Classic Road Bikes - Raleigh
Discussion
Any classic bike fans - not sure if mine qualifies but here it is!
I'm a MTB'er most of the time but during the lock down I've dug out the old road bike which I bought new in the late 90's - it's a Nottingham made Raleigh R400 (even has 'Made in England' on the frame).
I converted to flat bars a few years ago but kept the ITM stem and drop bars - may re fit at some stage. I also put a bigger cassette on the rear as the original 11-23 became a bit hardcore for my advancing years.
When new it was reasonably exotic for the time with carbon fork and FSA carbon cranks but typically the rest was down specced somewhat so I went to a 105 groupset and changed the wheels to Mavic Cosmos.
It's a stiff little bugger and quite uncomfortable but it can certainly put the power down when you feel up to it (which I rarely do these days).
Any other Raleigh fans on here?
I'm a MTB'er most of the time but during the lock down I've dug out the old road bike which I bought new in the late 90's - it's a Nottingham made Raleigh R400 (even has 'Made in England' on the frame).
I converted to flat bars a few years ago but kept the ITM stem and drop bars - may re fit at some stage. I also put a bigger cassette on the rear as the original 11-23 became a bit hardcore for my advancing years.
When new it was reasonably exotic for the time with carbon fork and FSA carbon cranks but typically the rest was down specced somewhat so I went to a 105 groupset and changed the wheels to Mavic Cosmos.
It's a stiff little bugger and quite uncomfortable but it can certainly put the power down when you feel up to it (which I rarely do these days).
Any other Raleigh fans on here?
https://youtu.be/RnJk6bkjgko
Didn't realise quite how much emotional rewatching that advert would make me feel.
Didn't realise quite how much emotional rewatching that advert would make me feel.
FredClogs said:
https://youtu.be/RnJk6bkjgko
Didn't realise quite how much emotional rewatching that advert would make me feel.
30 years ago....... Seems like about 3 weeks !!!! Happy memories............Didn't realise quite how much emotional rewatching that advert would make me feel.
Had a Viking Warlord racing bike, learnt my earliest lesson in profiteering when I traded it in at my local bike shop after I outgrew it... they gave me £20 trade in on it, a week later I saw it pride of place in the shop window with nothing but new handlebar tape and a price tag of £50.
I've always wanted a Record Sprint but never had the chance (skint teenager , now busy father). Recenty hooked up with a new lady who's a bit of a pedaller (okay she swims before and runs after but dont talk about that bit). Anyway, she said her dad had an old bike he wanted to shift and I low and behold, it's an 87 Record Sprint. Mine for £50.
I've deep cleaned it, put the original suede (untouched) saddle in the loft and fitted a Cambiam C17 with matching bar tape. Rec cabled it and rebuilt the wheels with Sapim Laser spokes as the originals has relaxed and seized, put some period looking cheap Michelins on and bingo. Apart from a couple of scuffs on the stickers you'd think it was new. Love it. I'll never really ride as it's horrible to sit on but I'll stick it on the mantelpiece one day!
I've deep cleaned it, put the original suede (untouched) saddle in the loft and fitted a Cambiam C17 with matching bar tape. Rec cabled it and rebuilt the wheels with Sapim Laser spokes as the originals has relaxed and seized, put some period looking cheap Michelins on and bingo. Apart from a couple of scuffs on the stickers you'd think it was new. Love it. I'll never really ride as it's horrible to sit on but I'll stick it on the mantelpiece one day!
Bobley said:
I've always wanted a Record Sprint but never had the chance (skint teenager , now busy father). Recenty hooked up with a new lady who's a bit of a pedaller (okay she swims before and runs after but dont talk about that bit). Anyway, she said her dad had an old bike he wanted to shift and I low and behold, it's an 87 Record Sprint. Mine for £50.
I've deep cleaned it, put the original suede (untouched) saddle in the loft and fitted a Cambiam C17 with matching bar tape. Rec cabled it and rebuilt the wheels with Sapim Laser spokes as the originals has relaxed and seized, put some period looking cheap Michelins on and bingo. Apart from a couple of scuffs on the stickers you'd think it was new. Love it. I'll never really ride as it's horrible to sit on but I'll stick it on the mantelpiece one day!
I remember those. Very nice restore job. Pity it doesn’t ride well. If it’s just for display you should stick the original saddle back on.I've deep cleaned it, put the original suede (untouched) saddle in the loft and fitted a Cambiam C17 with matching bar tape. Rec cabled it and rebuilt the wheels with Sapim Laser spokes as the originals has relaxed and seized, put some period looking cheap Michelins on and bingo. Apart from a couple of scuffs on the stickers you'd think it was new. Love it. I'll never really ride as it's horrible to sit on but I'll stick it on the mantelpiece one day!
In my teens I had a Raleigh Criterium which I absolutely loved. It was very similar spec to the Record Sprint, both bikes were at the top of the 'casual racer' section of the raleigh catalogue, but less popular as most people went for the gold and black RS. They are quite rare now.
Unfortunately mine got stolen from school after about 3 or 4 years and replaced by a later model RS as the Criterium was no longer made. By then it seemed as though Raleigh had started to cut costs as the whole thing felt cheaper and flimsy, especially the pedals. That might have just been my brain making unfair comparisons but I was not so upset when the RS was stolen during my last year at university.
Unfortunately mine got stolen from school after about 3 or 4 years and replaced by a later model RS as the Criterium was no longer made. By then it seemed as though Raleigh had started to cut costs as the whole thing felt cheaper and flimsy, especially the pedals. That might have just been my brain making unfair comparisons but I was not so upset when the RS was stolen during my last year at university.
Not Rayleigh, and not very original, but it's my bike. I bought it in 2012 as my first and still only road bike. I've fitted a dynamo hub and STI shifters. The saddle to bar drop is too much for me, I'm no where near flexible enough but I still love riding it. It's getting rusty, the bottle cage mounts are missing, paint chipped.
Whenever I look at getting a new bike I always think I'd want steel or titanium, it's flexible and heavy but I like it!
I think it's from the early 1990s. I paid £150 for it. It says Dawes Linear on it, but I can't find that paint scheme in any pictures so it might have had a paint job in the last 30 years
Whenever I look at getting a new bike I always think I'd want steel or titanium, it's flexible and heavy but I like it!
I think it's from the early 1990s. I paid £150 for it. It says Dawes Linear on it, but I can't find that paint scheme in any pictures so it might have had a paint job in the last 30 years
AndrewT1275 said:
In my teens I had a Raleigh Criterium which I absolutely loved. It was very similar spec to the Record Sprint, both bikes were at the top of the 'casual racer' section of the raleigh catalogue, but less popular as most people went for the gold and black RS. They are quite rare now.
This was the “Raleigh way“ with lots of models sharing the same components but with different names & paint. RS was pretty much the same as Criterium, Scirocco, Quasar (brake levers aside) & Eclipse. Some models overlapped each other but essentially they had Reynolds 501 frames (Aerospace Contour even ! ) Suntour derailleurs, SR/Sakae cranks, Weinmann brakes & wheel rims. A few differences here & there but not so much. Usually priced around £200ish. I had an Eclipse in 87/88 as a very proud teenager & loved the thing. Didn't have a Raleigh, but in the 1960's as a schoolboy had a Merlin, (Not connected to the current Merlin firm), made in Leeds, 531 frame, with fancy sculptured frame lugs, Cotterless chainset, 10 campag, Universal brakes, everything top spec........cost? £35.00
Other top brands at the time, Bob Jackson, Carlton, Falcon and Harry Hall
My idol at school was Tommy Simpson.
http://www.bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/about-us/
Other top brands at the time, Bob Jackson, Carlton, Falcon and Harry Hall
My idol at school was Tommy Simpson.
http://www.bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/about-us/
[quote=Pablo16v]Great thread this as I had three Raleigh 'racers' back in the day. A Record Sprint and Team Pro like the two above, plus a Pulsar.
Ah, I had a Pulsar too - my pride and joy. Never found a touch up stick to match after my sister knocked it over and it dragged itself down the corner of a brick wall
Ah, I had a Pulsar too - my pride and joy. Never found a touch up stick to match after my sister knocked it over and it dragged itself down the corner of a brick wall
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