Originally Posted by mrdeep
I don't know much about Classic / Vintage bikes (or bikes at all, really), I was wondering what everyone thought of a Raleigh Grand Prix. I'd be using it primarily for commuting to work, occasional rides for fun, all on the road. Could I put fenders on it if possible?
Specifically, this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=260063800447
Any advice would be appreciated, especially things to consider when looking for a Classic bike or uh,
links to threads that I should have already read.
I rebuilt a Raleigh Super Gran Prix 2 years ago.
http://www.accesswave.ca/~elvisbird/tour2.htm
I have done even more work on it since then - water bottle bosses on the seat tube, dropped the rear brake stay, and repainted. But it doesn't look much more differant than the photo.
If you start upgrading you will run into some challenges:
- you'll have to get long reach brakes, if you go with modern dual pivot. Even then you may have to rig a drop bolt.
http://sheldonbrown.com/home-drop.html. In the end I just had someone drop down the brake stay for me.
- if you go with more than a 5 speed rear cluster you'll have to get the rear triangle spread. No big deal.
- the horizontal dropouts MAY be a problem - centering your wheel and mounting a rear derailler.
- On mine I had a hellava time finding a headset with a short stack height that would work with the fork steerer tube length. THAT was tough.
If you're looking for wheels, I have a set for sale:
36 spoke, black box rim, Shimano generic hubs, Velox rim cloth. Actually the bike in the photo show the wheels. I'm selling them because I'm upgrading the wheels on my road bike and switching THOSE to this Raleigh.
Do a search on my name (Digger) and Super Grand Prox and you will find a bunch of posts on it.
I doubt that bike shown in the link you provided is 40 years old, I'm thinking maybe 25 to 30.