This is a story about sentimental value.
This is the bike that I’ve had since new in 1986. A 531c Raleigh Gran Tour frameset, in 54cm size, it’s quite a rare beast based on my Googling. It took me on several UK and continental tours and thousands of miles of commuting. Then a knee injury meant it was hung up from around 1995 until now, some 16 years later.
The knee has been okayish in recent years, which has seen me cycling again but mostly off road (me, an old roadie, gasp!).
It’s taken me a wee while to realise that my move to the Scottish Borders a few years ago has put me slap bang in the middle of some of the most deserted, scenic and varied cycling roads I could hope for, in addition to it being superb MTB country. So the old road steed has come out of hibernation and I’m quite excited about it!
I’d built it up with Shimano 600, 105, Gippiemme, Weinmann and Suntour amongst other things. The wheels I spent big money (for me) back then, Shimano 600 hubs with Mavic MA40s and DBC spokes.
Its condition is as you’d expect an essentially neglected bike to be, with plenty of surface rust peppering the chrome and around the lugs, seized cables and that sort of thing, but amazingly (because it’s been hung by its saddle) the wheels are as true as the day they were made and it’s all quite salvageable.
This will be my only road bike and I plan to invest some money in renovating it. Sacrilege it may be, but I plan to use modern components where it’s applicable. However, I’m more than happy to stick to the “old fashioned” non-indexed downtube shifters, 7-speed rear cassette and Weinmann centre pulls, because there’s nothing that modern stuff can offer me that is significantly better and I’d like to keep it retro as far as I can.
Work so far has been as follows.
New rear mech. The old 105 was dead and anyway I needed a long version for the granny cog. Sad to say my budget would stretch only to Shimano Sora, but it seems perfectly ok.
New 7-speed rear cassette to replace the 6-block. I went for 13-34 to give me a short gear for the steep hills round here but now regret it since I changed the 42/52 with a compact. I may go 13-25 at a later date.
New chainset and bb to replace the stripped-threaded Gipiemme. I decided to go new after trying and failing to get an old Stronglight 80 or even an old Campy compact, so I got a Stronglight Impact and matching bb. Seems light enough and ok if a bit rough in the casting department on the reverse faces. It’ll do for now, I just wanted the bike on the road.
Shimano SPDs the same as my MTB, to replace the quills and clips.
New mudguards.
General servicing – new cables, stripped and lubed hubs etc.
If the bike (and my knees!) hold up for a while longer, I plan to get it repainted at Bob Jacksons. The colour is decided on but currently top secret. I’m not planning to replicate the Raleigh identity, not least because the chroming would need a mortgage and the frame is just not that good.
I love this bike. It’d be great to think I could get a second 25 years out of it. And out of me!
This is the bike that I’ve had since new in 1986. A 531c Raleigh Gran Tour frameset, in 54cm size, it’s quite a rare beast based on my Googling. It took me on several UK and continental tours and thousands of miles of commuting. Then a knee injury meant it was hung up from around 1995 until now, some 16 years later.
The knee has been okayish in recent years, which has seen me cycling again but mostly off road (me, an old roadie, gasp!).
It’s taken me a wee while to realise that my move to the Scottish Borders a few years ago has put me slap bang in the middle of some of the most deserted, scenic and varied cycling roads I could hope for, in addition to it being superb MTB country. So the old road steed has come out of hibernation and I’m quite excited about it!
I’d built it up with Shimano 600, 105, Gippiemme, Weinmann and Suntour amongst other things. The wheels I spent big money (for me) back then, Shimano 600 hubs with Mavic MA40s and DBC spokes.
Its condition is as you’d expect an essentially neglected bike to be, with plenty of surface rust peppering the chrome and around the lugs, seized cables and that sort of thing, but amazingly (because it’s been hung by its saddle) the wheels are as true as the day they were made and it’s all quite salvageable.
This will be my only road bike and I plan to invest some money in renovating it. Sacrilege it may be, but I plan to use modern components where it’s applicable. However, I’m more than happy to stick to the “old fashioned” non-indexed downtube shifters, 7-speed rear cassette and Weinmann centre pulls, because there’s nothing that modern stuff can offer me that is significantly better and I’d like to keep it retro as far as I can.
Work so far has been as follows.
New rear mech. The old 105 was dead and anyway I needed a long version for the granny cog. Sad to say my budget would stretch only to Shimano Sora, but it seems perfectly ok.
New 7-speed rear cassette to replace the 6-block. I went for 13-34 to give me a short gear for the steep hills round here but now regret it since I changed the 42/52 with a compact. I may go 13-25 at a later date.
New chainset and bb to replace the stripped-threaded Gipiemme. I decided to go new after trying and failing to get an old Stronglight 80 or even an old Campy compact, so I got a Stronglight Impact and matching bb. Seems light enough and ok if a bit rough in the casting department on the reverse faces. It’ll do for now, I just wanted the bike on the road.
Shimano SPDs the same as my MTB, to replace the quills and clips.
New mudguards.
General servicing – new cables, stripped and lubed hubs etc.
If the bike (and my knees!) hold up for a while longer, I plan to get it repainted at Bob Jacksons. The colour is decided on but currently top secret. I’m not planning to replicate the Raleigh identity, not least because the chroming would need a mortgage and the frame is just not that good.
I love this bike. It’d be great to think I could get a second 25 years out of it. And out of me!
