Raleigh Dynaflite SBDU 753.... 'Manager Special'
- Thread starter vcballbat
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vcballbat
Senior Retro Guru
Glad to hear your enjoying the thread, the bike was a great find and a perfect partner to my later lugged SBDU Dynaflite. Having the two frames I can see how the construction evolved and the transition from an oval tube to round became more refined and subtle.... some more details here....
Thread 'Raleigh SBDU 753 Aero Bike' https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/raleigh-sbdu-753-aero-bike.410688/
vcballbat
Senior Retro Guru
Possibly one of the prettiest headset's ever made the Campagnolo Super Record is in great condition. There seemed little point in removing the cups & race from frame and fork having not been disturbed in 40yrs, they cleaned up perfectly in-situ. Top nut and race showing no signs of spanner damage just a degrease and quick buff..☺
vcballbat
Senior Retro Guru
Thursday was a cold crisp bright day and the roads were dry, I decided to fetch the 'Thoroughbred Unicorn' from the stable and take the Campagnolo 'trouser guard' out for a fast blast to Silvabronz electroplaters at Alton. Stopped off at Bahnstormer BMW at Farringdon en route for coffee and biscuits and to admire the latest offerings on two wheels. On arrival at Silvabronz I was told that they could chrome the trouser guard for...GULP....£65... chainring bolts £5 a pop and the brake lever bands £15 a side, sweating and trembling i said maybe just the trouser guard sir. Then I was informed that because of the lock down lots of abandoned/ unfinished/unstarted projects had been reserrected and there was a twelve week turnaround.. brilliant news... I'm not one for long term projects so me and my trouser guard jumped on the BMW Hp2 Sport and sped off down the highway...
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Think it is time for abrasives and polish...
vcballbat
Senior Retro Guru
When I got home I put plan B into action and chucked the trouser guard into the sink with boiling water and detergent giving it a good scrub. The flaking chrome came off easily with paint scraper from the front face while the chrome on the rough sand cast rear has adeared much better and will stay. Starting with 600 grade wet & dry paper and plenty of water, then 1200 and finally 1600 grade finishing with a good buff with Solvo. Because of the alloy used it's more of a dull grey finish, but as I'm keeping the paint original I think it should pass muster...☺
vcballbat
Senior Retro Guru
The chainring bolts look like they've come from a selection tin with three of my Campagnolo favourites and a couple of unmarked, all have been cut down to 13mm (a double shown for comparison). The chainring spacers are a mix of four rear and one front, looks like they just had to make do with what was available in the workshop. The complete chainset weighs in at 560g...
vcballbat
Senior Retro Guru
I mentioned earlier in the thread that i had concerns about running folding bead tyres on the Weinmann AG124 rims as I'd read stories of tyres exploding off the rim and only wire bead tyres were suitable. Folding tyres have come on along way since their introduction in the late seventies so decided to carry out my own experiment using my personal favourite...the Continental Grand Prix Classic 25mm. Taking a tyre from my Ribble, a 23mm tube and wearing the correct PPE (safety glasses & ear defenders) I gingerly inflated the tyre to 100psi. So far so good, the tyre has seated nice and evenly with a consistent black line showing both sides at the rim edge. Today i will take it to the maximum recommended pressure of 120psi...
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