'74 Raleigh Conversion (Mostly) Complete
 

Gallery of (too many) Photos


Finally got my fixed gear CommuTour bike on the road and almost completely built. Her name is Penny and I am very happy with the outcome! It took about three months of learning and impulse purchasing, making mistakes, getting discouraged, tinkering..... So worth it! Pictures at the link above because all my photos had file sizes well over what the Bike Forums would allow.


I still need to get my kickstand figured out, and I'm waiting on a Nitto AS1 rear cable-hanger before I can get the rear brake functional. Also, gotta decide on a front light. Other than that, she's golden!


Please tell me I done good...


PARTS LIST:

Frame: 1974 Raliegh SuperCourse MKII

Crank: Chater Leigh "The Grand Tour" 1x

Gear: Chater Leigh 48t

Cog: Phil Wood 17t

Chain: Izumi Super Toughness KAI

Headset: Tange Levin NJS headset with Blue Lug brass spacer

Bottom Bracket: Phil Wood JIS 111mm

Stem: Nitto Tallux 10cm

Handles: Nitto Albatross in aluminum with Nitto Bar Ends and shellacked Newbaum's Cotton Bar Tape

Brakes: Paul Long Racer with Paul Canti-Levers, Nitto front cable-hanger, Velo-Orange stainless steel brake housing, Analog Cycles brass ferules, and Forager Cycles Cable Cherries

Fenders: Honjo Liner 44

Rims: Velocity NoBS 700c with Newbaum's Cotton Rim Tape, Phil Wood straight-gauge spokes, and even Phil nipples

Hubs: Phil Wood High-Flange SLR

Tires: Continental Gatorskin Hardshell Black Edition with Trik Topz Rocket Ships

Tubes: Continental Conti-Cross

Bell: Spurcycle

Basket: Wald 137

Rack: Nitto RBW52F

Pedals: Sylvan MKS Touring NEXT

Saddle: Brooks B17 Brown

It looks great. The only things I wonder about are 1) does it fit ok? The saddle is mighty low, but perhaps a smaller frame would be difficult to find; 2) how is the gearing working out? That seems like a fairly tall gear for a first time fixed rider (I think?) and how you have the bike configured. To me, something like 48 x 18 or even 19 would feel better. 3) I kinda don’t get riding fixed with no foot retention, but you certainly aren’t the only one to do it, so feel free to ignore me. Nice build though - job well done!

The saddle does need some raising, I've had a bit of a problem with it lowering on me over long rides!

The gearing feels pretty good at the moment, though I don't know what you mean by tall. I feel like I'm putting work in sometimes, and sometimes it almost lets me just spin. Would something like a 19 be easier? I'm happy to get a workout on my commute!

The foot retention thing is something I'm thinking about trying out in the near future. I wear big work boots when I ride and I have wiiiide feet, so I'll have to do some digging to find a comfortable strapping setup that looks good with the bike.

Heckin' rad bike.

Everytime I see a Spurcycle bell I wanna pour Birchwood Casey's bluing on it. :shrug:

What do you need the cable hanger for, use the existing cable stop bridge.
Otherwise looks great. I ride fixed without foot retention, but I also have both front and rear brakes and a relatively flat terrain.

Some really nice new stuff on there. Looks good. Would be interested in seeing the mounting points of the front rack in more detail / close up.