer wheels and going from a 3 x 7 speed to 1 x 10
I'm keeping the seatpost and saddle, I'd a spare road stem/handlebars so I'm adding a quill stem adapter for that
I got a new bottom bracket on ebay for <€10 so that made sense, I'm reusing the cranks and adding a narrow wide chainring

I went (am going) from a 3 x6 to 1 x9 (could've been a 3 x9 but the front mech is shot, so 1x whether I want it or not! ). I'd a lot of parts already, but changed the seatpost and I should've measured it more accurately. Had to sand it down a lot/freeze it to get it to fit.

I also swapped out brakes as well (like others have said that GCN video was a great help).

I had trouble getting wheels to fit (need to change to get a 9 speed cassette on, and had to saw off some of the axle. Wheel is currently at the LBS to get it redished).

Between wheels (€75), handlebar/stem/adapers (€60), seatpost (€30), cassette & chain (€40), paint (€45) and cross brake levers (€35), I'm in it close to €300 (not to mention a few tools I bought along the way!)

micheal100

dickidy wrote: »

I am using this as a learning curve so I can get to grasps with the mechanics of a bike.

Same. Spending a bit on it, but I figure it's about the same cost as doing an evening course, and I'm probably learning more.

dickidy wrote: »

What should I use or more to the point shouldn't use

I'm sure the more experienced guys will have input. Generally if you're happy with things keep as is. Certain things should always be changed anyway if it's been a few years, like cables, chain cassette.

But in my case I had a box of old tiagra parts left-over after I had my winter bike converted from a 9 speed triple to 10 speed double, so used those as a starting point. (I actually wanted to put those on a bike, and then remembered I had the old frame, so cart-before-horse).

I didn't trust the old handlebar/stem setup (25 years of rusty neglect!), and same for seatpost saddle, so decided to change those. In my case I had drop-bar shifters, so it was cheaper get drops than change to a flatbar and get new shifters.

I then needed to change the rear wheel to take a bigger cassette.

A few tips on my part:

1. Strip the bike and spray it with spray.bike. Makes a massive difference, but time consuming
2. if stripping, just get a stripping/rust removal head for a drill. Failing that I used rustoleum paint remover. Spend a LOT of time prepping!
3. If you're changing things measure everything to the milimetre. Turns out I needed a 130mm axle, and not a 135. My seatpost was about 1.5mm narrower than the replacement
4. SJS.co.uk has a huge amount of parts I couldn't find anywhere else, and pretty reasonable.

Again, back to GCN, there is a playlist where Jon goes through several of the old-to-new builds, lots of good tips and ideas in those . I watched them a few times when I was trying to figure out what parts to get/what might be issues before I started actually building

2 Wheels Good

micheal100 wrote: »

[*]SJS.co.uk has a huge amount of parts I couldn't find anywhere else, and pretty reasonable.
[/LIST]

Again, back to GCN, there is a playlist where Jon goes through several of the old-to-new builds, lots of good tips and ideas in those . I watched them a few times when I was trying to figure out what parts to get/what might be issues before I started actually building

Second that for SJS, address is sjscycles.co.uk
Also, Wiggles eBay outlet (you need parcelmotel) was great, got the bottom bracket, chain, cassette from them. It's great for picking up random parts.
With the gears, you can mix and match a little with derailleurs and shifters, as Jon said on the video 9 speed derailleurs will work with 10 speed shifters.
Sheldon Brown has a bit on that link
And another useful link
It's the pull ratios that need to match and the shifters dictate how many clicks so it's possible to go from an old 6/7 speed to a 10 speed without too much effort.

hesker

The tax man wrote: »

I've a collection of Raleighs myself so always nice to see another one coming back to life.

What model of Raleighs do you have. I've been on the lookout for a 753 in team colours for a while. Would love to have a look at one in the flesh.

Does anyone recall the bicycle history exhibit that Arnotts set up way back in the early 80's. I used to go in regularly to stare at the team coloured Raleigh which was probably one of the replica models available at the time.
There was also a competition for one with a bike set up on rollers.

swarlb

A 90's bike is old ??? Christ... must be great to be young.

This is mine... it's old, and it doesn't need to be 'restored' as there is no need. It's as it was when I built it... a really long time ago.
I've obviously changed the tyres, and the brake levers (wonder how many spotted they were not original)

One other major component was changed, as I broke the original... any guesses ??

My advice to you would be to take the bike apart, clean everything, and put it back together. Paint it and you lose it's 'originality'.
I restore cars for a living, and originality is king.

Brian?

dickidy wrote: »

This is it.

What are you going to do to it? Is everything working ok?

I have one of these:

https://www.vintagevelo.co.uk/shop/sold-bicycles/raleigh-joop-zoetemelk/

I cycle it to work every day, the groupset is original and all I have changed are the saddle, rear brake caliper and the wheels. I'll post a picture later.

As far as I'm concerned they look better with age appropriate bits on them, so I wouldn't change something unless it breaks.

Brian?

dickidy wrote: »

Thanks a million. I've never tried to fix or service my own bike as I didnt want to damage it. I am using this as a learning curve so I can get to grasps with the mechanics of a bike.
I have striped it down tonight and everything seems to be in working order.
The wheels seemed buckled so will need new ones but that's miles away. Going to start the decreasing and cleaning of the components the weekend
What should I use or more to the point shouldn't use

Be aware that new wheels may not fit. I had to cold set my front forks and rear dropouts to make a newer wheels fit.

This is mine:

micheal100

swarlb wrote: »

A 90's bike is old ??? Christ... must be great to be young.

It's all relative, when you're nearly 40 now, but it's the bike you got when you 12...

dickidy

Have most of the components off.
First problems I've come across , I can't get the crank set, pedals or chain off.
I'll try again over the weekend .
Think I will order new cables for the gears and breaks. Is there a particular size I need or can I just get some from chain reaction

Brian?

dickidy wrote: »

Have most of the components off.
First problems I've come across , I can't get the crank set, pedals or chain off.
I'll try again over the weekend .
Think I will order new cables for the gears and breaks. Is there a particular size I need or can I just get some from chain reaction

You need a special tool to take the crank arms off. Funnily enough it came in Lidl tool kit I bought about 10 years ago.

One of the pedals will be opposite threaded so it's actually righty loosey.

How are you trying to get the chain off?

Brian?

Have a look at this:

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/crank-removal-and-installation-three-piece

You're going to need a lot of new tools. But I wouldn't buy park tools, they're great for pro's but i don't think they're worth the expense for occasional usage.

8valve

some of the online retailers do basic toolkits for about 40 quid that will include a chainbreaker and crank remover.

top tip - replace the old loose bearing bottom bracket with a modern sealed bearing one with the same spindle length.

fit it and forget it.

OP - you mentioned the wheels were buckled - any local bike shop with a proper old school mechanic will be able to sort these for you and get them true (running straight)again.

8valve

The tax man wrote: »

Certainly not a colour scheme used on a Road Ace. Looked familiar as a lower end bike, a Raleigh Quasar but that was made with 501 tubing and didn't have the shot in seat stays.
The only other 531 frame that had the same paint scheme and shot in stays was the Raleigh Gran Course frame set.

TTM, I bow to your superior Raleigh knowledge


I have a fondness for old Raleighs and have lined up some 70s and 80s frames to repaint and rebuild as team replicas; TI, Panasonic and Banana. Feckit I might even do a Castorama as well. I did a 531 frame in the Panasonic colours with decals from H Lloyd's a couple of years back and foolishly sold it on a whim. Have regretted it since.

dickidy

Brian? wrote: »

You need a special tool to take the crank arms off. Funnily enough it came in Lidl tool kit I bought about 10 years ago.

One of the pedals will be opposite threaded so it's actually righty loosey.

How are you trying to get the chain off?

I checked the chain for a quick release link bit there wasn't any so that's knowledge with then.
I will see is I can borrow a tool for the cranks
Yeh the pedal wasmr budging. I sprayed stuff on it so hopefully when I go back it might be alright.
Cheers

The tax man

hesker wrote: »

What model of Raleighs do you have. I've been on the lookout for a 753 in team colours for a while. Would love to have a look at one in the flesh.

Sadly I don't have any 753 framed bikes. Have an '83 Road Ace with the funky 600ax groupset, a Panasonic team with 531 frame with shot in stays and one Panasonic 531 frame with standard seat stays. Also have an '87 Raleigh 653 Race(Type 8801) it's an off the peg frame which the original owner had built up with Dura Ace 7400 groupset, Campagnolo hubs\Mavic rims and then NEVER used it. Just replaced two perished tubs and had a practically mint 30yr old bike.

The tax man

8valve wrote: »

TTM, I bow to your superior Raleigh knowledge


I have a fondness for old Raleighs and have lined up some 70s and 80s frames to repaint and rebuild as team replicas; TI, Panasonic and Banana. Feckit I might even do a Castorama as well. I did a 531 frame in the Panasonic colours with decals from H Lloyd's a couple of years back and foolishly sold it on a whim. Have regretted it since.

LOL, the Raleigh catalogues from the mid 80's were my bibles when I was getting into cycling. I knew each page word for word. I wouldn't know much about the 70's stuff apart from late TI models. Always wanted the Team Replica 12 but had to settle with the Team Cadet.:D
I recognised the paint scheme on the bike but not one I recall having those seat stays. Had to check online to find the Gran Course had the same colours. One sweet frame to have at the centre of any build.


I sold my Road Ace that I raced on back in the 80's, likewise I regretted selling it but with enough searching I found a clean complete replacement over 30 years later.

8valve

dickidy wrote: »

I checked the chain for a quick release link bit there wasn't any so that's knowledge with then.
I will see is I can borrow a tool for the cranks
Yeh the pedal wasmr budging. I sprayed stuff on it so hopefully when I go back it might be alright.
Cheers

The best way, in my experience, to get pedals off is with the cranks and wheels still on the bike.


put your foot on the pedal with your weight on it, then use a long pedal spanner to get as much leverage as possible...when I worked in a bike shop this was sometimes a two man job, for particularly stubborn pedals where someone hadn't bothered greasing the threads before fitting them.


as someone already mentioned, left side pedals are left threaded, so bear that in mind when removing.

Brian?

dickidy wrote: »

I checked the chain for a quick release link bit there wasn't any so that's knowledge with then.
I will see is I can borrow a tool for the cranks
Yeh the pedal wasmr budging. I sprayed stuff on it so hopefully when I go back it might be alright.
Cheers

You need a chain breaking tool. If I was you I'd buy a toolkit from chain reaction or somewhere. It's a good investment for the future .

hesker

The tax man wrote: »

LOL, the Raleigh catalogues from the mid 80's were my bibles when I was getting into cycling. I knew each page word for word.

Likewise but maybe a bit earlier than you. My heart sank when the panasonic scheme came out and a year or so later my interest turned to motorbikes.

I held onto those catalogues for years but after I left home someone decided to turf them. Fair enough. You can still buy them online but not that keen to pay good money for stuff that used to be free.

There’s mad interest in the Ilkeston stuff (a lot of it down to Mr McGowrans catalogue efforts) which is jacking up asking prices hugely and having knock on affects on lesser models such as Rapide etc

hesker

8valve wrote: »

The best way, in my experience, to get pedals off is with the cranks and wheels still on the bike.
put your foot on the pedal with your weight on it, then use a long pedal spanner to get as much leverage as possible.

There are a few different techniques but leverage is one of the best ones.

I had a pedal that hadn’t been removed in over 30 years. Felt like it was welded on. Took the crank off, put it in a vice. Slipped a pedal spanner into a 20 foot length of box iron and it turned like it was moving though butter.

8valve

hesker wrote: »

There are a few different techniques but leverage is one of the best ones.

I had a pedal that hadn’t been removed in over 30 years. Felt like it was welded on. Took the crank off, put it in a vice. Slipped a pedal spanner into a 20 foot length of box iron and it turned like it was moving though butter.

20foot? Now THAT is the ultimate lever!:)

hesker

8valve wrote: »

20foot? Now THAT is the ultimate lever!:)

Not quite up to Archimedes level but great for bikes

tigerboon

hesker wrote: »

There are a few different techniques but leverage is one of the best ones.

I had a pedal that hadn’t been removed in over 30 years. Felt like it was welded on. Took the crank off, put it in a vice. Slipped a pedal spanner into a 20 foot length of box iron and it turned like it was moving though butter.

If you have access to a vice just strip the pedal down until it's just it's axel left. Put the hexagonal bit in the vice and use the crank as a lever. I did this with a 25 year old pedal which seemed like it was welded on as well. Saves on the box iron

2 Wheels Good

swarlb wrote: »

My advice to you would be to take the bike apart, clean everything, and put it back together. Paint it and you lose it's 'originality'.
I restore cars for a living, and originality is king.

As I've it stripped to the bare frame a bit late asking, but what would you have done when the frame/decals were in this state?
I felt a basic rebuild would not have done it justice and the rust would have kept going if i didn't strip it.

swarlb

2 Wheels Good wrote: »

As I've it stripped to the bare frame a bit late asking, but what would you have done when the frame/decals were in this state?
I felt a basic rebuild would not have done it justice and the rust would have kept going if i didn't strip it.

OK, I'll give you an example. If you take a old car, for example, and strip off all the paint, it's not that difficult to match the original paint colour, even down to the original type of paint used.
If you strip your frame down to the metal, it's going to be difficult for a DIY'er to paint it the original colour, and without the original decals, the finished job is going to look like any other bike frame from that era, and not the Raleigh you originally had.
I's simply strip the frame, and give it a good wash and polish. Maybe spray over with a decent clear lacquer, making sure you don't damage the decals.
The result while not perfect, will retain a 'patina'.
My bike I pictured earlier, has plenty of scrapes and scratches from use.

tigerboon

swarlb wrote: »

OK, I'll give you an example. If you take a old cart, for example, and strip off all the paint, it's not that difficult to match the original paint colour, even down to the original type of paint used.
If you strip your frame down to the metal, it's going to be difficult for a DIY'er to paint it the original colour, and without the original decals, the finished job is going to look like any other bike frame from that era, and not the Raleigh you originally had.
I's simply strip the frame, and give it a good wash and polish. Maybe spray over with a decent clear lacquer, making sure you don't damage the decals.
The result while not perfect, will retain a 'patina'.
My bike I pictured earlier, has plenty of scrapes and scratches from use.

I agree with this and glad I kept the original. Some of the decals were only about 40% remaining people familiar with the brands will recognise them anyway. I took off the ragged edges with a very sharp blade, cleaned around the decals thoroughly and a small bit of fine sanding. Went over any rough patches of paintwork with a fine sanding and clay bar. I didn't patch anything. After a thorough washing and every spec of dirt removed I went over it a number of times with Turtle Wax. What do you think about clear coating in such a situation and would off the shelf cans be ok?

saccades

Had a few modifications since but all period correct drive chain (but upgraded to 8 spd xt/rtc) and xt auxiliary stuff (padals, seatpost etc).

Tyres are the only real change, the original "break and enter" had perished so some cheap big apples for messing have been fitted.

2 Wheels Good

swarlb wrote: »

OK, I'll give you an example. If you take a old cart, for example, and strip off all the paint, it's not that difficult to match the original paint colour, even down to the original type of paint used.
If you strip your frame down to the metal, it's going to be difficult for a DIY'er to paint it the original colour, and without the original decals, the finished job is going to look like any other bike frame from that era, and not the Raleigh you originally had.
I's simply strip the frame, and give it a good wash and polish. Maybe spray over with a decent clear lacquer, making sure you don't damage the decals.
The result while not perfect, will retain a 'patina'.
My bike I pictured earlier, has plenty of scrapes and scratches from use.

A lot of the decals were damaged or worn off, I've gotten the main decal reprinted, found a near original front decal and got a genuine Reynolds 531 frame decal so it'll be some bit closer to the original, and at least with the respray I'm hoping it'll last me another ~25 years.

If it were a classic like the Kona above I might have done things differently but British Eagle were never an icon of 90s mountain biking.