Here's a before and after of my 1987 Raleigh Equipe. It had been hanging up in the rafters of my father-in-laws garage until a pedal 'fell off' and nearly killed him! He decided to take it to the tip but I just couldn't let that happen!
I've kept the frame and had it shot blasted and powder coated by the wonderful people at Bettablast in Newcastle and basically I wanted to spec it relatively cheaply (hohoho) with bits from ebay, bargain bins and a few bits from a mate and a loads of old bits I've had in the garage.
The original crank and basically the whole of the drive train are in really good condition given how much use it's had over the years, Ive gone through about 3 lots of XT grade components on my mountain bikes over the last 8 or 9 years so I guess they the old Raleigh stuff was built to last!
I had been hoping to get my hands on some reasonably cheap carbon forks, but finding some with a 1 inch steerer is a tricky task - on my budget at least. But to be honest, I'm starting to like the chrome forks, it gives it a bit of a old skool look and feel.
I know Equipe were never the greatest bikes back in the day and I was never that keen on the white/peppermint look anyway. The Kawasaki green paint was the choice of my 4 year old son who said he wanted it to be the same colour as the retro Time Atac pedals I've been hoarding for the last 12 years!
I decided I wanted to refurb this as I can't justify the cost of a new road bike at the minute and I can't bear to part with any of my MTB collection, so I thought a refurb would be a cheaper option, as it is, Ive spent enough to buy myself a half decent road bike off ebay anyway. Still, it wouldn't have given me anywhere near the joy and satisfaction of revamping it myself.
I've kept the frame and had it shot blasted and powder coated by the wonderful people at Bettablast in Newcastle and basically I wanted to spec it relatively cheaply (hohoho) with bits from ebay, bargain bins and a few bits from a mate and a loads of old bits I've had in the garage.
The original crank and basically the whole of the drive train are in really good condition given how much use it's had over the years, Ive gone through about 3 lots of XT grade components on my mountain bikes over the last 8 or 9 years so I guess they the old Raleigh stuff was built to last!
I had been hoping to get my hands on some reasonably cheap carbon forks, but finding some with a 1 inch steerer is a tricky task - on my budget at least. But to be honest, I'm starting to like the chrome forks, it gives it a bit of a old skool look and feel.
I know Equipe were never the greatest bikes back in the day and I was never that keen on the white/peppermint look anyway. The Kawasaki green paint was the choice of my 4 year old son who said he wanted it to be the same colour as the retro Time Atac pedals I've been hoarding for the last 12 years!
I decided I wanted to refurb this as I can't justify the cost of a new road bike at the minute and I can't bear to part with any of my MTB collection, so I thought a refurb would be a cheaper option, as it is, Ive spent enough to buy myself a half decent road bike off ebay anyway. Still, it wouldn't have given me anywhere near the joy and satisfaction of revamping it myself.
nice work 
