Mark Manley
Raleigh Fan
I am sure I cannot be the only one here who perused Raleigh brochures in the 1970s thinking about the red framed with black and yellow decals team bikes from that era. Although I thought one day I might get an entry level Europa it was the slightly further up the range models with the Raleigh branded crankset and derailleur that I really wanted but on the two occasions I got to the bike shop to upgrade my bike they did not have one in stock and impatience got the better of me and I settled for a Viscount Sebring 5 speed then a Peugeot AO-8 10 speed the latter of which was everything I wanted until getting a moped at 16.
Forward to about 10 years ago and I spotted a Raleigh branded SR stem on Ebay which rekindled my interest and over the next few years I acquired the matching seat post, crankset, handlebars and matching Suntour derailleurs along with the essential Weinmann centre pull brakes and some other suitable SR parts some of them nos.
The final part of the puzzle was a frame, I thought something in 531 would be best and bought one from the 1980s but then started to think about weight, not that it mattered in the slightest but spotted a 653 frameset in need to some tlc so used that instead even though it is at least 10 years too modern but there was no intention of replicating a particular model it just had to be my idealised vision of the bike I wanted.
The frame I believe is an 8901 from around 1990 and weighs a respectable 1.7 KG, I started to aim for a total of 10 KG and according to my scales it comes in at 9.8 KG which I am happy with.
Again with the decals they are just the ones I find aesthetically pleasing rather than from any particular model and certainly the 653 would not have been on any of them. It is now more or less finished apart from a couple of tiny details but looks good to me from 6 feet away if not closer, the only thing with it is that I hate drop bars so it will hardly ever be ridden but that does not matter it can sit at the top of my stairs where I can admire it and think now pleased the teenage me would be.
And the details.
Frame: Raleigh 8901 Reynolds 653
Forks: Raleigh 653
Headset: Tange Seiki alloy
Stem: Sakae Ringyo Raleigh branded
Handlebar: Sakae Ringyo Raleigh branded
Tape: No idea something from my local bike shop
Brake levers: Weinmann quick release
Calipers: Weinmann 610 Raleigh branded front and rear
Blocks: Weinmann red of course!
Cables: From my LBS
Bell: Adie ping polished with stainless screws
Bottle cage: Nagaoka
Shifter: Suntour with Raleigh branded clip
Front derailleur: Suntour Raleigh branded
Rear Derailleur: Suntour Raleigh branded
Cassette: Shimano 6 speed 14-30 teeth
Chain: Sunrace
Crankset: Sakae Ringyo 118 bcd 170 mm long Raleigh branded
Chainrings: 42-36 Sakae Ringyo
Bottom bracket: Sakae Ringyo, I have a SR Royal shaft to go in at sometime
Pedals: Sakae Ringyo SP-100
Rims: Not sure but very narrow and light
Hubs: Sakae Ringyo
Scewers: Sakae Ringyo
Tyres and tubes: Schwalbe Lugano
Saddle: Brooks plastic possibly BMX, uncomfortable but light
Seatpost: Sakae Ringyo Raleigh branded
Weight: 9.8 KG
Forward to about 10 years ago and I spotted a Raleigh branded SR stem on Ebay which rekindled my interest and over the next few years I acquired the matching seat post, crankset, handlebars and matching Suntour derailleurs along with the essential Weinmann centre pull brakes and some other suitable SR parts some of them nos.
The final part of the puzzle was a frame, I thought something in 531 would be best and bought one from the 1980s but then started to think about weight, not that it mattered in the slightest but spotted a 653 frameset in need to some tlc so used that instead even though it is at least 10 years too modern but there was no intention of replicating a particular model it just had to be my idealised vision of the bike I wanted.
The frame I believe is an 8901 from around 1990 and weighs a respectable 1.7 KG, I started to aim for a total of 10 KG and according to my scales it comes in at 9.8 KG which I am happy with.
Again with the decals they are just the ones I find aesthetically pleasing rather than from any particular model and certainly the 653 would not have been on any of them. It is now more or less finished apart from a couple of tiny details but looks good to me from 6 feet away if not closer, the only thing with it is that I hate drop bars so it will hardly ever be ridden but that does not matter it can sit at the top of my stairs where I can admire it and think now pleased the teenage me would be.
And the details.
Frame: Raleigh 8901 Reynolds 653
Forks: Raleigh 653
Headset: Tange Seiki alloy
Stem: Sakae Ringyo Raleigh branded
Handlebar: Sakae Ringyo Raleigh branded
Tape: No idea something from my local bike shop
Brake levers: Weinmann quick release
Calipers: Weinmann 610 Raleigh branded front and rear
Blocks: Weinmann red of course!
Cables: From my LBS
Bell: Adie ping polished with stainless screws
Bottle cage: Nagaoka
Shifter: Suntour with Raleigh branded clip
Front derailleur: Suntour Raleigh branded
Rear Derailleur: Suntour Raleigh branded
Cassette: Shimano 6 speed 14-30 teeth
Chain: Sunrace
Crankset: Sakae Ringyo 118 bcd 170 mm long Raleigh branded
Chainrings: 42-36 Sakae Ringyo
Bottom bracket: Sakae Ringyo, I have a SR Royal shaft to go in at sometime
Pedals: Sakae Ringyo SP-100
Rims: Not sure but very narrow and light
Hubs: Sakae Ringyo
Scewers: Sakae Ringyo
Tyres and tubes: Schwalbe Lugano
Saddle: Brooks plastic possibly BMX, uncomfortable but light
Seatpost: Sakae Ringyo Raleigh branded
Weight: 9.8 KG
