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OP
OP
EltonFrog
Legendary Member
I started to put the bike back together today, first giving the frame a polish with car polish.
Then sorting the parts for the bottom bracket, adding the ball bearings to the drive side with grease 11 of them using a magnetic screw driver to lift them in the bearing race.
I added the the spindle and non drive side bearing cup, bearings and lock ring, adjusted and tensioned just right.
Next I replaced the crank arm and chainring, I initially added the non drive side crank arm with cotter pin installed then discovered that I had the spindle in the wrong way round and had to start again.
Next was installing the fork, I had all the correct bearings, it was a puzzle though remembering which order all the headset fittings went, it was a good job I had plenty of photographs to refer to from before dismantling the bike.
Fork all back together, including the handlebars, the front brake and the safety device that attaches to the brake bolt to stop the handlebars being raised to high. ( no photos of that) .
I’ve still got quit a bit to do, not least of which is sorting out the rear wheel.
avecReynolds531
Veteran
- Location
- Small Island
Thanks for an excellent thread - really informative & interesting.
FrankCrank
Old layabout
Surprised you kept that naff nylon bush for the steering, the devil himself must have designed it for Raleigh. Reckon you'll have it all done these next few days, with all the good weather. What you got planned as a follow-up?
OP
OP
EltonFrog
Legendary Member
That bush, along with a few other design features of the Twenty, is the naffest of naffyness, a cheap solution to a problem that didn’t exist for the sole purpose of saving money.
On subject of money I’m trying to finish this project on the tightest of tight budgets.
The weather is grotty at the moment so I don’t know if I’ll get out today, and I’m still waiting for a caged bearing to arrive in the post.
No other projects in the pipeline, if I find one I’ll do it, but I’m not actively looking.
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rogerzilla
Legendary Member
AIUI the nylon bush was designed to damp the steering by introducing a bit of friction, as the steering was otherwise rather quick (a consequence of making the bike compact in length and giving it small wheels).
12boy
Guru
- Location
- Casper WY USA
Velo Orange sells threadless square taper BBs if you want a more modern cartridge BB at some point. No thread tapping required .
rogerzilla
Legendary Member
You still need to deal with the 78mm shell width, though. Raleigh made life as difficult as possible!
OP
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EltonFrog
Legendary Member
Very informative and interesting, thanks, but non of that is happening on this bike, can’t be arsed with all that. No offence like.
OP
OP
EltonFrog
Legendary Member
Today was another couple of hours putting things back on the bike but first I had to undo the head set again because this morning I discovered a ball bearing on the floor that must have fallen out when I was doing it yesterday. That sorted out I put on the brake callipers, mudguards, chain guard, seat post, gear lever, brake levers and pedals.
Rear mudguard.
The front mudguard is not full fitted yet, the two thick wire mudguard stays have to be attached to the front wheel axle before being bolted on. Can’t fit the front wheel yet until I get a new tyre for it.
Front brake calliper and steering stop fitted.
Both pedals fitted, I like the design of these but I’m told by Raleigh Twenty experts that these are not particularly nice or good quality. The amber reflector on one of the pedals on this Alpha Twenty was smashed, but a nice man called David sent me a better one in the post free of charge, which was kind of him.
The chain guard was a bit of a faff to fit, there were bolts missing and I had to drill a hole in the repair I made, I eventually found suitable nuts and bolts to fit in my spares box. The gear cable stop on the chain stay was also cleaned, polished up and fitted.
Brake lever and gear lever fitted very easily enough.
The seat post and post clamp all greased and refitted. The saddle is not original, that was liberated from an abandoned and scrapped Dawes bike whilst out on a Facebook Twenty/Kingpin group ride, it’s just the job.
The next jobs are
The front mudguard is not full fitted yet, the two thick wire mudguard stays have to be attached to the front wheel axle before being bolted on. Can’t fit the front wheel yet until I get a new tyre for it.
Front brake calliper and steering stop fitted.
Both pedals fitted, I like the design of these but I’m told by Raleigh Twenty experts that these are not particularly nice or good quality. The amber reflector on one of the pedals on this Alpha Twenty was smashed, but a nice man called David sent me a better one in the post free of charge, which was kind of him.
The chain guard was a bit of a faff to fit, there were bolts missing and I had to drill a hole in the repair I made, I eventually found suitable nuts and bolts to fit in my spares box. The gear cable stop on the chain stay was also cleaned, polished up and fitted.
Brake lever and gear lever fitted very easily enough.
The seat post and post clamp all greased and refitted. The saddle is not original, that was liberated from an abandoned and scrapped Dawes bike whilst out on a Facebook Twenty/Kingpin group ride, it’s just the job.
The next jobs are
- Brake and gear cables and outers install and fit.
- New rear wheel bearings and axle service
- Fit rim tape, inner tubes and buy tyres for both wheels.
- Handlebar grips
- Drive chain
- Test ride.
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FrankCrank
Old layabout
There are options for dealing with the BB, but the most tempting is to leave everything as is. Properly maintained, there's nothing wrong with the tried and tested cup and ball system. The Raleigh heron design looks nice on the chain-ring, and if all the chrome work can be polished up then it's a pukka job 
.
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12boy
Guru
- Location
- Casper WY USA
Have not heard pukka for 60 years. It's a good word, though.
HMS_Dave
Grand Old Lady
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
Rather than load individual loose ball bearings in with tweezers, which I find a bit of a faff, I use a different approach. What I do is fill the bearing cups with as much vehicle wheel bearing grease as I can physically cram in, then load the balls into the cups with my fingers and spread more grease on top of them before fitting to the bike. If the fixed cup won't come out of the frame I still fill the cup with grease the same way but load the balls through the axle hole from underneath. I have an old cloth or bit of blanket under my workmate, so if I drop a ball it will stick to the material and not bounce away and disappear. Searching for AWOL ball bearings during a rebuild is incredibly irritating, and I really don't have the temperament for it!
