Utility Cycling - Need help: Rebuilding a Raleigh step through frame

I rescued a Raleigh step through frame from the garbage and intend to turn it into a single speed coaster bike. It looks like the attached picture. The bike has been stripped of parts and consists only of the frame, front and rear fenders, handlebars and brake calipers. Please comment of my plans and tell if what I intend is possible (pitfalls etc).

1. Strip the frame and fenders of paint and repaint to black. Leather saddle and leather grips with cream Fat Frank tires.

2. I have a set of 26" mountain bike wheels. Will this fit the Raleigh? I will line the rim with rim tape and use the Fat Franks possibly in 2.0.

3. Front brake is going to be a caliper of some sort. The original brake is still there. For the rear, I plan to build\buy a single speed freewheel, no rear brake.

4. Enclosed chain guard.

5. How to I find out which bottom bracket crank will fit?

What do you think? I am open to all ideas and ears. The principle goal is to have a comfortable, low maintenance bike that I and my wife (a complete non-geek with poor sense of balance) can ride leisurely and pick up the odd grocery supply or two with a shoulder bag.

This might be wrong thread to post that, possibly classic and vintage unless it's gonna be utility bike then here will do, as for tires, I have one that I made a longtail from and 26" wheels will need special breaks in front to reach them because old bikes 26: wheels aint the same as new 26" wheels, coaster will do for back, also, the bikes frame aint wide enough for big fat tires, I foget what the biggest are. my 26 2.125 are just to big, yours may work, depending on if the bike lets them with the clearence.

Well considering that is my wife and her bike:lol: EDIT: FWIW her bike is a 1971 Raleigh Colt (http://2whls3spds.blogspot.com/2008/07/lady-in-blue.html) in a 17" frame size.

Stock tires are 26x1-3/8" you aren't going to get a much larger tire in there. Bottom bracket is an odd ball with 26tpi threaded cups. There are ways around it:

If you are not satisfied with cottered cranks, and want to upgrade a Nottingham Raleigh frame to cotterless cranks, you will have to re-use the old cups unless you are prepared to spring for a Phil Wood or Mavic bottom bracket. The inner diameter of Raleigh cups is a bit smaller than standard. Bottom bracket axles that are drilled and tapped to use bolts to hold on the cranks will not usually fit. BB axles that use nuts will usually work. Because of the wider BB shells used on Raleighs, you will need a 5** series axle.

Alternatively, it is possible to re-thread Raleigh bottom brackets to standard British (24 TPI) threading. _Sheldon Brown

You can buy the correct size rim in aluminum and build up wheels that would fit the bike. But you are fairly limited in the tire selection in the 26" (590mm) rim. You might be able to fit a set of 650B (584mm) wheels in there which gives you a slightly larger tire and some better choices. Rivendell (http://www.rivbike.com/) and Velo-Orange (http://velo-orange.com/) both carry some 650B stuff. But for what you have in mind that might run on the expensive side.

Aaron:)

Thanks wahoonc!

+1 on classic and vintage for help

my 2 cents:

Nice vision for color and the bike

Consider powder coating....it really isn't much more expensive than a good rattle can job

I'm not much help on the wheels but here is a thread http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-450517.html some more thread search might help

if you are going to do front and rear brakes, any reason not to consider a 3 speed hub to add some gear versatility?

and of course when you are done a nice wicker basket for the front.......

I rescued a Raleigh step through frame from the garbage and intend to turn it into a single speed coaster bike. It looks like the attached picture. The bike has been stripped of parts and consists only of the frame, front and rear fenders, handlebars and brake calipers. Please comment of my plans and tell if what I intend is possible (pitfalls etc).

What do you think? I am open to all ideas and ears. The principle goal is to have a comfortable, low maintenance bike that I and my wife (a complete non-geek with poor sense of balance) can ride leisurely and pick up the odd grocery supply or two with a shoulder bag.

What happened to the original wheels? Was there something wrong with them? In the picture it looks like the rear is a 3 speed with coaster brake. Why do you think replacing it with less gears and no brakes will provide more utility or reliability for your wife? My suggestion - clean up the frame as much as you like, put new 590 x 32mm (26 x 1 3/8 (E.A.3)) tires on if the original tires are worn or dry rotted. Your wife will thank you on the first hill she has to pedal up, especially with groceries, or the first down hill she has to stop on, especially if the road is wet. You also will avoid problems and cost of trying to shoehorn a mismatch of different tires, wheels and fenders into this frame.

Pictured is my wife's 1960 AMF Hercules 3 speed bought at a garage sale for $5 in the 90's. The 3 speed required adding a couple drops of oil to the rear hub, and new tires and that was that for rebuilding. She used that for 5 years for shopping forays in Germany. Still runs fine but the hand brakes are pretty crappy, especially when wet. I wish it had a coaster brake.

^^^^Failed basic reading/comprehension:roflmao2:



I rescued a Raleigh step through frame from the garbage and intend to turn it into a single speed coaster bike. It looks like the attached picture. The bike has been stripped of parts and consists only of the frame, front and rear fenders, handlebars and brake calipers. Please comment of my plans and tell if what I intend is possible (pitfalls etc).~snip~

I also pointed out in my post that the photo is of my wife and her bike. Yes that bike has a coaster brake. One of the gawd awful TCS's. I have since added a rear caliper brake to help with the stopping.;)

Aaron:)

^^^^Failed basic reading/comprehension:roflmao2:




I also pointed out in my post that the photo is of my wife and her bike. Yes that bike has a coaster brake. One of the gawd awful TCS's. I have since added a rear caliper brake to help with the stopping.;)


Well my smarmy good buddy, I responded to the OP's post, not your's. The OP did not mention that he is posting a picture of your wife and her bike. When I replied to HIS post, I hadn't read your later post with its unclear reference to a picture of your wife. Maybe you know why the OP is posting pictures of your wife and her bike in his OP, it beats me.

The reason I am posting pics of someone else's wife is bcos I have not gotten around to taking pictures of the bare frame and fenders! ;) The attached pic was found on this forum and was handy for communicating the kind of step through frame it mine represented.

It's nothing to look at in its present state. If you read the original post, I rescued the frame from the garbage where it had been left after it had been scavenged for parts - that is why it has no wheels on it.

My wife and I don't ride in the rain and there are no hills where we live that is why it is not imperative for us to have either gears or a rear brake. If you see how slow my wife rides, you will also understand why a rear brake is not mandatory.

It's nothing to look at in its present state. If you read the original post, I rescued the frame from the garbage where it had been left after it had been scavenged for parts - that is why it has no wheels on it.

FYI, not all rescued bikes found in the garbage are without wheels. Some are ready to ride as is, where is. Example: This 5 speed Kynast I found by a dumpster (modified by me only by a better saddle than the one that was on it and an added trailer hitch and mirror). That is why I don't assume a found bike has no wheels.

Maybe you could save a lot of effort and expense and find a step thru (woman's frame) bike at a garage sale/thrift store for under $25 and it will meet your wife's requirement for a simple bike that is ready to ride slowly on level ground.

Well my smarmy good buddy, I responded to the OP's post, not your's. The OP did not mention that he is posting a picture of your wife and her bike. When I replied to HIS post, I hadn't read your later post with its unclear reference to a picture of your wife. Maybe you know why the OP is posting pictures of your wife and her bike in his OP, it beats me.

Last statement on the matter: READ AND COMPREHEND THE FRIGGIN' OP'S POST!:crash:

Aaron:)

"Maybe you could save a lot of effort and expense and find a step thru (woman's frame) bike at a garage sale/thrift store for under $25 and it will meet your wife's requirement for a simple bike that is ready to ride slowly on level ground."

Good idea - one that I've thought off and researched. However in my neck of the woods, used bikes - even in thrift stores do not come by for $25. They go for more than that. From purely an economic point of view, it would cost me more to rebuild the bike than if I got a similar bike fully equipped off Craigslist. That is true. However, my desire to rebuild the bike is an expression of my rebellion against the throwaway culture and "replace it, don't repair it" mentality that does not cherish items of age. This is the same reason why I obtained a Webster XL5000 manual typewriter and Underwood typewriter that I use for writing.

Rescuing something from certain death is redemptive don't you think?

Rescuing something from certain death is redemptive don't you think?
If rebuilding a broken down bike makes you happy, the process is serving some utility for you. Go for it. As you already recognize, the same biking utility, sans the pleasure of rebuilding, can come cheaper and faster from picking up a used working bike from other legitimate second hand sources.

IMO, "rescuing" a decent bike from a thrift store is the same as getting a healthy pet from the humane society, beats trying to rebuild a broken down sick animal thrown out in the gutter.

IMO, "rescuing" a decent bike from a thrift store is the same as getting a healthy pet from the humane society, beats trying to rebuild a broken down sick animal thrown out in the gutter.

I got a dog like that and he is now healthy and happy and ewerybodys favourite. You`we seen him riding the "Dogbike" I am sure.

I`we got some rather special bikes too:D

1. Strip the frame and fenders of paint and repaint to black. Leather saddle and leather grips with cream Fat Frank tires.

2. I have a set of 26" mountain bike wheels. Will this fit the Raleigh? I will line the rim with rim tape and use the Fat Franks possibly in 2.0.

3. Front brake is going to be a caliper of some sort. The original brake is still there. For the rear, I plan to build\buy a single speed freewheel, no rear brake.

4. Enclosed chain guard.

5. How to I find out which bottom bracket crank will fit?

What do you think? I am open to all ideas and ears. The principle goal is to have a comfortable, low maintenance bike that I and my wife (a complete non-geek with poor sense of balance) can ride leisurely and pick up the odd grocery supply or two with a shoulder bag.

1. Doable. If you feel like, then do it. I always put my bikes together and ride them for a while before stripping and painting to make sure I am happy with the way it rides (and stopps) first.

2./ 3. If this bike is 26" already this could work, but try it out first. If it is 26" your MTB wheels is going to be slightly smaller, so a fatter tyre could work since the frame is going to be wider where the new tyres is going. Idid this to an older 24" bike, I put 24" MTB wheels on it. That allowed wider tyres like suggested. These wheels had hub brakes front and rear so that problem solved.

I think you should ask somebody to borrow a 26" MTB wheel w fat tyres for fiwe minutes. That way you can get an idea and see if the brakes and fat tyres is going to fit. Also if the modern front hub is samesize as the spacing in the old fork.

I`we seen some mods (brackets) in the folder forum made to make "small20" wheels" fit a R20 frame produced for "big 20" wheels". Sorry, do not remember what they are called just now.

Also on the R20`s they sometimes have mounts for v or canti brakes brazed on the original fork.

Change fork to MTB / hybrid fork can be done, but not an easy task, and headtube angel might be wrong after doing it.

If front brakes is a problem then maybe a rear hub w coasterbrake or similar?

4. Doable

5. Is the BB missing? If not, maybe relube and grease? If missing read about old R`s on Sheldn Brown`s page, search or ask in the "Folder" or "Classic Vintage" forums. They know this stuff.

If she`s got no sen of balance becouse lack of practice riding more is going to be great for her.