1989 Raleigh Banana Team Bike - Dave Rayner

[andymuza]

That is fantastic. What a great Job.

I will have to give Dave a visit with my old Raleigh Criterium Triatlon 12. Just need to source decals for it.

 

[citrixccea]

That is fantastic. What a great Job.

I will have to give Dave a visit with my old Raleigh Criterium Triatlon 12. Just need to source decals for it.

Have you spoken with Nick at H Lloyd cycles ? He was able to source lots of the decals I needed from original stock.

 

[andymuza]

That is fantastic. What a great Job.

I will have to give Dave a visit with my old Raleigh Criterium Triatlon 12. Just need to source decals for it.

Have you spoken with Nick at H Lloyd cycles ? He was able to source lots of the decals I needed from original stock.

No, but I soon will, cheers for the info.

 

[citrixccea]

Good news and bad news....

The good news is I've been able to confirm that one of the components that I thought was non-original is actually original. The bad news is it's pretty inconvenient to swap back

It seems that one of my first decisions was wrong - the ITM handlebars as fitted to my bike since before '91 may well have been team issue in 1989. How did I get this so wrong ?
Well the team pic that appears back on a previous page, shows the team with black stems and alloy bars. My bars were black, so I felt they needed to be swapped out (and I knew the stem was non-original because I'd swapped it for an 8cm).

BUT - I've since heard straight from the 'organ grinder' that the alloy bars were all swapped for black in May of '89.... Why ? Chris Lillywhite broke two pairs in the milk race.

To further confound this, my analysis of the big white 'C' on the stem in the team pic has also been found to be incorrect - and while everyone agrees it looks like a Cinelli C, again insider info tells me it's wrong !

So the bad news is I need to source a ITM 400 stem - but the good news is that the bars were/are original, and I can get back to an black bar stem'combo which I think aesthetically looks much better. Indeed I've tracked down pics of Chris Lillywhites stem that sold on ebay, and it was indeed a black ITM.

Timing wise I'm going to leave all of this for the winter months.

In other news having taken off the old wolber tub of the rear wheel, I found it was secured with what felt like golden syrup (didn't taste it to check), as if the glue had degraded, it took almost no effort to remove the tub. Glad I did that in the comfort of my own home, and not hairing down at speed into a pennine hairpin. I've pulled and pulled on the front one, and it seems solid...

So just like "Lost", this story continues.... I could do without any more twists!

 

[citrixccea]

I decided to fit a new(old!) tub to the rear wheel, however as I only have 19mm's (thanks again Kamakazie!) I took the 23mm off the front, and swapped to the rear.

I've never done my own tubs before, but with the quality of the guides off the Internet, and vittoria adhesive at £4 delivered I thought I would have a crack.

Before I got glueing I just practised putting the tub on so it was centred - I didn't need to stretch them...

gave the rim edges a decent clean, did a layer, left them 20 minutes, then another layer left them five, and fitted the tubs.

I pumped them up to "firmish" then left them overnight, taken them upto full pressure this morning and they look ace.

Are there any tests I should do to check my work before I ride them? I feel pretty confident in them - certainly more confident than I was with the wolber on the rear that came off like it was attached with fresh golden syrup.

Really like the way the 19 looks on the front, although the 23 on the back looks far more comfortable.

I've also sourced a well used yellow turbo, to use for riding, as I can't bring myself to ruin maggies work.

If we get a dry day tomorrow on go my campag look pedals, and the used saddle, and I get to see how my "old friend" likes the restoration - cant wait!

 

[citrixccea]

I've got the biggest grin, I've taken the bike out for an hour or so, and it was awesome.

Initially it felt a bit weird, and a bit twitchy, but once up to speed it was fantastic. My initial concerns about getting back to a 42x21 weren't so bad - you know what you've got to do, and you get on and do it ! I did max out the 53x13 at the other end, and could have gone quicker on a couple of the descents.

I think my favourite bit was the riders eye view - not easy to capture, but the view of the highly polished cranks, the chain on the block, the 753 badge at the bottom of the seat tube, the Campagnolo and the Banana decals, all shining in the sunshine.

The cranks spin really easily, I'd forgotten how skinny they are. In terms of position, I felt right at home - the longer stem didn't disturb me, and I liked the deep drops of "proper" bars.

The Delta's need a little tweaking as they're squealing, but I'll adjust the grub screws, and de grease the rims and the blocks.

I know that normally the bikes appear on their own, but I wanted to show that I am going to ride this bike !

 

[citrixccea]

I wondered if anyone could point me in the direction of how I can reduce the gearing on the bike, to give me a bit more of a realistic chance of doing some decent climbing - I'm not talking granny gears, but the current lowest is a 42x21, and I was thinking of making this a 39x24. 39 rings are easily accessible but I was wondering how easy it is to change the individual sprocket on the Maillard 7 speed freewheel ? I'd simply drop one sprocket out, and go for say 24-21-19-16-15-14-13, better still if I can find an 18 to make 24-21-18-16-15-14-13. I'd get this done by an expert! Also I quite like this as the chain length remains exactly as it is, but I'll be pedalling a nearly 20% lower gear.

 

[Old Ned]

I wondered if anyone could point me in the direction of how I can reduce the gearing on the bike, to give me a bit more of a realistic chance of doing some decent climbing - I'm not talking granny gears, but the current lowest is a 42x21, and I was thinking of making this a 39x24. 39 rings are easily accessible but I was wondering how easy it is to change the individual sprocket on the Maillard 7 speed freewheel ? I'd simply drop one sprocket out, and go for say 24-21-19-16-15-14-13, better still if I can find an 18 to make 24-21-18-16-15-14-13. I'd get this done by an expert! Also I quite like this as the chain length remains exactly as it is, but I'll be pedalling a nearly 20% lower gear.

I have a box full of Maillard sprockets and once I've got my new shed sorted out early next week I should be able to see what sizes there are. It's not difficult to change them, just a pair of chain whips which I have.

I'm not an 'expert' though.......................

More like a 'has been drip' (ex-spurt).

If you're quite local to me then no probs about coming to my place to do it.

My labour rates are quite reasonable........................

 

[citrixccea]

Nice one Old Ned,

Let me know what the going rate is for your labour, and what your preferred currency is (beer, wine, green shield stamps....) and we'll sort something out. Wakefield's a shade over 30 minutes away...

Does shifting to 39 x 24 make an appreciable difference ?

 

[Old Ned]

Nice one Old Ned,

Let me know what the going rate is for your labour, and what your preferred currency is (beer, wine, green shield stamps....) and we'll sort something out. Wakefield's a shade over 30 minutes away...

Does shifting to 39 x 24 make an appreciable difference ?

Fine, PM me to arrange something.

I think you'll find 39 x 24 quite a bit better than the alternative. I have 39 x 25 on my 'best' bike which seems to be adequate even for my ancient pair of limbs.