Here's a nice project I've been working on recently, it's a 1974 Raleigh Caprice that my friend Alex asked me to restore for his girlfriend's imminent birthday. He wanted it powder-coated for durability and rebuilt as original as possible, but a bit more usable and comfier than before.
As it looked the day he brought it round... pretty beaten up!
Parts stripped, media-blasted and ready to be powdercoated:
Meanwhile, I cleaned up the rest:
new wheels nuts and brake lever ferrules nestling amongst original parts:
Bar/stem and post polished up pretty nicely:
Not too shabby crankset:
The brakes took a lot of work:
As did the wheels (shown with new tyres & tubes fitted):
Then the powdercoaters rang to say all the bits are ready:
Frame & forks all ready to spanner up!
A few close ups... the BB shell:
Fork thread:
And the drop-outs:
Crown race goes on:
Headset cups going in:
Lower headset assembly getting greased up:
BB going in:
Cranks going on:
Wheels went on and mudguard fitting next:
Rear light re-fitting, it's just a reflector these days
Rear brake and rack being fitted:
Nice new Silca pump from SJS Cycles:
Time to fit the chainguard... with stealth branding!
Had to make the fittings for the chainguard, I modified a jubilee clip at the front and the cable tie is holding the gear cable in place to the jubilee clip!
NOS decal from eBay:
An old horn mounting works well for the rear chainguard mounting:
Custom basket mounting using a spare Blackburn rack mounting and a 6"x 8" piece of laminate wood flooring!
Tested the rack with these two:
x
x
x
x
And she's done!
Unlike before, the gears & brakes now work...
The colour, tyres, saddle and grips were my friend's choice:
Frame: 1974 Raleigh Caprice with NOS decals
Fork: original
Headset: original with added washer
Bar/Stem: original
Grips: unknown ergo cork (new)
Brake Levers: original with new ferrules
Brake Calipers: original
Brake Pads: new
Brake Cables: new
Shifters: original Sturmey Archer
Rear cog: original Sturmey Archer
Chain: new 1/8" Taya
Cranks: original Raleigh
Chainrings: original Raleigh 1/8"
Bottom Bracket: original
Pedals: original Union
Rims: original Sturmey-Archer
Hubs: original Sturmey-Archer
Hub Skewers: original front nuts with added washers, NOS rear axle nuts
Nipples: original
Spokes: original
Tyres: Schwalbe Delta Cruiser 26 x 1 3/8" (new)
Tubes: Raleigh Record (NOS) with new gold valve caps
Saddle: Sprint (new)... yes it would look better with a Brooks but new owner is vegan
Seatpost: original
Seatpost Binder: original
Extras: along with the frame & forks I had the following parts powdercoated... original mudguards, rack, kickstand and chainguard... the bike also features it's original rear light fitting, a new Silca pump, a new wicker basket with custom fittings, a new bell and custom chainguard fittings.
Weight: we don't ask a lady
As it looked the day he brought it round... pretty beaten up!
Parts stripped, media-blasted and ready to be powdercoated:
Meanwhile, I cleaned up the rest:
new wheels nuts and brake lever ferrules nestling amongst original parts:
Bar/stem and post polished up pretty nicely:
Not too shabby crankset:
The brakes took a lot of work:
As did the wheels (shown with new tyres & tubes fitted):
Then the powdercoaters rang to say all the bits are ready:
Frame & forks all ready to spanner up!
A few close ups... the BB shell:
Fork thread:
And the drop-outs:
Crown race goes on:
Headset cups going in:
Lower headset assembly getting greased up:
BB going in:
Cranks going on:
Wheels went on and mudguard fitting next:
Rear light re-fitting, it's just a reflector these days
Rear brake and rack being fitted:
Nice new Silca pump from SJS Cycles:
Time to fit the chainguard... with stealth branding!
Had to make the fittings for the chainguard, I modified a jubilee clip at the front and the cable tie is holding the gear cable in place to the jubilee clip!
NOS decal from eBay:
An old horn mounting works well for the rear chainguard mounting:
Custom basket mounting using a spare Blackburn rack mounting and a 6"x 8" piece of laminate wood flooring!
Tested the rack with these two:
x
x
x
x
And she's done!
Unlike before, the gears & brakes now work...
The colour, tyres, saddle and grips were my friend's choice:
Frame: 1974 Raleigh Caprice with NOS decals
Fork: original
Headset: original with added washer
Bar/Stem: original
Grips: unknown ergo cork (new)
Brake Levers: original with new ferrules
Brake Calipers: original
Brake Pads: new
Brake Cables: new
Shifters: original Sturmey Archer
Rear cog: original Sturmey Archer
Chain: new 1/8" Taya
Cranks: original Raleigh
Chainrings: original Raleigh 1/8"
Bottom Bracket: original
Pedals: original Union
Rims: original Sturmey-Archer
Hubs: original Sturmey-Archer
Hub Skewers: original front nuts with added washers, NOS rear axle nuts
Nipples: original
Spokes: original
Tyres: Schwalbe Delta Cruiser 26 x 1 3/8" (new)
Tubes: Raleigh Record (NOS) with new gold valve caps
Saddle: Sprint (new)... yes it would look better with a Brooks but new owner is vegan
Seatpost: original
Seatpost Binder: original
Extras: along with the frame & forks I had the following parts powdercoated... original mudguards, rack, kickstand and chainguard... the bike also features it's original rear light fitting, a new Silca pump, a new wicker basket with custom fittings, a new bell and custom chainguard fittings.
Weight: we don't ask a lady