anixi

This frame seems like a pretty good deal, at $30. I've no idea about the particular model. It's a 6061-T8 alloy, made in USA, bonded not welded.

Does anyone have experience with this frame?

TIA!

anixi

Pics:



Raleigh Technium Tri-Lite
Bought this during the summer as this years winter project. Built it up and it's just too small for me.
Size (Center to top) is 21"
Frame is made from 6061-T8 Aluminum Thermal Bonded Alcoa.

Frame and Fork ONLY but comes with : headset, stem, fr Suntour derailleur, and recently overhauled Shimano BB.
Also has STI cable adapters fitted to the shifter lugs. Rear brake cable is internally routed. Accepts a 26.8 dia seatpost.

PatTheSlat 

On these frames, the three main tubes are aluminum, and the rest is CrMo. $30 is a pretty great price if it fits you well. Be sure to check it for any cracks, especially where the aluminum tubes are bonded to the steel and around the bottom bracket area.

bargainguy

Oh yeah. What you have is a Raleigh Technium TriLite.

All the Technii are sleepers IMHO. They ride much more smoothly than you might expect. The Technium process means joining and bonding dissimilar metals together, but the most typical configuration is aluminum tubes bonded to cromoly lugs.

The Raleigh USA people (actually Huffy - they bought the naming rights to sell a more upscale line) located in Kent, WA near the Boeing plant so they could enlist the help of Boeing engineers who already had considerable experience doing this in the aircraft industry. I believe it was from '87 - '93.

randyjawa 

That is an excellent price assuming the frame set is in good mechanical condition. I have owned one similar bike and liked it although the bike was really too small for me to ride comfortably...

PatTheSlat 

One thing to keep in mind is that I've heard it's a bad idea to spread the rear dropouts on these to accomodate a wider hub (can cause cracking in the bottom bracket area). My '91 actually does have 130mm spacing, but it's a touring model that used Deore hubs from the factory. That one most likely would have the older 126mm spacing.

thinktubes 

Agree with others, make sure the stem isn't stuck before purchasing. Looks slammed.

anixi

Thanks all for the great advice, wouldn't have checked the stem, doh! It's not for ride, for flip and would put some period parts on it. Any ideas what it came with (other than what's on it already)?

PatTheSlat 

This might be kind of tough to determine unless you can find pictures of a similar bike on the internet. Technium was a whole line of bikes for Raleigh, common models being the Technium 440, 460, and 480. I don't see any numbers like that on that frame, so... who knows. I think the components they used changed from year to year too. Here's the specs page from 1986, though that one is definitely newer: https://www.kurtkaminer.com/1986raleighcat_usa_30_lg.jpg

Mine is a 1991 RT 450, and it has Exage 500 EX components, with Deore LX hubs, and Campy rims.

likebike23

i wouldn't worry too much about the stem. if the pic of the bike built up is recent, then the stem should be fine. the stem in the built up bike is different than the one that's on the disassembled frame which means it was removed/installed recently.

Dylansbob 

I bought a 480 back in the late '80s and rode it through high school and most of college. After recently rebuilding it around some STI levers, I did my 30m commute sunday and it felt surprisingly fast. Definately smoother than most modern alu frames.

OldsCOOL

I have one (PRE), if I recall it's what the pro models had, too. I love the ride. Very responsive with the aluminum and not bone jarring with the steel.

ETA: my '89 PRE is beautiful black with silver lettering

anixi

Thanks for the feedback guys. I've contacted the seller, he's about 45 minutes away (in the slippery slush!) just waiting for a time and date to check it out. I'll probably offer it to a friend of mine looking for a road bike. Pics to come!

Giacomo 1 

Wow, I really like that, and for a lousy $30? It's a no-brainer! Heck, I can spend that much on a lousy lunch here...

As other have said, these bikes ride surprisingly well and they hold up very well to, despite the stories of horror you might hear about bonded aluminum frames. I have a Miyata bonded frame and have ridden it hard for about 4 years now with no problems at all.

Good luck!

anixi

I bought the frame/parts for the asking price (very rare with me!) from the seller, a chap from Ireland, ex-pro/am racer! He had a sponsor for a while, raced in UK and Europe, then lost the sponsor, turned amateur and gave it up eventually.

Here are some close-up pictures as well as full frame:



I'm not sure what to think about the stem. It appears to be an OEM, only marking that could be a MFR's lable is two pyramids in a circle (?), that I don't recognize. The headset appears to also be OEM as well as the BB. The headset is very nice and smooth, very tight, no play, surprising considering how freely it moves.

I will assume that it's a 1988, as shown in the S/N, unless someone can enlighten me.