Advice for a complete novice

[Meejoir]

Re:

viewtopic.php?t=231594

My first foray into refurbished road bikes was worth a Raleigh Equipe. I loved doing the work to it and it's been a slippery slope to much finer things! The above link to my beloved Equipe took a good few months to complete but the results enabled me to do a 307 mile cycling holiday around Normandy for last years tour de France.

Is certainly recommend starting with a Raleigh, even with older components you can almost certainly make a bike whick can compete with

 

[Meejoir]

Re:

viewtopic.php?t=231594

My first foray into refurbished road bikes was worth a Raleigh Equipe. I loved doing the work to it and it's been a slippery slope to much finer things! The above link to my beloved Equipe took a good few months to complete but the results enabled me to do a 307 mile cycling holiday around Normandy for last years tour de France.

Is certainly recommend starting with a Raleigh, even with older components you can almost certainly make a bike which can compete with far more modern machines.

 

[tomosllyr]

Re:

I found the Equipe very heavy though. I really do like what you've done to yours and will be re-visiting the thread for ideas, but after feeling the 531 on the Townsebd I dont see myself going for anything else.

Here's another newbie question - are all 531's the same regardless of age/bike manufacturer etc?

 

[Midorimage]

No, not at all. There are different gauges of 531. Some are double butted, some a straight gauge. On some frames the main triangle is 531 and the seat and chain stays are of another steel.

Also, how clean the welds are is important. During the bike boom years, many companies like Raleigh were slapped together rather fast, so on some frames the welds are not so nice.

Another important factor is the current condition of the frame... is is it straight.. how is the paint? any rust? A near perfect frame will go for a lot more than a frame that has spots of rust.

I live in Japan most of the year and shop in America when I am home visiting family in the States. There seem to be a bunch of great UK road bikes at very reasonable prices compared to the States and Japan. (I am fond of Raleighs, I have four at the moment.) Also, powder coating is cheap in the UK, so don't be afraid to buy a frame that is need of a paint job if you find a nice bike cheap.

 

[tomosllyr]

Re:

Okay I've done a bit more research now.

Can anyone recommend a good, light frame that would form a good basis for me and would be fairly easy to find?

 

[Midorimage]

Have you figured out your size? Fit is the first thing you look at. A nice price bike that is not your size I definitely wouldn't buy. Test ride bikes if you get a chance. Bring a tape measure. Learn how to measure bikes. Once you know your size, people can point you to good deals.


One thing to factor is how old or vintage do you want to go. Modern road bicycles and most road bikes since the mid 80s have 130 mm spacing for the hub in the rear. Early 80s and most 70s road bikes have 126 mm. Older bikes have 120 mm spacing.

Most cycles that are spaced 130mm use a cassette for the cogs. Cassettes are cheap plentiful compared to freewheels

 

[tomosllyr]

Re:

My dad's bike is 56cm, and I'm the same height as him so looking for something close to that.

Does that mean that bikes with 130mm spacing would be easier to find good replacement components for? Basically it doesn't matter to me what vintage it is, as long as it's a decent frame that's a nice ride, light, and a good base for me to fit a good groupset to.

 

[Meejoir]

There's plenty of freewheels around for not a lot of money - and you can get them with 34 teeth making those uphills a bit easier! Modern cassettes 9/10/11 speed are easily available and certainly offer more ratio differences but in my experiences they wear a lot, and I mean a lot, quicker than vintage 1980s freewheels.

I've done up a 6 speed Raleigh last year with a 6 speed mega range freewheel (126mm rear spacing) and it saw me right round Normandy with some big hills and bigger panniers! My new refurb on a more modern Principia has 130mm spacing and a 9 speed cassette and it just gives more options in the pedalling department!

 

[tomosllyr]

Now that I think I've sorted a frame, can anyone point me in the right direction in terms of a groupset? I'm happy enough to research into the price and quality myself, but I need to know what I need to take into consideration when looking for one. I'm guessing it's not going to be as easy as fitting any groupset to any frame.

 

[hamster]

Most groupsets will fit most frames, once you have got past the hub width issue discussed above. If it's non-indexing you can pretty much mix brands between mechs and shifters as much as you like.