About a week ago I saw a raleigh for sale on my local craigslist. The photos were poor, and at first glance I thought it was one of those Raleigh Team USA bikes with 555 or 531 tubing.

A fairly common bike. Good rider, but nothing I was really looking for. And I actually wasn't looking to buy anything at all unless it was something a bit different and for a good price. But, there were some stickers on the Raleigh that really caught my eye:






A quick look in person sealed the deal that this was, in fact, a SBDU frame. Serial number 7269, so a later production.




Haven't been able to find any information about this SBDU apart from this catalog page. Look at the bottom right picture, the custom framesets. Link: https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r_crbgMHv...25282%2529.jpg



Talking with the previous owner, he said that he had a client that was french and an avid cyclist. The frenchman purchased the Raleigh back in the day, and then promised that the bike would be handed over to him when the guy passed.

According to the guy, it has been kept ever since in the garage with a blanket on top of it. He didn't want to sell it, but his wife and daughter told him that he shouldn't be riding this kind of bike anymore (not cool). We settled on $350 for it

It definitely hasn't been taken care of, there's plenty of grime, grease, dirt, and a few flakes of paint coming off of the rear brake bridge that will need to be investigated. I think the frame warrants a full soak in oxalic acid and then a good spray of rust-inhibitor, there's some evidence of it being put away wet.

I am very excited to get working on it, but the bike wil have to wait. My graduate research is coming to a close within the next 3-4 months and needs a lot of attention. So, getting to work on and then ride this bike will be a graduation gift to myself and from my girlfriend, she even threw a $100 towards the purchase.

I will update the thread as work is done, but it will be quite the wait!! My long term intentions are to build a new wheelset for it, figure out the perfect cockpit (after 10 years of this hobby, only in the last year have I worked out my frame size), and do minor weight weenie stuff like maybe a carbon fiber seatpost if it takes a 27.2mm post.

Current setup:
Frame: SBDU 753r
Rims: Saturae HC19
Hubs: Shimano 6207
Cranks: Shimano 600 triple (6206)
Pedals: Shimano 600
Rear Shifter/Derailleur: Shimano 105
Front Shifter/Derailleur: Shimano 600
Brakes: Shimano 600 single pivot, 39-49mm (6208)
Bottom Bracket: ?
Headset: Shimano 600
Stem: Cinelli
Handlebars: Cinelli Campione del mondo (66-42)
Seapost: SR Laprade
Saddle: Brooks B17 competition