raleigh ritmo ...rebuild

[built2last]

Raleigh ritmo 87 .how rare are ritmos?..Reynolds 531 tubing.1987 built ..in good condition but being restored.here is the frame,it has a small dent on the top tube due handle bars I think and light rust spots as the.paint is very thin on the lightweights.the frame in this picture here was part resprayed.I masked off the decals and part painted it.afterwards I wasn't happy with the fresh paint and the original decals that had few chips on them.so I removed the decals,placed them on a4 paper.photographed them took dimensions and asked a supplier in ebay to reproduce them.which he did.so I fully repainted the frame using the correct colours and applied fresh decals,

 

[built2last]

According to the Raleigh catalogue the ritmo comes with weinman wheels.mine had mavics.I believed them to be original so I rebuilt them but I'm not sure if it left the factory with the mavics. years of use,taken apart polished by hand.New stainless steel spokes.New axles cones and bearings.

 

[built2last]

The standard crank puller ripped the threads that the cap uses.the tool wouldn't shift the crank so I made one up in 2 halfs then welded it together around the crank.the crank came off 1st go.second picture is the crank polished and refitted

 

[built2last]

Brake calipers dismantled polished reassembled original brake blocks kept with new nuts and washers.

 

[built2last]

Pedals dismantled.new bearings,and a bit of polishing.
Original regina bx rear sproket dismantled new bearings and grease fitted.

 

[Diamant_Don]

Lovely work there! How easy was the paint fade job to achieve?

 

[built2last]

Re:

Hi,thanks.the paint fade is just a simple waft with a spray can.spray slow and build the paint where you need a solid colour then just a quick flick to fade it off.it looks a bit pixelated but once you apply top high gloss laquer it will blend itself nicely.keep watching as il add more photos soon thanks.

 

[built2last]

Close up on paint fade

 

[shed]

Re:

great job

 

[built2last]

Thanks...hope it inspires others to rebuild and save the old bikes.