Originally Posted by
arex
I won an auction for a 1974 Raleigh Sports frame and fork, along with the bottom bracket and headset. No wheels or crank.
1. WHEELS - I'd like to go with a more modern wheel size, either 700C or a "proper" 26" rim. It's unclear to me which size is closer to the original 26x1-3/8 wheels.
The original equipment was 590mm ERD rims. The Sun CR-18 is available in this size and in a variety of spoke drillings, e.g. 32, 36 and 40 are readily available. Otherwise, a 700C rim should fit through the frame, but you probably won't have clearance for mudguards.
However, if I do go with caliper brakes, are 26" rims only going to cause me problems with reaching the braking surfaces? Brown seems to indicate so, but I'm not sure.
Tektro makes a long-reach dual-pivot caliper that worked on my daughter's Sports with 26" (590mm) rims:
3. REAR HUB - I've already eliminated the SA 2-speed kickback hub...too many people seem to have serious problems with them. I'd LIKE to go with the SRAM 2-speed hub (with or without a coaster brake; again, to eliminate another cable), but I worry about having a sufficient range of gearing with just two speeds (hills, fat), unless I use a big rear cog and bring the whole range down. The SA AW 3-speed hub has attractive gear ranges, but again, I'm trying to go simple. Also, if I get a SA 3-speed hub, should I go with a new unit (I'm having trouble finding one with an OLD under 130mm), or should I get an old one and clean it up? The reliability of the old ones sounds awesome, but it seems like a crapshoot buying an old one. The new AW hub kits are priced attractively, but I don't know what their reliability is like.
The older hubs should have the 120mm OLD you need, and should be quite usable. AW hubs are quite durable, even in the face of neglect; often simply flushing them out with a solvent and then oil is enough to get a faulty hub working again. And failing that, they're not hard to rebuild. There are also AWC hubs that combine the AW's 3-speed mechanism with a coaster brake. These don't suffer the reliability problems of e.g. the TWC hubs.
4. CRANK - I've also bought a spiffy old Crane Head crankset to match the cottered BB. I do have experience with cottered cranks, so I'm not too worried by that. Gearing is my concern, since there's limits on the size of the rear cog. Would I be better off in the long run replacing the BB and crank with something that has a replaceable variety of chainrings? The flexibility would be cool, but I could see that getting pretty pricey.
If you have the crank and bottom bracket already, it's probably more cost effective to change the gearing by replacing the rear cog on the hub. These are available from 13T up to 26T and don't cost much. You can fit a cotterless crank, but you'll need to use your present 1-3/8" x 26tpi cups and search for an appropriate spindle for whatever crank you select.