Ramon’s 1981 Raleigh Competition

Posted

Hi Guys, searching for some info on my bike, I found the old ten speed gallery. Nice to see there are a lot more people who appreciate classic race bikes instead of the modern all-carbon things you see to much of here in Holland.

Some info about my bike:

Year: 1981 Make: Raleigh (Carlton) Model: Competition

I came across this bike a while ago. It was in horrible condition, a lot of surface rust, scratches, worn paint and decals, loose brakes, cranks, wheels, and the steering wheel all wrapped with cheap (peeling) duct tape. In short, the bike needed a total rebuild. I got it at no cost at all so I decided to give it a go and take her with me.

What did I do to make it look like this? I peeled off the annoying duct tape (seriously, a lot of work!) from the steering bar and replaced it with new professional black classic wire grips. The previous owner probably didn’t know what he was doing because the (beautiful) Campagnolo cranks where all messed up by the pedals being fitted wrong. Fortunately I acquired a nice SilStar 170mm crankset which I refurbished and fitted to the Raleigh. (Still using the Campagnolo Super Record pedals).

Also the front derailleur was completely worn so the chain would lock up every time you tried to shift gears. Dangerous of course, so I replaced the original suntour derailleur with a well functioning Shimano one. Of course the marks of being almost 30 years old show but the paint is still holding up nicely after cleaning and waxing so I decided not to repaint and keep it the way she is. after all she is old!

The old worn saddle was to ugly to be seen with (no dont worry, no brooks saddle), and I still had a ok looking Koga Miyata one in the garage.

The brakes where fitted with new brake pads and the wheels where given Schwalbe Lugano tires in blue bike matching color (I think it gives the bike a go-fast modern appeal)

Then it was simply a question of fitting it all together, with lots and lots and lots of hard cleaning work to do. It looked like nobody cared in the last 29 years!

Some short specs:

Frame: Reynolds 531 Wheels: Campagnolo 700c Steering bar and stem: Suntour Tires: Schwalbe Lugano Crank: SilStar cranks with Campagnolo Super Rekord pedals Rear Derailleur: Suntour Vx Front Derailleur: Shimano 600 Shifters: Suntour Brakes: Weinmann 605’s and Weinmann Brakehandles

My first intention with the bike was a quick fix and ride it but I felt like the bike deserved more. So here we are, several months later and I am so pleased that I did spend that couple of more weeks working on it.

I tried to update the bike a bit giving it a more modern feel without destroying the classic look.

Ramon

Thanks Ramon

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  • older1

    Mission accomplished, Ramon! Good job!
    From your description, it must have looked like an intimidating project, but now, it looks great, and I’m sure it was worth the effort!

  • julie s

    LOVE what the wheelset does for your bike! Too bad about the crankset/but it sure looks sweet now! Great score on a FREE bike!

  • Ramon

    Sure was a lot of work, but I’m very glad I did. At first I wasn’t so sure about the wheelset (Especially the tyres) but I think they look sweet compared to the old ones. simply gives a whole new look to the bike.

    In all the bike cost me about 40 euro’s (and ofcourse a lot of rebuilt time) but hey! not bad for how it looks now!

  • Earl Gage

    Good job man! I’m in the process of rebuilding an old Raleigh Record from 1970 and needless to say it seen better days, but after seeing this I can only hope it comes out looking that good…