Raleigh RSP 450 - II (twins)

Having got a very nice RSP 450 (http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... p;t=260708) and had that a few years, when a second (better cosmetically) came up a couple of years ago I just couldn't resist..
19" Reynolds 853 for just under a £ton - I was hooked!

This one's a 'J-reg' which makes it a proper 1999 bike. (the other parts were catalogue-issue too but had been split by the seller)
My other is a 2000 edition from the looks of it, which might explain the much lighter yellow, rather than this one which is a shade of gold - I'd just assumed it had faded a lot!

I love these frames. I've got one that I'll be building up in the New Year.
Good luck with the 2nd build

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Auction pics out of off of eBay..

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Thanks for posting those.

I notice your frame has a boss for an e type front derailleur. This doesn't seem to be consistent across a number of frames I have seen; my frame doesn't have the boss.
Perhaps it's a variation related to production year?

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Wasn't originally sure how / what to do with this one; having already built the other 450 as a 'roll over everything'-type machine; originally I ended up making liberal use off the spares box & nicking some parts off other bikes.

The forks I had were some (fantastic) Cannondale rigid alu forks, which made a nice light bike; rolling on Mavic Crossmax wheels and all-round friction shifting - nice & easy!

Quickly found though, that the forks were realistically too short at 395mm which made the front end sit too low as it was originally fitted with Manitou's as spec; so I got some high-risers, fitted with a brace & a nice short 60mm stem to sit the bars up higher; and running 2.3" slicks made it into a fantastic BMX/cruiser type.



I very much found the fun in the bike in the summer - being off work has its advantages - and took it on a few off-road trips to test out the tyres. What I was surprised about was just how good the DMR Supermotos are in the dry; and how awesome the forks are at tracking well yet not hammering the bumps up through the hands. It became a great bike to take out on night rides in the dry

Unfortunately what I didn't do was to take any decent pics of it.. :facepalm:

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John J":c7bwryoy said:

I notice your frame has a boss for an e type front derailleur. This doesn't seem to be consistent across a number of frames I have seen; my frame doesn't have the boss.
Perhaps it's a variation related to production year?

Click to expand...

Hmm, odd. I can't say that it's something I've looked at on different frames other people have had; but mine are different model years and both have the e-type boss.

Do you have the serial number handy for yours, might give some more clues about why some do/don't have it?

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Where I'm at with this one is that I've decided it's a bit wasteful to just use this as a commuter/street type, so it's getting a bit more of a 'sensible' rebuild so I can still use it as a nice commuter and take it off-road when I want, but with better geometry and slightly less parts-bin approach

It's still got the 34/46t gearing but had a problem with a spread taper on the other 450 causing a crank creak; so I've swapped over the cranks to give this one the 'spread' RHS crank as this bike should be getting less of a hammering than the other
Friction shifting remains, but the rear mech was 'donated' to my rebuilding of my Cadex MCM so it's going to need a replacement mech. (I was going to 'retro-up' this one, but keeping it modern & making the MCM a touch more retro instead as it's a '95 it seems only fitting!)



Brakes have gone - braided HS33's onto my RS Topline & swapped in the modern Evo versions. I was tempted to go with V's, but it's just nearly impossible to go back to V-brakes from Maguras plus this is cost-neutral..
Recently-bought some longer a2c forks too, so they can go on when they arrive.. It's currently sitting on some '95 Marzocchi DH3's, but they are threaded so not good to mix with a threadless setup, not to mention they're better for an older bike than this.

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More parts arrived..wasn't going to buy more for this one but hey..a bargain is a bargain

Shorter 90mm stem fits better; very nice stems, and stupid-light set of carbon mostly flat bars, controls & components fitted up and fits very well..!





Looking forward to the bars keeping the trail chatter down, and liking the newer brakes on it too!
They're only a 680mm bar, but feel a lot wider being so flat & forward.

Now just need a rear mech; preferably not rapid-rise as it's better with the shifter config (pushing multi-changes easier than pulling, so better for downshifting than upshifting) and the rigid forks.
The taper issue on the drive-side crank has received a temporary solution by taping round the spindle as a filler - have to see how long-lasting that is once the bike's back up & running again..


I'm pleased at the look with the gradual increase in black componentry, offsets the frame nicely. My other RSP450 has black & polished silver which works with it's replacement black decals, but this one having the originals still needs that contrast. Think it's also better with the black saddle than the black & yellow it had before(!); gloss black forks will be excellent, and unweight the front end too which should bring the steering back closer to where it was before with the high rise bars and low a2c forks.

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Just saw this
Beautiful