Advice on restoring/converting a vintage racer to road bike & occasional tourer

[TomHenshore]

Hi All!
I'm fairly new to the forum, so I hope i've posted this in the right place, if not please do let me know.

I've been riding a 2013 Specialised Allez as much as I can for the past two years, and have really caught the bug for cycling. I've recently taken part in a couple of charity rides, and have developed a bit of a craving to start doing some light touring. I've realised come to realise that a small tent isn't going to fit in my saddlebag....

I work some weekends building and PDIing electric and 'New Vintage' cycles, and have developed a little bit of knowledge as to the mechanics of a bike, so as a learning tool and a bit of a man-shed project I quite liked the idea of picking up a 1970s/80s steel frame road bike to restore and convert to a bike that's somewhere in-between a racer and an occasional touring bike. When I say touring, I'm talking about a long weekend with a small tent and a debit card for food.... So it hasn't got to carry all that much, but I would want to stick some panniers on the back.

I've seen a couple of bikes I like the look of on eBay, most with Reynolds 531 frames and fairly clean chainsets/cassettes with enough to clean and adjust to have some fun, but not too much to become a nightmare... I just wondered if you guys had any advice as to what I should be looking for and what to avoid..? I know many of you will say 'Why not just buy an older touring bike' but I quite like the idea of having a play at converting...

Thanks in advance!

(I'd like to have a play at re-spraying something too... Any advice would be more than welcome!)

 

[Shaun]

Hello Tom, welcome to CycleChat.

I hope you don't mind but I've moved your thread to the classic/vintage forum as I expect you'll get more on-target replies here.

Cheers,
Shaun

 

[TomHenshore]

Hello Tom, welcome to CycleChat.

I hope you don't mind but I've moved your thread to the classic/vintage forum as I expect you'll get more on-target replies here.

Cheers,
Shaun

Thanks man, appreciate it!

 

[Grand Primo]

Hi Tom, I suggest you should really be looking for something like this http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=141721948262&globalID=EBAY-GB
It is quite cheap and needs the sort of work you say you want to do. There are lots of more expensive ones in better condition! But if that is too much of a tourer then you then you could go more for something like this
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=131560025519&globalID=EBAY-GB

 

[raleighnut]

You won't go far wrong with that Dawes but you can tour on pretty much anything, even a Brompton, but things to look for are a triple ring crank (or the frame to take one) and 700c wheels (better tyre choice, although it is possible to change a 27" wheel over it can be a faff)
One of our members @biggs682 may have something in his shed for sale along the lines of what you are looking for.

 

[robsa]

Hi Tom welcome. Have you tried down at your local tip/ scrap yard? There's some cracking bikes to be picked up for next to nowt if you keep popping down and make your face and what your after known.
As regards spraying, ive had excellent results using rattle cans. Its all down to preparation. Take your time read up on net for hints and tips and go for it. If you do get stuck on any aspect of bike resto the guys on here are a font of knowledge

 

[biggs682]

@TomHenshore try your local gumtree site you can pick up some great bargains on there if you look hard enough or there are these 2 fairly local to me , the 2nd one is useful for spares with that kink in the top tube so not worth doing much with but could have enough usable bits to make it worth while .

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/racing-bi...701?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5b1554f2fd

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raleigh-R...398?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item51d4303a36

frameset rebuilds always work out more expensive than you expect or budget , feel free to shout if you need any help to give you an idea i have this for sale at mo http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/r...eal-as-a-students-bike-or-commuter/1125601719

 

[biggs682]

here is a gumtree bargain waiting to be had http://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/bike-raleigh-granada.-round-town-bike/1125816073

 

[raleighnut]

here is a gumtree bargain waiting to be had http://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/bike-raleigh-granada.-round-town-bike/1125816073

Now that is nice, shame I'm not in the market for a new un meself.

 

[TomHenshore]

All of those do look overly tempting... Not a fan of the Dawes Galaxy, something about the look of it doesn't sit right in my eyeballs.. Though that raleigh granada and the charlton do look fairly lovely. What do you guys think of the Raleigh Royal..? Found one from the early 1980s that looks pretty tidy.

 

[biggs682]

All of those do look overly tempting... Not a fan of the Dawes Galaxy, something about the look of it doesn't sit right in my eyeballs.. Though that raleigh granada and the charlton do look fairly lovely. What do you guys think of the Raleigh Royal..? Found one from the early 1980s that looks pretty tidy.

Royals are great bikes come in various forms , ie the later ones had cantilever brakes and fr fork rack mounts etc etc if remember rightly , earlier ones were centre pull calipers and no half way fr fork mounts .

earlier ones had half chrome forks

 

[sidevalve]

Dawes was the name to respect for touring and 531 [or even 501] double butted tubing is the stuff to go for. Beware if you prefer indexed shifters [I do - some aint bothered] the older bikes might be friction [OK if you get used to it]. Chains / cassettes / chain rings / tyres / brake blocks are easy to swap and are wear items anyhow so don't be too worried about them. Falcon did some nice bikes too back then. Downtube shifters are not always friction [ the ones on my Dawes and those on my Falcon are both indexed]. Also beware of people who put '531' stickers on old gas pipe specials - I've seen it done.

 

[TomHenshore]

Interesting... I've learned about Reynolds 531 whilst doing some reading and what to generally look for in a bike of this age and style, and to I think I like the idea of having a play with friction gearing.. I am using this bike to ride, but perhaps more so to simply learn from. Seeing you guys buying and restoring bikes from this era just sounds like a whole lot of coolness.

Royals are great bikes come in various forms , ie the later ones had cantilever brakes and fr fork rack mounts etc etc if remember rightly , earlier ones were centre pull calipers and no half way fr fork mounts .

earlier ones had half chrome forks

The Royal I'm looking at at the moment has chrome forks, the paint is in immaculate condition too.. Components seem quite tidy. I'll post pictures as and when I can as this might be the bike I go for if it receives your blessing

Dawes was the name to respect for touring and 531 [or even 501] double butted tubing is the stuff to go for. Beware if you prefer indexed shifters [I do - some aint bothered] the older bikes might be friction [OK if you get used to it]. Chains / cassettes / chain rings / tyres / brake blocks are easy to swap and are wear items anyhow so don't be too worried about them. Falcon did some nice bikes too back then. Downtube shifters are not always friction [ the ones on my Dawes and those on my Falcon are both indexed]. Also beware of people who put '531' stickers on old gas pipe specials - I've seen it done.

Is there any obvious way to tell a fake frame..? Or just seeing it in person? I like the look of some of the Falcon bikes, have a nice stance about them somehow.

 

[sidevalve]

My Falcon is the 'Team Banana' yellow peril. The raleigh one had friction shifters the Falcon one indexed. Nice light bike - good rims and easy to fix up. I'm afraid the 531 tube thing is a bit of a suck it and see job IMHO. You may be able to tell a little from the style [if any] of the lugs but some old lumps had fancy lugs too. Check if the 531 stickers seem to be as old as the bike - new looking ones are always iffy, may just mean it's been repainted but ? If the thing weighs heavy [and you can always take a small spring balance with you] then it's doubtful if it's 531. If you haven't tried friction shifters then try BEFORE you buy I used to HATE the things and gave thanks to the great god shimano when indexing was introduced, but as I say each to his own.
Centre pull brakes are pretty good really if you give them a chance [ most brakes are if you think rather than blast and panic].
One last thought - a good steel frame bike might surprise you. Like I said under 10kg is not bad for a fully set up touring bike and in many ways the improvements have been only small, as practical bikes for riding they often take a lot of beating even today.

 

[raleighnut]

It's easy to fit indexed downtube shifters to any frame that has shifter bosses 6, 7, 8, and 10 speed are easy to get. As for band on the old friction shifters can be modified to accept indexed levers (the band is often just a mount for the bosses into which the levers are screwed just like braze on bosses) but it can be a faff finding the right bands to modify.
http://www.googleadservices.com/pag...dium=Base&utm_campaign=Road%20Gear%20Shifters