king_boru

Evening folks,

A friend of mine gave me the above bike frame, fork bars and crankset which is in need of some TLC. The frame needs to be cleaned and painted from the surface rust and the bars need a good ol' polishing. The crankset is fine, providing I replace or rebuild the bottom bracket (which took a lot of effort to get out). Question is, how much hard earned moola would you put into rebuilding this? The gesture of a donated frame means a lot and the nostalgia of riding a piece of history is great. But I'd hate to throw $500 at it and then realize that I could have done a lot better on a used bike from ebay or CL. I'm obviously going to refurbish what I can to save money.

I need wheels which are the 27 1/4 kind. I believe it is a 7 speed hub. Where would I find a set worth putting on?

Inevitably I will ride this as my go to road bike. Something different to all the carbon out there which my friends are on.

Appreciate the help.

Bianchigirll 

Any pics? Does it fit? I think your best bet is a donor bike.

jj1091

When I'm needing lots of parts to build up a bike, I've found that the easiest thing to do is to look for a complete donor bike. As an example, I needed a set of vintage 27" wheels. The cheapest decent set I could find was $100, but I finally found a complete bike with decent wheels for $50, ended up with a bunch of good spare parts, and donated the frame.

trailangel

1969 Grand Prix would be 5 speed in the rear, not 7.

zukahn1 

These were a pretty basic hi-ten steel bike. In really nice ready to ride condition they are really only worth about $200-250. They make nice riders but needing paint and a full rebuild to be honest this on isn't worth the investment unless there's some personal or sentimental value to the bike. Also it will take a Raliegh threaded bottom bracket and headset which can be problematic if there not in good shape.

king_boru

Digging around for a while I found that the logo on the bike references the lightweight version as it is in a script. Further digging suggested that it may be 531 Reynolds tubing. Even straight gauge would be worth the effort. How accurate would that be? I managed to get a front Shimano hubbed wheel donated which is pretty neat. Only needs a quick once over. The shifters and brake leavers are now refurbished and working great as well.

I may just go ahead and rebuild it. I have all the tools as well as a spay gun and skills to to do it.

Thoughts? I'll get pics up soon. Been away.

zukahn1 

The Raliegh Grand Prix were Raliegh 20-30 tubing which was a couple notches above plain high ten but a considered a bit lower than 531 strait guage about the same weight wise.

king_boru

Perfect. Thanks for clarifying.