1982 Raleigh Competition 12......needing some TLC

[Spokesmann]

Spent a bit of time and money on my Pro am...

Oooo.......I like that. Have you got a project thread for it?

Fabulous - my first proper bike was exactly that model Competition although I seem to remember it had black saddle and 'bar tape as per the online scans of the 1982 catalogue at bulgier.net and the VCC. I could be wrong though as it was a few ago....

Mark.

Yeah....the bar tape looks like it was possibly black once but I can't see how the saddle was ever black....it wouldn't fade from black to brown would it? As you say the scans and spec sheet all say/show black suede for the saddle.

No build thread as such, I had an on off love affair with this bike and it took nearly 5 years to finally complete. I do have before and after images.

 

[sherlylock]

Stripped, flushed and rebuilt the front hub with new bearings. Little bit of bearing seat corrosion on one side unfortunately so not as buttery smooth as I'd like.....but it's waaaay better than it was and will easily last long enough for me to find a replacement hub (and that makes it sound like it needs replacing....it really isn't bad at all).





Managed to get the cassette off and managed to separate out the sprockets for cleaning. Also tapped the freewheel lockring round and removed - revealing slightly rusty, manky bearings.











Looks worse than it is - I've already cleaned up the surfaces and new balls are on order for delivery tomorrow hopefully. Glad I've opened this up - should be able to breathe new life into it. Worth pointing out that this freewheel was functioning well and sounded good prior to disassembly. Well worth opening these up to service them if you get a chance I reckon. For peace of mind!

 

[firedfromthecircus]

Nice project there.
What are the plans for the frame? Repaint, touch up or oily rag?

 

[sherlylock]

Nice project there.
What are the plans for the frame? Repaint, touch up or oily rag?

After I've gone round the bike servicing the oily mechanical bits I'm going to ride it a few times to see what it's really like to ride. Then it'll be complete strip down, deep clean of frame, touch up paint, cut/polish and coat of wax. The damage to the paint (so far as I can tell under the grime) is fairly minimal - be nice to keep a bit of patina I reckon.

Plans are subject to change tho'......

 

[sherlylock]

Insides of the freewheel looking a little healthier. Not perfect, some pitting to the bearing surfaces but waaay better than before.





All parts cleaned and ready to go. Found some new balls left over from a previous freewheel re-fresh so used them and rebuilt last night.



New balls!



Next up - chainset, derailleurs and bottom bracket refresh......

Was tempted to ride it to work this morning but I held off. Want to experience it fully serviced and at its best.

 

[sherlylock]

As I said a couple of entries back.......plans are subject to change.

After removing the chainset/bottom bracket & rear derailleur I thought...."sod it" and stripped down to bare frame. Best and only way for a proper deep clean..

Frame cleaned, cut back, polished and waxed. A few big-ish chips to deal with - not quite sure how to match these in as the frame is white with a hint of blue pearl (Ice blue?). Also some bad scuffing down the seat stays, but not sure it warrants a respray. Reckon it'll look lovely built up with fresh shiny components though.

One thing that was evident on strip down - this bike really hasn't been used much at all. Everything came apart without issue and it looks like the original grease in the headset/bottom bracket. All bearings look shiney and brand new.

 

[sherlylock]

Cleaned up headset, bottom bracket and chain today. Usually wouldn't bother cleaning up a chain as they're usually stretched, rusty etc and bit of a false economy......but this measures up as new (no stretch) and is the original Suntour Ultra 6 narrow chain that was fitted in production. Thought it warranted a good clean up - nice to keep these original touches where possible I reckon.



Cleaned up nicely.....the links are actually have a blue hint to them (hard to see in the pic) - looks quite cool.



Bottom bracket before cleaning - original grease?



Not sure this has seen many revolutions.....not NOS but might as well be!

 

[sherlylock]

Stripped the rear derailleur into its component parts and cleaned all the fiddly bits. Nice to flush out all the old crud and stale grease......and luckily not a particularly difficult mech to re-assemble.



All back together with fresh grease on the rotatey moving bits and a dab of copper grease on all the threads.

 

[sherlylock]

Turned my attention to the brake levers and hoods....

One thing I noticed when I first looked at the bike was the original Weinmann brake hoods. First thought was "I'll be replacing them then" assuming they'd be rotten, perished and knackered.

Turns out that they're not that bad....they were very hard and dry but I cleaned them with Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber cleaner and then treated with Autoglym Bumper and Trim gel. To my surprise the suppleness returned and I even managed to get them off the levers without tearing them to bits....and they are now really rubbery again! (if a little cracked and crazed).

After/Before:



After treatment - certainly usable and a nice original feature!

 

[stevevw]

Rubbery job there. ;0)