Originally Posted by
Ged117
It is the 23", with an AG hub, light set, and Cyclo derailer. I found it on the other side of Lake Ontario where it had been hidden away for decades and looked the part. I'm finally coming to the end of the cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. Reassembly beckons, which I think will be the most fun. I've already repacked the front hub, serviced the bottom bracket, and the headset, which runs smoothly with new bearings and grease. I hit a snag with broken brake components, but a derelict '79 Sports came out of the woodwork and I'm using brake pieces from it. It looks very dark while inside - the sun really helps show off the green.
Cyclo derailer? So it has no chaincase? What would it take to pry that frameset out of your hands so I can put my chaincase on it? I'd tag this "lol," but I'm half serious here...
The '79 Sports brakes are very, very different than the '50s pieces, just FYI. They're definitely thicker than the 1950's models (which need custom brake cables as they don't use pinch bolts). I've bought two pairs in the past, and one set was bent. After 13 or so years, I've also successfully bent one of the front caliper arms on my '51 as well. Not that it keeps it from stopping though - these things are made out of some pretty hefty steel, period.
Does yours still have the correct Pat. handlebar stem, and does it have a fully or partially bright-chromed crankset?
Originally Posted by
Insidious C.
The absolutely, positively, most baddest-@$$ed paint I've ever seen was on a mid 70s Chimo. The tubes were 0.9mm oversized with paint. It took several days and every curse word in the English language to get whatever that was off the frame tubes. And it was a factory finish for sure since it still had transfers.
You're making me laugh with the way you tell the story. The Romani I just picked up has paint that thick, but not necessarily that durable. Thing is, the Raleigh stuff - especially the dipped black, as Peter Kohler mentioned - is relatively thin, but hard as a bloody rock.
-Kurt