1998 Claud Butler Oracle Rebuild

Hello peeps

Just a bit myself and my bikes:
I've been riding for years now, nothing extreme mind, just bridleways etc on an old beaten up 90's Rayleigh. Last summer I decided to get myself a more modern bike and brought a second-hand Voodoo Hoodoo and have been hitting up some red&black routes on that. I still have a love for old skool though and have recently come across a Claud Butler Oracle...



As you can see it's in a bit of a sorry state having no wheels, missing the chain-set and the chain is fifty shades of rust! Although, the frame isn't in bad shape. I've already fallen in love with her, mainly because I found a sticker of the bike shop where it was first sold; coincidentally it's in my local town/city. Now this might not sound like much but I'm currently serving in Germany and I found this on camp over here! Sadly I don't believe the shop is still there though.



A bit more about the bike. It's Reynolds tubing. The group-set is (Shimano) Acera, although I'm not sure if the rear mech is original? Can anyone shed any light on it? The brake and gear shifters are one piece which I think is quite cool. The seat and bottle holder are Tioga so I'm going to try and find some retro Tioga tyres to match.






I've started by stripping away the old light brackets and just generally checking over everything that's left and then making a list of what it needs.



This is what parts I need so far:

• Chainset;

• preferably (an old) Acera to match everything else
• Pedals; cage type, maybe either Shimano or Tioga
• Wheels; chrome type, cheap as
• 7sp Cassette
  [*]Tioga Tyres; maybe some Psycho II's?
• Chain
  [*]Bottom Bracket
  [*]Replace gear and brake cables
  [*]Canti Brake blocks; Shimano M55/T

The main things I'm hunting for is the chain-set and tyres but if anyone can help with these (I'll post in the Wtd Section too), it would be much appreciated. Ta

Re: Claud Butler Oracle Rebuild

Pretty sure it's 96 or 97, a fairly low end model, would have been ~£330 new.

Yes the rear mech is a big/ugly modern replacement.

If you're going to find period 90s bits for it you might as well go for upgrades, they'll be just as cheap. For example, low-end steel-ring chainsets (below Deore LX) weigh a lot more (even if they last forever).

if my memory is right the origanal chainset was recalled by shimano

So for the past few months I've been amassing parts for my CB Oracle. My first 'obstacle' as such was removing the old sealed BB which had rusted in proper tight. It eventually came out after I used the BB-tool-bolted-to-the-BB-with-a-crank-bolt-and-then-stick-it-in-a-vice + some-heat-from-a-propane-blowtorch method!



Once the old BB was out I cleaned up the threads and fitted a new BB. Then went on my Acera-X cranks courtesy on eBlag (to match the rest of the group-set). Then went on the wheels which I had already made up last night; they consist of some cheap chrome wheels, again off eBlag, and a pair of Tioga Psycho 2's off here. Next I sanded down the original brake blocks and trued the wheels, fitted the chain and pedals (cage type off another bike), adjusted the seat and handle bars et voila!!





Granted it's not a 100% of the era plus it still needs a couple of other things but for now I'm pleased and it's ridable! So far it has cost me just under £90

First ride this evening

I've just acquired a nice addition/upgrade for 'Old Claud'...



...a pair of Mavic 236's on Acera X parallax hubs!

I also managed to acquired an original Acera X rear mech so I've now got a complete groupset on the bike