McCycle

A reprint from yesterday's inability to post, but not quite stale yet ;]

This one is getting a bit long in the tooth but still very healthy for now, late 2015 13" MBP that I've really grown quite fond of, despite some obvious glitches.

I did manage to buy the axle from same seller off eBay no problems, the lack of PayPal availability off the website - repeated - was odd and unfortunate.

The conspiracy started long ago when someone showed me "this old bike" but I couldn't have it.

I finally got it like near 20 years later, and the years have not been kind, even though it was stored out of direct weather.

Things like for instance I can't service the headset because the stem has electrolized to the fork tube, I may have to content with wicking Tri Flow in or something heavier in there for what is going to be mostly a wall hanger that has cost me so much time - wrong time of year - and money, just because I have this thing for resurrecting old bikes...

Although I'm learning the very hard way to be weary of a bike left for dead such a long time ago.

And still I could never see it go to the dump.

And I couldn't own it without going totally OC on it, it's an escape for me, supposedly pleasurable ;]

It's an 80's Nottingham badge Raleigh - can now begin to see a ghost image of the model on the top tube but I don't know what it is yet, was Made in Canada, gorgeous butted frame, a little too tall for me, Shimano 600 everything except for Mafac 2000 brakes, Sunshine/Sansin hubs on Araya 27 1 1/4" rims, moustache handlebars, some brake levers I can't ID. Edit, the levers are Gran Compes with Gucci like crossed CG, very holy, "vintage drillium" I'm told by person who ID'd them off the guitar forum where I hang out, seems to be quite a few old bike nuts there.

Moe Zhoost

When you have a few more posts to meet the anti-spam threshold, post some pictures. I'm partial to those old Raleighs.

veganbikes

Good mine is also an older MBP I think 2010-2011 though and I have another one that is older but I haven't really used that much at all lately so I probably should decommission it and donate it to charity or something. Macs last and last and last that is the problem, if they wouldn't stop running certain programs and have internet issues I probably could keep them going forever. My old desktop needs a new graphics card and it would still work and would be nice for some older games, maybe I should look into replacement for that and figure a good place to put it that I can run it again. My current desk doesn't have space for two monitors.

Old bikes are fun but some of them can be temperamental. I had a lovely old bike someone had custom painted but it was something decent and everything else came out just fine except the seatpost which was odd and I tried so much to get it out and eventually started cutting it to no avail hoping it might crack and come out. Was a shame because I really wanted to restore it a little and get it running for a friend. It had been converted to a fixed gear/single speed but that was fine by me I thought it was cool and worth saving and it had a 600 headset and cranks (Arabesque...muy bueno). I ended up selling to a co-worker and let her deal with it...LOL.

My Phil Wood bike was a bike I didn't need and is really mostly a wall hanger due to the fact I don't want to alter the look of it to make it more practically rideable which is dumb as hell and makes no sense.I had to have the bike and wanted it to look stunning which I think it does. However putting a set of moustache type bars and a mountain bike quill stem would make it more comfortable and it would still look good but my foolishness won't let me modify it and now that I have seen the really awesome Innicycle headset that would make it absolutely perfect but I just can't replace a Chris King with it and put on all the stuff that makes my more modern bikes comfortable as it would change the look.

SurferRosa

It's already been said, but don't worry about the exact length as long as it's long enough. Simply use a hacksaw on a new 140mm (or whatever) axle. Place a cone or a nut inside your cut, so that when you're done removing the cone/nut, your cut threads will be nice and clean.

McCycle

Looking forward to it, once out of newbie jail ;]

Schweinhund

My computer runs windows 10, first it was Vista upgraded to 7 then windows 10. The only thing I had to add with each upgrade was memory. 8 G on 7, 16 G on Vista, and 32 G on 10.
I did have to change out my wifi card too.

McCycle

Fond memories here, Windows ME... Windows can be overrated, often leading to problems, whereas an apple is good for you.

Moe Zhoost

I've used Windows 10 for years but finally got fed up with all of the stealthy updates and bloated programs that were hard to purge. I've always had Mint Linux as an alternate boot, but a year ago, I decided to default to it. It's clean, fast, and totally functional. Nowadays, I reluctantly boot into Windows only when I need to use one particular program as well as when I need to use my laser printer (which needs Windows to function).

McCycle

Spend a couple hours yesterday tackling a loose bottom bracket, only to booger the lockring - in an all new notch - with the useless Sunlite chainring tool counterman sold me to undo this same ring.

Searching through a drawer or antique tools, I found a really nice folding spanner that worked and got the ring loose.

The pedal came off with a little fight, thx to my Sugino tool in bike tool tray, I hardly knew what it was anymore and bought a Park version at the store, but probably glad I used the Sugino tool instead, it is wrench driven, but could get you in more trouble.

After reading about stripped pedals, I treaded easy and removed it, only to find the adjusting ring as stuck as if welded to the frame.

I did repair the damage to the locking ring with an assortment of files.

Went online and learned me about a Sugino bearing cup spanner, and bought a vintage set of Sugino tools on eBay, will have to wait some day to tackle this again, patience.

Made out a name on the top tube finally, Sprite.

And a serial under the seatpost, with the #'s 85 conspicuous enough to resemble a date.

79pmooney

I just ran into the same thing. My computer is a not all that old Windows 10 HP fast laptop that is otherwise a joy. Logged into Paypal on a separate tab no problem. I hit "Contact" at Loose Screws and told them I have money sitting in my bank account I want to send them. We'll see what happens.

McCycle

Ok, so probably fantasizing about '85 being a date, in better light the serial reads; RG585192

I'm now guessing this bike was older than the Shimano 600/Mafac 2000 brakes on the bike, the accessories date the period when it went through a makeover.

McCycle

R = Canada

5 = 5th month?

85 = year?

Hondo6

Can't speak to the Mafac 2000s, but depending on the specific model the Shimano 600 components could possibly be original. Per Velobase the 6200-series Shimano 600EX groupset was produced in multiple different variants from 1978-1987.

If they're 6400-series parts (last groupset to carry the 600 designation) and your frame does indeed date from the mid-1980s, I'd guess they're very likely not original. Velobase indicates that the 6400-series groupset became available in 1988.

Edited to add: not sure if Raleigh used a single digit or two digits to indicate year in their serial numbers. If Raleigh used a single digit to indicate year, that would imply your frame is from 1988 vice 1985. That would in turn mean Shimano 600 6400-series components could also be original.

Perhaps someone with more knowledge of 1980s Raleigh serial numbers could clarify?

McCycle

Am I at the picture point?

I uploaded 6, wrote in all the boxes, clicked "Done", only to have a blank page.

McCycle

By Jove, I've done it ;]


This frame is stout but reasonably light. Almost nothing excites me more than a light bike.

Wheels and forks badly stained with brake residue.

Gucci brake levers? Gran Compe.

Oval sprockets that make you feel like your vision is impaired.

Beauty follows function.

Slowly working the rust off the steely bits with oil and a very fine brass brush.

McCycle

Did I mention we're 12 miles from the nearest - small - town.

Dirt and gravel, that's what we got.

Previous owner lived on top of a daunting hill. I'm guessing he snapped the axle as soon as he got here, ending it's life of "scenester" use in Seattle, complete with Evergreen College ID tag, that bastion of liberal excess, because excess is always liberal.

So I let the bike dude at the store sell me some Taiwan CycloCross Kenda tires, which are knobby, but I would have preferred Japan made Panaracers, although the Kenda's will indubitably grip better out here.





Mogrip! Odd reflective tape on rim, popular in urban settings? Rims cleaned up ok using insane amounts of elbow grease.

Pardon me Sir, do you have any Grey Poop on?

Broken axle and incorrect replacement axle. This axle turned out to be 3/8x126tpi.

Sugino tool I bought so long ago, I didn't know I had it, and if I knew I forgot what it was for.

Repaired lockring.

Frame serial.

Sugino bearing cone, incredibly stuck, hopefully compatible with the threads in the frame.

Super thin walled Proto 15mm socket got me into the crank arm, very little room. Old fashioned spanner/lockring remover was quite effective. Lockring had seen plenty of undoing abuse before I came along. Sugino Research 170mm cranks are beautiful. Pedals need to be relubed. The whole bike needs to be dismantled/repacked.

Hondo6

I did some additional looking re: Raleigh serial numbers. According to this source, Raleigh used a one-digit year code starting circa 1973.

During that era, as you noted Raleigh serial numbers were of the form CC######, where C=character and #=numeral. As you noted, the first character was the location where produced. However, according to the linked source the second character was a month code; the third character was the year. The decade of manufacture was to be understood/inferred; the number 0-9 was the last digit of the year. The remaining numbers were the unit's production run number.

In your case, the serial number is RG585192. As you noted, "R" in the first position denotes Canadian production. However, the second character "G" denotes manufacture during May. (Some - but not all - months used more than one letter. Yeah, that doesn't make sense to me either.) The first numeral, "5", is the last digit of the year of production. The remaining digits indicate your frame was the 85,192nd produced during that production run.

If the source linked aboveis correct, that means your frame is either from 1975 or 1985. If it's from 1975, the Shimano 600 components on the bike are definitely not original. They weren't made until years later.

However, if your frame was made in 1985, they could well be original. The RD appears to be a long-cage 6207, which Velobase says was produced from 1984-1986. Plus, the shifters, FD, and front crank also appear to be 6200-series and are thus also consistent with being original to a 1985 frame. The Biopace chainrings are also consistent with the mid-1980s.

Schweinhund

I've been using Linux in one form or another since about 1996. I go back and forth, I need windows for some of my activities, but some times I'll go full nerd and install some random distro on hardware that should be in a museum just to have to fix whatever problems it has just for fun.

McCycle

Update on the Raleigh thread.

It's very suddenly like winter here, we had snow, 60 mph winds, more snow coming and then single digit temps by Monday night, making riding this bike even more of a fantasy proposition than before.

So the axle came yesterday, my old cones spin on fine, it's the one.

The threading is asymmetrical, meaning there is more of it on one side, I would assume the drive side has more thread?



Old busted axle had apparently symmetrical threading.

Trove of Sugino tools off eBay, and the BB race tool worked, got the bearing race loose, then adjust to a gnats's behind.

I since also bought a second axle from Loose Screws, just for the NOS cones which look like ringers for these.

Old parts on the new axle with extra long threads on the drive side. When I do reassemble the rear axle, it will be with new cones, new BC25 balls, and Park grease, because of OC or whatever, I just want to do it right, and we have several 90's or older vintage bikes that can use repacks.

ShannonM

Clamp-on shifters and the overall look of the frame say "mid 70s" to me. I'm guessing yours is a '75 with drivetrain upgrades done in the '80s. The 600 rear derailleur is post-arabesque but pre-SIS, so maybe 83-85? The crankset is late '80s. Biopace HP rings (grey sticker, less oval) came out in I think '88 or '89, and biopace died the death in like '91.

If I had to guess, I'd say the original parts were French, and were replaced with Shimano as they wore out or broke.

--Shannon

McCycle

Makes sense, stout frame has withstood a lot already. Geometry is apparently good, no weak points.

I'd like to unseize the SR branded stem so I can service the fork bearings.

What does SR stand for?

Trakhak

SR = Sakae Ringyo.

The subtly striated patch of rust on the top of the down tube just below the lower head tube lug suggests that the bike might have taken a front-end hit that bent the down tube (and maybe the top tube). Check the fork, too.

McCycle

Frame and fork look straight to me, I wouldn't bothered if there was that kind of damage, not even as a wall hanger.

I used to straighten bent Schwinn forks by throwing the bike on the lawn on the forks in a way to bring them back to true, metal "has a memory" and it usually worked quite well, a trick an old timer showed me.

Trakhak

Head tube angle looks unnaturally steep to me, which prompted me to take a closer look at the photo of the down tube/head tube junction.

Still, as long as you have clearance between the front tire and the down tube, the bike should be fine to ride. I slammed into a tree at speed on my Cannondale mountain bike on a fast downhill back in the early 1990s; the frame (aluminum, of course) was undamaged, but both blades of the steel fork were bent back several degrees. Didn't even notice for a couple of days. I actually preferred the way it rode with the bend fork.

McCycle

This is the bike the day I brought it home, frame and fork look as straight as the day it was made to me.



Has potential. Fork angle looks fine to me.