Help me date and put together my raleigh team roadie

[vaeske]

hi chaps,

ze germans are sending me a raleigh team 753 road frame, serial is SB648 and from the cable guides being on the top of the BB we can safely say its mid to late 70s. But what year actually was this frame made???

also, i've been toying with the idea of a modern carbon campy 10 speed groupset for it as i already got a 84 team replica with period campy NR group and to get period SR for this would break the bank. Plus i would ride it less coz i'm lazy and would rather use brifters since discovering them.

But i did read from an old article from the good ol US of A saying cold setting 753 frames is a big nono. and after a crash on a 753 frame, don't even bother trying to fix it.

Anywho, looking for your expert comments and suggestions. Oh and here are some pics of it. Might need a new paint job too

 

[Midlife]

Looks like an early 70's to me.......back in late 1978 when I left cycling they were in the Early 2000's.

Somewhere there's a list of approximate dates.

I'll wait for "Roadking" LOL


Shaun

 

[roadking]

Looks like an early 70's to me.......back in late 1978 when I left cycling they were in the Early 2000's.

Somewhere there's a list of approximate dates.

I'll wait for "Roadking" LOL


Shaun

Cheeky Blighter, I've now officially got the hump :roll:

Cold setting 753 frame a big no-no? No it's a BIG NO-NOOOOOO.

Seriously.

Rk.

P.S 57cms, smallish then.

 

[shawnb]

Alright mate ?

I saw that one on ebay, easily restorable !

Here's a generally agreed date timeline for these bikes...

Year Start Number for year
1974 0
1975 200
1976 700
1977 1400
1978 2100
1979 2800
1980 3500
1981 4200
1982 4900
1983 5600
1984 6300
1985 7000
1986 7700

Looks like yours is a late ish '75.....

It's your bike and you can do what you want to it, even fitting modern gear on it :shock: is reversible

 

[daz3210]

Cold setting 753 frame a big no-no? No it's a BIG NO-NOOOOOO.

Why, what would happen if you did?

 

[vaeske]

this is what the yanks said.

anyone else have had experience cold setting or extending the rear dropout width to fit modern components.

57cm is a great size for me so very happy i've finally found a raleigh in original team colors in my size. happy chappy.

thanks for that date range shawn, it was very handy indeed, and yes this did come off the bay so very lucky to have won.

Roadking, you seem very adament that my 10speed carbon idea should be shot. thoughts?

Any is there anything else people can tell me about this frame?

 

[roadking]

I am"adamant"about your carbon"idea", where did that come from?

753 cannot be cold set...by all means try.

Secondly I have reservations about the article, it is misleading on some of the technical stuff - the writer does not have a full grasp of some of the terms he uses.

Example, "Silver soldered rather than bronze welded"? All steel frames in this period were typically brazed not welded (although some makers fillet brazed frames), and 753 was silver brazed for one very specific reason; silver has a low melting point and the fundamental difference between 531 and 753 is heat treatment, so using silver does not inadvertantly anneal (alter) the tubes.

I've so many issues with this article it's a joke...I met Gerald O'Donovan on several occasions when I ordered my frameset from the SBDU. O'Donovan, when his family owned Carlton (a company bought by Raleigh), had already experimented with exotic tubesets like carbon fibre; and the SBDU was, in many ways a skunkworks for both Raleigh and Reynolds.

With regard to weight, little meaningful difference between 531P and 753R, and it is all about fitness for purpose. And for the record there were two 753 tubesets - 753 road and 753 track.

As early as the 1940s British framebuilders (Hobbs for example) were displaying aluminium framesets at the big bike shows (like Earls Court).

Roadking.

 

[vaeske]

no i was saying you believe my carbon 10 speed group idea for a mid 70s 753 frame was "shit" and should not be done.

but good to know your thoughts on this article...obviously i'm only a newb and learning about what you guys know with this is really brilliant.

thanks
Y

 

[roadking]

no i was saying you believe my carbon 10 speed group idea for a mid 70s 753 frame was "shit" and should not be done.

I am sure everyone who reads this thread will thank you for the eloquence of your post (the one I'm replying to).

Thus far I have neither said nor implied that your idea for the frame was"s**t, furthermore my comments about the metallurgy of 753 are FACTS not opinions, I suggest you attempt to understand the difference.

I'll comment no further on this thread or any other on SBDU frames - I am currently preparing a small book on the SBDU (having many well researched facts), I'll notify forum members when this is available, I will also be looking for suitable bikes/frames to feature in the book.

Roadking.

 

[vaeske]

my mistake then rk.

look forward to the book when it comes out.

Cheers