Building up a slightly retro mixte - drivetrain question

I've got a 83/84 Raleigh Wisp mixte frame (5 speed, with cro-mo tubing) which I'm going to build up for the missus. It's still got the Raleigh Custom-A chainset which will be going, on the OEM bottom bracket.

I've got a Stronglight 52/42 chainset to go on, with Shimano Exage 300ex rear mech and front mech. I'll be putting a new 6 speed freewheel onto the Maillard hubs with a new chain too.

Question is, how do I tell what bottom bracket it is, whether it will fit the stronglight chainset, and whether the chainline is going to be correct? Any ideas or pointers would be appreciated.

The rest of the plan is for VO Belleville bars, with reverse Diacompe levers, index levers mounted on thumb shifter mounts, a new paint job, and new tyres and tubes.


Thanks

A bit complex as I'm having to assume 1. you mean you're saving the OEM bottom bracket for the Stronglight and 2. the Stronglight isn't modern but a contemporary of the Raleigh.
First off, old Raleigh square taper BBs fit old Stronglight. Second, if they're both old, the BB should be the right ballpark width ( 122-127mm ) for the Stronglight for chainline purposes.
Tell me how you get on and post up a piccie...sounds like a nice bike.

42 inner will be a bit of a struggle uphill... :shock:

Hi

I'll follow this with interest, as I have just got a 5 speed wisp for my mrs too!

It was pretty immaculate and original, except the new tyres and looks like a new chain. I've changed the crappy seatpost and saddle (what a job to get that out). And I also replaced the brake blocks and cable and outers (the outers were a goldish colour but just got plain black). Even the brake blocks had raleigh stamped on them.

I thought this would be a great introduction to drop bars for the mrs, shes ridden it up and down the street once and decided straight away to get rid of the modern hybrid she owns.

Re the front rings, how are you changing the gear shifters? Replacing the whole stem mount from single to double? Presumably the new front mech is a band on?

Also, for the rear, you mention an exage, will this be a straight forward replacement for the (presumably) sachs one that is there at the moment?

This is a mod I will need to make to make the bike more useable as otherwise the 5 speed wont be low enough for any hills.

Would love to see some pics

thanks for the replies.......

ideally i'd like to save the BB - it appears to be running smoothly as it is. The stronglight is an older model I think it's the 200, which was mid 80's. It looks identical to the one on the right, but it doesn't have the 200 imprinted on the crank arms.



I'll swap out the chainrings for something smaller if she finds it hard going. Is there a huge difference between a 42 and a 39? The rear mech will cope with up to 28t, so it'll probably be a Shimano 14/28 6 speed freewheel.

Also, where can I get a triple bottom bracket cable guide? No one seems to stock them online. I might have to visit my LBS......

retro-rich":1mau6uf6 said:

Hi

I'll follow this with interest, as I have just got a 5 speed wisp for my mrs too!

It was pretty immaculate and original, except the new tyres and looks like a new chain. I've changed the crappy seatpost and saddle (what a job to get that out). And I also replaced the brake blocks and cable and outers (the outers were a goldish colour but just got plain black). Even the brake blocks had raleigh stamped on them.

Click to expand...

I'll sort out some pics. At the moment it's in is disassembled state while I choose a colour, and assemble the parts. Mine was in a very original condition, including the original tyres which had so many cracks in their sidewalls, there was precious little gum coloured left to see!!

The saddle has been ditched, to be replaced by a Charge Ladle (she likes the brown). The seat post came out nice and easy which was a relief - it might go to, for a micro adjustable one, although a 25.4mm seatpost limits the options.

The Weinmann calipers have come up a treat after an hour with some citrus degreasant and a tube of Autosol. Need new blocks, and will replace the cables as a matter of course.

retro-rich":1mau6uf6 said:

Re the front rings, how are you changing the gear shifters? Replacing the whole stem mount from single to double? Presumably the new front mech is a band on?

Click to expand...

I'm using a pair of Shimano SL-A400 braze on levers, mounted on these......




Front mech is a band on one - just need to source a cable guide for the bottom bracket, as there's a double there at the moment (rear mech and rear brake), but I need a triple to allow for the front mech cable.

retro-rich":1mau6uf6 said:

Also, for the rear, you mention an exage, will this be a straight forward replacement for the (presumably) sachs one that is there at the moment?

Click to expand...

It is the old Sachs Huret one, with the friction lever on the stem. The exage rear mech will just bolt on to the hanger.

ianfoot":f24fpf9i said:

I'm using a pair of Shimano SL-A400 braze on levers, mounted on these......



Front mech is a band on one - just need to source a cable guide for the bottom bracket, as there's a double there at the moment (rear mech and rear brake), but I need a triple to allow for the front mech cable.

Click to expand...

Are you relocating the shifters to the downtube then, are does that unit fit to the stem?

Haven't checked the cable guide on mine, but the rear brake cable is clipped along one of the top tubes, it has some brazed on clips to hold it, the push in type rather than the closed loop type. Does your rear brake go round the bb then?

no - the Velo Orange mounts will bolt on to the handlebars, and then the shimano levers mount to them - effectively turning them into thumbshifters, albeit quite long ones!! Like this.



Stem mount might be a possibility, although I've not been able to work out how. Band on indexed shifters seem to be quite thin on the ground, and then how would I narrow the band (1" stem being narrower than a frame tube). I woudn't want to pack it out with shims as it would look untidy.

I've seen pics of mixte bikes with the levers on the downtube, but as I'm trying to create something more upright, it seems a bit of a backward step to put them there.

Re the cable guide, I think I might have been imagining a problem. Until you mentioned it I'd completely forgotten the little black clips. That would leave a spare slot on the guide for a front mech cable. I'll venture into the shed tonight to see for sure.

Ah I see, just saw the mention of the bars, googled it found these pics:

http://www.kellybike.com/2nd_xtra_takeoff.html

Looks really nice

My Wisp has a stem mount already, but is single. I found these on the web but not as stylish as yours i think

http://www.kellybike.com/2nd_xtra_takeoff.html

I look forward to seeing it when done

so things move quickly. A pair of 7sp Shimano SL-A400 indexed band on levers arrived on ebay yesterday, so I've snaffled them up. I might try and modify the band / pack it out to fit the handlebar stem - or just mount them on the down tube where the good lord intended them to be. That's saved me £35 on the VO mounts, so I've gone for some PDW Dapper Dan grips and bamboo end plugs for the handlebars instead.

And instead of the reverse brake levers, I'm bidding on some Weinmann flat bar levers which will match the existing calipers in terms of age / dodgy feel. But liberal use of the Autosol should get them looking good.

Anyways, here's pics of the bike as it was when I got it home last week.