Laurence_13

Hi, to save on two threads, i'll whack it all in here...
introduction - I'm laurence, i'm 17, live in Dorset, South of england. Working for apple conservatries and doing work experience at a local motorbike shop.

Question -
I have a Raleigh Richmond, 351 I believe. And after today it's not in the best of condition as I managed to snap the handlebars in half riding gently off a kerb, didn't fall off but could've been messy if I had. In the past I had toyed with the idea of sticking some drop bars on and maybe cleaning it up a bit, but wanted to keep it as original as possible due to sentimental value (It was my grandads.) It had road champion bars on, but they weren't drop bars, they had about an inch/2 inch rise and were pretty good, until they snapped. So, if anyone has any 'road champion' non drop bars they'd be willing to part with, i'm your man to sell them to! If not, where do I start with a bike restoration? It's not in bad condition as such, a fair amount of surface rust, and dulled metal which would polish up nicely, probably in need of a new seat and chainset... whats your opinions? worth a full restoration, sand down, respray, new/rebuilt bearings etc? or just whack a new set of bars on and keep it as is?

If you want pictures to help make up your mind, let me know and i'll put some on tomorrow. (all the lights gone now)

Thanks in advance.

Laurence

non-fixie 

Hi Laurence, welcome to C&V. Yes, bring on the nice and detailed pics please!

Laurence_13

Thanks! right, i'm bringing it in the kitchen and getting photos now haha

Velognome 

Kinda scary the bars snapped on you! Lots of pictures would sure help. And welcome to the forum!!

repechage

Yes, some images are needed. This model appears to be an England or Europe model. From google images possibly a decent bike, 531 main tubes, not sure if straight ga. or butted.

Beyond fixing it, what would you do with it if it was restored vs. insure mechanical and structural soundness and keep riding it.

And avoid riding off curbs, the tires are probably not big enough to do that w/o some risk. I've done it on tubulars, but one must pull up on the front end and let the bike float below you, weight off the saddle.

Laurence_13

I know right! right on the main road as well, lucky there wasn't anything behind me or I'm sure i'd have been in hospital, most cars do about 50mph down there.

They're butted tubes, it's definately a 531, on closer inspection, turns out there is stickers lableing that! haha. I'd restore it, get it looking nice, then keep riding it, if not restored, i'll ride it anyway. In the future I will try and ride off curbs, i'm used to riding my xc bike though, and you can give that some abuse, riding down curbs was the least of my worries.

Anyway - heres some pictures - I know they're dodgy quality, I blame the light... I'll get some more tomorrow

Laurence_13

Anybody got any ideas where to start?

randyjawa 

Start Here, at a website built just for people new to the interest of restoring old bicycles.

Oldpeddaller

www.sheldonbrown.com/


www.sheldonbrown.com/
This site will tell you everything you need to know!. Sadly Sheldon is no longer with us but his knowledge lives on. Welcome to C&V Laurence, you r ?your grandad’s bike is a high quality gent’s roadster and as such is quite a rarity in these days of MTB’s (Mountain bikes) and similar. Probably not of great monetary value since many people don’t appreciate the classic styling and practical comfort of these machines. I would do a gentle restoration and not modify the bike at all – but it’s YOUR BIKE so you decide.
Firstly replace the broken handlebar – find a traditional bike shop or look on e-bay, you’ll find an alloy bar of the same style and dimensions and you’d be surprised how cheaply these can sell. Heck even Evans Cycles could supply one but the price might be higher. The rust on the lower headset bearing chrome will polish off with a little ‘Bar keeper’s friend’ – Lakeland sell it if you can’t find it anywhere else. Make a paste by mixing the powder with a little water and apply it. Leave it for a half hour or so then polish off with a cotton cloth and more paste.
Strip, grease and adjust the headset, bottom bracket, hubs and pedal bearings (See Sheldon Brown), lube and adjust the cables, adjust the gears and brakes and thoroughly clean the bike and it’ll ride like new and give you many years more use. Any bad chips or scrapes to the paintwork can be touched in carefully with a small artist’s brush and Humbrol gloss black enamel – buy a small ‘tinlet’ at a model shop for about £1.30.
If you want to jump off kerbs or perform stunts, buy a Mountain Bike – this one’s too good to be treated like that!
Good luck, keep posting pictures of how you get on and ask if you need any information and advice – this really is the most helpful and friendly Forum on the entire internet!

Preynmantis

+1

I live by Randyjawa's site. Great place to get addicted... er, hooked.... um... started?

Laurence_13

Thanks for the advice, should be some good reading!

I seem to have been misunderstood... This is not my performing stunts or jumping off kerbs bike, I have a high spec xc bike for that, I was merely moving off the pavement to give a pedestrian the whole pavement, gently dropped down... and snap... "B*****KS". thanks for the advice, sadly the pedal bearings are past repair, so I will need some new ones of them! (many are missing) may just keep an eye out for some similar ones. To be honest, I want to keep it as is, but was interested to see what everyone else thought! Some nice tips in there though, thankyou.

Meant to say, is it likely I'll come by some genuine road champion bars of that style? I only seem to be able to find drop ones...
Haha, I know what you mean, the place i'm doing work experience, I spent half a day today mirror polishing a drum brake... does look sweet as now htough.

Oldpeddaller

[QUOTE=Laurence_13;13529716]Thanks for the advice, should be some good reading!



I seem to have been misunderstood... This is not my performing stunts or jumping off kerbs bike, I have a high spec xc bike for that, I was merely moving off the pavement to give a pedestrian the whole pavement, gently dropped down... and snap... "B*****KS". thanks for the advice, sadly the pedal bearings are past repair, so I will need some new ones of them! (many are missing) may just keep an eye out for some similar ones. To be honest, I want to keep it as is, but was interested to see what everyone else thought! Some nice tips in there though, thankyou.

Oh, I see - sorry, you're right, I didn't understand the full picture. What a blow, but lucky you weren't hurt. I'd guess the handlebar was already weakened, maybe years earlier so it's best to buy a new one rather than a used replacement to prevent history repeating itself.

Laurence_13

It's quite alright don't worry about it Us younguns often do it, so it's all good haha... yes, very lucky! they didn't just drop off instantly, it sort of did it slowly, so I had time to get control again... then snap it completely! but you can see on the alloy where its been weakened before.

ultraman6970

Hi, im not an expert ok? from the pictures the bike looks pretty good, have done a couple of restorations to frames in specific just in case.

U can get rid off the rust using naval jelly, that headset cup for example, take it off... clean with naval jelly and repolish it unless u can find an identycal new cup.

The fork u have two options, retouch the bad area that is rusted or repaint the whole thing, whatever u do i dont advice you to take the old color out, why? because u wont find better paint protection and primer than the old paint, specially if has been there for 20 or more years, just sand to get it even and paint over it clear it, polish it, done.

The rest of the bike looks good man. maybe light sand and polish the paint and ready to go.

The handlebar looks weird, the tube is cut at one side or needs the rubber handlething??

Good luck. nice bike

Laurence_13

thanks i'll try some of them the handlebars snapped! I just put the brake lever in the stem to hold it out the way on the photos

non-fixie 

Thanks for the pics. Nice bike. Ik like that bar. Hadn't seen that model before. I wouldn't do a full-blown restoration. Just some cleaning, polishing, greasing and adjusting (fi the mudguards) will result in a great-looking bike. A little patina makes it all the more interesting.

Laurence_13

Yes, the mudguards are terrible at the moment! Does that mean it's a rare bar then? shet.

rhm

Okay, I'm not going to vote in your poll, because I think it looks pretty good already. It does not need new paint; this paint is fine. Get a new handlebar, of course, but get any shape you like. Take it to the bike shop and see what they have that you like. Older drop and upright bars both have a 1" clamp diameter, but the bar itself is either 7/8" for upright or 15/16" for drop bars-- so they don't fit the same brake levers. Any handlebar that fits that stem and those brake levers will be fine.

Keep the mudguards; they are very nice. I know you're not local, so I won't try to mooch them off you. They may need some adjustment. But don't lose them.

Laurence_13

thanks for the feedback, I'd prefer as original bars as possible, but if I have to go for drop bars then i'll get them

The mudguards won't be going don't worry, they keep me from getting dirty on my ride to work!

LesterOfPuppets

Olde aluminium likes to do that sometimes. I'm a bit paranoid when I get a "new" old bike, not knowing what it's been through, so I swap out bar, stem and seatpost, in that order, as soon as I can.

Pretty sweet bike. If the stem clamp diameter is 25.4mm and the grip diameter is 22.2mm then you should be able to find some similar MTB riser bars fairly easily. Even if the grip diameter isn't 22.2 your brakes might be able to clamp down that much, will have to experiment.

They basically look like about 3" (65-75mm) risers with a fair amount of sweep that have been rotated back quite a bit.

ftwelder

1) Clean
2) lube
3) ride

it's way to pretty to paint. !

Russcoles11

If you don't want to buy stuff to polish the chrome, aluminium foil and lemon juice or just about anything slightly acidic should work (vinegar, ketchup etc).

Laurence_13

Ok, I'll just clean it up then. Thanks

Thanks for the advice, if I'm ever stuck I know what to use now As I'm doing work experience at a motorbike shop, i've got endless supplies of cleaning products haha

Laurence_13

Thanks, when people say mtb... is this a mtb of its day?! Or just a town bike?

got another question for everyone, When the bike was new, what would the rims have been like? Highly polished and silver looking?

LesterOfPuppets

I wouldn't consider that a MTB at all. Just the bars are similar to MTB riser bars.

I just happened to find some riser bars that have roadie grip diameter if that's what you need. Nitto B259. Might try a google.co.uk shopping search for them if that is indeed what you need. Pretty generous 12° sweep. They still have the 25.4mm clamp diameter, however.

https://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CHgQ8wIwAw


Oh, as for the rims, I'm guessing this is an early-mid 80s rig and likely had matte finish aluminum rims. Those rims look kinda like Mavic 192s to me. Not sure if they are those and not sure if they're original, however. Nahh, they're probably wider than 192s.