ThePowster
Old School Hero
I have been waiting for the day to type this post, but before I go any further the first thing I need to do is give thanks.
I have just been through all 102 of my posts :shock: and I wanted to give a special shout out and say thank you, to all the following people who have helped me with advice because without your input this build would not have been possible.
Thank you to:
Cromoman, The History Man, Maca, Midlife, Glpinxit, Mike Muz 67, Torqueless, Hamster, Pionir, Nob, Legrandefromage, Keithglos, TheBear1978, Ray_72, Fr188, Sand_Dune, kermitgreenkona88, Mattr, Old Ned, Woz, Little Al, Cloonaghpat, Allenh, xxnick1975, roadking, NeilM, jm, darylw357, MatBH5, MartinB123, Rod_Saetan, Pigman, was8v.
And a final shout out to Retrobike Forum for being here in the first place, to the creators n mods, it’s great to have a home for folks who need support to keep these old skool bikes alive.
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So yesterday I finished my final few jobs on the Banana and it was complete, today, I took her to a local park for a bit of a photo shoot and to take some video as she will never be as clean again as she is today.
I rode her about, 1.5 miles each way, how did she ride? … Awesome! First thing I noticed was some pain in right hand on bars, not sure why but these bars are not as comfortable as my other aero ones. Next thing I noticed was just how comfortable the overall position was and the seat too, but not only that, the bike rides in stealth mode, it’s totally silent! No noise from the tyres on the road and the free hub is schhh quiet.
I am into these 28mm tyres now in a big way and going to see if a set will fit on my Cannondale CAAD 12.
I also noticed the lack of the 28t rear cassette and the 25t being quite a lot harder.
Weight …. She’s a heavy beast tipping the scales at 11.2kg :facepalm: (exactly 1kg lighter than standard – 12.2kg) just bike and 1 bottle cage, when you start adding garmin and mounts ya looking maybe 11.5kg, add an additional water bottle cage, an extra bottle, under seat tool bag and top tube food bag and I think she is going to roll around the 13kg mark :l
I was a little disappointed in this and I really hoped I would get her down to the 10kg but this hasn’t happened, still despite the ballast when she’s rolling I honestly didn’t notice, I think you will notice more when starting from a stand still and of course any long climbs, but if it’s straight or down hill, she's fine
I need to take her on a proper ride to get a real feel for what she’s like, but first impressions are,… Awesome!
Cost wise I am into this for around £800 that includes the purchase of the bike. I started this thinking I would have maybe £50 to spend, so, er, am a bit over budget then so much so I can’t even make rent this week but hey, least I have a pukka Raleigh Banana.
My build isn’t 100% complete but it’s complete for now. In time I want to add some fizik bar tape to the existing bar tape for more comfort and better looks. I will add a number board at some point just because I want to, what else, oh yes next week I need some lugnuts and drill the frame and get 2 new bottle cages, and finally a stem. The one on the bike is a spare one I had so I am using that for now to decide what length I want, 90mm, 110mm etc, so I will see how I get on with this one and buy a more suitable length one once I know what's what.
And, er.. yeah, I think that’s about it.
I may design some of my own Team Banana Decals and have them cut for the rims like I did for my KTM, I’ll do that the same time as the race plate, I’ll stick with the flat pedals, I don’t want to go too fast, I need people to see me on this
My first road bike built, a brand new 2018 Raleigh Banana with an 80’s Steel frame freshly painted and lacquered.
If God rode a bike to the pub, chances are, it would probably be this :mrgreen:
So what shall I build next? I quite fancy a Kelloggs Pro Tour, but I think maybe I should get my bank sorted and get some use outta this before I plan another lol.
Cheers everyone, now for what you all been waiting for, some pics and some VIDEO (excuse the song I needed sommat 80’s to go with it).
I have just been through all 102 of my posts :shock: and I wanted to give a special shout out and say thank you, to all the following people who have helped me with advice because without your input this build would not have been possible.
Thank you to:
Cromoman, The History Man, Maca, Midlife, Glpinxit, Mike Muz 67, Torqueless, Hamster, Pionir, Nob, Legrandefromage, Keithglos, TheBear1978, Ray_72, Fr188, Sand_Dune, kermitgreenkona88, Mattr, Old Ned, Woz, Little Al, Cloonaghpat, Allenh, xxnick1975, roadking, NeilM, jm, darylw357, MatBH5, MartinB123, Rod_Saetan, Pigman, was8v.
And a final shout out to Retrobike Forum for being here in the first place, to the creators n mods, it’s great to have a home for folks who need support to keep these old skool bikes alive.
-------------
So yesterday I finished my final few jobs on the Banana and it was complete, today, I took her to a local park for a bit of a photo shoot and to take some video as she will never be as clean again as she is today.
I rode her about, 1.5 miles each way, how did she ride? … Awesome! First thing I noticed was some pain in right hand on bars, not sure why but these bars are not as comfortable as my other aero ones. Next thing I noticed was just how comfortable the overall position was and the seat too, but not only that, the bike rides in stealth mode, it’s totally silent! No noise from the tyres on the road and the free hub is schhh quiet.
I am into these 28mm tyres now in a big way and going to see if a set will fit on my Cannondale CAAD 12.
I also noticed the lack of the 28t rear cassette and the 25t being quite a lot harder.
Weight …. She’s a heavy beast tipping the scales at 11.2kg :facepalm: (exactly 1kg lighter than standard – 12.2kg) just bike and 1 bottle cage, when you start adding garmin and mounts ya looking maybe 11.5kg, add an additional water bottle cage, an extra bottle, under seat tool bag and top tube food bag and I think she is going to roll around the 13kg mark :l
I was a little disappointed in this and I really hoped I would get her down to the 10kg but this hasn’t happened, still despite the ballast when she’s rolling I honestly didn’t notice, I think you will notice more when starting from a stand still and of course any long climbs, but if it’s straight or down hill, she's fine
I need to take her on a proper ride to get a real feel for what she’s like, but first impressions are,… Awesome!
Cost wise I am into this for around £800 that includes the purchase of the bike. I started this thinking I would have maybe £50 to spend, so, er, am a bit over budget then
so much so I can’t even make rent this week but hey, least I have a pukka Raleigh Banana.My build isn’t 100% complete but it’s complete for now. In time I want to add some fizik bar tape to the existing bar tape for more comfort and better looks. I will add a number board at some point just because I want to, what else, oh yes next week I need some lugnuts and drill the frame and get 2 new bottle cages, and finally a stem. The one on the bike is a spare one I had so I am using that for now to decide what length I want, 90mm, 110mm etc, so I will see how I get on with this one and buy a more suitable length one once I know what's what.
And, er.. yeah, I think that’s about it.
I may design some of my own Team Banana Decals and have them cut for the rims like I did for my KTM, I’ll do that the same time as the race plate, I’ll stick with the flat pedals, I don’t want to go too fast, I need people to see me on this
My first road bike built, a brand new 2018 Raleigh Banana with an 80’s Steel frame freshly painted and lacquered.
If God rode a bike to the pub, chances are, it would probably be this :mrgreen:
So what shall I build next? I quite fancy a Kelloggs Pro Tour, but I think maybe I should get my bank sorted and get some use outta this before I plan another lol.
Cheers everyone, now for what you all been waiting for, some pics and some VIDEO (excuse the song I needed sommat 80’s to go with it).
