Secondhand Raleigh Junior Rigid MTB: lemon or worth a punt?

[Reynard]

Well, the tyres have turned up. That was quick, I only ordered them on Thursday evening. The courier delivered them to my neighbour though, some 200 or so yards down the road.

And finding a replacement seatpost isn't going to be straightforward. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of choice at 25.4mm from what I can see. And the shim is really thin, so maybe I can fit a 26mm post at a pinch, but then again, maybe not.

 

[Gunk]

I might have one, I’ll have a rummage

 

[Gunk]

I think I'd get shot if I added yet another bicycle... Though I did ride a lot of small-wheeled bikes when I was a kid, most of which were skip rescues. When you're my height, they look almost like big wheel bikes.

On a more serious note, a Brommie is out of the question for the foreseeable future. This project, when I've added all the little post-build extras like bar bag, multitool, spares, frame pump, bottle cage, lights, Ergon grips, and possibly a saddle if I can't get on with the Selle SMP, will pretty well much deplete my bike fund to zero.

I had a bunch of cash leftover after scoring the hybrid second hand last spring (I'd budgeted for new), and what's left is what I'm dipping in to. Even if I had the full bike budget, it would only stretch to just under half a Brompton.

I wouldn’t advise buying one at the moment, the prices are silly, about 25% more than this time last year. It will all calm down.

 

[Reynard]

I might have one, I’ll have a rummage

Oooh, thanks!

Even if you haven't, I really appreciate the looking xxx

 

[Reynard]

I wouldn’t advise buying one at the moment, the prices are silly, about 25% more than this time last year. It will all calm down.

Indeed, it's a seller's market for bikes right now. Even s/h prices have gone bananas, I was lucky to score the Raleigh for £25...

But while I really can't justify buying a Brommie, I'd just love to try one at some point. It's such a fascinating machine from an engineering standpoint.

 

[12boy]

What can you justify? Buy a Brompton and call it....food, rent, car insurance, whatever you like. You can guess how well this strategy has worked for me.

 

[Reynard]

Basically I don't need one and I can't afford one. It would simply be an expensive white elephant.

If it was just a little bit over budget, I may have made economies elsewhere, but right now, me and a Brompton are opposite ends of the spectrum of what is financially possible. And that is the case for the foreseeable future, alas. Some of us have to operate at the more humble end of the bicycle price range.

Doesn't mean I don't want to try one out, because I do. Just for a hoot.

The Raleigh was a bit of an impulse buy - very rare for me, but in my defence I'd had this idea of a bad road / mucky road / winter bike brewing in my head for a while. Actually, ever since I crashed the road bike previous November because I couldn't see a crack in the road thanks to the mud. And as mentioned upthread, I had some money left over from buying the Chartres hybrid, as I scored one secondhand at a good price.

 

[Reynard]

The new wheels arrived this afternoon!!! On first inspection they look good and will do very nicely. They're currently sitting out their quarantine in the garage. Tomorrow I'll wipe them down with antibac, and then I can crack on with wheel-related stuff. Thanks for the heads-up re Taylor Wheels @DCBassman

A brief bit of tinkering today. First, a bit of thinking time determined that with a little bit of botchery (and butchery) I should be able to fit the guards that are in my parts bin. Second, the reflectors have gone back on. And thirdly, I cleaned up the stem and reinstalled it - using vaseline as recommended.

And as @SkipdiverJohn thought, it is a 21.1mm diameter stem.

A friend I'm meeting later in the week has a set of vernier calipers I can borrow, so I'll be able to measure the internal diameter of the seat tube to see exactly what size post I actually need. That 25.4mm post is definitely too loose without the shim, but looking at the scuffs on the post and inside the seat tube, it's likely the shim has been fitted from new. Another example of Raleigh using up bits from the parts bin in order to cut costs, perhaps?

And two things I've learnt this past week. One, that it's far better to smear the balance of the vaseline on the inside of the steerer when installing the stem, and two, that a hot lawn mower bonnet is the perfect place to dry fiddly parts that you've just washed.

 

[Reynard]

New tyres. Check.

New wheels. Check.

Tyres meet wheels, wheels meet tyres.

Oh c*ck

As per usual, one step forward, one step backwards and one step sideways...

The tyres went onto the wheels really nicely - managed to get them on using my thumbs except for the last handspan or so. Nothing some tyre levers couldn't solve.

I re-used a pair of old tubes as there was nothing wrong with them, although I did put the patched one on the front. Just in case it can't cope with my derriere... Having gone from single walled rims to double walled rims, the valve stems are now a bit on the short side, but they'll do for now.

Rather like the way the wheels look, they're very well made and the whole wheelset is lighter by some margin than one steel wheel fitted to the Emmelle! And the reflective ring on the tyres will be a useful extra when riding on dark, unlit roads. I plan on putting some of those reflective spoke sleeves on as well.

The problems started when I unpacked the skewers. They don't match.

Oh c*ck, to borrow a select phrase from James May. They work alright and fit alright, but the front is a different style and colour to the rear. I've never bought a wheelset before, but I'd have expected the skewers to match, even if they didn't resemble the ones in the pictures on the website. Anyways, I shall be firing off an e-mail to Taylor Wheels to see what they can do for me. I'm going to angle either for a little refund or for a replacement front skewer, as I prefer the look and mechanism of the rear one (bottom skewer in pic).

That aside, the other issue is springing the rear triangle to get the wheel in. To put it bluntly, I don't have the hands, arms or leverage of a bloke who has a foot in height and four or five more stone in weight over me to be doing something like this without damaging the wheel. So I'm going to have to go down the threaded bar route to sort the fit of the back wheel and axle.

Irritatingly, I have a length of threaded bar, but it's too short. Classical application of the Law of Sod. I'm meeting my friend tomorrow to borrow her set of callipers to check the seat tube internal diameter. She also has some threaded bar of the right length hanging around, but isn't sure of the diameter. So I said to her to sling it in her bag and we'll see if it fits. Always worth a try.

Failing that, I have to go past the local agricultural engineering and tractor spares place afterwards when I go to pick up mum's prescription, so if what my friend has in terms of threaded bar doesn't fit, then the chances are that the engineering place might have something suitable. Well, it doesn't cost me to pop in and ask, does it?

 

[DCBassman]

as I prefer the look and mechanism of the rear one (bottom skewer in pic).

Bottom one certainly Shimano to match the hub.
Quite surprised Taylor didn't match them.

 

[Reynard]

Today was pretty successful in the scheme of things. Although the way this project has meandered backwards and forwards so far, I'm not holding my breath just yet...

Anyways, last night I fired off an e-mail with photo of skewers attached to Taylor Wheels, and this morning I received an equally polite and rather apologetic reply. A replacement front skewer to match the rear (yes it should have been a Shimano one) has already been dispatched, and should be with me in the the next day or so. Excellent service or what.

Met up with my friend this afternoon (slung the frame in the back of the car) and availed myself of her vernier callipers in order to sort out the seat tube internal diameter mystery. I now know unequivocally that it is 26 mm. So I shall be off to look for a 26 mm diameter seat post. The bars measured up (where they're clamped in the stem) as 25.5 mm.

I also borrowed a length of threaded bar (my friend's husband is an inveterate tinkerer with all things mechanical), and set about cold setting the rear triangle. The longest part of this operation was actually finding the right sized nuts. I have jars upon jars of assorted nuts and bolts in the garage courtesy of my late dad, but could I find any that fit? As Sod's Law would have it, what I needed was in the very last tub on the very tallest shelf...

So, bar given a coating of grease, and four nuts and two washers threaded on, the latter going on the inside of the dropouts. My suspicions about the non drive side dropout being bent was confirmed when I actually had to use an upholstery mallet to get the bar in. No problems with the drive side dropout.

I set the two outer nuts to around 146-ish mm displacement (to take into account the thickness of the dropouts), and then gradually wound the inner nuts outwards, which steadily increased the spacing. When I reached 140mm, I tightened the outer nuts back down, and am leaving the whole shebang like this overnight.

Sorry guys, I don't have a workstand, so this girl had to improvise by re-fitting the seatpost, saddle and bars.

But it's a neat job, dare I say so myself.

And just for reference (below), an earlier shot I took of the rear dropouts. You can see that the NDS one is bent - not massively so, but noticeable. At least I now know I wasn't seeing things...

I've definitely managed to straighten the NDS dropout, which I'm well pleased about. Every time I find something else, it really makes me wonder exactly what was done to the bike to unjam that chain, though the mechanical engineer in me is building up a pretty decent picture. Steel doesn't bend like cheese without the application of some serious force...

I'll undo the nuts on the bar in the morning and measure the spacing that I've achieved. Chances are I won't have got it right first time, but only the tape measure can tell me that.

 

[Reynard]

If it is any help Reynard when I did mine I took it out to 165 and it sprung back to 134. That was near enough where I needed it. I'd like to say I had scientifically worked it out but I would be lying, it was just pure guesswork.

Ah, thanks for that.

Probably means I'll likely need to wind it out a little further, then.

 

[Reynard]

I did take advice from someone on here though re the quality of the steel, mine was 531. Apparently the cheaper the steel the easier it is to find it's breaking point so maybe do it in small increments.

That's exactly what I'd intended to do. Spread the triangle in small increments, that is. My background is in destructive materials testing, so I'm fully aware of what can go wrong. The steel needs to be stressed to just beyond that point where deformation under load becomes permanent rather than reversible. It's a fine margin. Push it just that little bit too far, and *ping*

Hooke's Law and Young's Modulus and all that.

This frame is basic cro-mo, so not nearly as exotic as yours. Would be a shame to wreck it though.

 

[Reynard]

Ah right, sorry didn't know your background, good luck with it.

Eh, that's ok, no worries.

It's rather fun breaking stuff deliberately. This is much more nerve-wracking. Not checked it today yet, but will after lunch.

 

[DCLane]

I also borrowed a length of threaded bar (my friend's husband is an inveterate tinkerer with all things mechanical), and set about cold setting the rear triangle. The longest part of this operation was actually finding the right sized nuts. I have jars upon jars of assorted nuts and bolts in the garage courtesy of my late dad, but could I find any that fit? As Sod's Law would have it, what I needed was in the very last tub on the very tallest shelf...

Hope this works: I've got to do the same with my son's Dawes Kingpin. It needs spacing from 110mm to 130mm