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

[sherlylock]

Rubbery job there. ;0)

Haha!

Decided it was time to sort out the mess of handlebar tape....



Bought some Velox Tressostar Brown cotton tape. Original would've been black but I have a brown saddle fitted and brown hoods so I thought brown would match in better......

Before and after:



Finished:



Luckily I bought 2 reels - as nowhere on the website did it mention that one reel only did one half of the bars!

First time I've wrapped from the centre of the bars outwards. The bars have a step in diameter for the tape to but up against which finishes things off nicely - no need for taping or twining.

So - this raises a question. Shellac or no shellac? I've always wanted to try it but I think its more suited to earlier builds isn't it?

 

[Midlife]

Looking good . Shellac had dissapeard by the time I started with bikes in the early 70's so just the naked tape . Will the brake cables sit better above the bars?

Shaun

 

[sherlylock]

Looking good . Shellac had dissapeard by the time I started with bikes in the early 70's so just the naked tape . Will the brake cables sit better above the bars?

Shaun

I'll have to look out for an older bike to restore to experiment with the shellac then! Was it just used to protect the cotton tape (I'm guessing it's a varnish from what I've researched)

Not sure about the cable routing - I copied what was on the bike when I bought it (original cables in presumably original routing).....they seem to "flow" quite well like that. Might have a play later over the bars to see whether it looks any better.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of either routing? Is it just a case of making sure the routing doesn't present any tight awkward bends and flows nicely......?

 

[Midlife]

Shellac is made from the wing cases of beetles, way back when I used to use it in sheets as a sort of heat moulded material to fabricate impression trays for people with no teeth. Even further back I used it as a glue to stick tubs on my track wheels, hard red and set like concrete..... truly awful! Yep, it could also be thinned further to make a laquer to waterproof and protect non adhesive bar tape. I've got some Tressostar from the 70's marked up for 35p

The brake cable route is personal but found the front brake worked better with the cable coming straight up from the brake stirrup.

Mighty fine bar tape wrapping by the way

Shaun

 

[sherlylock]

Shellac is made from the wing cases of beetles, way back when I used to use it in sheets as a sort of heat moulded material to fabricate impression trays for people with no teeth. Even further back I used it as a glue to stick tubs on my track wheels, hard red and set like concrete..... truly awful! Yep, it could also be thinned further to make a laquer to waterproof and protect non adhesive bar tape. I've got some Tressostar from the 70's marked up for 35p

The brake cable route is personal but found the front brake worked better with the cable coming straight up from the brake stirrup.

Mighty fine bar tape wrapping by the way

Shaun

I swapped the cables to over the bar last night and they do indeed flow better (especially the front brake as you say). Top tip.

Thanks for the comment on the bar wrapping - much appreciated. First time I've used cotton tape and it was a joy to use.....thoroughly enjoyed that job. Probably because it makes such an instant difference.

One question I have for these Raleighs is to do with the lug paintwork. My bike has a painted line between lug and tubing....but not on all joints.

I've seen other Raleigh Competitions which have all the lug joints painted, but they also have Built by Carlton decals on (presumably an earlier model).

Like this from GloryDay cycles:

http://glorydays.cc/shop/bikes/raleigh/competition12/

Would it matter if I painted in all the missing lug joints on mine? Or was it to signify that it was built in Worksop not Nottingham (I know people can get picky about detail like that).

 

[sherlylock]

Turned my attention to the front derailleur....stripped completely down to deep clean and managed to shear off a limit screw.

Luckily I managed, with heat and a very small pair of needle nose pliers, to tease out the remainder of the bolt. Unfortunately I had already sourced and paid for a replacement mech :facepalm: No worries though as this will go on my wife's mixte.

All the components (with replacement M3 limit screws). Actually there is a bit missing from the pic - I'll let you discover which...



Limit screws back in & grease on the pivots



Cage and pivot arm fitted



Return spring and fitting bolt added



Complete with all additional fixings - ready to go on the bike!

 

[Midlife]

Excellent

For a good history of Campag front mechs Google Kevin Sayles article on them.

Shaun

 

[sherlylock]

Excellent

For a good history of Campag front mechs Google Kevin Sayles article on them.

Shaun

This one?

http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/co ... ngers.html

Interesting article......which has made me realise that the second derailleur I bought is a different generation than the one I broke.....simply because it doesn't have a flared front edge to the cage.....making it a 6th generation mech.

Everyday's a school day.....

Good article - thanks for pointing me in the direction of it.