Redux Raleigh Castorama with Reynolds 653 frame

billholding

Retro Newbie
I have just finished a bike build which may or may not be of interest to you guys. Here are a couple of before and after pics as well as a link to a blog I have put more pictures and details on.

Before Image:
IMG_1480.jpg


After Image:
_MG_2745.jpg


More Details:
http://reduxrides.blogspot.com/[/url]
 
I like it.

It might have a few purists up in arms but retro is about variety and it evokes a mixture of contemporary old skool flavours....

More on the spec and your journey for context please
 
Thanks, glad you like it. I will be updating the blog (see the link under the last picture above) with a few more details on the spec ASAP.

I appreciate that there will be plenty of people who disagree with me having a Raleigh Castorama frame renovated in a way that isn't original, and I gave it a lot of thought, but in the end the original paintwork and decals were in really bad shape. After all this is my everyday ride, rather than a show-piece so it was really about me building the bike that I had been thinking over for quite a few years!
 
read the blog

Well impressed... that is definitely the right spirit. Top job sir!
Now you can see something similar on the road by condor and they will charge a grand for the pleasure....but without the emotional journey

Thats why we are all velo nutters
 
I agree, there isn't the same satisfaction walking into a bike shop and just picking something out! Anybody that has seen the documentary "ride of my life" will know that, although Condor is my LBS and they do make nice bikes, but like you rightly pointed out, at a price! I have enjoyed the hunt for the original donor bike, and the vintage parts, as well as seeing what look like knackered old aluminium components such as the hubs etc come to life after a blitz with a Dremmel and some polishing compound, so that they look like they did the day they were made.

There are still a few tweaks that need sorting out, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I have spent the last decade cycling daily around London gradually formulating an idea in my head of what I wanted to do when I could finally aford to spend the time and money on it, and when the result is pretty much as you had imagined it, then thats the real satisfaction.

A bit sad to have finally finished it though. Still, project 2 can begin now, which is to use all the remaining parts I have left over to build a beater, which functions perfectly but looks on it's last legs, because if you think I'm locking this one up anywhere, especially round London, you can forget it!

Anyway, hopefully it will inspire others to breathe some life into an old bike in need of some TLC.
 
I like the new version. I'm a sucker for silver parts on road bikes and I think the new Veloce gear looks very smart with the frame colour. Much better to my eye than the "painted" parts on the original and even the original paint job looked a bit cheap. If it had been a classic job like the red Raleigh team colours or Panasonic it would have been different.

I'm glad you kept the quill stem and traditional 'bars too as they suit the slim frame tubes so much more than threadless stuff. My own classic Italian bike was ruined looks wise when I went threadless. :roll:

Nice job, very classy.

Mark.
 
Thanks Mark. Also if the paintwork and original decals had been in good condition I wouldn't have bought such a bike as a renovation project, it was the fact that it really was in ragged shape that meant I didn't feel bad about giving it a new lease of life.

The bars and stem although not the original from the bike are at least in keeping with the kind of era the frame was from, so like you pointed out, it retains a nice balance with the frame tubing etc, and I agree that it's a shame that Campag have ditched the natural finish alloy in favour of anodizing or painting everything black. Still meant I didn't have to shell out too much for a 2011 groupset!
 
I had a 653 catorama replica, I built it up with mainly ultegra parts but it did have a few Dura Ace goodies, like the hubs, pedals, handle bar stem (which was gorgeous) open 4cd rims, cinnelli criterium bars and super comp hd tyres. seeing yours brought a tear to my eye, the only part I have left from it is the saddle which is an iscaselle dakar titanio.
 
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