All right, in Catch of the day I posted this bike I picked up for $20:


It's a Raleigh-built Triumph 3-speed. I thought I would just use it as a beater bike, or clean it up and flip it, as I ride a Raleigh Sports, but now I'm toying with the idea of updating it with newer, better components, as this gentleman did:

The spoking is 36/36, so that helps if I want to relace the hubs to new rims. Would you suggest going up to 700C, down to 650B, or stay with 650A?

At the least, I could get new brakes, rims, stem, and bars and save a bunch of weight. Any suggestion of how to update the bottom bracket? If I could find a spindle that fit the old cups that would be my choice.

What do you think?

Hey...I just went thru the same thing a little while back with a '63 Huffy Sportsman.

I originally thought..."Hey, I'll just clean this up and ride it around the neighborhood"...I then proceeded to rebuild the wheels with Sun CR-18s, stainless spokes/brass nipples, and fresh Schwalbe Delta Cruisers...added a Nitto Technomic stem, Nitto Albatross bars, Brooks B67 on cheapo Kalloy post, new Tektro 800A calipers with VO city levers, and VO cable kit.

I also ended up scoring a Phil Wood BB for a really good price, so I bought the raleigh rings and installed a Spidel 106 crankset I pulled out of the bin at the local co-op. Unfortunately I only got the driveside so I'm running a mismatch Tourney arm on the leftside...threw on a nickel Wipperman chain, a 48T Salsa chainring, and a 20T SA sprocket and the thing rides pretty darn nice.

Overkill...sure...but I had fun building it as the winter approached.

I say if you enjoy the build-out then go for it...otherwise just fresh rubber, cables, and grease and ride the heck out of it!

My 2c
Mark in St. Louis

Here's what I did to my Triumph:

The problem with 700c is you will probably have to lose the fenders - which is good if you're looking to save weight, but in my opinion it won't look quite as sharp. 650b also wouldn't be a bad choice if you are willing to put the time and money into it, and you could keep the fenders. Brakes would be a good improvement, too.

If I were in your shoes, I would probably just wax the frame, polish the chrome, and ride, adding new tires as necessary. That's what I did with my Triumph, but then again I'm a cheapskate and hardly ride it as is.

I would keep the size. Tire choice isn't great, but you're not going to turn this bike into a racing bike.

I put 26" CR-18's on a three speed with pleasing results.

Speaking of tires, look what I just stumbled upon. IRC is one of my favorite tire makers.

https://cgi.ebay.com/New-Two-2-26-x-1...6#ht_500wt_956

I looked at the link to the updated one, and liked it better "before" than "after." So it could be my opinion is exactly what you don't want. That said...

Necessary changes:
--Change the cog on the hub. It came with an 18T, you want a 22T. Well, maybe a 21T or a 23T. You may have to add a link or two to the chain.
--Change the brake pads --just the rubber-- to CoolStop salmon ones.
--Get a longer seat post if necessary.

Optional changes:
--alloy rims, either Sun CR-18 (better) or Weinmann (cheaper); but only if the existing ones can't be trued.
--saddle. Most people would suggest a Brooks B67, I think, and I'd agree.
--flip the handlebar and see how you like it that way. My guess is you won't, but it's fun to try it for a while.
--alloy stem and alloy handlebar if you already have them lying around; you might save an ounce here and there (hardly worth it).

Don't change:
--fenders and chain guard; they are functional and give the bike its classic look. Without them, it's ugly.
--wheel size. There's no point.
--crank; I know, it's a boring one, but changing it is a lot of work and expense for very little benefit (a couple ounces, I'd guess).

I'm going to differ:
Great looking bike, and it doesn't look "down market" from a regular Sports.
Since you have a Raleigh, why not strip this one and go the "club racer" look?
Don't change wheel size, nothing to be gained. Plenty of tires available. Do the CR18's, single-speed or fixie hub, convert to alloy cranks, drop bars, leather saddle. Make a sporty-sports.

Thanks, everyone. Mark, do you have pictures? Frank, what changes did you make?

I'd like to keep the fenders and chainguard. I was toying with 700C, as they have studded tires available, so I'd need to change the fenders to SKS ones, as in the link. I was thinking of making it a winter bike, so alloy rims, Kool Stop Salmons, and studded tires would be the way to go.

rhm, I have a 21T cog on my Raleigh Sports now, but I rode it all summer with the stock 18T. I may change the cog on this one, as I have a spare chain.

David, I never thought of drop bars, but I'll consider it.

Here's a crappy phone pic...I can shoot something clearer later if you want...

-Mark

I have a Superbe that is stock. I am building up a second set of alloy rim wheels for riding comfort and safety. I am using the polished CR18's in the stock size. The original Westrick rims are okay but have a few humps and bumps that cannot really be removed, they are only an issue when braking hard at high speeds. I have an alloy seat post that I may use and I have an extended steel stem, but that is about the only changes I am going to make. I really like the way the bike rides and looks stock and am figuring that the alloy rims can only improve that.

Do what you want with it, but if you strip parts hang on to them if you ever want to put it back to original.

Aaron

Kept the brakes & mismatched levers (levers are going to be swapped out with some Origin8 Retro that look awesome)
Added new cables & housing & clips
Added a regular road bike quill stem
Added a Soma Sparrow bar (flipped, but this will be turned back upright soon), 520 width
Added Electra rubber grips
NOS SA shifter
Added Electra Bullet headlight
Added Velo Orange clamp on bottle cage mounts and cage
Kept the hubs, but rebuilt the wheels with Sun CR-18's in 650B and put on Panaracer Col de la Vie Randonee 650B tires
Original crank & BB- didn't need to touch it, it was spinning very smoothly when I got it (odd, since the bike was a disaster when I got it!)
Added MKS quill pedals & toe clips/straps (going back to the original rubber block pedals when I flip the bar back upright)
Added Brooks Team Pro Copper (but that is now on my Miyata. Not sure what saddle is going to end up on it, at this point)
Would have LOVED to have been able to keep the chain guard, but it was really bent up pretty bad.
Added Topeak Explorer rack

This was a Craig's List rescue for $5! Borderline basket case was saved!
Originally:
Right side seat stay had broken away from the seat lug
Broken mattress saddle
Wheels were completely shot
Had "ape hanger" Stingray-style handlebar
Shimano 3 speed shifter (not working, of course)
Right side crank arm cotter was worn, and the crank arm had a few inches of play
Chain was so rusty, in several places, 3 or more links were 'fused' together
All (and I mean ALL) cables were toast
Brake pads were as hard as rocks
Wheels were shot, spokes rusty

buldogge, I love that bike, though it looks naked without a chainguard. The chrome fenders are great, and the crank is super-nice.

Smaller 700s will fit under those fenders.
I put a stem with a longer reach on mine, but kept the Northroads bars. It helped to stretch out a bit but then I'm a big guy.
These bikes are great for mods. I made a fixy out of mine and it's a blast. Of course all the origional parts are in a box for when I sell it.

Hey Tom... Thanx for the compliment. I have a chainguard, but after bead-blasting it I test fit it and found that the clearance was too tight between the guard and the Spidel crankarm! It is one of the space age looking Raleigh chainguards with more coverage in the front so I think I may need to find a hockey stick type and cut the side panel section leaving top coverage only off ala a Retrovelo Paul.

Chrome fenders are original to the bike.

I like the crank a lot and would love to find a left crankarm (could even be Stronglight or Peugeot marked and I could mill the logo if necessary)!

TA
-Mark

Here's my 70's Raleigh Sports that I rebuilt last year. It's not a Triumph, but your bike could easily be upgraded to look similar.

The frame was sand blasted and powder coated a semi-gloss black. I added new decals, a Brooks B17 saddle in honey, matching grips from Nashbar, new rat trap pedals with clips and straps, new cables and housings and a chrome pump. The bars are the original bars, just flipped.

Hey gbalke...The bike looks beautiful...simple...classy. Are those polished alloy rims or original steels?

-Mark in St. Louis

The rims are the original steel rims. I like the steel chromed rims because of how nicely they polish up.

Being from St. Louis, you may recognize that the picture was taken in Frontier Park in St. Charles.

I didn't recognize it...but now it looks familiar as I look at the river in the background. I don't spend much time in St. Charles County, but I have taken family rides on the Katy from the riverfront a few times.

BTW...Did you use the Les guy (Powder Coat Specialists maybe?) to pc that frame? Happy with the job/price/etc. ???

-Mark

Sharp Sports, really!

I keep thinking about building up some new aluminum wheels for a SS raleigh that I love, but I haven't really had serious rust problems with the chrome so I'll leave it to another bike I find I guess.

I also made a fixie out of a 3-speed frame that was destined for the scrap yard and I put 700 wheels on it, and it's a nice ride but it looks a little off, nothing hideous and most people wouldn't really be able to put a finger on it, I reckon.

My vote would be to keep the 650A size since tires and tubes are everywhere still (or keep the existing tires if they aren't worn through). You can keep the fenders and not worry about clearance at all. The tektro dual pivot calipers that come in various lengths of reach would be good upgrades, as well as the bars and stems. If you have a bike co-op they might have a spindle you can swap out and upgrade your crank to an older alloy one.

All of these ideas are fine, but there's one odd thing, which is that we're treating the frame as if it's precious. It's not very different from other frames.

Actually, I was fortunate to have the bike powder coated by the guy who did the powder coating for the company I used to work for. I sent quite a bit of work his way and he offered to coat my bike for free. I couldn't beat the price and the quality of work was great.

An upgrade to the CR18's in the 650A would offer the greatest benefits as it would lighten the bike and greatly improve the wet weather performance although the braking really improves when you upgrade the brake pads to Kool Stops.

Using other wheel sizes requires a lot more changes to the fenders and brakes and will alter the performance of the bike.

Swapping the crank is a more involved process but will drop as much as a pound off the bike... I am partial to the Raleigh Heron cranks and the generic cranks Raleigh used on their sub brands tend to be of much poorer quality.

Drop bars and flipped North Roads can change the bike a great deal and this works for lots of people... this Raleigh Sports came into our shop as a drop bar model and is a very nice riding bike on those 650A's.