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i've got an old salvaged Raleigh frame (w/fork) for the GF. want to build it up into a little single speeder.
i stripped the paint and coated it in battleship grey last year.
i picked a decent set of wheels on smooth ultegra hubs in december and we found some garish pink grips and pink BMX pedals last week.
we're not overly worried about the weight as it'll be a town bike.
the frame is a bit like this one (ours won't look so nice):
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it needs a crank set. i've seen some BMX cranks going cheap, but they don't seem to have a bottom bracket with them. i remember there being something to be aware of regarding BMX BB sizes.
(will these work? http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=42007)
also, were the wheels from the 70s different to those of today? i ask because the old brake caliper on the front doesn't match up with the rim (Mavic CXP (700cc?)) that we have. i think that might just be a case of getting a new caliper.
any advice much appreciated.
cheers
J
It's probably designed to run with 27 x 11/4" wheels, slightly bigger than 700c wheels.
You might struggle to find a longer caliper than the one that's fitted, especially if it's from that period 70/80s
Also Raleigh used their own unique threading on bottom brackets and headsets. 26tpi not 24tpi
For a cheap chainset try the Stronglights at Spa Cycles, but be wary of that threading issue.
It's probably a 27" wheel which, as you've found, is a bit bigger than 700c. Sometimes you can get 700c wheels to work- how long is the drop on the brake?
Most bikes of that type already had very long calipers to deal with the large wheel and full mudguard combination. Most often Wienmann 999 centre pulls or 730 side pulls.
Pop over to veloSolo. They do I think an extra long side pull...Alhongha?
I suggest getting a Raleigh cotterless bottom bracket and whacking on the Stronglight.
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£20 new
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Just under £20
[scratches head]
hmmmm... my "new" wheel is obviously larger than the old one. even with the pads rammed up as far as they'll go on the caliper they are about 1/4" short of the rim and almost interfere with the spokes....
[/scratches head]
Hang on I'm confused. Are the brakes too short or too long? too long is the norm for old bikes running 700c's
It's not a 26" wheeler is it you've bought?
Here's a 700c wheel in a 27" wheel frame. The caliper has been lowered.
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Even here the user has fitted a 59mm drop brake
Ah, you may have a 26" frame. There were a few varieties of 26" used by Raleigh and other manufacturers back in the day. It's really rather difficult to get these to work with a 700 wheel and also pretty difficult to source replacements. Can you take a photo for us of the fork, brake and wheel together?
It's not a 26" wheeler is it you've bought?
salvaged.... maybe it is. the wheels were knackered; been "kicked in" by the kids that chucked the bike. i didn't take much notice of them...
taking pic now...
i think it might have had guards on it, too, when i found it...
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haven't got a rear brake, but assume the problem will be the same there, too.
thanks for your help!
Well that's an old deep drop brake. So if that's your 700c wheel then I think it's a frame for 262 wheels.
Not all is lost though, you could use a modern shallower bolt through brake instead. Measure from the centre of the bolt hole to your rim to find your drop.
Modern shallow are IIRC 39-47mm. Deep drop are about and again IIRC 57/59mm.
I'd stop now and work out what you need.
off with the frame to the bits box (aka Benny's bike shop in town, Velothek) tomorrow then.
thanks for your time!
Aye I have a Raleigh of a similar vintage, wheels are steel 27", pretty but lethal in the wet. You can easily enough bodge it with 'proper' wheels as seen above.
do you/did you have the same problem as me? are 700c wheels "too big" for the caliper or too small?
700c's are too small, I'm sticking with the original steelies for the time being, but will bodge it with some 700c's and improv' adaptors if I end up using the 'Nimrod' a lot in the wet as the steels and old style brakes are a dangerously unpredictable combination. 😛