Is this a silly idea or what? Cycling London to Paris on a battered 1985 Raleigh Record Sprint.

[mmmmartin]

For my two penn'orth I suggest joining the local CTC group and going out on a few rides with them and seeing how the bike behaves and what they say about it. With luck you'll be put in touch with an ancient bike fettler who knows more about bikes than Mr Shimano and who probably wrote Sheldon's training manual. The CTC is full of them, fortunately. Alas fettling things yourself seems to be a declining sport in life generally but not in the CTC. There's an awful lot of knowledge there and these will be people who are actually looking at the bike and who have the tools and the knowledge to use them. As in life generally, the CTC is proabably the best place to start.

 

[Ticktockmy]

How things have changed, when I was 13 -14 we used to go cycle touring on bikes that wieghted a ton, mine was a Royal Enfield with rod brakes and a single gear, travelled miles from home to youth Hostels, they where the days when Kids where not restricted by child proctetion acts, never had any problems, but now with modern bikes people worry too much about the durablity, I see no reason why a 1950's bike or indeed a Asda £50 bike should make it if it greased up well and maintained to a good standard. As someone suggested join the local ctc group and even the local rough stuff fellowship, cos there is such a wealth of knowledge to be gain from there experainces.

 

[Nigeyy]

Well I think this is like any other subject: you mileage may vary, and much may depend on what you can buy for parts and at what price. If you can get cheap good quality components AND you have the tools and mechanical knowledge to install them, then it's worth it. But let's face it, that last sentence is hardly a revelation.

IMHO usually you are better off buying another bike. The cost of replacing individual components just isn't a good value 9 times out of 10, particularly if you are talking drivechains. As someone else pointed out, it's very easy to get carried away -e.g. if you find a bargain set of wheels, you find they might only fit an 8 speed cassette, then you need new shifters, then you might need a new rear derailleur..... really, it's very easy to get sucked in.

For an fyi, attached is a pictue of my refurbished Raleigh SuperCourse. Apologies, but prices are in US dollars as that's where I live, but it should give you an idea.

Basic cost of bike: $220 (Wouldn't normally buy a used bike for this much, but it was a bit nostalgic for me as I grew up close to Carlton so I couldn't resist when I found this on Craigslist.org in a Boston suburb in Massachusetts). The bike came with a fairly new 36h wheelset. The original drivechain was worn and not shifting well. All prices include shipping.

Upgrades:
*Mudguards: VeloOrange Stainless steel: $50 off Amazon
Cane Creek Brake levers: $30 off Amazon
Shimano RSX Crankset and rear derailleur and bottom bracket: take off from another bike, but I'd guess you could find them on Ebay with careful searching for $100
SRAM chain: $25 off Amazon
*Shimano Clipless pedals: again a take off from another bike, but you can get them on Amazon for $35
Sun Race 7 speed index down tube shifters: $20 from Amazon
*Kelly Take Off shifter mounts: $30 from Ebay
Koolstop brake pads: had them already, but can be got for $20
7 speed Shimano freewheel: $15 from Amazon
* **Retro pump: $15 from Amazon
*Retro backpack: $20 from Amazon
Cables: had them already, but approx cost is $20.
Handlebar tape: $15 from Amazon
Handlebars: traded for a stem I already had, could probably find them for $10
Stem: had it already, but I see them for $15 on Ebay.
Rear derailleur adaptor: $10

*not 100% necessary, admittedly
** looks nice, acts useless -you can pump up to 50-60 psi max

Total cost assuming you don't have any parts: $650 -which is about 405 quid -and we haven't talked about racks yet. So you can see it soon adds up -keep in mind this was with careful shopping of parts. However, since I already had some parts, the real cost was $470, or about 290 quid, so even that is a good amount (though granted if you have the bike already and choose not to use Kelly Take Offs or put cheaper mudguards on or the pump or backpack, the cost can easily come down to $175 or about 110 quid.

But that's the point: it's very, very easy for costs to fluctuate wildly to make it worth your while (or not). Also keep in mind I do all bike mechanics myself which could be a different hidden cost. On the positive side, I do adore this bike -super smooth and gives me a bit of nostalgia too.

 

[spark303]

I don't see any reason why the Record Spring wouldn't be up to it, as long it was all roadworthy. I completed LEJOG in the summer on my 1983 Raleigh Classic 15 and it never skipped a bit (okay, there was one scary shimmy moment!). I'd have no concerns taking my 1965 Moulton Deluxe or 1948 Raleigh Clubman on long rides either - though the gearing on them might mean I'd have to walk up a few hills.

One thing you should be aware of is that some (maybe all) Raleigh Record Sprints from the 80's had a Maillard Helicomatic rear hub and freewheel. If yours has this combo, and you want to change the freewheel, then you'll need a new rear hub (or wheel) as this is a long obsolete system and you can't fit a standard freewheel onto a Helicomatic hub.

 

[bigjim]

I've had 4 Sprints [one hanging in the garage now] and none of them has that hub. I've hanged freewheels on all of them. Completely standard item.

 

[Zoiders]

Raleigh never specced the Heliomatic on any of the off the peg Sprints I have seen, it might just have been available as an option in the brochure although by the early 80's the Heliomatic was known to be a bit pants in the reliabilty stakes.

I have seen a lot of Pugs with them fitted with them though.

 

[spark303]

Raleigh never specced the Heliomatic on any of the off the peg Sprints I have seen

My Record Sprint unfortunately came with the Helicomatic back in the day, and it was standard spec on 1984 models according to the catalogue here - http://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/Raleigh84/ral84_09.jpg.

Obviously they changed the spec over the years

 

[Kahuczek]

The helicomatic hub was standard on these for quite sometime, mainly on the model built with the 501 'aero' tubing, it was chosen not for any technical merit*, but for aesthetic reasons, as the hub was black and it's sprockets were available in an anodised gold finish, which complemented the gold anodised chainset, chain, brake calipers/levers, handlebars ..... and of course the gold cable sleeves.

* by this time it's failings were well documented

 

[bigjim]

I think these hubs were aimed at the touring cyclist as you only required a very small tool to undo the hub, easily carried on tour. Evidently they are reliable enough if serviced regularly, and they are supposed to be pretty easy to service although parts are now scarce. Having said all that I would not tour with one, but commuting etc, fine.

 

[Kahuczek]

They were a good idea, badly executed ... I had one, it wore like the clappers ....

 

[bigjim]

They were a good idea, badly executed ... I had one, it wore like the clappers ..

You were supposed to grease them

 

[Kahuczek]

Manufacturing tolerances were sloppy leading to premature wear, they were low cost components, as was the rest of the Maillard range, not built to last, but very affordable ...