Raleigh Pioneer Classic

[249ccjames]

Once I get 5 posts accepted then I can start a new thread and pictures. This is number 3.
Cheers.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

So many variants of these over the years, in various colour schemes, that you really do need pictures in order to get to the bottom of what exact age and model a particular bike is. The majority of them I have come across have tended to remain fairly original as the typical owner will have had little interest in fiddling around with theirs, just riding it instead.

 

[iwgunter]

I bought one of these (Pioneer Classic 18-23) secondhand about 10 years ago for £20 and use it to get to and from work whenever it's not raining. I was recently thinking about getting a new bike but realised that there is nothing wrong with this one.

There is a slight knock which sounds like it's coming from the front wheel hub every now and again for a few rotations and I'd like to fit a larger front sprocket as I would like to go a bit faster than stock (it's 2 on the front and 6 on the back) but they're the only problems with it.

 

[Cycleops]

Post a pic from the drive side @iwgunter and we’ll see what can be done.

 

[Paulus]

I bought one of these (Pioneer Classic 18-23) secondhand about 10 years ago for £20 and use it to get to and from work whenever it's not raining. I was recently thinking about getting a new bike but realised that there is nothing wrong with this one.

There is a slight knock which sounds like it's coming from the front wheel hub every now and again for a few rotations and I'd like to fit a larger front sprocket as I would like to go a bit faster than stock (it's 2 on the front and 6 on the back) but they're the only problems with it.

Generally they are very good bikes.
Probably with a little TLC this bike could do you for many miles to come.
As far as changing the Chainrings for something bigger, maybe, if you can, get a 6 speed freewheel with higher gearing than your present one.

 

[raleighnut]

Generally they are very good bikes.
Probably with a little TLC this bike could do you for many miles to come.
As far as changing the Chainrings for something bigger, maybe, if you can, get a 6 speed freewheel with higher gearing than your present one.

You'll struggle to get a freewheel with less than 14 teeth as a top gear.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

You'll struggle to get a freewheel with less than 14 teeth as a top gear.

TBH, I'm surprised anyone would want any higher gearing. From memory, the Pioneers with the black covered "sports disc" 2x front cranksets had 38T and 50T chainrings. If you've got a six speed 14-28T freewheel on the back, your top gear of 50 x 14 on 700 or 27" size wheels is 96 gear inches - which should be plenty high enough for any relatively heavy flat bar bike. I very rarely use any higher than a 48 x 16 gear on my flat bar Raleighs, which is 81 gear inches. If you try and bomb along in a high gear, the aerodynamic drag kills you once you get to the high teens mph.

 

[bonzobanana]

TBH, I'm surprised anyone would want any higher gearing. From memory, the Pioneers with the black covered "sports disc" 2x front cranksets had 38T and 50T chainrings. If you've got a six speed 14-28T freewheel on the back, your top gear of 50 x 14 on 700 or 27" size wheels is 96 gear inches - which should be plenty high enough for any relatively heavy flat bar bike. I very rarely use any higher than a 48 x 16 gear on my flat bar Raleighs, which is 81 gear inches. If you try and bomb along in a high gear, the aerodynamic drag kills you once you get to the high teens mph.

I personally still feel its worthwhile as long as you are happy with brake performance of the bike. I fitted a 11-32T cassette freehub rear wheel to a bike that originally had a freewheel 14-28T and was super impressed with the speed gain going on flats and down slight declines especially when the wind was behind me. You do get Chinese brand freewheels with 11-32T and some people seem to think they are ok but others have early failures. I think Shimano kept to a 14T smallest sprocket on freewheels for western markets because they are non-replaceable so a 14T is likely to last as long as the other cogs where as on a cassette they are replaceable. I've noticed on hub motor ebikes they seem to have no problem with these cheap freewheels I guess because the hub motor works independently of the drivetrain so massively reduces wear and load on the freewheel but for a standard acoustic bike I don't think I would try one.

It's quite common to see 8 speed freewheels on entry level bikes nowadays. Personally I'd rather stick to Shimano or Sunrace or maybe Sturmey Archer.

https://www.onbuy.com/gb/red-d-stat...omens-24-speed~c12486~p52877436/?lid=73493177

 

[raleighnut]

TBH, I'm surprised anyone would want any higher gearing. From memory, the Pioneers with the black covered "sports disc" 2x front cranksets had 38T and 50T chainrings. If you've got a six speed 14-28T freewheel on the back, your top gear of 50 x 14 on 700 or 27" size wheels is 96 gear inches - which should be plenty high enough for any relatively heavy flat bar bike. I very rarely use any higher than a 48 x 16 gear on my flat bar Raleighs, which is 81 gear inches. If you try and bomb along in a high gear, the aerodynamic drag kills you once you get to the high teens mph.

I've got a 13-22* on my Carlton with a 52-42 on the front, I think 13 is the smallest cog you can get due to the size of the freewheel mechanism

* TT gearing

 

[raleighnut]