devinfan

...and this is what came out! Purists avert your eyes. This '73 Raleigh Pro is b-e-a-t. I received the bare frameset practically as a gift from mapleleafs13 over the summer, and it's been sitting in my basement since then. I had all kinds of plans for a repaint etc, but I soon realized that if I waited until I had the money to repaint the thing it wouldn't get built until 2020.

So started Project Beater. My plan was to build the bike from the frame up from only stuff I could scrounge around the house, and to spend absolutely $0 on it. What you see is the result! Drivetrain is a bizarre mix of Italian (Campy NR) French (Huret Jubilee, and Guidons-Phillipe) and Japanese Suntour AR and Shimano 333, but somehow it all shifts splendidly. So she may be a little ugly, but a great ride! I've never ridden a Raleigh Pro before, and I was impressed at the stiffness and power transmission, especially on climbs. A little more "road feel" through the saddle than I'm used to, but I don't mind it. I ended up having to spring for new brake cables, because the ones I found were to far gone, so my grand total for this bike was $47.00. Not too shabby!

Anyway without further ado, here she is - "Beater" (to go with my Cinelli, "Biter"):

Chris Chicago

cool. much better to look ugly and ride great than the other way around

ColonelJLloyd 

Well done!

Doohickie

For the life of me, I have no idea why you would want to repaint that. My advice is always to work with a bike for a while, get to know it, before painting it. A lot of the time you end up realizing the finish is just fine the way it is, scratches and all.

Puget Pounder

Looks great to me!

mkeller234

Yeah, I don't really see a beater... it looks fantastic! I think your description sounds right to me, a bit stiff and some road feel.

auchencrow

Good job Devinfan ! You were wise to build it up the way it is. - A great ride and (IMHO) a great veteran looker too!

eippo1

This. Nice job!

mkeller234

Are those all cupboards in the background?? That looks awesome! We used to live in a really old apartment that had this huge floor to ceiling cupboard/pantry... but zero counter tops.

devinfan

Thanks all, when I first received the frame it looked a thousand times worse (hopefully mapleleafs13 can attest to this). I also thought the chrome was beyond salvaging. Anyway last week I spent a good chunk of time cleaning, waxing and polishing, and it came up like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. I'm always shouting at other people not to repaint so I thought I'd take my own advice for once. Now that it's up and running I may change up the pedals and seatpost, which is shimmed with a pop-can, but that's about it.

lostarchitect 

Looks great! I agree with the others, paint is probably not needed. I've got my own beater project happening now, and THAT one needs paint for sure. I'll probably ride it for awhile before painting it though, just to be sure I like it.

Italuminium

beater? It looks great from here!

devinfan

LOL it is a lot of cupboards. They used to be regular maple, but I painted them black last year when my wife and I inexplicably decided to turn the whole house into a set from the Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

non-fixie 

Looks great! I like these projects, but mine seldom if ever end up this nice. A good incentive to keep trying. Thanks!

Sixty Fiver

Did you post the wrong picture ?

When my parts bin pukes things up they rarely look that good.

Agree with DH that re-painting is a decision to be left until the end and after you have spent some time in the saddle and decided whether or not you like the bike as re-painting a bike you don't like is a bit of a waste as you will rarely recover those costs when you re-sell it.

And sometimes you like the bike the way it is and find that scruffy has it's own charm.

photogravity

If this is what your parts bin coughs up, I'd love to see what you might put together if you put some work into it.

BTW, no IGH? That would be a parts bin choking!

Orrery

Looks great! Love the baby blue.

devinfan

My fuzzy photography is flattering Charlie Brown (I decided Beater was a bit derogatory) a little bit - he's rustier and chippier and dentier in person, I was thinking he'd be a great bike to take on those long centuries or doubles in the summer, when bikes invariably get a little beat up. I definitely won't feel bad about locking this one up outside the coffee shop on a long trek. Plus it has... clinchers! A new experience for me, but not so bad for long trips either.

cudak888 

That's beat? You've got to be kidding me - I'd give my two back teeth to have a Mark IV Professional to put next to my Mark V. Mind you, my Mark V is 10 times the beater your IV is:





-Kurt

rat fink

NTTAWWT. I happen to love that movie. Nice build.

funrover 

I'd rock It!

Sixty Fiver

Poser.

Would not change a thing about my old Lenton either.

photogravity

Oh man. You have got to love that Lenton... Every time I see it, my mouth waters! The cool part is that soon I'll have something to rival it as ftwelder just gave me a Hercules Kestrel Club frame that I'll soon be starting to build.


Hercules Bicycle Frame - 1950's - 1 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

RaleighSport

Very very cool, I'd rock it. You're making me jealous though, my parts bin can't cough up anything that nice.

photogravity

I know the feeling RaleighSport... Mine almost always coughs up hairballs!