N+2 - 2 eBay purchases!

[DCLane]

I've just bid and won on these 2:

Bike 1:

0-rated seller, no photo, only description is: "good road bike 8 speed new tyres and nothing wrong needs a bit of oil on chain as not used in a long time"

I wonder a) if the sale will go through and b) what I've bought this time.

Bike 2: I'm hoping it's better under the surface and is possibly a fixie project.

The bar tape is ... erm ... colourful / non-matching. I like the taped spare tube on the frame - not!

 

[fossyant]

Good luck

 

[biggs682]

@DCLane is bike no 2 the one pictured ? if so it would make a good fixie

pics please of bike no 1 if all goes to plan

 

[raleighnut]

The Raleigh looks solid enough, nice centrepulls.

 

[DCLane]

@DCLane is bike no 2 the one pictured ? if so it would make a good fixie

pics please of bike no 1 if all goes to plan

The photo is indeed bike no. 2, which I'm collecting tomorrow eve. I'll post photos/proper description of no. 1 if it goes through.

 

[Tony Raynor]

If I were a betting man, looks like wheels and crank may not be original to the bike as I can't remember any other raleigh to have the gold components other than the raleigh record sprint. Either way they will be canny enough.

 

[DCLane]

No response from seller of bike #1 but I collected bike #2 tonight: It's definately a Raleigh (you never know!), 23" frame-ish (didn't properly measure) with 700c wheels, 6 speed Simplex rear derailleur and Weinmann 610 brakes. Age / model unknown but the decals seem late 70's/early 80's. Lovely seller. My first thoughts:

The good:

• Frame is straight
• It feels light, certainly lighter than my Raleigh Team, but there's no indication of frame type
• Cranks, etc work
• Wheels are true and run smoothly
• Brakes work fine
• It appears to have been regularly maintained, if a bit slap-dash

The bad:

• Tyres are ancient
• Needs a new chain
• It's had a bit of paint over the years
• Needs new bar tape / cable outers although the cables are almost new

Plans? Erm ... not sure. I could make good use of the wheels and part out the rest. Also I picked up some fixie kit from the Halfords sale today so that may be used. Alternatively it may just pass through my hands quickly.

 

[DCLane]

I've got round to the unknown Raleigh today; bar tape is now off , as is the taped-on tube. Test-ridden and everything works, which given the cables appear new-ish and general maintainance isn't surprising.

The front & rear wheel hubs are Maillard and are dated 02/83 and 30/83 - 1983 bike? I'm not sure but the crank (a Thun) looks original. Front wheel's needing trueing and a tyre, rear wheel's fine with decent tyre.

Fashion police alert ... go on, who had this bar tape?

Any assistance with ID? It seems to be 'WL30' and '410'

It's clearly had some paint; I can see mid-blue metallic under some of the (numerous) scratches.

 

[young Ed]

looks like an interesting project
how's the quest for bike #1 going?
Cheers Ed

 

[DCLane]

looks like an interesting project
how's the quest for bike #1 going?

Unfortunately there's no response from the seller - I've tried via eBay / Paypal / paying via Paypal (they haven't claimed it) ... nothing. I'm giving up on it shortly and leaving negative feedback.

 

[biggs682]

bike no 2 looks good @DCLane if frame number is w prefixed thats a worksop built bike and normally Reynolds tubing rather than gas pipe .

looks a good sized frame

 

[raleighnut]

^^^^^^ +1, its a Worksop or possibly Nottingham 'high end' model (Raleigh continued to use the W prefix on 531 frames after they closed the Worksop factory for a while before all top bikes were made at Ilkesten) so it is likely to be 531

 

[Tony Raynor]

WL30 would be Worskop in 73 or Nottingham in 83 made in August.

As @biggs682 says w at the start usually means non gas pipe, but could be anything from 501 upwards (raleigh corsa I had was w serial number but only 501 frame).

 

[DCLane]

Seller no. 1's come back to me; claims it's been stolen. Somehow, given he's not responded until now and I've paid, I think he's lying.

Payment cancelled and we'll see if it's re-listed.

bike no 2 looks good @DCLane if frame number is w prefixed thats a worksop built bike and normally Reynolds tubing rather than gas pipe .
looks a good sized frame

I've spent this evening doing a bit of digging. Looks like it's a 1983 Raleigh Clubman - which means a 531 frame. The brakes are therefore original but the crank, etc. is a replacement. It's been re-sprayed at some point and has 1980's decals on. A 22 1/2" or 57cm frame so I'm at my limit with it. This seems to match:

For info, the site it's from is really useful; I've matched the Benotto there too: http://www.bulgier.net/pics/bike/

 

[young Ed]

Seller no. 1's come back to me; claims it's been stolen. Somehow, given he's not responded until now and I've paid, I think he's lying.

Payment cancelled and we'll see if it's re-listed.

oh dear what a shame and coincidence that it's been nicked just after he sold it to you!
in all seriousness though, it might have be a shame or it may have saved you a lot of time and money considering you haven't a clue about this bike
Cheers Ed