Classic & Vintage - Raleigh Technium 420

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.




View Full Version : Raleigh Technium 420


mjw16
05-03-08, 10:58 AM
I just found a Raleigh Technium 420 that I simply couldn't allow to sit on the curb to be discarded. I picked it up and checked it out, it's in pretty good shape. My initial plan was to strip it down to frame and fork and rebuild as a single or fixie. Now, after doing a little research on its bi-metal, bonded frame and the potential for frame failure, I'm wondering how suitable it would be for building it up for a clyd, I'm about 250 lbs and a masher. Are the concerns for frame failure overrated or, would this be a frameset more appropriate for someone much lighter?

Thanks for any input.


PBR Streetgang
05-03-08, 03:11 PM
No one is responding, but I'll throw in my unlearned two cents:

250 lbs + masher + old bonded aluminum = certain disaster

Even Tange #1, #2 and prestige, all steel, had lower weight limits than 250 (much lower). Wouldn't oversized steel be the way to go?

WorldPax
05-03-08, 06:10 PM
Definitely a death-trap for you. Go ahead and ship it to me, I'm 100lbs lighter, so it should be safe. Really though, why not give it a shot, just keep an eye on the stress points for cracking or separation. There are literally thousands of aircraft flying today, with more hours than that frame, using the exact same bonding tech.


wrk101
05-03-08, 07:05 PM
I would suggest you post this to the Clydesdale list. You should be able to get good feedback there.