Raleigh Banana Bike

[Tel]

You would notice the difference yes; lighter, stiffer, responsive a quality bike is an absolute joy to ride.

 

[scarrabri]

You would notice the difference yes; lighter, stiffer, responsive a quality bike is an absolute joy to ride.

Oh well i have nothing to compare it against only my Tonaro Bighit E/Bike and that doesnt count , so i will enjoy my Raleigh Banana ,and if i take to using a Road Bike which i am certain i will then i will upgrade ,but for now im going polish it again,best wishes Brian.and thanks for your reply.

 

[Tel]

That sounds like a superb plan! Enjoy and I'm sure you'll have many nostalgic conversations with people like me

 

[scarrabri]

LOL

That sounds like a superb plan! Enjoy and I'm sure you'll have many nostalgic conversations with people like me

Lol thanks again. brilliant Avitar.

 

[scarrabri]

Raleigh Record 1979

Well i sent a pic of my Raleigh Banana bike to my friend ,and he sent this back

which looks very much like mine ,its a Raleigh Record 1979 ,im not sure if this is the one that he still rides but i bet it is. Brian.

 

[scarrabri]

The right Gear

Hi just a simple question about my Raleigh Banana bike which has 12 gears ,and as i am not the best peddler and have not hit any steep hills yet i am a little worried that i may not be able to ride up some of them .
I take it that when the chain is on the small front Gear and its on the largest one at the back then i am on the easyest gear that i have ,which is not that easy lol and me thinks i may be doing some pushing ,is this consistent with this bike or is it me expecting a little too much,best wishes Brian.

 

[Tel]

Yes smallest front largest rear is the easiest gear. If it is not easy enough you need to make the largest on the rear larger or the smallest on the front smaller.

As you can't change the rings on the front without changing the whole chainset your cheapest option is to change the sprockets on the back (the freewheel). I'm guessing that you currently have a 14-24 (lowest gear of 46.2") you should be able to get a 14-28 (lowest gear of 39.6") on there without any problems which would help. A new freewheel should cost about £10 or so and no more than £5 to have it fitted at the lbs.

You can change the chainset which would be a nice upgrade and allow you to run a small chainring of 39 as opposed to your current 42 (lowest gear of 42.9"). Cost of that would be between £30 - £50'ish for a budget one.

Hope that helps!

 

[Tel]

Oh and the more you ride the smaller the hills become

 

[scarrabri]

Yes smallest front largest rear is the easiest gear. If it is not easy enough you need to make the largest on the rear larger or the smallest on the front smaller.

As you can't change the rings on the front without changing the whole chainset your cheapest option is to change the sprockets on the back (the freewheel). I'm guessing that you currently have a 14-24 (lowest gear of 46.2") you should be able to get a 14-28 (lowest gear of 39.6") on there without any problems which would help. A new freewheel should cost about £10 or so and no more than £5 to have it fitted at the lbs.

You can change the chainset which would be a nice upgrade and allow you to run a small chainring of 39 as opposed to your current 42 (lowest gear of 42.9"). Cost of that would be between £30 - £50'ish for a budget one.

Hope that helps!

Thank you once again i have wrote all that down and will have a word with my LBS at the weekend,its all double dutch to me lol but i trust what you say ,
As for the hill climbing i am doing all i can to improve the power in my legs but i have been diabetic since i was 12yrs old and im going on 60 now so time takes it toll but onwards we go ,no mountain too high as they say ,thanks again ,best wishes Brian.

 

[kipperthedog]

Raleigh Banana

Bikenrrd I have pm'd re-frame.