1990 Raleigh Mirage restored

[Snaffs]

Hi, not quite a back to original restore as several bits had been changed over the years by the first owner, I'm the second. Handbuilt Reynolds 501 lugged frame. Updates were new handbuilt wheels with Quando QR hubs and a Shimmy freehub/ 8HG cassette, new V-brakes, and a bottom bracket lube. What was in there was no longer a lubricant.

The original Exage Biopace crank set is fine, the wheel upgrade took it up to an 8 speed, with 24 'vitesses'. The original front and rear mech still work well, but the original shifters and brake levers were long gone. It's got Deore thumb shifters now. 501 H/bar still intact. Chain toast, a new one is on the way. Found on Ebay, Price: £55.

It's a very old school ride , heavy but comfortable.

 

[brocklanders023]

Very retro and very tidy.

Needs amber walls though. :roll:

 

[mikee]

nice ,i have a yukon that i got for next to nowt
as you say a nice thing to cruise around on
gonna dragit up the pentlands in the great macretro raliegh challange
next week

get some skinwalls on it tho

 

[Snaffs]

Thanks guys, I did a shakedown 16 miles offroad on it today, The bottle cage fell apart, the front mech wants to swap places with the rear mech, and out of the 24 gears on it, I have 4.

New drivetrain then.

But the ride quality is fabulous. Biopace was always a nice thing to pedal.

Points noted about skinwalls. I'll wear out the cheapies, then move forward into 1990.


I pulled the bottom bracket and forks, the lube in both had the consistency of Marmite. All the metal is fine, so they've been teflon greased, All much better.

 

[GT-Steve]

I remember seeing these new, in my local Raleigh dealer BITD.

Looking really cool this one

 

[Snaffs]

Thank you.

The very naff orange reflectors set off against the lilac frame perfectly, doncha think?

It cost about £300 new in 1990 I'm told, a lot of dough then. I rode it (off-road of course) to the local village square today, where half a dozen of the local ne'er-do-wells wondered what the heck it was. If it hasn't got springs all over it, and 'Apollo' on the downtube, it's not an MTB.

New drivetrain and mechs a must. My thumbs are bleeding.

 

[drcarlos]

The montage I have shifted like this when I got it, but with lube, new cables and a darn good clean it was fine. Until the frame parted!

Carl.

 

[Snaffs]

I had my bottom bracket doctors hat on again, today, the large chainwheel was bent by about 10mm, chucking the chain off even with the mech limit screws properly set, that and the oval Biopace made it a pig to align. The 20 year old chain is toast. It must be a foot longer than when it was new.

I want to keep the Biopace, so the chainwheel went into the vice for a bit of 'cold-setting' ( bending) . Try as I might to save them, the front and rear mech are shot, so new Acera stuff is going on. I have it on my road bike and the shifts are dreamsville. All the drivetrain bits should arrive tomorrow.

Here's what this cheap bike has cost so far:

Ebay bike £55.76
Wheelset and HG 8 cassette: £69.00
Tyres and tubes £22.00
Teflon Grease: £6.00
Front & rear mech, plus chain £40.00
Deore shifters- used £15.00
V-Brakes: recycled £0.0
Levers, ditto
Saddle £11.50

=£219.26

duh.

 

[timontyres]

Re:

Bought a Raleigh Mirage, the frame was in great condition, the parts not so much. Made it to work again with new or used parts. I replaced, steer, stem, gear and brake levers, tyres, tubes and wheels, bottom bracket, chainrings, cassette, chain, rear derailleur, all cables, headset bearings, and saddle. The new tubus fly rack looks great on this bike. It now serves as a leisure bike for my girlfriend.

 

[harryhume]

That is dope