FreddyV

Here's my 1986 Raleigh Marathon. It's a fun ride, but needs some work.

Originally I was planning on selling it, but I just like the bike too much. So I might not get rid of it after all. Please don't tell my wife



I'm planning on taking it as far apart as I can with the regular tools. There's a little rust and lots of dirt on it.

First thing I came across are the brake bolts. The Diacompe N500 brakes have been taken apart entirely and are mostly cleaned up now. Only thing wrong with those brakes are the bolts. They're a 'bit' corroded.



It's just superficial though. I am sure I can still use the bolts, but I'd rather have new (or new looking) ones. Is there anything I can do to get these to look brand spanking new, or should I just get new ones.
Just a quick thought... Will I be able to sand the spring lock (larger round part in the picture) and paint it matte black to give it a better look?

FreddyV

Today I ended up locking the bolts in the drill head and sanding, wetsanding and polishing them. The result turned out pretty good, although I have no picture of that.

As my brake calipers were entirely taken apart, I cleaned some bits by leaving them in a glass of coke overnight and polishing them afterwards. The corrosion that was on it, is now gone.

The brake calipers are put together again, have a look. I added some extra style by coloring in the letters Diacompe on the calipers. Here they are:

Click image to enlarge

delicious

those calipers look great. funny how coke is acidic enough to remove rust :-o

FreddyV

Thanks delicious. It wasn't just the coke that was acidic enough. The coke only took care of the upper layer of rust, say the rust that was ON the bolts. The corrosion that went into the bolts had to be removed by sanding. Unfortunately, that made some scratches so I had to wetsand afterwards, and polish after that.
As you can see I decided to make the letters black after all, instead of red. Keeps it just a bit more subtle, especially since there's no red in the bike whatsoever.



After I was finished with the calipers I thought I'd get some more work done. I took care of the seatpost. It's still the original seatpost and I'm planning on keeping it. It still works fine, even the 'head' is still intact, which is remarkable, since it's dated 1986

First I took out the post and noticed some old, very old grease/paste.



Obviously, that had to go. After spraying it with some aggressive grease remover, I waited for about 10 minutes and thought I'd be able to wipe the grease off with a paper towel. Not a chance!
I took a 'sanding sponge(?)' and rubbed it till the grease was gone. But still, some nasty muck was packed up in the very, very, very tiny grooves in the seatpost. I took care of that with some very fine sanding paper.
Right now it looks much better, though over the years some small visual marks have packed up on the post. It's ok, it shows character imho.



Since I was actually very pleased with the subtle detail on the calipers, I thought I'd give the seatpost a shot as well. Here it is, with the SR Laprade letters colored in.
In this picture you can as well see some of the visual marks on the 'head' of the seatpost. Luckily, that won't be visible when the saddle's on.



Just a question. I found a Brooks (most likely a Flyer) saddle on the web for a very low price. It's in a used condition so it has some marks on it, but still looks pretty good. Since the bike will be sort of a Randonneur, I thought it might be quite a nice saddle for this bike.

Two questions, maybe you guys could give me some response on this.
Q1: When using the bike as a Randonneur, will the geometry be just fine to use a Brooks Flyer, or should I rather go for a B15/B17?
Q2: Will the value of the bike increase a lot if I mount a Brooks? They're great saddles, this I know. But is a bike with a Brooks actually worth a lot more?

FreddyV

Just got an e-mail in from the LBS, an order I placed with them just came in. It contains a can of grease for the rotating parts on the bike, and 3 rolls of Tressorex bar tape.

Decided to go with Tressorex to give it a bit more of the classic appearance. As far as comfort concerns, I'll keep a thin layer of regular bar tape under the Tressorex, so you have a bit softer grip, and the bumps don't bash on your hands as hard. Besides that, it makes the grip area just a big bigger, which is more ergonomical.

jgedwa

I would not even consider that corrosion on the bolts. Merely a bit of patina. Grease em up and send em out again.

jim

tolfan

I just saw one of these at the lbs. Do you think its worth $150 in good condition?

FreddyV

Send them out again, as in slap them back on the bike I assume?
To me it's just a visual thing. I'm working on an old bike, and want it to look as near as new.

Considering the $-€ value rate... Absolutely! It's a very comfortable bike, as its geometry tends a bit to a touring frame. It has everything to make it an amazing and classy commuter.

Doohickie

I've learned to appreciate a little patina on my bikes (including my Marathon).

FreddyV

Sure, but it makes me feel just a bit better when the bike's not covered with rust or anything.

FreddyV

Did some more work on the bike last Saturday. I know it's been quite a while.

* Right now the bearings in the wheels are cleaned out and regreased, they are running so darn smoothly again now.
* The crankset has been cleaned and polished with metal polish, as are the pedals.
* The frame was cleaned entirely.
* I've wrapped the lower right side of the rear triangle with Tressorex cotton bar tape.
* The dropbar has been unwrapped and cleaned.
* Front and rear derailleur have been cleaned and given a nice polish.

Next up are:
* Cleaning the wheels. Spokes have lots of greasy, dirty buildup on them and have no shine left.
* Remounting the original brakes and recabling them.
* Recable the derailleurs.
* Remount the brake handles.
* Rewrap the dropbars with Tressorex cotton bartape.

Now here's a question for you all.
Aero brake handles, or the original (non-aero) brake handles that were on the bike?