Raleigh

Got both "new" brake levers installed last night as well retro-awesome Suntour barcons. Brake cables are the same color now, yea!

Bar tape is a little chunkier than I like, but better than cloth tape as far as comfort goes.

Raleigh: Downtube painted

I wanted to do a full repaint before cross season, but seeing as I need to ride this bike daily, a full repaint is tricky.

The downtube on the Raleigh was heavily rusted, so after work yesterday, I sanded the downtube to bare metal, primed it and sprayed it black. It actually came out really nice (never underestimate a new coat of paint). I’m considering powdercoating, but don’t want to pay $100 to have it done. I have about $250 into the bike as it is now.

Will probably just ride it as is, will build up another bike that I can ride home from work and do the full bike at some point.

Also mounted the “New” pedals last night.

Before:

This weekend's plan:

Swap wheelset with Dura Ace wheels

New SRAM 8 speed 11/28 cassette

Install new SRAM chain
Swap 53 tooth ring with 46 tooth large ring

Install Suntour Bar end shifters

Install Dura Ace non-aero brake levers

All new shift and brake cables/housing

Sand/Polish stripped saddle
Sand/Paint downtube which is rusty

Install Time ATAC pedals

Waiting for stickers

Ordered some decals for the Raleigh project, had some coming from Thailand, they arrived, were the wrong type. So now waiting for the right type to arrive.

The good news is that the wrong versions I can use on another Raleigh project.

Patience is tough.

Raleigh spreadsheet

Thought I'd post this build list with prices and sources for the Raleigh Grand Prix I'm working on.

I create a spreadsheet like this every time I build a bike. It helps to know what you spent on something when it comes to selling it. Also, having a break down of the specs is nice. I use Google Docs.

The blue bar means I haven't bought that part yet. You could also make a column for part weights and weigh everything beforehand. I'm not tracking individual part weights for this build, but am keeping a tally of total weight changed.

Raleigh Restoration

For the doubters/haters out there, check out the tire clearance! These are 700 x 35 tires, but in your defense they actually only measure 30mm wide. But this is CX not mountain bike racing.

Can someone remind me why centerpull brakes aren't more prevalent? They stop really well after putting new pads on and a hell of a lot easier to set up than cantilevers.

Also just ordered:

Still hunting for a pair of bar end shifters, will probably use SunTour's. Need an 8 speed cassette and a chain and a set of mtb pedals and I'll be set.

Dura Ace / Open Pro wheelset

A pair of 700c Dura Ace/Open Pro wheels are now mine!

This is possibly one of the best sets of wheels out there. The wheelset is at home in a group ride or a cross course.

Because they are 700c (smaller than the 27" wheels that the Raleigh came with) I'll have more clearance for wider tires. While I think 32mm is a wide enough tire for cyclocross, I'll be doing some MTB duathlons on this thing too so I'm planning on getting either 700x34 or 700x35's.

The best part is I paid $60.

Raleigh wrenching

Worked on the bike after work today:

It had old rusted cheap cottered cranks previously. What's worse is that I'm sure the previous owner didnt know or take the time to service them, because they wiggled like crazy in the BB. I initially tried tightening the BB cups without taking off the cranks, this didnt solve the problem.

I bought a set of Sugino VP cranks with a 130BCD pattern, and they had a gunmetal color paint over the top of them, not anodized. Using some paint remover, steel wool, scraper, soft rag and some metal polish I sparkled them up pretty well.Will get a 48t big ring when the season gets closer.

Getting off the cottered cranks was a chore, using Sheldon's tutorial was vital. . I ended up breaking off the threaded portion, drilling out the cotter pin, heating everything up with a torch and then driving it out with a punch. Then I removed the other side's BB cup so that I didnt have to remove both cotters.

Installed the old school Stronglight Competition BB that I bought for $2 and everything looks pretty good.

Cannot find a photo of the Sugino VP cranks online in the 130bcd pattern with the gunmetal paint, but they were hideous. Now, I think they look a lot like one of my most favorite cranks the Dura Ace 7400's.

Had the alloy pedals sitting in a box so decided to throw them on, will get some clipless in the near future.

Lastly, snapped a photo of the Wright's leather saddle I got off of eBay for $20 shipped. I'll use this saddle and seatpost for general cruising, but will switch back to the plastic/leather Turbo for cyclocross racing as I'll feel more comfortable abusing that one.

Raleigh Cyclocross

Here are some before pics of the Raleigh Grand Prix. Accumulating parts as we speak, I'm currently riding this bike everyday commuting to work, so cant have any downtime due to rebuilding.

Thus, I'm planning on amassing my parts, polishing what needs to be polished.

btw---have spent $122 thus far.

"Vintage" Cyclocross bike build

Moved back to Sacramento, got a job 3 miles from my house and thought I'd get a bike that I could ride to work that would double as a cross bike if I decide to do a few races this year.

I want to call it my "vintage cx bike" but "ghetto cx bike" probably explains my budget a little better.

Got it off of Craigslist for $60, needs new tires, and I'll probably paint it too cause I always like that.

It's a 1976 Raleigh Grand Prix. Pictures shortly.