Sally the Raleigh.........Diary of a Restoration

[davester65]

Frame now in the very capable hands of Dave Yates, damage to chainstays not terminal and doesn't weaken the frame so cosmetic repair will suffice. My guesstimate on time was spot on, they'll both be ready by the end of Feb, so final build will be early March.

Suppose i better start a thread on the Dawes as both builds are running side by side now,

 

[davester65]

The wait is over.....I pick her up from Dave Yates tomorrow morning, everything is ready.....i hope......should get her re-built by next weekend. Really looking forward to putting in some miles on the tarmac.......pics to follow...of course

 

[davester65]

Here's a few pics of the restored frame prior to starting the build.

 

[Psyclist]

The fruits of this afternoon's labour

Before
View attachment 18258

After
View attachment 18259 View attachment 18260

Love the chrome work. Any brief tips on how to get my stem like that???

 

[davester65]

Love the chrome work. Any brief tips on how to get my stem like that???

Here's where i divulge my secret ........My Saturday evenings in the winter are often spent in the Garage with a bottle of wine, Craig Charles Soul & Funk Show on BBC R6, a good stock of polishing pads for the Dremel, and a tube of Solvol Autosol. The rest is just patience.

Just make sure you have scruffy work gear on and some swarfega to clean yourself up afterwards, cos it gets messy......My top tip...don't do this indoors....SWMBO will get upset

 

[davester65]

Build time has finally arrived, had a great day building both Sally and the Dawes, am going to try and get my mate to come and take some arty pics soon (i'm so crap with a camera!)

Only problem......I now have not one, but two leather saddles to break in.........guess i'm going to have sore sitbones for a couple of months :-)

 

[Psyclist]

Really nice. Any reason you chose a biopace??

 

[davester65]

Really nice. Any reason you chose a biopace??

None really, the frame is an 87' model which would have had Sachs Huret drive gear on as original, but that stuff was quite good at breaking down so went for the 89' spec drivetrain, which was Shimano Deore DX derailleurs and a Biopace Crankset, so just sticking with period correct parts.

 

[Psyclist]

None really, the frame is an 87' model which would have had Sachs Huret drive gear on as original, but that stuff was quite good at breaking down so went for the 89' spec drivetrain, which was Shimano Deore DX derailleurs and a Biopace Crankset, so just sticking with period correct parts.

I heard the biopace can be harsh on the legs, but you get more man points.

 

[davester65]

I heard the biopace can be harsh on the legs, but you get more man points.

Hope not...I'm taking her out for the first ride tomorrow....looking to do about 30-40 miles.........with a new Brooks saddle to break in......so sore sitbones and legs for me on Saturday then......i'll look forward to that..NOT......think a bottle of Rioja may be on the cards for tomorrow night....purely for medicinal purposes, of course!