Raleigh Dyna-Tech 500

ronsrecord

Hi - I'm trying to find some info on this frame - Raleigh Dyna-tech 500. I bought it today in a recycling centre for £2. Does anyone have any info?

many thanks

Rob Sallnow

Well....it's made of Commercially Pure titanium....so it's not much stronger than steel....certainly not as strong as a conventional titanium frame which uses 3/2.5 or 6/4 alloy.

For £2, I guess you've done ok

ronsrecord

thanks for the reply. i'm trying to decide whether it's worth spending some money on. i'd heard the bonded frame can be a bit dodgy?!

andrewgturnbull

HI there.

The dyna tech frames did have a reputation for coming unbonded - however if this example has survivied this long, then it is likely that the glue was applied properly!

Cheers, Andy

DaveyL

I had one - pretty sure it was a 500. I'm sure it was Reynolds steel, not Ti. Nice frame.

ronsrecord

thanks for the replies - i am a bit unclear whether it's titanium or not. it's a nice light frame though.

DavidBelcher

ronsrecord wrote:

thanks for the replies - i am a bit unclear whether it's titanium or not. it's a nice light frame though.

Any decals left on which say what the tubing grade is? Failing that, a quick run-over with a fridge magnet will tell you if it's steel or not!

David

alan_sherman

I had a dyna tech 501. It was steel tubes (developed by reynolds but not part of the reynolds series of 531, 653 etc) bonded into alloy lugs. Mine stayed bonded fine until the bike was scrapped due to an unrelated issue 2 years ago. You can check your tubes with a magnet or there is probably a sticker on the seat tube that says the material.

Good buy I think if you like the bike. I wanted to turn mine into a fixed as it had horizontal drop outs with alignment screws. Shame

Tom Butcher

Is titanium worth much as scrap ?

ronsrecord

thanks again everyone. will do the old magnet trick tonight. a fixed would be nice and clean - although the frame is slightly too big for me!!

Rob Sallnow

ronsrecord wrote:

thanks again everyone. will do the old magnet trick tonight. a fixed would be nice and clean - although the frame is slightly too big for me!!

It may be that the 500 is steel....a quick Google suggests the 400 was too ...600 or 700 was Ti but definitely only CP Ti and nothing to get excited about in the strength department.

meagain

"only CP Ti and nothing to get excited about in the strength department."

In what way was it *weak*? The bonded (stainless steel lugs on some) Ti Raleigh mtb frames were strong enough I reckon.

Whether or not any particular Dynatech badged frame was Ti seems to have been pretty random from year to year and even model *number*.

Rob Sallnow

meagain wrote:

"only CP Ti and nothing to get excited about in the strength department."

In what way was it *weak*? The bonded (stainless steel lugs on some) Ti Raleigh mtb frames were strong enough I reckon.

A large proportion of people buy titanium frames due to their higher tensile strength....but CP Ti is no stronger than a normal steel frame...but at least it won't rust....or, if the headtube falls off, the tubes won't react with your insides if you impale yourself on them!!

pneumatic

I did up a 601 recently for a friend. The titanum thing may be a red herring. Apparently, at that time (late 80's) Raleigh was owned by Tubular Investments (TI) and that seems to cause a lot of confusion.

The frame I worked on was bonded in big (and quite elegant) alloy lugs but it was steel tubing. It was sound and good to ride. In fact, I was quite sad to have to give it back.

I'd say two quid was a bargain and if you can get the rest of the parts for under a ton, it would be worth building something up.

Could make a good fixie, I was told, because it had the right kind of drop outs, but that is not what my mate wanted.

Hope that helps.

Rob Sallnow

pneumatic wrote:

I did up a 601 recently for a friend. The titanum thing may be a red herring. Apparently, at that time (late 80's) Raleigh was owned by Tubular Investments (TI) and that seems to cause a lot of confusion.

Raleigh did use titanium tubes in the 90s...whereas TI sold Raleigh in 1987.

ronsrecord

thanks everyone - an interesting discussion taking place.

the fridge magnet sticks!! so we're talking steel.

pneumatic

Rob Sallnow wrote:

pneumatic wrote:

I did up a 601 recently for a friend. The titanum thing may be a red herring. Apparently, at that time (late 80's) Raleigh was owned by Tubular Investments (TI) and that seems to cause a lot of confusion.

Raleigh did use titanium tubes in the 90s...whereas TI sold Raleigh in 1987.

:oops: :oops: As I said, it causes lots of confusion!!

DavidBelcher

meagain wrote:

"only CP Ti and nothing to get excited about in the strength department."

In what way was it *weak*? The bonded (stainless steel lugs on some) Ti Raleigh mtb frames were strong enough I reckon.

Whether or not any particular Dynatech badged frame was Ti seems to have been pretty random from year to year and even model *number*.

CP titanium isn't weak, but does have a reputation for being very 'whippy', hence CP frames of recent vintage (e.g. the welded Raleigh EOS road frame) tend to be built oversized. Very early Ti bikes such as Teledynes and Speedwells used standard-diameter tubes and so had a reputation for flexing when ridden out of the saddle.

David

meagain

"to be built oversized."

Hence the ovalised Timets recording lowest deflection rates of any of the frames tested in one of the few "scientific/objective" studies I recall ever seeing (OU in the '90s).

tabmaster

Well, back in the day, when I was 15 - I had a Raleigh Dyna Tech 500. It was definately made from Reynolds steel (a 653 equivalent), bonded with aerospace epoxy resin into aluminium lugs.
It was a white/yellow fade as I remember with a shimano rx100 group and 36 hole hubs laced onto rigida rims.

Ricardo H

Raleigh had no end of problems with these dynatec frames, used to work as a mechanic for a chain of raleigh dealerships in the late 80's early 90's and the reps from head office were always maoning about the amount they had returned. The bonded lug frames were fine for your casual rider, but spend a few months giving them stick up hills or in sprints and you started to get a hairline gap between the tube and lug.

airbrake

ronsrecord wrote:

thanks everyone - an interesting discussion taking place.

the fridge magnet sticks!! so we're talking steel.

I have a Dynatech 500 that i think is late 80s. The tubes are butted cromoly. The previous owner wouldn't ride it because he said it was a 'deathtrap'.
It was in excellent condition, with all original parts and paintwork. I stripped it completely and examined everything carefully. There was some handlebar scuffing from a low -speed tumble, but everything else was untouched. The 39 inch wheelbase gives it a fast and twitchy feel, so it's not a bike for relaxing on. Performance was held back by the limited range of the Mallard gears. I restrained the rear fork with a strap so as not to stress the bond, and spread the ends to take a modern cassette. It has firm ride quality ; much tauter feel than 531c for the same weight. No cracking yet....but some signs of oxidised aluminium bubbling the paintwork slightly where water has been thrown onto the rear of the BB.

tabmaster

spread the ends to take a modern cassette

Nooooooo!!!! That's how I broke mine - a crack appeared on the R/H chainstay near to the dropout. Was within the (then) 15 year frame & fork warranty - so the frame got replaced with a Ti 'MTRAX' branded Raleigh. That broke too! Developed a hairline crack between the lever bosses. I had gifted the bike to my brother by then, so was a good job I noticed that or he would have found himself riding a bike with a very long wheelbase one day!

natrix

I also had a dynatech bonded titanium road bike, but it too developed a crack between the down tube shifter bosses. Raleigh replaced it with a heavier steel frame.I tried to argue that the frame guarantee should cover a replacement titanium frame but they wouldn't comply. I've never bought raleigh since!!

airbrake

tabmaster wrote:

spread the ends to take a modern cassette

Nooooooo!!!! That's how I broke mine

Although I didn't know about 'Dynatech crack syndrome', I was instinctively dubious about the durability and strength of the bonding technique. As the Mallard cassette had a 14 tooth top gear, I had no other option but to carefully spread the fork to take the new hub - thankfully by only 4mm. I made sure to avoid stressing the drop-out area.
When you think about it, all kinds of frames can develop cracks. I have repaired cracked steel motorcycle and cycle frames, but these dynatechs would be a challenge !

quickrik

Sorry Just had to post seing as these things are such rare beasts now.

I've had my Dyna-Tech 600 from new, have done 1000's of miles on it. I commute to work on it now every day, rain or shine. No problems at all. Upgraded the levers to STIs but apart from that all its ever needed is tyres and a chainset.

Framewise no cracks or comming unstuck, but it does have a tiny bit of oxidising bubbling up under the paint on the top lug.

Rik

passout

I knew someone who broke their dyna tech frame despite only a little use. From memory (we are going back a bit) they were bonded/glued and this proved a weak point - it popped out!