Retro Project - Raleigh Pioneer - Finished!!

gt-arrowhead

I picked this up for £13.50 the other day. I just really fancied a road bike. So i placed a bid on a junk one for sale in my area. And won it. All i wanted really was a frame and some cranks. So i didnt care about the rest. And the frame turned out to be near enough immaculate, could just do with some new stickers as they have faded a bit.

So this is how it looked when i started:



(Now finished. Quite a change!) :



My initial plan was to obviously take absolutely everything off it, other than the BB and Cranks as they seemed fine. So i made myself a cuppa, and got some birthday cake, put on Metallica in the background and got cracking!



Everything came off with no problems. I was a bit worried about the chain as it was near enough solid. I was thinking to hack saw it off, then i thought id get a pair of mole grips on it and bend it until it snaps. I put the first set of mole grips on, and when i tightened it up the chain just snapped in half. Minimal effort!

Off go the old brakes. Does anyone reckon those bottom Shimano ones are worth a few quid if i cleaned them up?


I got rid of the Altus one, and got a newer style Acera 8 speed one on there, as the wheel im putting on has an 8 speed cassette.



And i had a really nice pair of road bike wheels that have been sitting in my shed for a very long time (Im a mountain biker!) not getting used, so i put them on. Rear one is a Campag hub and rim, and the front is a Shimano hub and rim.



I am really really upset about the cranks. The left hand one is buggered, the thread has been damaged and the pedal goes in and is very loose. I tried getting a pedal in other side, but it wouldnt go. I ended up cross threading a couple of threads. Its a real shame as they look really awesome and are properly light



I had some old polished steel bars, that i originally only wanted to use to see how long of a stem i should get, but im just going to keep them as i quite like the dimensions of the stem and bar. Feels correct.





Ive done all of the above without spending a penny on parts. Just the 13.50 on the bike. Not bad i think! Im really chuffed with how it looks thus far, and i think im really going to love it when its completed. Cant wait. All i need to complete it are the following.

8 speed shifter
new chain, have one in the shed...i hope.
Cranks and BB. Cranks are fooked and BB is running a bit rough
Brakes and brake wires.
Seat post

More to follow in the next couple of weeks

veronese68

Well done GT. Don't think you'll get much for the brakes. If it's a Campag rear hub check on compatability as there may be issues using Shimano with it. Not sure myself but I'm sure someone will know. You might have to ask in the workshop section. Best to find out before you get a shifter.
Cake looks good.

gaanrowl

you should be able to get the cranks repaired at your local bike shop either just by re-tapping the threads of fitting a helicoil

tlw1

Looks great gt

craker

So what are you going to end up with (and is it what you want?). How about putting drop bars and a single speed kit on the back?

Of course if you want an 8 speed retro hybrid I have mis-spoken...

gt-arrowhead

Veronese68 wrote:

Well done GT. Don't think you'll get much for the brakes. If it's a Campag rear hub check on compatability as there may be issues using Shimano with it. Not sure myself but I'm sure someone will know. You might have to ask in the workshop section. Best to find out before you get a shifter.
Cake looks good.

Cheers,
i had no clue that Campagnolo even made their own specific cassettes. But i think mine is fine, as the cassette thats on there seems to be Shimano. I put a Shimano chain on and it doesnt slip, even under heavy load.

gaanrowl wrote:

you should be able to get the cranks repaired at your local bike shop either just by re-tapping the threads of fitting a helicoil

Not really worth it to be honest, can probably get a 2nd hand set for the same price it will cost me.

matthew h wrote:

Looks great gt

Thanks

craker wrote:

So what are you going to end up with (and is it what you want?). How about putting drop bars and a single speed kit on the back?

Of course if you want an 8 speed retro hybrid I have mis-spoken...

I am going to end up with a nice retro frame with mostly modern and functioning bits, running a 1 x 8 setup, and a flat bar. Which is exactly what i wanted

I never really got on with drop bars on my very limited time on road bikes, and i dont think i will prefer them to a flat bar anyway. And im not too big of a fan of single speed either.

gt-arrowhead

Not any closer to getting the bike completed, but did a bit of work on the bike today.

I did end up finding that brand new chain in the shed, but it was too short. Going by the rule of largest sprocket on crank and cassette + 2 links showed that i was about 5 links short, which is annoying... Nevertheless i put the chain on the smaller ring on the crank, and connected it so that i was running a sort of singlespeed gear 8. I just wanted to see if the chain would slip if i were to get a new one. Judging by the pictures below, it looks as if i should be all okay, as it seems like a nice fit.





The chain was a Shimano IG70. So i tried looking for one on eBay and i havent had any luck so far Does anyone know if the Shimano model number on the chain makes any difference? There is IG51 etc, but no IG70. I have no clue what the cassette is.



I bodged up a temporary front brake so that i can at least get some speed without killing myself. Used a Promax lever and these shocking v brakes.




Went for a ride, and the chain doesnt slip, so that means that i can now buy a new chain and be okay. Just need to know which one to buy!

I managed to get the bottom bracket to run smoothly. Its one of those serviceable ones. I took it all off, and the bearings were in excellent condition, just the grease was very thin. I cleaned it all out and wiped it down, then packed it up with some thick grease and reinstalled, and it is near enough perfect now. Saved me a few quid.

The pedal fell off the cranks in the end when i tried riding it. So i got an old left hand arm from an Altus MTB set i had in the spares. Works all perfectly fine, and no one would tell that the crank arms dont match unless i actually told them. But its one of those things where its just the fact that you know its a bodge job...

Had a good trawl in the spares while looking for the bits for the temporary brake, and i found my old collection of lightly used XLC grips. Ill be using the white ones. Again, saved myself a couple of quid.

rgliniany

looks cool....

jockey wheel looks a little past it imho......

turning into "one of us"

team47b

Your chain is an interactive glide chain. IG components are dual sided beveled for easier shifting while HG are just single sided beveled. IG sprockets are thicker since dual side bevels shave away more material and cassette spacers need to be thinner. IG chains will work on HG and IG stuff BUT HG chains might stick on IG sprockets.

Chain width:
HyperGlide = 7.4mm
InterGlide = 7.1mm

Chains come in a range of qualities numbered in series 30,50,70, 90 they get dearer as the number goes up, they will all work. The front rings will be marked on the back to say whether they ar iG or HG.

gt-arrowhead

Thanks

Yeah that Jockey wheel has had it. Didnt replace it because i dont have one that big in the spares. Now that you mentioned it, im going to try and find one to buy. I reckon if i carve out teeth on a dinner plate, it would fit perfectly

No no, it has flat bars, i havent turned completely

gt-arrowhead

team47b wrote:

Your chain is an interactive glide chain. IG components are dual sided beveled for easier shifting while HG are just single sided beveled. IG sprockets are thicker since dual side bevels shave away more material and cassette spacers need to be thinner. IG chains will work on HG and IG stuff BUT HG chains might stick on IG sprockets.

Chain width:
HyperGlide = 7.4mm
InterGlide = 7.1mm

Chains come in a range of qualities numbered in series 30,50,70, 90 they get dearer as the number goes up, they will all work. The front rings will be marked on the back to say whether they ar iG or HG.

Thanks! Thats a very informative reply. Literally tells me everything i ever wondered about chains. Ill check the rings and see what it says.

clb1970

Incredible, I'm doing exactly the same bike, given to me by my brother in law. (incidentally, you can repo stickers for yours from ebay for a few quid if you fancy) It looks like yours had different components to mine though. It was definitely veering towards the 'MTB' side of a hybrid/road bike with MTB cranks/rings/mechs and gripshifts!

I originally have gone down the drop bar racer route, but I think I'm going to flat bar it as in the 30 years since I last rode a drop-bar I seem to have doubled in weight and halved in flexibility.

I have changed pretty much all of the components on my bike though:

Shimano Sora compact chainset which meant swapping to a Hollowtech 2 BB
Shimano Sora front and rear mech
Shimano 8 speed cassette
Shimano ST 2200 brifters
Shimano HG chain
Deda drop bars/tape
Added a quill to 1&1/8" adapter and a stem
Alloy seatpost
Allfine race 28 rims on unknown hubs
Vittoria tyres
Dia Compe long reach caliper brakes
'eBay special' decals

The bike was bare-metalled and resprayed in gloss white to complement the blue stickers and jagwires.

Pretty much everything was bought used from ebay or from halfrauds in their clearance section.
I'm very chuffed with how it turned out for the (not a lot honestly) money, especially with the components I've managed to get onto it compared to new £5-700 bikes with entry level groupsets. Also I seem to have shaved about 2Kg from the weight. Which isn't too shabby at all!

RideOnTime

Nice cake...

arran77

GT-Arrowhead wrote:

So i made myself a cuppa, and got some birthday cake, put on Metallica in the background and got cracking!

Good work GT, your posts always make me laugh

gt-arrowhead

clb1970 wrote:

Incredible, I'm doing exactly the same bike, given to me by my brother in law. (incidentally, you can repo stickers for yours from ebay for a few quid if you fancy) It looks like yours had different components to mine though. It was definitely veering towards the 'MTB' side of a hybrid/road bike with MTB cranks/rings/mechs and gripshifts!

I originally have gone down the drop bar racer route, but I think I'm going to flat bar it as in the 30 years since I last rode a drop-bar I seem to have doubled in weight and halved in flexibility.

I have changed pretty much all of the components on my bike though:

Shimano Sora compact chainset which meant swapping to a Hollowtech 2 BB
Shimano Sora front and rear mech
Shimano 8 speed cassette
Shimano ST 2200 brifters
Shimano HG chain
Deda drop bars/tape
Added a quill to 1&1/8" adapter and a stem
Alloy seatpost
Allfine race 28 rims on unknown hubs
Vittoria tyres
Dia Compe long reach caliper brakes
'eBay special' decals

The bike was bare-metalled and resprayed in gloss white to complement the blue stickers and jagwires.

Pretty much everything was bought used from ebay or from halfrauds in their clearance section.
I'm very chuffed with how it turned out for the (not a lot honestly) money, especially with the components I've managed to get onto it compared to new £5-700 bikes with entry level groupsets. Also I seem to have shaved about 2Kg from the weight. Which isn't too shabby at all!

Nice! Would be good to see it, you should start up a thread for it. I had a quick look earlier, and i saw some "raleigh pioneer" decals but in the modern raleigh font. Id only replace them with the nice retro font stickers personally.

I was going to go for the adapter and modern stem setup too , but i decided not to, as the bars i have now are quite nice, and it will save me some money, and probably be lighter.

Thats a great setup. Similar to what i want. All in all mine should come to around £80 for the entire build. Thats even with the set back from the cranks dying. Nothing original will remain on the bike, other than the forks and headset. And the bottom bracket if i get a square taper crankset. Im currently watching some Shimano Ultegra cranks. If i win them, ill need to get a new bottom bracket as the fitting is different. Which isnt much hassle.

Cant wait to go flying past someone on their £1000+ road bikes on a 20 year old Raleigh

RideOnTime wrote:

Nice cake...

Cheers, It was very nice

arran77 wrote:

GT-Arrowhead wrote:

So i made myself a cuppa, and got some birthday cake, put on Metallica in the background and got cracking!

Good work GT, your posts always make me laugh

Thanks :P

gt-arrowhead

Finished off the bike. (bar the new cranks that i need)

Got all of my new bits through the post within 2 days which was really useful.

I have now fitted the following:

-Shimano IG51 chain
-XLC Bar grips
-Unknown brand brake levers (out the spares)
-Shimano Acera 8 speed shifter
-Jagwire brake outers
-System Ex seatpost
-An old Scott MTB saddle
-Tektro M15 V brakes, front and back.

Other than the promax levers from my previous post, i had no problems with throwing it together. I found the left hand Promax brake lever, same as the one in the pictures above, but when i finished the bike, i felt that i had to reach my hand out a fair bit to reach the lever and i just wasnt comfortable with it. So i got another set out of the spares that were easier to operate. Still just as effective, but dont look as nice in my opinion.



The chain was a tand longer than i needed, so i shortened it, and put it on using one of those quick link things.





The Tektro brakes i got are really nice. Looking over them nicely shows that they are really well put together. And a 4 quid a set, its not bad at all! Chuffed with them. Even comes with a brake noodle with a barrel adjuster on it which i think is a really good idea, definitely will try and find some of those noodles for future builds.

Jagwires brake wires are quality as always.



The system ex seatpost i got is also well made, happy with it. Only criticism of it is that its a bit on the heavy side compared to other seat posts ive had, but thats me being really critical. And the Scott saddle is the best i had available in the spares. Not getting a new one as of yet, i still need a set of cranks.

gt-arrowhead

team47b

Looking good

Your cable outers look a bit long, your front quick release lever should be on the other side and you tomato plant has had it, other than that, nice

What was the final spend...

gt-arrowhead

Cheers,

Yeah they are a tad on the long side. Not causing any issues though. Isnt a disc brake thing to have the QR on a certain side? It doesnt make a difference with V brakes. Yeah, they got the blight. We did get some tomatoes off there before though :P

Final spend is just over £70 all in. Looking at about £80-85 when i get myself a pair of 2nd hand cranks.

team47b

Just an attempt to balance up the weight a bit by having the levers on the opposite side to the drive stuff

Under a ton, niiiice!

Blossom end rot on tomatoes is caused by irregular watering easily done with pot plants :roll:

gt-arrowhead

Ahh right, fair enough!

Cheers

My dad has doing gardening, and has owned an allotment for 6-7 years (IIRC), i dont think his poor watering is the reason, as the tomato plants which are planted in the soil in my front garden also have the same problem...

veronese68

Well done GT, good job.

clb1970

Nicely done GT, looks great!

term1te

Good to see bike rise from the junk heap.

Looks like tomato/potato blight to me, Phytophthora infestans , especially if the tomatoes have gone black and manky at their ends. Ruined my crop this year.

sutbags

Love that Green colour.