1987 Raleigh Equipe

The Baldy Bullet

Retro Newbie
So I'm looking on gumtree for a cheap road bike with sti shifters when I notice all these bikes from 70's/80's that I remember.

Logical me says 9 speed,compact alu frame & sealed bearings.

Daft me sees steel frames,chrome rims,suicide levers and guess what gear this is shifters.

Daft me wins and buys an as new 1987 Raleigh Equipe and a trip back to when I was 17.

Ditched the selle royale saddle for a selle bassano i had lying about and will replace the still original raleigh tyres with some vittorias apart from that its staying the same :0)

Will post photos soon once i've picked up me jawbone from the ground :0)
 

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I'm restoring an Equipe as well!

My Equipe is a slightly older one that yours I think, but nowhere near as good nick as yours is in!

It had been hanging up in my father-in-laws garage for the last 20 years, but the gears still work perfectly.

I've already put some new replacement Raleigh wheels on it so its rideable, but I've got a local company who are going to shot last it then powder coat it in any colour of my choosing - all for less than £50. Then its off to eBay for wider handlebars, seat-post, saddle and some internally routed brakes!

It'll cost about £200 for the refurb but it'll be worth it!
 
It has a mech hanger which is always a good start - if it were me, I'd change the freewheel to a 6/7 Shimano, get some 6/7 spd indexed shifters and a basic SIS or similar rear mech.

I'd then change the brake pads too or even change the calipers over to a dual pivot type.

It would make it alot easier to ride and stop.
 
I recently saved an Equipe frame from the bin men. I picked up a seat and post, wheels and handlebars from Freecycle and I've just got to build it up so it can be my standby geared bike.
 
Very nice raleigh!

I've recently returned to 80's raleigh racers myself.

I agree with getting some dual pivot gears, i've put campagnolo centaur and veloce on my bikes, along with new cables & levers its transformed the stopping! They're only about £30 a set for the calipers. The old raleigh/weinmann alloy levers are pretty good anyway but mine were sloppy after the moon mileage they'd done!

Also upgrading the pedals is an obvious one if they are original.

Just out of interest, i notice the equipe doesnt have the reynolds 501, how much heavier is the non-reynolds raleigh frame? I'm thinking of getting an equipe for a daily hack if they arent far behind a 501 bike for weight/performance and handling?
 
here one i just sold on bought new in 1990 used twice and covered less than 4 miles then sat in garage till earlier this month when i picked it up and rode it home . after a quick once over used it for commuting on for a week before selling on .
 

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