LuckySquirrel

I am trying to find a bike for my dad (5'10"), and came across this Raleigh. It looks extremely clean and I have been reading mostly positive reviews of these bikes. What would be a good price to try to get this bike at? It would be a weekend rider.

1980's Raleigh Road Bike Like New 58cm

oddjob2

$180, because the tires need to be replaced.

mstateglfr 

Impressively clean bike. If the bearing points have been properly serviced and the wheels are true, that could be a solid rider.

Those pedals will need to be changed, the current ones are pretty useless as they are made for specific shoes. The saddle may not be great either as its older and simple.
It's probably worth the asking price with those previous things added in and new tires. Decent tires would be $40

LuckySquirrel

Thank you both for the input!

How would the ride on this type of bike compare to a steel frame? I was reading that these bikes have chromoly forks and stays, so they ride a bit nicer than aluminum frames typically do.

bent-not-broken

I have a Raleigh technium and I find it rides comparable to my vintage steel road bikes. The smaller tubes aren't as stiff as later larger "formed" tubes. Some even complain the frame is too flexible. But unless you are putting big power to the pedals that is not an issue.

LuckySquirrel

Awesome, sounds great thank you. I believe my dad would likely keep it stock for a while, but if he were to want to switch to 700c at some point in the future (for whatever reason), would there be any issue spreading the dropouts the required 4mm given that the frame is bonded and not welded?

Also, just out of curiosity, what kind of shoes were these types of pedals made for?

plonz 

I was just thinking the same question. Look like pretty standard pedals to me. Quite certain I rode similar ones with flat bottomed shoes in my younger days.

mstateglfr 

Those are quill pedals. They will always hang upside down and be a PIA to use since they are too heavy and spin any time your foot comes off the pedal.
They were/are meant to be used with a toe clip, so you need shoes that are narrow enough to fit in a clip and perhaps straps.
the other way to use them is to use cycling shoes with a cleat that locks into the pedal.

Yes, they can be used with a running shoe, but it's a total hassle compared to just getting a simple quality platform pedal.

OldsCOOL

They ride well. Very comfortable if you need a bit more stretch to reach the bars. I have the '89 PRE and rode it hard for 3 seasons but gradually deciced the geometry was not my style or fit. Make sure the frame isnt too big on this one. Value is square with how badly you want it. It is overpriced in my area. Me, I wouldnt pay more than 175.00. These are decent bikes but not quite 250.00 decent.

rekmeyata

I hope you bought that bike, that was a very nice condition vintage bike, I would have bought it for myself if it was in my area, your dad would have loved it.

DMC707

Looks like a nice bike -- $250 wouldnt scare me away for one i was planning to ride -- that one looks as if it was ridden a bit the first year, then put away

If i was a flipper, i wouldnt want to pay $250, but i'm not

You dont need to spread the frame to convert to 700c - you just need to use a 126 hub like it came with. But if you are talking about upgrading to 8,9,10 speeds etc, then obviously some work would have to be done .
PErsonally i would not spread vintage aluminum, ---- but i'm sure its been done before

ramzilla

I've got one near that same vintage equipped with Suntour derailleurs & Sugino cranks. It's very smooth & solid performer. $250 is not far off the mark for that. It looks like it's going to need new tires though.

OldsCOOL

The best part is the Technium frames have Tange steel stays and fork. Spreading the steel stays a few mm's isnt significantly consequential. As for spreading an aluminum frame, us Cannondale riders do this frequently. My C-Dale is 126mm at the dropouts but is sporting modern 130mm racing wheel. I like the point you made on the price being worth it if it will be a rider. If you like it and will ride it, buy it.

rekmeyata

While it can be done it isn't recommended that you spread aluminum stays, don't believe me than read this: Bicycle Frame/Hub Spacing Don't believe Sheldon Brown either? than it's your bike do as you please, not saying that the bike will fail, but the potential of the bike frame failing increases, by how much depends on the frame aluminum material used, aluminum like the old 2024 could tolerate a 4 mm adjustment but the 6000 may not, in either case any frame warranty that may be still be intact will not be intact after the adjustment which should tell you something about what the manufacture thinks about how aluminum will handle such an adjustment.

It is best to leave it alone and instead try to work with installing a 7 speed freewheel which all that it might require is redishing the wheel and maybe installing a spacer washer.

oddjob2

I just put a 2001 8 speed wheelset onto a 1986 Cannondale SR800 frame. EZ peasy, no stress, no man-of-steel metal bending required.

As an aside, I have vintage 1973 Scott Racer ski poles, the original apple green and orange handle poles. I think they are 4000 alloy and are as straight and reliable as the day I bought them. Haven't used them much lately, but they did for 30 years.

RoadGuy

To ride a 58cm frame, you need at least a 33" bicycle inseam to clear the top tube. Are you trying to surprise your father with the bike? If not, take him with you to confirm that it will fit before you buy it. At $250, you would have some difficulty reselling if it doesn't fit, especially after you add the cost of new tires..

LuckySquirrel

Sorry for the late update! I was very busy yesterday.

My dad is 5'10" so the bike should hopefully fit. My dad is actually going to pick it up from the seller this morning since he is much closer so he will be able to check out the fit at that time, but if he doesn't end up keeping it I will be more than glad to take it off his hands . I spoke with the seller and we agreed on $180 so I couldn't pass that one up. I wouldn't flip this bike since I love the history behind the frame (was reading more about it), and my dad equally enjoys vintage stuff and keeping things original (he has two early 70's vettes completely stock).

I was only asking about converting to a newer drivetrain and 700c since I had told my dad what I was doing with my BS and he seemed pretty interested, however I believe he would likely just keep it stock since it is so clean. I had read about the tange stays and was wondering if it would be an issue more at the bonding joints. It seems that if we wanted to in the future it can be done just fine since the stays aren't aluminum then?

How would the switch to barcons work on a bike that has downtube brazeons? This is just purely for my own curiosity, since I was just wondering about that when looking at the bike. Would you just take the levers off and put a cable stop above them on the frame, then leave the little bits sticking out?

And thank you for the info about the pedals! Definitely makes sense. We will be changing out the pedals, seat, and tires asap .

oddjob2

The frame should fit fine, I ride a 58 and am 5'9". I wouldn't worry about the bonding joints. They've been building jets like that for years.

Downtube stops fit on the bosses.

Shimano Housing Stops for Down Tube Shifter Bosses

DMC707

Bar-Cons are easy -- there are factory cable stops from Shimano just for this purpose -- Used on most all STI equipped bikes from 1991 - 2001 or so (until manufacturers almost universally agreed that not many people would be using downtube shifters anymore, and ditched the downtube mounts entirely in favor of integrated cable stops )

Bar- Cons and a different freewheel if he needs more or less gears would both be "period correct" mods.

The seat looks like a copy of the Selle ITalia Turbo saddle -- it may be good to go , - pedals can be improved by just adding some clips and straps and giving dad a 2 minute tutorial on how to use them , but up to him entirely

Good luck with it -- you got it at a decent price too

LuckySquirrel

Interesting, thanks for the info! I'll definitely look more into the clips/straps to keep it original .

LuckySquirrel

Thank you for the link!

OldsCOOL

Slightly OT, wasnt there an ad or article espousing the strength of the rear triangle with someone standing on a frame that is laid flat?