I found an old ten-speed Raleigh in a trash bin and have fixed it up enough to ride (inspired by many of the stories here on the forum). I have a couple of questions; I hope someone could help.

1) Will the back tire hold up under weight (clothes, lunch, beer, dog food, etc)? I think the bike is from the late 70's early 80s. The rear wheel has 36 spokes. When I rode a dept store bike I kept breaking spokes and I wonder if the same will happen with this old road bike.

2) I've never had a road bike. I find the rear brake slows me down, but nothing like my MTB rear brake (v-brake). Is this normal for caliper brakes or have I done something wrong (I did replace the pads and adjusted it so the pads are close to the rim). The front brake is great.

I don't think its such a great fit - it seems a little small, but as you can tell I don't know anything about road bikes. I get a sore left wrist after about 10 kms. But I've had fun fixing it up, I LOVE that I don't worry about locking it up anywhere, and I feel kinda proud to recycle something that otherwise would be rotting in a landfill. I'd like to put 1000 kms on it!

Thanks in advance for your help. And thanks to all who have shared their beater stories and photos.

R