Hey Everyone,

This bike kind of has a weird beginning. Found her up in Upstate NY, kept inside for the last 10 years for a steal. I don't have a bike, have been wanting one for awhile, so I took a leap. Fast forward a month later and I am back in NC, and have started the process of restoring the bike. I had a few people ask why I was bothering, but honestly it seemed like a good experience to learn the ins and outs of the components and if I get a bike out of it, awesome.

The current plan is to disassemble, sandblast, powder-coat, polish the peripherals, and replace the decals that had all but been disintegrated. It looks like I may have to replace the rear derailleur, and then I plan to have a bike shop run the brake lines and derailleur lines for me.

Here are some pictures of the progress so far:
Bike when I received it:

https://imgur.com/bpPHJX4

And here it is as it sits:

https://imgur.com/ts490r6

I plan on keeping track of the progress here.

A couple questions, if anyone happens to know the answers:

1) I think the derailleur might be shot, how do I go about finding a replacement on ebay/craigslist? How do I know it will fit, as I can't seem to find an exact replica.

2) Is messing with the bearings in those particular joints that bad? If I removed them to sandblast, and then replaced later would they be fine, or would I need to add more lubricant?

3) Really dumb question, but how do I go about confirming the length of chain I need? The one that came with it was waayyyy too short and wouldn't shift properly.


Thanks for any help and for taking a look!

Thanks

That looks like, if I am not mistaken, a Raleigh Record. Made early 70's. What throws me off are the canti brakes. They must be a home frame welders effort.
Those DRs were an early effort by Simplex to work with reinforced plastic. Lightweight and breakthrough tech at the time but prone to sudden breakages now. Deterioration. Good idea to source some Suntour DRs.

Chain length depends on largest tooth count on front chainrings and cog on the back. Best to watch a vid on this. Simpler to understand by watching.

Where in NC are you ?

1. the replacement derailleur you use has a lot to do with how it mounts on the frame dropout, which is not visible in your photo.

2. Generally speaking, in a bike that old, with loose ball bearings, and a mysterious history, you're better off just tossing the bearings and replacing them with new loose balls of the proper size when you reassemble it ....save some for sizing purposes. Loose balls are cheap.

3. You figure out the chain length as one of the final steps, when you already have your new rear derailleur, the chainwheels you're going to use on the crank, and your rear wheel and cogset selected and mounted. Don't worry about that now.

It's sort of interesting to see a bike of that age, with a cottered crank, and those post mounted brakes. you don't see that many post mounted brakes in bikes of that age, and it means you have to go with the same wheel size if you replace or rebuild the wheels.


Ambitious project. Good luck.

I believe the Suntour is what I have on their now, but its jammed up good. A picture can be found below:

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

And I'm located in Charlotte, right now.



Thanks for the help and good wishes! I attached a picture of the DR above, its an old suntour it appears

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...that particular old derailleur is probably a replacement for what came on there originally. Suntour Cyclone is a pretty solid derailleur...I would try soaking it in penetrating oil or maybe kerosene for a couple of days, and then take apart the cage and chain pulley wheels, leaving the rest of it intact. Chances are it will free up, at which time you relubricate all the pivot points and reassemble the cage and pulleys with a little grease on the bushings inside.

I still have a few of those on my bikes that work fine after a lot of miles.

I haven't taken apart a Cyclone before, but I believe it has the same internals as the Suntour Blue Line that I overhauled last week. Watch this video by RJ the Bike Guy:


Cyclone derailleurs are excellent, and worth the effort - especially if it just needs to be cleaned and lubed. Watch the video a couple of times before tackling it, and keep it close in case you get lost in the middle of the process.

I don't think the bike is a Raleigh Record, due to the full wrap seat stays and, yes, I don't understand the cantilever brakes on such a bike...

Grand Prix, perhaps? Except for the cantis it looks a lot like mine:

BTW, I like that bike. Nice find! And if it were mine, I'd hold off on the powder coat, as it will blur the lovely lugs and other details that make this frame so pleasing to the eye. Clean, polish and touch up the paint in the worst places, would be my advice.

I'm almost certain in is a Raleigh Gran Prix, after looking at images such as https://www.google.com/search?q=70s+...swBL44itNKsEM: Gonna take a look at the serial number today and see if I can confirm the year (I was told 72'). Also interested to see if it was one of the many bikes produced in Worksop. It has to be early 70's because by 76' they had gotten away with the decal on the top part of the frame. Hmmm.

I'm gonna try the kerosene method that 3alarmer recommended, thanks noobinsf for the video that should be very helpful.

The centerpull brakes are shimano, so I'm assuming at some point someone just threw them on. I took them apart and actually soaked them in some kerosene and they appear to be working just fine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Sounds like progress has started. Vintage bikes are fun to ride and work on!

I got the Raleigh part right...

those cantilever's don't look home made. could it be a Raleigh touring bike of some kind? or is it just way too early for that. front fork is different from non-fixie, perhaps a replacement to get the canti

It does look like a Gran Prix other than the canti brakes. Odd but cool.

Beware the possibility of Raleigh's proprietary 26tpi threading.

Agreed. Looks like a GP that had cantilever posts added. Aside from the bottom bracket threading, and rather sound choice for a first project.

Note to the OP - I advise cleaning it up and riding it to be sure you like it and that it fits well before sinking money into refinishing it. Otherwise, you'd have a ton of time and a few hundred dollars spent on a bike that you could maybe get $100 for on a good day.

I also think you're likely to need a mounting "claw" for the rear derailleur.

I see that when the cantilever studs were added, the other brake mounting fittings were retained. That means you could throw any brakes you want on that as long as the pads properly reach the rims.

The #1 factor that will make or break the ride and performance of the bike is the wheels/tires. ... fwiw

As that looks like original paint, I think the canti-bosses are oriinal too.

Short update, I have done everything that I feasibly can without being a professional. The crank shaft, pie plate, pedals and all will have to stay on because despite having the right tools the cottered crank bolt got slightly mushroomed and is not coming off. This is the video I was referencing:
Hopefully tomorrow it will be sandblasted. Hopefully I don't disappoint too many of y'all in repainting it, but I plan to keep the exact same color scheme and get new decals. Definitely no longer going to powdercoat, I like the intricasies of the frame too much.

I'll post some pictures when she's nekked.

Quick question, in attempting to remove the fork today I took the bearings out, then put them back in. Is there a certain type of oil or lubricant I should be using each time? I'm going to replace them once the bike has been sandblasted, so I have time to order something.

Thanks for all the help so far

Just a quick question - does the frame fit you, ok? It's definitely for a tall rider.

Yep, that's why I was so happy to find it! Haha. I'm 6'3" and it fits me perfectly.

Are you saying you plan to have the frame sandblasted before you remove the cranks, or did I misread that? You should reconsider if that's the case. Removing cottered cranks is one of the great headaches of this hobby, but it's worth getting it out to make sure the frame is prepped properly.

That is the current plan...I spent two hours today attempting to remove one of them with no luck. I had the exact press they used in the video, but it just mushroomed the bolt. The only option now would be to drill it out, which I am hesitant to do. In terms of prep, I'm confident it could still be done properly even with it on, the guy whose going to do it was optimistic it could be prepped properly. If it was as simple as drilling it out, I'd do it but I'm sure theres more to it than that. Correct me if I'm wrong

Glad to hear it, lot's of people buy the a bike that doesnt fit them when starting out. Yours should make a nice vintage build when you're all done.

I've never had to drill one out, but as far as I can tell, it's that straightforward (which is not to say easy). I know the youtube guy I mentioned above, RJ the Bike Guy, has a couple of videos on cottered cranks and overhauling bottom brackets (and headsets for that matter), and he had to drill a pin out in one of them. He shows you the pin after the deed, and the pattern can give you some idea of how to attack it.

I know this may be a silly question, but did you let the pins sit for a long time (e.g. couple of days) soaking with penetrating oil, like Liquid Wrench?

I agree with Ex-Mechanic -- if the bike fits, you won't regret building it up. Good luck!

I used a little bit of Liquid Wrench, didn't seem to make a difference. I'm fairly certain I can get it out, but with the threads already kind of messed up, could I even find a replacement? If not, would my best course of action not simply be to leave it?

...it's a mistake to have a bike frame media blasted without stripping all the components, including the headset, the head tube cups, the cranks, the crank cups, and anything else that's not brazed onto the frame and painted.

the drilling of cotters is not difficult, they are much softer steel than the cranks and the spindle. You only need to drill them down far enough to clear off all that bulged out stuff, and a tiny bit farther past the spot where it comes out of the hole in the crank, on the threaded side. Then you support the crank underneath with a notched board or a piece of pipe that reaches a hard surface (preferably concrete) on the floor.

Insert a pin punch or a drift of the appropriate size, after thoroughly dosing the thing with penetrating oil and pound out the remainder with a large hammer. This is one of those jobs for which you save the really big hammer.

Cotters only come in about three common sizes, and are available online. LBS might have some if they work on older bikes.


It helps a lot in extracting stuck cotters if you can heat the thing (the cotter end) with a torch to expand and contract it to break the corrosive bond.


If you can get the drive side off, you can make it easier to work on the other one (non drive) by removing the adjustable cup and crank arm. spindle as one unit, then work on it in a vise.