Classic & Vintage - Need advice: Raleigh Sprite 27

Hey folks,

I posted some questions about Raleighs awhile ago and got some great advice. Thanks to your council I ended up with a Raleigh Sprite 27. I probably payed too much for it, but it was in great shape, fit me perfect and is exactly what I wanted.

http://www.cassidyclawson.com/photos/bike/raleigh041207.jpg

I love her.

So far, I've partially dissassembled, cleaned and rebuilt her. I've upgraded to alloy wheels and modern tires, with a new 6 speed shimano free hub. I also ditched the awful, pos Allvit rear derailer in favor of a Suntour GTv I found used at a co-op. I know Suntour on a Raleigh is a little sacrilegious - it's temporary.

So far I love riding the bike.

My questions are:

-The brakes absolutely suck, even with modern pads and lots of adjustment. The brake levers suck too. Can someone give me some ideas for upgrading to modern brake parts that will look at least somewhat vintage? I'd appreciate the make and model of caliper kits and lever that will bolt up without too much modification. The frame and fork simply have a hole for the brake caliper hardware.

-I would also like to replace my derailers. Front is a bit tweaked, and I can't get the Suntour to engage the smallest cog on my Shimano gearset. I was thinking about NOS Simplex parts. I once saw a website that sold NOS simplex derailers but have lost the URL. Anyone have it? If not, any advice on a good front and rear derailer combo that would work really well with the shift levers, original front crank and gears, and rear shimano hub?

-Any ideas for getting the handle bars an inch or two higher?

Thank you guys so much, I love this place.

Cassidy

When you installed the rear derailleur did you have the chain on the smallest cog? When installing the derailleur thats usually a must, your shifter should be set to highest position and pull the cable through snug and tighten it down. If you did do that you can try playing around with the H/L screws.

If none of that helps.. well maybe somethings wrong with it, I had a RD go south on me like that before.. then again I put it through a few months of hell (winter riding).


Brakes: dunno!

If you want your bars higher loosen that stem bolt a turn or two and smack down on top of the bolt (well not smack, but get some pressure on it, you can put a board over it and hammer on the board to prevent any bolt scratching) this will drive the wedge down and you should be able to move your stem up and down and sideways.. adjust it to preference and tighten it back down.

Nice ride by the way!

Since your rims are steel, even the best brakes will not be very good, in wet weather they will be non existant!

Those brakes are the Raleigh self center type. A pain to adjust and extremely hard to get them perfect. Just replace them.

Nice Sprite! Great color and +1 for a Thimble fork!



Am I the only person on earth who does not mind the poor old Alvit Derailleur??:rolleyes:

Find a set of Weinmann 999 centerpull calipers (plus front and rear cable hangers). They came on more expensive Raleighs of that era, and with KoolStop or Stickyfingers pads, will provide plenty of stopping power on alloy rims.

Suntour on a Raleigh isn't sacreligious; they started using it themselves in the mid '70s. I wouldn't go too far out of my way to put Simplex on it though, at least not Prestige. I think your problem is the Allvit doesn't have enough throw for a six-cog gearset; I've run into that myself.

Thanks for all the replies folks, appreciate it.

Got the handle bars up - so much nicer.

Thanks for the advice on the brake calipers. I'll start looking. Any thoughts on a make/model or supplier of vintage looking levers? I really hate the plastic look, crappy adjustment wheel, and flimsy construction of the Raleigh levers.

(btw, I do already have alloy rims and koolstop pads)

As for the derailer - thanks for the info on the Suntour. Not so wrong afterall. Is it possible the Suntour GTv doesn't have this much movement or is this an adjustment problem?

Did Suntour make a decent front derailer? Where can I find one? Any advice on that front?

Thanks so much,

bikepartsusa has quill stems..all kinds of stems..view them all,they're organized kinda funny .I've gotten stupid-long stems.I'm no Englsh bike expert,they'll know or some source will have the precise style.I'd say any quill will work.

The levers would be Weinmann, too. They made a nice cast aluminum lever and housing for upright bars. Schwinn used them on their 3-speeds and Suburbans in the late '60s and '70s. I'm pretty sure the GT-v has enough travel for six gears. The front derailleur that went with that was the Suntour Compe-V, a perfectly good unit.

Find a set of Weinmann 999 centerpull calipers (plus front and rear cable hangers). They came on more expensive Raleighs of that era, and with KoolStop or Stickyfingers pads, will provide plenty of stopping power on alloy rims.


The centerpull Weinmanns on Continentals, etc etc etc weren't all that bad either. Same model pretty much. With alloy rims and Koolstop Continental(no connection) brake shoes, my 74 Super Sport has the brake feel of a car. Firm with a very good feel, no locking up or jerkiness. WAY better than those black rubber ones they sell at the bike shops. There was a person selling the gray koolstop conti's on ebay for practically nothing. Something like 5-6 bucks plus shipping.,,,,,BD