Raleigh Quadra - 198x

drcarlos

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This arrived today, my first roadie since I was 13 and I had a 5 speed Puch. I used to look at the Raleigh lightweight brochure wanting the MTB's but also wanted one of the 531 Roadie's, nothing too flash just something with a nice frame and a 105 group, so the Delta and Quadra stood out. The Quadra had the nicer paint and some nicer parts too so it was that I wanted. So when one in a non-gate sized 21" appeared on ebay with delivery a snipe was locked and loaded. £102 + delivery later it landed today.



Nicely boxed.



and well packed and protected.



So the verdict.

Well it needed a decent clean and t-cut, most of the rust staining has come off and it needs a bit of retouching, but for what I think is a 1988 (the reynolds decals are pre-1989) bike it isn't bad and I think i'll keep it as is. The look pedals, 105 rear mech and the Suntour front mech are for sale and will be replaced with a set of SPD's (I have the shoes and cleats) and period correct 105 Grey mechs. The hideous tanks of a chainset which is actually a late 80's Exage country thing with steel rings will be dumped in favour of a 6400 Tri-colour number.
What else? Well the BB is toast but it's our and the threads are good so a cartridge replacement has been ordered and I need to find some replacement shifters as one of the boss covers is missing and the shifter can't function without it. Wheel wise it is unmatched which makes my OCD twitch :LOL: , but the rear is an RSX hub with Mavic rim and the front a C-record hub with Mavic Rim so as they are both Grey ano, with a near perfect match and above all straight they will stay for now until I find a chance upon a matched pair of something period in 7's. It has a rather nice 3T stem and Sakae custom bars which are nice and will stay. The saddle is a yellow Turbo on an SR seatpin so they are both definitely staying. Not 100% sold on the tyres but they are decent and new so will see how we get on.
It's now in bits waiting for the BB, Chainset and mechs to arrive hopefully I'll start the rebuild early next week as it's first outing is next weekend :shock: . If I can source replacement shifters.

Carl.
 
drcarlos":2omr9vws said:
This arrived today, my first roadie since I was 13 and I had a 5 speed Puch. I used to look at the Raleigh lightweight brochure wanting the MTB's but also wanted one of the 531 Roadie's, nothing too flash just something with a nice frame and a 105 group, so the Delta and Quadra stood out. The Quadra had the nicer paint and some nicer parts too so it was that I wanted. So when one in a non-gate sized 21" appeared on ebay with delivery a snipe was locked and loaded. £102 + delivery later it landed today.



Nicely boxed.



and well packed and protected.



So the verdict.

Well it needed a decent clean and t-cut, most of the rust staining has come off and it needs a bit of retouching, but for what I think is a 1988 (the reynolds decals are pre-1989) bike it isn't bad and I think i'll keep it as is. The look pedals, 105 rear mech and the Suntour front mech are for sale and will be replaced with a set of SPD's (I have the shoes and cleats) and period correct 105 Grey mechs. The hideous tank of a chainset which is actually a late 80's Exage country thing with steel rings will be dumped in favour of a 6400 Tri-colour number.
What else? Well the BB is toast but it's out and the threads are good so a cartridge replacement has been ordered. I need to find some replacement shifters as one of the boss covers is missing and the shifter can't function without it. Wheel wise it is unmatched which makes my OCD twitch :LOL: , but the rear is an RSX hub with Mavic rim and the front a C-record hub with Mavic Rim so as they are both Grey ano, with a near perfect match and above all straight they will stay for now until I find a chance upon a matched pair of something period in 7's. It has a rather nice 3T stem and Sakae custom bars which are nice and will stay. The saddle is a yellow Turbo on an SR seatpin so they are both definitely staying. Not 100% sold on the tyres but they are decent and new so will see how we get on.
It's now in bits waiting for the BB, Chainset and mechs to arrive hopefully I'll start the rebuild early next week as it's first outing is next weekend :shock: . If I can source replacement shifters.

Carl.
 
Dibs on the tyres for my basso if you want to sell them on sir!

Nice find. Very tidy for its 25 years. Chainset was a fair price in your experience?

Will be watching with interest and admiration.
 
Stripped and cleaned the headset and gave the frame a T-cut at the weekend and it's not in wonderful condition and could really use a re-paint, there is a fair amount of corrosion and bubbling paint under the rear brake cable. If I get it done it will be a return to full original colours but it depends on how I get on with road riding as my first 30 miler on this is this weekend.
The seatpin also got the wet and dry then autosol treatment and looks a whole lot better for it.
Meanwhile the chainset arrived safely from Hilary and is in excellent used condition and perfect for a rider that needs to look good. Price wise HM, yes I think the price was good as the 105 would have cost more and this is a step up. The new Shimano sealed BB arrived as did a set of decent brake blocks and the final bits which are the good condition 105 (grey 1050) front and rear mechs and the curved lever spacers should be here tomorrow.
While I was cleaning I gave the wheels a strip and re-grease along with a quick clean and I really think I am going to have to change them to something that matches, the currently are an RX100 rear hub with NE192 Mavic rim and a C-Record front hub and Mavic Open 4CD rim, they nearly match in colour but not quite (one is dark grey, the other black), so I think they will be replaced with something else.

Picture's a bit cruddy bu i'll get some nicer finished shots tomorrow evening when the other parts have arrived and been fitted.



On the plus side it does fit me well with the seatpost set at that height.

Carl.
 
Got it finished tonight and took some better pics

Frame: Reynolds 531 Handbuilt

Fork: Reynolds 531 Handbuilt

Headset: Shimano 105
Stem: 3TTT
Handlebar: Sakae Modolo Custom
Bar Tape: Yellow

Brake Levers: 105 SLR Aero
Brake Calipers: 105
Brake Pads: Uber bike
Brake Cables: Not sure

Shifters: 105 7 Speed
Front Derailleur: 105
Rear Derailleur: 105
Cassette: 7 Speed Hyperglide
Cranks: 600 TriColour
Chainrings: 42/53 Round Alloy
Bottom Bracket: Sealed UN54
Pedals: M520 SPD

Rims: Mavic Open 4CD and 192 NEO
Hubs: C-Record/RX100
Spokes: DB Stainless
Tyres: Scwalbe BLue

Saddle: Yellow Turbo
Seatpost: SR Laprade
Seatpost Binder: Allen Bolt

Bottle Cage: Plastic

Weight: Not a lot (compared to my MTB's)











Carl.
 
Talking of price the total cost so far has been about £170, with the trading of some parts for the correct 105 stuff and the investment in the Ultegra chainset.

Took it for it's first ride (about an 8 mile local loop), bars are very narrow and it needs a new cassette, fortunately I have a 7 speed road cassette on my Sorcerer Mega, so I'll buy an MTB cassette for that and put the road one on this. Never got onto the drops (most of the time was on the hoods and flats) and it hurt the wrists a bit too. I did get back unscathed though.

Carl.
 
Thats a cracking raleigh, and you've done a nice job. I think i might have been considering bidding on that bike but i ended up getting a centenary.

I have a 21" raleigh kelloggs, i'm 5' 9" and i prefer to have the bars higher than that (compared to the seat height).
 
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