Raleigh Winner Refurb

[DannyF84]

Hi all, I hope you everyone is well.

I am currently in the process of refurbishing an old (1980's) Raleigh Winner, and am hoping to convert it from a 10 speed to a single speed.

I was just looking for some advice on a couple of my components of choice (below);

• Tru-Build 700c Front/Rear Track Wheel Sealed Mach1 Omega Rim (complete with 16t sprocket on the rear flip-flop hub)
• Michelin Dynamic Classic Wired 700c Road Tyres

Hoping to keep the existing bottom bracket and keep a lot of the existing components (may need to get some new brake pads too).

Looking to make this an affordable single speed, and just wondered if I am likely to run in to any issues?

Thanks

 

[biggs682]

Afternoon one issue might be chain line ?
So might have to re dish rear wheel and or swap bottom bracket spindle .
Can't comment on the tyres never used them

 

[Chris S]

If your spindle has cotter pins then the chances are the bottom bracket cups use Raleigh's unique thread size. You can still reuse them with a standard spindle but be aware of this difference if they are worn and you need to source replacements.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/raleigh26.html

 

[TheDoctor]

If you want singlespeed (as opposed to fixed) I'd personally go with a cassette rear wheel and a singlespeed conversion like this - shuffle the spacers around and you can get a perfect chainline.

 

[DannyF84]

Thanks for the info all.

This is my first little project, and I would love to give the Raleigh winner a new lease of life.

Ideally I am after a cost effective and easy (ish) option. My original thinking behind the fixed gear was to avoid cold setting the frame, but it sounds as though I could run into a host of issues.

The old chrome rims (with 5 speed cassette) have pretty much had it, so I thought making it compatible with 700c wheels would make it easier in the long run.

any guidance on a suitable route forward would be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[biggs682]

Are the original wheels 27" if so check that your calipers have enough drop to work with 700 wheels .
It's all easy once you know the pitfalls and solutions .

 

[TheDoctor]

To expand on that point - a 27" wheel has a rim diameter of 630mm, whereas a modern 700c has a rim diameter of 622 mm.
If you can lower the brake pads by 4mm you should be fine.
Then again...if you're looking to do a cheap refurb, you may find that all it really needs is tyres, brake pads, chain lubed and maybe cables all round. My last Carlton was fine with new pads, cables and tyres, and that was a late 70s bike. No indexing to worry about!

 

[Ian H]

SJS and other do reasonably priced single or double-sided hubs. You can also find deep(er) drop calipers made by Dia-Compe, Tektro, and others.

 

[accountantpete]

You hope to avoid this, but my first job on any old frame is to inspect the BB by removing it. I do this because on some old frames they may need a great deal of effort to loosen up the BB - and one or two have bested me in the past. If I can get the BB off then I can properly invest time and effort doing the rest up. Otherwise I might decide to blow it , keep the old BB and ride it until that packs in using cheap components for the build.

 

[biggs682]

Also worth checking that both the quill stem and seat will move to allow adjustment

 

[Chris S]

You hope to avoid this, but my first job on any old frame is to inspect the BB by removing it. I do this because on some old frames they may need a great deal of effort to loosen up the BB - and one or two have bested me in the past. If I can get the BB off then I can properly invest time and effort doing the rest up. Otherwise I might decide to blow it , keep the old BB and ride it until that packs in using cheap components for the build.

You can normally just replace the bearings and keep the original cups. You don't have to remove the fixed cup and the adjustable one usually comes out easily.

 

[Gunk]

Weinmann 750 or 999 centrepulls have enough drop for 700c wheels, I’ve used them with success lots of times.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

If your spindle has cotter pins then the chances are the bottom bracket cups use Raleigh's unique thread size. You can still reuse them with a standard spindle but be aware of this difference if they are worn and you need to source replacements.

I think it's most likely that a 10-speed Winner will have budget cotterless cranks. It was a low-end bike new, so won't be fancy, but they were built well enough to survive rough treatment. I had a Raleigh Arena from the same era which came in both 5 and 10 speed versions. My one was a 5 speed with cottered cranks straight out of Raleigh's 3-speed roadster parts bin. ISTR, the 10 speed version was cotterless though.

 

[raleighnut]

You can normally just replace the bearings and keep the original cups. You don't have to remove the fixed cup and the adjustable one usually comes out easily.

That's what I do, the case hardening on those old Raleigh cups was top notch, it would take serious abuse to damage em.

 

[DRM]

That's what I do, the case hardening on those old Raleigh cups was top notch, it would take serious abuse to damage em.

Same with my elderly Raleigh MTB, the bearing cage had collapsed, yet the cups were pristine once cleaned up, I did remove both sides though, as I wanted to clean the BB properly & apply grease to the threads on both sides.