After some info on a Raleigh Ravanna

matt@theforce

Just trying to find out

* what year they were sold (should be able to tell by the colour scheme)

* How much they were when new

* What the original spec was

I ask as I've just bought one for my sister and have upgraded most components and curious about how old it is etc.

tom_howard

i think google is your friend on that little conundrum, though from the look of it, it looks like a halfords special from 04-07 ish? but that really is a poorly educated guess. as for price, not more than about £150-£175 from my knowledge of raleighs from that time,

davewalsh

My missus has one exactly the same as the one in your pic. She bought it in October 07 from Costco for £99 so were probably about £150 in the shops. Spec is what you expect for the cash, Crap Raleigh branded forks, Promax front cable disc brake, SRAM gripshift with Shimano Tourney rear mech and 2.1 Kenda Wanda King tyres that weigh 900g each !

matt@theforce

Tom Howard wrote:

i think google is your friend on that little conundrum, though from the look of it, it looks like a halfords special from 04-07 ish? but that really is a poorly educated guess. as for price, not more than about £150-£175 from my knowledge of raleighs from that time,

I did google but couldn't find much about them, Raleigh don't have an archive section on their website either.

davewalsh wrote:

My missus has one exactly the same as the one in your pic. She bought it in October 07 from Costco for £99 so were probably about £150 in the shops. Spec is what you expect for the cash, Crap Raleigh branded forks, Promax front cable disc brake, SRAM gripshift with Shimano Tourney rear mech and 2.1 Kenda Wanda King tyres that weigh 900g each !

Thanks. I don't suppose your missus's bike has a sticker on it stating its a 7005 Aluminium Frame?

Yeah, the forks are very poor and the previous owner left it out overnight and now they don't bounce.
The ends of the spokes are rusted and the chain was rusted solid.

I’ve changed the brake levers for some Shimano Deore (all metal) and now the Promax disc brake works really well, while I was at it I’ve also changed the handlebars for an aluminium bar, the front mech is now Shimano Deore/rear mech is Deore XT and rear V-Brake is Deore. All work really well together.

It will give my sister what she want’s out of a bike and if the Frame is Aluminium then we will probably change the forks for some that work as we don’t want to spend much money on it and so far the only cost is the purchase price 

Yeah, the forks are very poor and the previous owner left it out overnight and now they don't bounce.
The ends of the spokes are rusted and the chain was rusted solid

supersonic

Looks to be aluminium - just put a magnet to the frame. If it sticks, is steel.

davewalsh

matt@theforce wrote:

Thanks. I don't suppose your missus's bike has a sticker on it stating its a 7005 Aluminium Frame?

I'm pretty sure it does, will confirm tonight.
I remember weighing the bike and it was about 32lbs, therefore I think the frame must be reasonably light, bearing in mind the quality of components fitted !

You've probably noticed already but If you're changing the forks, don't forget it has a threaded headset !

davewalsh

Yep, definately stickered up as 7005 Aluminium.

matt@theforce

supersonic wrote:

Looks to be aluminium - just put a magnet to the frame. If it sticks, is steel.

Forgot about trying that, tried it yesterday and the magnet didn’t stick

davewalsh wrote:

matt@theforce wrote:

Thanks. I don't suppose your missus's bike has a sticker on it stating its a 7005 Aluminium Frame?

I'm pretty sure it does, will confirm tonight.
I remember weighing the bike and it was about 32lbs, therefore I think the frame must be reasonably light, bearing in mind the quality of components fitted !

You've probably noticed already but If you're changing the forks, don't forget it has a threaded headset !

I can confirm the frame is light when nothing is attached to it, I stripped everything (except the BB) off it to clean it and it was as light as my Kona Caldera Frame.
My sister has never had front suspension on a bike and she isn't worried if this doesn't work as she hasn't lost anything and this will get her up and running again.

Well the clean-up/re-build is complete, as per post 1 the brakes/deraileurs/handlebar have been upgraded, the wheel bearings have been cleaned re-greased, the wheels have been trued (to the best of my ability) and its been re-lubed.
Yesterdays weigh in was 31.8lb so I’m really chuffed for a bike that cost less than £30 and will provide enjoyment for my sister and nephew for the rest of this year before replacing the brake pads next year and maybe the forks. The frame is like new so components will get upgraded as they fail or spare money can be spent.

A few pics of the finished bike