I decided that getting back to bicycling seemed like a good idea but I was unaware that it was a difficult time for cycling with shortages throughout the industry. After checking the secondhand market, I picked up two Raleigh Sprites. A Ladies and a Gents, Canadian made from the 1970's. No problem right? Or so I thought.
Welcome to my nightmare and the reason I finally joined these forums.
26 inch bottom bracket threading? Cotter pins? 27 x 1 1/4 tires? Sheldon Brown? These were not familiar terms three weeks ago and now they haunt my days. These are not the friendliest bikes for a beginner to start working on. Did I buy them on a whim? Oh yeah. Did I do any research beforehand? Absolutely not. I have nobody to blame but myself.
"They're red! How pretty! This will be easy!" Well, not so much it turns out.
The cotter pins have been removed but not before mushrooming the top of them with a hammer and breaking a drill bit removing them fully. Didn't know that BikeSmithDesigns had a cotter pin press or a c-clamp and socket might work until well after the fact.
Fixed cups are fixed for a reason as it happens. RJ the Bike Guy on YouTube helped me solve that problem but not before I damaged the cup exteriors. I can't tell yet if it is just cosmetic or structural. Which leads me to looking at a square taper bottom bracket and cups from Phil Wood or a threadless replacement from Velo Orange as replacements. Because I am an idiot. Well that simply leads to new crank arms and pedals if I don't replace the cotter pins. Which should be fun if it comes to that.
Apparently steel rims aren't spectacular at stopping in the rain, or so I have read. So, hey, why not, a new set of alloy wheels won't be that bad, right? If I don't mind cold setting the frame and realigning the dropouts to accomodate a new 126mm rear wheel and freewheel. Or just swap to a 700c set and be thankful the Sprite came with the longest reach brakes in the world.
The funny thing is, I'm actually having an absolute blast with all of this. I'm constantly learning new things and enjoying putting that knowledge to use right away. I'm liking the challenges and the problem solving because each time something clicks, it just feels good to say, "Hey, I did that and it worked. Awesome."
One day I might even actually ride them. Wish me luck!