Raleigh Roadster restoration advice sought

[Tonee62]

Hello All,

I have a Raleigh Roadster which I would like to restore and use as my main bike, me and the bike go back quite a long way about 20 years or so. I haven't used the bike for about 8 years as the bike was becoming a bit rackety and it wasn't fun to ride anymore, I reluctantly relegated the bike to the cellar. I have now got to a point where after reading about people restoring their bikes I would like to do the same. Unfortunaetly I know very little about bike restoration. Is there anyboy here on the forums who could offer advice on what I should do with the bike. The condition of the frame and particularly the rear wheel are not in a good state. The frame has lost quite a bit of paint, do I need to be thinking about a respray. Ideally I would like to avoid a respray but there is now quite a bit of bare metal showing on the frame. Most of the bike components are looking past their best as well, some of them may clean up.
The rear 28" wheel has flat spots and a fair bit of rust, it would be a shame to lose the wheel as it is a dyno-hub. I have attached some pics of the bike which I have taken today. I would be most grateful if anybody could offer advice or recommend the best option for me. Are there any bike restorers in North who could help at all?

Thank you
Tony

 

[Spokesmann]

A worthy project. I'd be looking at restoring the frame with new paint and decals. The rear wheel obviously needs attention, but above all Id be trying to retain as much original part as possible. It mechanically simple so with the use of a good set of spanners and basic tools will be easy to put back together. Ebay is a good source for things like cotter pins, screws, pedals, cranks etc. SJS cycles still do rod brake blocks etc. The rear wheel could be rebuilt by any competent cycle shop, i.e. a more traditional outfit and perhaps not Halfords... Decals can be south from H Lloyd Cycles in Penrith (worth Googling).

 

[biggs682]

@Tonee62 looks a nice project and worth doing as spokesmann says try and retain its originality as much as poss

 

[smokeysmoo]

FWIW I'd respray it if I were doing it TBH.

Paint should be fine if prepped and executed properly, but if you want a harder wearing finish then consider powder coating.

 

[Tonee62]

Thanks for the advice guys, looks as though I'm going to be striping the frame down in the near future, something I've never done before. Do I need a
particular tool for removing the axle in the main sprocket? What would be the best way to remove a screw with a worn head.....hacksaw or is that a bit drastic..
If the frame has a powder coating respray, how would the finish compare to the original paint job. As long as a respray can be made which has a similar look and is hard wearing I'll be a happy man. When I do arrange for a respray, will the company doing the respray clean the frame back to bare metal in preparation. Apologies if some of these questions are a bit basic but I am totally out of depth in discussing these details. Any idea what the going rate is for a frame respray, any recommendations at all. The rear wheel is a 28" 40 hole spoke, would I be right in thinking 40 rims are extremely hard to get hold of. I would like to keep hold of the 3 speed dyno-hub and have it built in to a new rim, could it be put in to a 36 hole rim?
Spokesmann, I had a look at the H Lloyds Cycles website, absolutely incredible I had no idea there was anything like that amount of decals available. I'm not exactly sure how I will choose the ones I'll be needing but I'll get there. Cheers

 

[biggs682]

@Tonee62 i normally get charged £70 to have 2 frames bead blasted and powder coated ,all i do is strip down to frame and seperate forks they do the rest . the finish is normally very good but a lot depends on the actual condition of the frame .

if the hub is a 40 hole it can only be built onto a 40 hole hub i should think , i picked a 40 hole rim up last week no issue as often used on older tandems

 

[Tonee62]

Thanks biggs682, the price for the respray sounds very reasonable, where the frames done at a specialist company?

So its still possible to pick up 40 hole rims, that is good news. I need to keep my eyes open, may find one yet.

 

[Spokesmann]

Having a quick browse of evilbay...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-2...sure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item5659d9592b

 

[biggs682]

Thanks biggs682, the price for the respray sounds very reasonable, where the frames done at a specialist company?

So its still possible to pick up 40 hole rims, that is good news. I need to keep my eyes open, may find one yet.

@Tonee62 no frames were done by my local bead blaster and powder coating people

 

[Tonee62]

Having a quick browse of evilbay...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-2...sure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item5659d9592b

Thanks for the tip off Spokesmann, I'll be keeping my eye on that.........quite sometime before the auction ends though.

 

[Tonee62]

Update - I virtually have the frame free of parts, just the one remaining snag being the bottom bracket. Any ideas how to go about about removing it. I tried a local bike shop this afternoon who said anything between £30- £50 which I thought seemed a bit bloomin excessive. They also suggested I try a local metal fabrication workshop, any advice folks the best way to remove the bottom bracket.

 

[Spokesmann]

Update - I virtually have the frame free of parts, just the one remaining snag being the bottom bracket. Any ideas how to go about about removing it. I tried a local bike shop this afternoon who said anything between £30- £50 which I thought seemed a bit bloomin excessive. They also suggested I try a local metal fabrication workshop, any advice folks the best way to remove the bottom bracket.

Which part are you removing? the outer lock ring and inner cup on the non-drive side?

 

[Tonee62]

Yes that sounds like it, the outer lock ring with 4 cut outs on the non-drive side. I've attached a pic of it. Once the outer ring is removed does the inside and ring on the drive side come off easily.

 

[porteous]

The answer is yes. You need an old fashioned bike spanner which has a "C" wrench at one end. I use a BIG, very accurate, adjustable spanner on the flats. Take your time. If the BB is tight and moves easily you might just leave it be. If it is sloppy and rumbly then you need to strip it and renew the ball bearings, a really easy job. (If you can get a used copy of "Richards' Bicycle Repair Manual off Flea Bay or Amazon you will find it really useful for this job. It has a lot of stuff applicable to older bikes in). Elbow grease, fine wire wool and good chrome polish will bring up the bright bits, and your local LBS will almost certainly know a wheel maker who can put a new rim on your rear wheel, and it will probably cost less than you think (Whatever you do don't believe the "you can't get them anymore" line)

Good Luck, I look forward to seeing the end result

PS. Someone has bashed your BB lockring with a hammer, if it was you you need to have a firm word with yourself! NOS ones are easy to come by, and old fashioned LBS might have one on the shelf.

Have a look here for your rim. http://www.vintagecyclecomponents.co.uk/vintage-bicycle-pair-of-26-x-1--westwood-rims-3240-68-p.asp They would probably rebuild your wheel for you too. Have a good look around, there may also be cheaper options.

These people are good for rod brake spares: http://www.cyclesofyesteryear.com/cycleshop/sparepart.htm

 

[Tonee62]

The answer is yes. You need an old fashioned bike spanner which has a "C" wrench at one end. I use a BIG, very accurate, adjustable spanner on the flats. Take your time. If the BB is tight and moves easily you might just leave it be. If it is sloppy and rumbly then you need to strip it and renew the ball bearings, a really easy job. (If you can get a used copy of "Richards' Bicycle Repair Manual off Flea Bay or Amazon you will find it really useful for this job. It has a lot of stuff applicable to older bikes in). Elbow grease, fine wire wool and good chrome polish will bring up the bright bits, and your local LBS will almost certainly know a wheel maker who can put a new rim on your rear wheel, and it will probably cost less than you think (Whatever you do don't believe the "you can't get them anymore" line)

Good Luck, I look forward to seeing the end result

PS. Someone has bashed your BB lockring with a hammer, if it was you you need to have a firm word with yourself! NOS ones are easy to come by, and old fashioned LBS might have one on the shelf.

Have a look here for your rim. http://www.vintagecyclecomponents.co.uk/vintage-bicycle-pair-of-26-x-1--westwood-rims-3240-68-p.asp They would probably rebuild your wheel for you too. Have a good look around, there may also be cheaper options.

These people are good for rod brake spares: http://www.cyclesofyesteryear.com/cycleshop/sparepart.htm

Porteous thank you for the really useful information, I do have an old fashioned bike spanner which I have now tried after you posted your message. Unfortunately I can't get the BB to budge to make matters worse I have broken my spanner. Tomorrow I may try one of my local bike shops, not the one I tried earlier today as I think they were trying it on with me. Question for you, it may seem an odd one, I'm planning to have the frame painted as the frame has lost too much paint, is it important to have the BB removed for a respray?
I have never seen www.vintagecyclecomponents.co.uk before, from looking at the website it says the rims are from India, do you have any idea of the quality of the rims compared to what is available here. I was in India last year (hence my avatar shot), lots of old bikes being used although I didn't really get close up to one.

Regarding the bashed in BB, the BB was like that 20 years ago when I bought it, I have never really had the urge to go anywhere near it until recently.

Thanks again for the web links and the excellent advice.

Tony