1989 Raleigh 'Strada'

[KneesUp]

I've been on the lookout for a Falcon Strada (c. 1990) for quite some time, as I want to replace the one I had stolen in about 2002. I've never seen one. However, walking home the other day I saw a Raleigh Strada outside a neighbours house with a 'free to a good home' sign. Reasoning that Raleigh probably owned Falcon by 1990 (did they?) and that the bike looked to be a very similar spec to the Falcon Strada - and given that it was my size - I knocked on, and now it's my bike.

It's a 1989 bike, and is exactly as it appears in the catalogue, except (thankfully) it has a plain black saddle and bar tape.

It's in the cellar at the moment while I decide what to do with it - I rode it a mile or so today to check nothing fell off and, having not ridden a road bike for a few years, it felt great to me. It's far too high geared for the Peaks (or for my knees, at least) though, so I'll have to do something about that - probably by swapping the crank set because there doesn't seem to be much choice of 6 speed freewheels out there.

My questions are, I presume if I want to go to 8/9 speed I will have to re-space the frame? Is that correct? I've done it before using some padding and a car jack between the drop outs - I didn't like doing it, but would do it again if needed.

I've actually swapped the calipers on it for some Ultegra ones I had lying about because they are dual pivot - I would guess that as a general rule of thumb, I'm not going to get much more than 25mm and guards under them? Or would it be more like 23mm? The 20mm on it felt ridiculous - but more so when I was going fast (ish) downhill on them when it was zero degree and it occurred to me that the inner tubes had gone from no air to 120psi and I hadn't even looked to see how perished they were. I didn't die. But yeah, comfort and braking grip would presumably be better with a wider tyre, albeit it would make it even heavier.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Standard drop out width was 126mm back then and it went up to 128mm for 8/9 speed. I never had any problem fitting a 9 speed hub onto a 126mm frame, it is only 1mm a side and gentle thumb pressure on the drop outs should be all you need to get the wheel in.

You may not even need that, drop outs tend to measure up on the generous side and I've had a 126mm frame where the wider hub slotted straight in.

Re the tyres, the spec quotes "Training geometry", so I'd be surprised if it couldn't take a 25mm tyre. Twenty mil are dreadful, aren't they? Yet back then narrower was considered better and that's what you rode if you were after performance, sometimes even going to 18mm which was ridiculous.

 

[Lookrider]

I've been on the lookout for a Falcon Strada (c. 1990) for quite some time, as I want to replace the one I had stolen in about 2002. I've never seen one. However, walking home the other day I saw a Raleigh Strada outside a neighbours house with a 'free to a good home' sign. Reasoning that Raleigh probably owned Falcon by 1990 (did they?) and that the bike looked to be a very similar spec to the Falcon Strada - and given that it was my size - I knocked on, and now it's my bike.

It's a 1989 bike, and is exactly as it appears in the catalogue, except (thankfully) it has a plain black saddle and bar tape.

View attachment 570486

View attachment 570487
It's in the cellar at the moment while I decide what to do with it - I rode it a mile or so today to check nothing fell off and, having not ridden a road bike for a few years, it felt great to me. It's far too high geared for the Peaks (or for my knees, at least) though, so I'll have to do something about that - probably by swapping the crank set because there doesn't seem to be much choice of 6 speed freewheels out there.

My questions are, I presume if I want to go to 8/9 speed I will have to re-space the frame? Is that correct? I've done it before using some padding and a car jack between the drop outs - I didn't like doing it, but would do it again if needed.

I've actually swapped the calipers on it for some Ultegra ones I had lying about because they are dual pivot - I would guess that as a general rule of thumb, I'm not going to get much more than 25mm and guards under them? Or would it be more like 23mm? The 20mm on it felt ridiculous - but more so when I was going fast (ish) downhill on them when it was zero degree and it occurred to me that the inner tubes had gone from no air to 120psi and I hadn't even looked to see how perished they were. I didn't die. But yeah, comfort and braking grip would presumably be better with a wider tyre, albeit it would make it even heavier.

Dear me
I had one of those strada in them colours along with the white elephant of biopace
I gave mine away to a cycle charity
I do hope there not a collectors item now due to the biopace and worth heaps o dosh

 

[KneesUp]

Dear me
I had one of those strada in them colours along with the white elephant of biopace
I gave mine away to a cycle charity
I do hope there not a collectors item now due to the biopace and worth heaps o dosh

My Falcon Strada had biopace too - I took it off and sold it foo £20 to a mate who'd bought a frame from Harry Hall and was building it up, and bought a boxed and unused Shimano 600 one with round rings off another mate who had bought it thinking it would look ace on his mountain bike before realising that a 42/52 wasn't much good off-road. Now my knees are shot I quite like the idea that biopace might actually do what Shimano claimed it does although in all honesty I can't really tell any difference.

 

[Gunk]

An 8 speed Shimano 105 1055 groupset would transform that, the rear hub would fit. Plus it’s the right period group set.

 

[KneesUp]

An 8 speed Shimano 105 1055 groupset would transform that, the rear hub would fit. Plus it’s the right period group set.

True - and I do have a 1055 short cage rear in the cellar somewhere but, having decided to keep this until a Falcon Strada (in red and white) turns up for sale somewhere, if I'm going to ride it, I need lower gearing, so I am going to put a triple on it - it's a training frame after all. A triple means I can just leave the back wheel alone and not worry about spacing, dishing the wheel or trying to find gearing that isn't '5 speed and one massive step to a low gear' Mega Range. And the indexing will still work. I have a Campag '9 speed Exa Drive' triple and a mid 90s Deore LX in the parts bin, so it'll be one of them - probably the LX because the Campag isn't JIS, and it's black not silver. I just need a triple front (got a 105 one but it came from an aluminium frame so it's too big) and probably a long cage rear, althogh as I recall the 1055 could handle more range than it was speccced for.

 

[KneesUp]

Bit of an update on this (to keep my own thoughts in order as much as anything)

1) I started the night with a working bike. I have ended the night with a non-working bike
2) I found my 105 rear derallieur - it's an 8 speed 1056. The bike looks better with it.
3) I'd forgotten how much I hate breaking chains - no quick links on this bad boy!
4) The cable outer on the original rear was compressible - not sure if that was how it was with 6 speed (tolerance not that tight?) or if Raleigh fitted the wrong outer, or if the previous owner fitted the wrong outer. It colour mathced the brake cables (it doens't not because I only had black)
5) The tyres are 23's not 20's - still look ridiculously thin to me but they're in good nick and look fairly new.
6) The LX triple won't go on using the existing BB because the spindle it too short; the inner ring is almost touching the chainstay
7) The Campag triple will go on because it's ISO on a JIS spindle, so it sits a few mm further out. But it's black and everything else is chrome. Torn as to what to so here -I like the look of the Campag, but it needs other black (preferably Campag) stuff really. But then it's getting a bit spendy for a bike I got for free on they way back from buying bread at the Co-Op.
8) If I put the triple on I will need a longer cage rear derallieur I think.
9) It's only not working because I've left the chain off until I decide what to do re: drivetrain.

 

[carpenter]

Sheldon (as usual ) has a pretty comprehensive bb size database:

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/bbsize.html

I have recently fitted, and am very pleased with, a Tange Seiki LN 7922 bottom bracket on one of my bikes - very smooth and available in a range of lengths - you would be looking at about £30 to complete the job with the Deore triple.

https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/produc...square-taper-jis-hollow-axle-alloy-cups-light

 

[KneesUp]

Thanks @carpenter - I'm actually leaning toward the Campagnolo triple because it's got a nicer spider, and it's Campy innit? It's a Mirage triple, the internet tells me (the writing has worn off) so I think I need a 111mm ISO square taper (as opposed to JIS taper for the Shimano) I might investigate if there is a way to get the black (paint? is it paint?) off that doesn't involve sanding it down, or more likely I'll decide I don't care that much about it being black.

@raleighnut seems a good person to page here - I am guessing that given it's a 1989 'Lightweights Division' frame with main tubes in butted 531, it will have 26tpi threading? Or will it be 24tpi?

 

[raleighnut]

Thanks @carpenter - I'm actually leaning toward the Campagnolo triple because it's got a nicer spider, and it's Campy innit? It's a Mirage triple, the internet tells me (the writing has worn off) so I think I need a 111mm ISO square taper (as opposed to JIS taper for the Shimano) I might investigate if there is a way to get the black (paint? is it paint?) off that doesn't involve sanding it down, or more likely I'll decide I don't care that much about it being black.

@raleighnut seems a good person to page here - I am guessing that given it's a 1989 'Lightweights Division' frame with main tubes in butted 531, it will have 26tpi threading? Or will it be 24tpi?

I'd say 27 inch wheels it'd be Raleigh threads, 700c BSA threads, my 86 'City' 3 speed had Raleigh cups but it also had a Cottered crank (and 26x 1 3/8inch wheels)