cream

Hello all,

I am glad to be a new member here. I will hopefully be soon riding a 1977 Raleigh Super Course. It needed a bit of work first and being the hard headed tinkerer that i am, of course I am going to do it all myself. I acquired the bike a few weeks ago from a family member and its in great shape where it counts. but a poorly insulated garage did a number on it, rusty cables, oxidation, everything rubber is all dried out, etc.. I have been doing a lot of online research on parts and procedures. The best part is, 75% of the time, this forum (or the archives) pops up with an answer to my problem! After several weeks of this, i knew where any new questions were going to end up.

Funny thing is, i have been a long time bike rider. It was a real passion of mine as a kid, trying to fix up my own bike all the time. Doing it incorrectly, as i have been finding out . This was always with BMX bikes, though. This is my first road bike, and I am very excited about the different type of riding I will be doing with it.

Oh, and I am from Chicago, the actual city, not a suburb. I picked up the bike in order to save money, gas and get some exercise . Its a win, win, win... I am also learning a ton about bikes, another win.

I am really interested in hearing about best practices when in comes to parts, maintenance, restoration, you name it. i am a bit of a perfectionist that way, and i also tend to take hobbies to an extreme. I especially like to hear little tips that one might not expect. Like using shrink wrap tubing for cable caps. Brilliant!

Well, i will wrap this up by saying that i am waiting on a bunch of parts and tools in the mail, so you might hear from me with a couple questions before everything arrives. After that, there will be a flood. haha...

Thanks!

Oh, and here is the "before" photo of my new baby (doesn't the ripped Brooks seat make you want to cry!?!):

qcpmsame 

Hello Cream, welcome to BF, your goals and ideas are pretty common here, make your self a place and stick around. The Classic and Vintage Forum is the place to get information about your SC, they have quite a following in the bike world, I owned one to commute to college in the 70's. Yep, that torn Brooks does hurt to see, a new B-17 or Team Pro should look nice in its place. Don't trash the frame, it is worth saving for recovering.

Bill

cream

Hey Bill. Thanks for the reply. It really is great here, I have posted a couple questions and already got some great reply's. Im clearly in the right place, my bed is made...

You answered a question that i was thinking but didn't ask! Vintage vs road bike forum, go with vintage. I had a headbadge restoration question which was clearly a vintage related topic. But its good to know that, depending on the question, vintage is probably a better bet.

As for the seat, I still have it. Even ripped i just couldn't throw it away, regardless of my girlfriends suggestions to do so. But thanks for the idea, i will run some photos and questions out to the community here and figure out what would be the best thing to do with it. Your right by the way, I found an copy of the 1977 raleigh catalog online, its actually a brooks B-17 narrow if i wanted to match the exact seat. That is something I have in mind for the future as they go for at least a 100$. Once i get everything else tuned up that will be the first thing on my list.

Finally, how ironic. I am actually going back to school and that was another main reason to get this this thing going. I figured it would be a lot easier to get around campus on a bike.

qcpmsame 

You should watch eBay for the Brooks saddle, either a B17, B17 narrow or a Team Professional will fill the bill well, I have owned both and had great luck with them. New they can be costly but they are an investment in good, comfortable riding. The Classic And Vintage Forum will fill you in about the ins and outs of Brooks Saddles. Best of luck on your restoration and your riding.

Bill