Raleigh Team Track SBDU restoration project FINISHED! 24/01

[Pointer]

Brilliant! Been waiting for this for ages. It looks every bit as good as I thought it would. What tyres have you got on it?

Thanks - It's been a fun project, I might change the odd thing, e.g if the perfect stem comes along etc but for now it's finished.
I've just put some cheapish Continental Giro Tubs on it for the moment, partly because of the gum-wall colour and partly because I don't intend to use the front wheel very often (no braking surface) and so I didn't want a pair of super expensive tubs going to 'waste'.

 

[Pointer]

beautiful!
i had SB 436 a track frame/forks from 1974 - when pennies were low i had to sell it.... i really regret doing that - hold on to this beauty!

^ that's a shame, you never know it might surface again. It's worth joining the Yahoo Ti Raleigh group, there is a very useful database, your frame may well be on there. I intend to hang on to this one, don't worry!

 

[djoptix]

That's a stunner. Not the usual identikit fixie either. Lovely work

 

[Goldie]

Any chance you might find yourself up here for a few laps of the velodrome? I'd defintely come down for that

 

[MercianMike]

That looks fantastic, You have done it justice!

 

[daccordimark]

Very, very nice.

You are going to put a proper brake lever on it - aren't you?

 

[Pointer]

Any chance you might find yourself up here for a few laps of the velodrome? I'd defintely come down for that

Having never ridden on a track, that could well be worth seeing!

 

[Pointer]

Very, very nice.

You are going to put a proper brake lever on it - aren't you?

Well there are two things I don't really like on here, one being the SPD's (but but I wear the same shoes on all of my bikes, so its a practical thing), secondly I don't really like the lever and will probably end up changing it at some point. Again at the moment it is purely functional.

 

[roadking]

Lovely restoration- especially the frameset.

Did you consider having the spokes soldered - or would that be impractical for the use you intend for the bike (soldering was traditional on track bikes of the classic period)?

Lovely anyway.

My SBDU is currently stripped down and residing on the wall of my office -they're works of art and machines!

Roadking.

 

[Pointer]

Lovely restoration- especially the frameset.

Did you consider having the spokes soldered - or would that be impractical for the use you intend for the bike (soldering was traditional on track bikes of the classic period)?

Lovely anyway.

My SBDU is currently stripped down and residing on the wall of my office -they're works of art and machines!

Roadking.

Thanks, credit goes to Mercian for the fantastic paint effort - it really is superb, the wait was well worth it!
I do like the idea of wired and soldered spokes, but I had these rebuilt to the same spec as when I picked the bike up (without solder).

I do also like the idea of hanging this on the wall, as I won't be using it all that often, mainly in dry weather. It certainly won't be left anywhere outside, no matter what lock I put on it!

The story behind this bike is that I actually went to buy a Team Raleigh Replica road bike (non SBDU, but the 531C with shot-in stays) from someone last summer and he also wanted to get rid of his old track bike too. I couldn't resist it at the time, it deserved the restoration..I'm now stripping down the road version for an overhaul - the paint is pretty good on that one.