The faded Caramel beast......'82 Raleigh Gran Sport

[sherlylock]

Re: Re:

Signing up, as I’ve passed over some sprockets and will be good to see if you use them. Great project, I need to catch up on all the work to date!
Edited to say ‘wow’, and do you take commission on knackered Campag seatpost renovation?

Much appreciated on the deal on the sprockets - hopefully another piece of the knackered jigsaw fixed!

I would keep the spoke tension on the low side. I rebuilt a pair of wheels with those Weinmann concave rims, I rode them for a few journeys, and one day I was sitting looking at the bike, and the rear wheel spontaneously pretzelised itself under no stress whatsoever... apart from the stress of my over-tensioned spokes, of course. I never had that happen with a box-section rim.

Good tip torqueless - I'll go easy. Lots to learn that's for sure. Bet it was a shock when the wheel let go......I've witnessed a road tyre go pop from 100psi (at rest thankfully). Made me jump for sure!

The first wheel I did was a rebuild in front of the telly one winters evening, printed copy of Sheldon's instructions on the chair next to me and cup of tea on the table in front of me. Yes its definitely the easiest way to clean an old wheel, the reason I did it and I do it routinely now but keep in mind what @tourqueless said about over tension, everything here is used and may well not be to its original tolerance or strength.

BTW that printed copy of Sheldon's instructions is now bound and very well thumbed.

Mine was done to a good youtube vid that I found linked to on this forum. I'll check out Sheldons instructions too though! Only done a front (easier?) so far - yet to tackle a rear wheel and dishing.

Never attempted wheel build. Swapped mine out. Still got them though.

I wondered whether to just run the Mavic tub wheelset that I'm now butchering but the Weinmann concaves are quirky enough to keep so I thought I'd give wheel building another bash. Most of my old Raleighs/Carltons have those rustless spokes which now look dreadful years later. Be nice to get them all swapped over to stainless in time.

 

[torqueless]

Re:

..I've witnessed a road tyre go pop from 100psi (at rest thankfully). Made me jump for sure!

I've had that too. The bike was in another room. It was a very quiet night. Took me a while to work out what the hell had made that noise. I guess the Gods that govern mechanical failure are smiling on anyone who has this stuff happen while dismounted.

I've had one of those 14-21 Ultra blocks apart also. I've had it since new in about 1984. I had to make a new pair of pawls out of an old plane blade, (I must have done too much freewheeling) and the springs were a bit corroded too. In my (limited) experience the Sun Tour springs are a bit weaker than Shimano ones. Swings and roundabouts- easier freewheeling and less wear but needs more keeping clean to prevent the pawls getting gummed up.

 

[sherlylock]

Had a crack at the wheel build this weekend.

Polished the shiny bits......

Trip to my local bike shop to get hold of some nipples. Went for black to accent the black decals on the bike (when they arrive). Thought it might look good. Had a nice chat with the guy about the Raleigh Super Tuff Burner re-issue that was hanging behind the counter. All £700 of it......

Laced up but needs final truing. Only had to do it twice before I got it right........(I think its right).

Looking through the valve hole - can see the hub label - apparently that's a thing.....rim text reads from the right of the bike too.

Shiny. Now need to buy/make a wheel truing stand.

 

[Peachy!]

Looking through the valve hole - can see the hub label - apparently that's a thing.....rim text reads from the right of the bike too.

Tick....

 

[sherlylock]

Looking through the valve hole - can see the hub label - apparently that's a thing.....rim text reads from the right of the bike too.

Tick....

Strangely satisfying to get it right too.............

 

[sherlylock]

Oooo......excited much.

Tagged on a couple of Electron top tube badges for my Claud. Steve at HLloyd was happy to provide a Gold text/black outline for these (different to the advertised black on gold - top bloke!).

Not sure where the big Raleigh heron goes as I don't have that on my bike. These are going to transform the frame!

Anyone know what to do re: lacquer - I guess I'll need to clearcoat the whole frame once these are fitted to protect them? That said the originals clearly weren't. .....

 

[allenh]

Ooh shiny wheels and new stickers, going well then.

Re lacquer I'm in two minds, it shouldn't react with the old paint but you never know. But for durability if you are going to do it then it has to be 2K so I'd talk to a local car body shop and see whether they can do it for you and what their thoughts are on the risks of it reacting.

 

[Peachy!]

Oh I do like a new sticker.

As for clear coat.... couple of factors....Not least if you have no budget left now that you have a Claud Butler tandem on its way that deserves your full attention..

First off, the original paint is probably more than likely capable of accepting a 2k clear coat (but obvs needs testing) and Steve’s decals can withstand a bake.. what’s possibly more problematic is what ever you’ve used as a touch up?

Personally, if it’s not getting ridden a lot and if you don’t want to spend loads then those stickers will probably be fine as they are... and if one gets damaged there easy & cheep enough to replace.

Maybe it’s best to ride it, see if you fall in love with it, then send it off to either Bob Jacksons or Acorns and get them to colour match and have it stove baked in enamel.

 

[sherlylock]

Ooh shiny wheels and new stickers, going well then.

Re lacquer I'm in two minds, it shouldn't react with the old paint but you never know. But for durability if you are going to do it then it has to be 2K so I'd talk to a local car body shop and see whether they can do it for you and what their thoughts are on the risks of it reacting.

We've got a couple of good body shops near where I work - I could enquire there......but for now I think it'll be a no lacquer job. It won't be heavily used when its finished (sunny day bike!) so I think they'll survive more than long enough.

Oh I do like a new sticker.

As for clear coat.... couple of factors....Not least if you have no budget left now that you have a Claud Butler tandem on its way that deserves your full attention..

First off, the original paint is probably more than likely capable of accepting a 2k clear coat (but obvs needs testing) and Steve’s decals can withstand a bake.. what’s possibly more problematic is what ever you’ve used as a touch up?

Personally, if it’s not getting ridden a lot and if you don’t want to spend loads then those stickers will probably be fine as they are... and if one gets damaged there easy & cheep enough to replace.

Maybe it’s best to ride it, see if you fall in love with it, then send it off to either Bob Jacksons or Acorns and get them to colour match and have it stove baked in enamel.

Ha! Yeah the tandem.....looking forward to getting my hands on that and doing something with it. I'm hoping to rope my dad into a few rides once its done......I bought my campervan off Steve so it'll be nice to catch up with him too.

I think you're right about the lacquer - it seems a bit like a half job to lacquer over patched up shabby paint just to protect the decals. (Haven't touched in the paint yet as it goes). The decals will be plenty man enough for the use it'll get - gonna be a sunny day, long Sunday morning ride type of bike I think. Commuting on bikes just kills them.....although I haven't done nearly enough of either type of ride recently to be honest. Which makes me sad......

 

[Peachy!]

Acorns? How does predictive text get acorns from Argos? :facepalm: