A Raleigh Olympus 5-speed renovation - FINISHED

Restoring this for a relative after sitting in his garage for the last 30 years and then falling off it when he took it for a spin around the block. He then decided to ask me if I could restore it to somewhere near it's original state - as in the Raleigh ad attached.
It would have been the cheap end of the racing bike market I think, it's certainly not going to win any prizes at L'eroica, but it's a nice little project and I just happen to have a load of spares in boxes which will fit a treat. Had to have the LBS saw off the cranks though, the cotter pins were rusted solid and the brakes are shot to hell - which may explain why he fell off!

Re: A Raleigh Olympus 5-speed renovation

My first racer. Watching with interest.

Re: A Raleigh Olympus 5-speed renovation

The History Man":3b2sbgvp said:

My first racer. Watching with interest.

Click to expand...

Ditto, but mine was red which made it faster

Re: A Raleigh Olympus 5-speed renovation

It was 1977. Time to put away childish things. It sat in the hall for weeks before Christmas. I was allowed to sit on the stairs. To look but not touch. A few more ramps, a few more skids, a few more backies. The long goodbye. My Chopper departed.

I was a man.

Re:

Most of my teenage school pals had an Olympus in the 70's, and I lusted after the turquoise one.
When the time came for an upgrade from my Halfords Pathfinder single speed, my Dad in his wisdom looked at the Olympus and declared it no good as it had steel rims and bars, and 26" wheels IIRC?
He was right really, he bought me a Royal Enfield with 27 1/4 alloy rims, bars and stem; it was much lighter and much faster. I'm sure I remember him paying £95 for the Enfield, which was about a fiver less than the Raleigh.
Happy memories.
Good luck with the restoration.

Re: A Raleigh Olympus 5-speed renovation

The Olympus coming along nicely, after lots of Xmas free time.
Mostly involved lots and lots and lots of scrubbing away rust with Coke and Tinfoil - amazing stuff, I thought the brake calipers were too far gone but they've come up as good as new. The original headset was seized though and I've replaced with a reasonably old-school looking headset and stem, which aren't exactly period but made do from parts available. Levers, calipers, rims, hubs (and spokes) all scrubbed and polished. Just need to get it all back together now. Replaced the derailleur with a nicely scrubbed up Svelto and found the correct cranks and BB to match original. Just need to wire up the gears and brakes, and bang on some bar tape and should be almost ready to rock.

Re: A Raleigh Olympus 5-speed renovation

Looking very tidy. Can't wait to see it finished.

Re: A Raleigh Olympus 5-speed renovation

Looking nice, always takes me back to 1976 and my first 'proper' bike. Keep it coming.

Re: A Raleigh Olympus 5-speed renovation

What a great thread! I remember having one of these too and thinking it looked cool with clear red BMX bar grips on the ends of the dropped bars!

Mine was second-hand though and loved it until 1983 until I gave it away to a kid in the street.

Re: A Raleigh Olympus 5-speed renovation

Thank you Ian, praise indeed from Mr Raleigh.
This example, when finished, is destined to be returned to the garage though, kept tidy and perhaps passed down to an appropriately sized teenager come the time.
Didn't really want to put back the garish red mudguards, since I don't think they work at all with the turquoise frame. But that's the 70s for you I guess. Maybe multi-coloured tank-tops will come back in fashion too.