cudak888 

Thanks to Fender1's generous help in picking up and shipping this machine (not to mention his posting it in eBay & Craigslist finds, where I first saw it), this beauty of a '84 Raleigh Alyeska popped up at my doorstep today:



As usual, I have a large "To Do" list for this bike to personalize it, as with all my other machines:
-Adjust front fork (has a slight bend in it - don't know if it's the blades or the dropouts
-Swap the ARX derailers out (anyone have a spare Campagnolo Rally or Suntour XC9000 RD?)
-Change the gearing to good old half-step + granny (52/50/28 or 51/49/28 most likely. Wonder where I can get one of those aero type rings...)
-Swap freewheel with the 6-speed Regina Oro that Syke recently sent me
-Change the bars and stem to Cinelli or ITM/Cinelli combo - Giro D'Italia bars, as with my other machines
-Change the brake levers (Maybe Suntour/Dia-Compe aero, or perhaps Campagnolo non-aero)
-Seatpost (Campag Victory/Triomphe would be nice...)
-Suntour barcons
-Brown cotton bar tape
-My Brooks B.15 saddle
-New brake pads
-Stainless spokes
-IRC skinwall 27X1-1/4" tires (on the way from Niagra Cycle Works) to replace the original Raleigh gumwalls.

Take care,

-Kurt

wahoonc

Pictures would be appreciated

Aaron

cudak888 

Whoops! Had misspelled the URL. Should be working now.

-Kurt

wahoonc

Sweet!

(did you get my PM? I sent it right before the board went down)

Aaron

pastorbobnlnh 

Kurt, very nice indeed. Isn't C&V friendship just grand!?!

cudak888 

I certainly did. Best place to check would probably be Oldroads.com - if the fellows there are unfamiliar with the Skyliner, then I'd say you're out of luck on that one. Glad to head that you'll be fixing it up for a daily rider. I believe the bent handlebar can be swapped with that from a DL-1.


It certainly is

-Kurt

fender1

Kurt,

Glad to see it arrived safe and I was happy to help. If you (or any other Bf member) need help in the philly area, please feel free to contact me.

TimJ

Cool.

Somewhat tangental question- what is cloth tape like? Does it provide cushioning or is it just like having a soft canvas or something wrapped over the bars?

cudak888 

A thousand "Thank Yous" for helping me out. Let me know what your wishlist of parts are, incedentally.

Cloth tape is essentially the same as wrapping strips of your cloth shirt over the bars. In other words, no padding to speak of, but the general "feel" of it is quite comfy, for whatever reason - enough to make you forget about palm pain. Then again, I've ridden plastic Wald waffle tape for 20 miles with no complaints. Your milage may vary

Take care,

-Kurt

fender1

Kurt,
No real parts wish list I can think of. I am looking for an older Raleigh frame (International type non-racing) to build up w/ some campy parts I have lying aound. So if you come across something in a 58- 60 cm let me know.

wahoonc

Tim,
All I have ever ridden has been cloth tape. The basic cloth tape doesn't add much in the way of cushioning, it does add a bit of friction to make it easier to hold the bars. I always ride in gloves and they provide the padding I need. I have a fixed with mustache bars that I am going to try cork on just to try something a bit different.

Aaron

TimJ

Hmmm. Doesn't sound like my bag. I don't like to use gloves unless I have to, even though I know they'd save my hands in a crash. Plus I dig cushion. Though I'm sure someday something I ride will get cloth.

silversmith

Kurt,

My wife's boss has one of these hanging in the garage rafters. From the floor looking up the tubing sticker looks similar to a 501. I didn't want them to pull it down for my curiosity (though they hinted the bike is for sale) but can you verify the tubing?

Marty

cyclotoine

Incidentally, there is another thread currently with the same bike and it has Raleigh 555T tubing (i guess the T is for touring, most likely reynolds 501.

cudak888 

Try the Fiz'ik-brand Microtex tape. It is new, but it has a definite '70s-80s vintage look to it. Best part of all, it doesn't look anything like cork either.




Raleigh 555 T on mine, and I dare say the example you've seen is the same, for the decal is a copy of the Reynolds decal of the era.

-Kurt

wahoonc

Wear Gloves! I will wear gloves even if I don't wear my helmet! I was racing with a guy years ago, he crashed and put his hand down and was not wearing gloves, to this day he still does not have full use of the hand because of the damage to the skin and muscle structure, gloves would probably saved that hand. I have crashed hard and put the hand down with a glove on, it tore the pad off and wore thru the palm, but my hand was fine.

Aaron

cudak888 

Took care of the fork (a genuine pain - turned out one dropout was not aligned properly, requiring a slight grinding of the dropout slot), and the saddle this morning.

Gave it its first test drive this afternoon. It performed very well, although I have considerable complaint about the factory gearing - I'll be considerably happier once the revised gearing is in place.

The Suntour AX/ARX rear derailer performed well, but with a distinct sloppiness that I expected out of an ARX. The front AR derailer, however, was surprisingly smooth - almost on par with the Cycone, if it weren't for slightly more play in the cage. Both are slated for replacement, regardless.

As for the brakes, I had a pair of new pads left over from a project that involved some Mafac Racers, so I installed these spare pads on the front, and left the dry ones on the back. God only knows how you adjust this particular brand of cantiliver pads. One side adjusted fine, but the other pad insists in toeing in at the front, no matter what.

Braking performance is reasonable, but not excellent. I dare say the dry rear pads and out-of-true wheels are the main culprits.

Anyone have a pair of dirty-gold (not the bright gold such as the Club Specials currently on eBay) Bluemels fenders?

Take care,

-Kurt

USAZorro

Are you looking for full length, or shorties? There was a guy on e-bay a couple months back who had a bunch of the shorties.

cudak888 

Full-length. The day I use shorties is the day I go to the loony bin...

-Kurt

spry

Kurt,
Is the granny ring on that 84 an original option?
The flamingo on the right is thirsty and listing at 15 degrees.

silversmith

Thanks!

I mauy have to have them pull it down for me.

cudak888 

Standard spec., this is a tourer after all. Same for the cantilivers.

The flamingo? Guess it came off one of those metal rods that holds it up. Gives new meaning to "break a leg..."

-Kurt

cudak888 

Snapped this photo on today's ride:



Took it up a 35 degree grade with no problems.

Also did a few modifications this evening, including swapping the 30t granny ring for a 28t from my spare Sugino AT crankset (still need a 110bcd 51t with the aero pattern of this crankset, and a 49t without this pattern), and replacing the wide-range rear cluster with a more conservative 14-23t Regina Oro.

Incedentally, I have been considering retaining the Dia-Compe brake levers, mainly due to the quick-release design built into them - which I'll have to have one way or another if I want to be able to service the bike without hassle.

I'm not familar with any centerpull arms that have a built in QR (although I will be replacing the arms anyway - can't stand the ones it has now - impossible to adjust toe-in without major cussin'), and I don't know of any levers other then the Dia-Compe/Weinmanns that have a quick-release feature. If anyone knows of a brake lever other then these two that does have this feature, I'd like to know.

As a last resort, I considered quick releases at the end of the cable housing, however, I don't particularly care for Weinmann's centerpull stop + quick-release bracket that fits to the headset, and the rear of the frame on the Alyeska doesn't have any provisions for adapting a quick release lever to the back.

Input appriciated.

Take care,

-Kurt

silversmith

I wouldn't want to walk up a 35 degree grade (without steps).

That bike's a beaut.

Pompiere

I was wondering where there were any 35 degree grades in Miami. I lived in Ft. Lauderdale when I was a kid, and I remember it as being pretty flat. The only hills were for the drawbridges over the Intercoastal Waterway.