linus

Eww....I think I threwup in my mouth.

linus

I cut the mover's blanket in different sizes and wrapped them with double sided Velcro tapes.



And I also have enough space to put everything I need(tools, lube, tubes and etc.) in my camelbak and put that in the case.



I use S&S Designer hardshell case so I can't say much about softshell case. BTW, if you have a choice, get a set of wheels with Centerlock hubs. They'll make your life easier when you assemble the bike back.

jmeb

In case anyone stumbles across this -- the Grand Prix is still available from Raleigh in sizes 54-60. Price is down to $1150 with easy to find corporate code. Plus another 4-6% cash back if you use ActiveJunky. Crazy good deal for just over $100 for a Break-Away bike. Even if you don't like the drivetrain, sell it for a few hundred dollars and you've still got a heckuva a bike for <$1000 with case.

As for what happened to me. I got the Travelers Check and went on a bike tour. Album here: https://imgur.com/a/O6El6

jefnvk

Ugh, don't post stuff like that at bonus payout time!

How easy is it to go from Campy to Shimano? Simple as new shifters, new cassette, new derailleurs, or is in more involved? Wouldn't mind that in a 10spd bar end config.

jmeb

All of that plus a different freehub on the wheel. Most of the times those are pretty easily swappable.

If you really didn't want campy, you could buy something like the Sora 3000 (https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/shima...uble-groupset/), sell the campy group with wheels, and pickup a spare set of wheels. All told probably only lose a couple hundred all told.

Tourist in MSN

Frame is also available. I have been thinking if I could get that frame for cheap, I might get interested.
https://www.raleighusa.com/frameset-grand-prix-22439

On one bike I am running a Campy 10 speed brifter for the rear, Shimano hub, 8 speed cassette and 8 speed rear XT derailleur (M739). The cable pull for the Campy 10 speed brifter is not perfectly identical to the 8 speed Shimano for shifting, but it is close enough that I have no difficulty shifting.
Art's Cyclery Blog » Science Behind the Magic | Drivetrain Compatibility

If you see a code with a good discount for the frame, send me a private message.

DropBarFan

Must give credit to Raleigh for making a value-price traveler frame...however they say it's for 28mm tires, kinda narrow for touring.

jefnvk

If I could get it cheap, I'd agree, but where it is at (no corporate discount) you're not too far from proper S&S touring frames.

Plenty fine for a CC tourer, I would imagine most of those aren't getting into too gnarly of roads. 32 would be nice though.

Tourist in MSN

Agree. I have my S&S expedition bike and also have a folding bike that will fit in the S&S case. So, don't really need another travel bike.

But, if the price was right, since I already have a pair of wheels and some extra drive train parts that I could put on it, just thinking that if the price was right I could build up another travel bike. But it would get very limited use, so I would not want to spend too much.

dr_lha

I've had my eye on one of these for a while. Well after some patience, I just bought a 58cm Grand Prix off Amazon for $860. Quite the bargain I would say!

nickw

What a difference 30 years makes - 28's work just as good today as they did back then, for road touring...

mstateglfr 

Sure 28s work just as well now as they did 3 decades ago, but this is certainly one area where slow change over the last 20 years has made for a markedly better option.
Wider tires which are still supple and fast as those old 28s mean more comfort.
Its a win-win for sure.

Sewups still work just as well now as 3 decades ago, but that doesnt mean they are popular.

jefnvk

Ugh, they have 58 and 60 so cheap on Warehouse Deals, $734 and $774 respectively! Why can't the 54 or 56 be so cheap?!

nickw

I think "markedly' is a bit strong - for road touring, on improved roads, it's hardly needed. NEW 28's are not like the old ones.

Tubulars are built exactly the same as they were back then unlike the newer clinchers.

dr_lha

I was so tempted to get the used one for $735, but instead plumped for $130 more for the new one. I've had some bad experiences with Amazon Warehouse stuff in the past, and didn't want to end up with missing parts.

I note that 5 mins after I paid $860 for it, the price went up to $2057. Pretty funny. I had the bike in my shopping cart for about 2 weeks, just checking the price every day, and it slowly went from around $970 down to $860, after it stayed there for a few days, I pulled the trigger.

jefnvk

I'll fully admit I have a loathe-hate relationship with Amazon to anyone that'll give me about six hours to whine and complain, but if a 54 or 56 drops to that price, I'll forgive them in a heartbeat!

dr_lha

Bike showed up today. Well packed and well boxed. Getting it out of the box it looks just lovely, welds look nicely done and neat. The paint job is nice and sparkly, the blue-grey paint isn't a fantastic color, but not bad.

The frame has a "Made in China" sticker, the snob in me would have probably been annoyed if I paid full price and not got at least a Taiwan built frame, but oh well, I only paid $850.

A few things are "off-spec" from what appeared on the website description. Firstly, the frame tubing is Reynolds 525, not 520. As 520 is the cheaper Taiwan made tubing, I guess this is an upgrade. In reality it likely matters squat.

The "retro" QR skewers don't have the nice campy style loops on them, which is a shame, but still look nice and perhaps more importantly, are compatible with my trainer.

Another big difference is that the steel fork is lugged, and looks much more attractive than the one on the website.

I usually build up my bike from parts, so I'll probably break this down and rebuild it, as I know how Chinese factories don't like to apply grease to anything. Other than making sure it's tight enough, I'll leave the BB/Crankset alone though, as I don't have the tools to remove a Power Torque crankset right now.

Looking forward to it stopping snowing so I can spend some quality time with this, it looks like a nice bike.

One other oddity, it was shipped mostly assembled (usual thing, front wheel and handlebar weren't attached, but otherwise essentially built... EXCEPT - for the front brake caliper, which was in a bag. Weird.

jefnvk

Glad to hear. I've been watching them since this cameup, man you weren't kidding about the prices fluctuating. The 56 wen t from just under $1000 yesterday to $1900 today!

Really tempted to just order the 58 and see how it fits. For $665, I could easily resell it if I didn't like it.

dr_lha

Where are you seeing it for $665?

jefnvk

Amazon Warehouse. There is a 58 for $665 and a 60 for $680 or so. PSA to anyone who may want one, I'm not actually going to order it. Not sure what size @Tourist in MSN is...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...XDSWZZ6&sr=8-1

dr_lha

Ah right. It’s really dropped in price.

Tourist in MSN

I have been out of town for a week and a half (biking in Big Bend TX area), so have not been following any of this. Hmmmmm, do I need another bike?

UPDATE:

I just ordered the used Amazon 58cm one. I was more interested in a frame and fork, but at that price I could not pass it up for a complete bike. A bit over $700 with sales tax. I will probably need new saddle, maybe different tires (eventually), for sure will need a different stem. I am not sure if that shifter will work with a triple, I would rather run a triple for lower gearing. And I have a triple I could put on it if the shifter and front derailleur will take it. But I likely will not be that lucky.

I will have to give it a good check over when it comes to decide if the "Used, Very Good" condition is really Very Good before I decide to keep it or not.

Two of the people I was riding with during the past week had the Ritchey Breakaway bikes (they had the Ritchey, not the Raleigh). They were both very happy with theirs.

One of them had to pay the oversize fee once because the Ritchey case adds up to more than 62 inches, but apparently they often got away without the oversize fee on airlines. I have no idea what the Raleigh case dimensions are. But if it is too big, maybe it would fit in my S&S Backpack case that meets the 62 inch criteria.

Thanks for making me aware of this. When I had a LHT, it was a 58 with short stem, my Velo Orange Pass Hunter is a 59 with a pretty short stem. I suspect that the 58 will work ok.

jefnvk

I've ordered stuff off Amazon Warehouse quite extensively before, VG condition generally means someone unpacked it, decided they didn't want it or it didn't fit, and sent it back. IME, they tend to under rate their goods if anything. Hope it works out for you though, if it was a 54 or 56 I'd have been all over it

dr_lha

$700 inc tax is a no brainer. I probably would have gone with the used one, but when I ordered mine it was only $100 cheaper than the $860 I paid for a new one. I'll admit, in the past I've ordered stuff of warehouse that had missing parts, so have been burned (as replacing those parts brought up the price to the cost of a new one). I'm sure most stuff is fine though!

Tourist in MSN

I have not ordered returned stuff from Amazon before (I assume it is returned and not actually used merchandise), so it is a roll of the dice. But I have returned one item to Amazon and they were very good about the return. Based on that, I suspect if there are any real problems with it that Amazon would allow me to return it.

I have a lot of parts I could use to build up a bike and not much of that stuff is compatible with the Campy drivetrain. But, the complete bike is less than the factory price for the frame and fork so I don't think I can really go wrong here.

I just hope the bike does not start laughing at me. <My bad attempt at humor about the stories of Alexis suddenly laughing.> So, now I will likely have to buy a cassette removal tool compatible with a Campy cassette, spare 10 speed chain quick links, etc.