Novice seeks advice on 1980s racing bike
rustyjusty
Posts: 35
in Workshop
Yesterday i bought a racing bike, its the first one ive ever owned, im 47 and have previously had mountain bikes etc. Im keen to have a bike that offers a bit more speed on the roads.
I paid £35 off Gumtree for it, see photos attached, its fairly light, around 10kg or so and not sure what the frame is, possibly a 105 or 531, or maybe neither of those. The bike needs work doing, the guy said its been in his shed for 5 years and hed bought it to do up but never got round to it.
Questions: i want to put flat handlebars on it and get rid of the drop handlebars, is that eays to do and what gears should i buy, would a shimano combination brake and gear thumb shifter be suitable? The rear gears are the simplex make, its a ten speed in total.
Front derailleur looks like its seen better days though may work with a bit of work and new gear cables. Im a novice at repairs though keen to learn.
Also, id like to put slightly wider tyres on it, at present its got 700x25, what is the next size up and would they fit the rims i have ? The rims say something like 'Plizer France' though im unsure of what the swirly writing says exactly. Im going to replace the seat to something newer/smaller, will it be a standard seat i need ? The rear wheel has very slight buckling or not quite true and some loosish spokes.
Im guessing bike is from the 1980s
If anyone can advise and or post links to items i can buy off ebay at a good price used or new or decathlon etc or elsewhere for things such as suitable bars and gear shifters, tyres etc it would be much appreciated. Im out of work and funds are fairly limited though i can buy parts as i go, ideally reconditioned second hand parts would be good though maybe not for the tyres.
I paid £35 off Gumtree for it, see photos attached, its fairly light, around 10kg or so and not sure what the frame is, possibly a 105 or 531, or maybe neither of those. The bike needs work doing, the guy said its been in his shed for 5 years and hed bought it to do up but never got round to it.
Questions: i want to put flat handlebars on it and get rid of the drop handlebars, is that eays to do and what gears should i buy, would a shimano combination brake and gear thumb shifter be suitable? The rear gears are the simplex make, its a ten speed in total.
Front derailleur looks like its seen better days though may work with a bit of work and new gear cables. Im a novice at repairs though keen to learn.
Also, id like to put slightly wider tyres on it, at present its got 700x25, what is the next size up and would they fit the rims i have ? The rims say something like 'Plizer France' though im unsure of what the swirly writing says exactly. Im going to replace the seat to something newer/smaller, will it be a standard seat i need ? The rear wheel has very slight buckling or not quite true and some loosish spokes.
Im guessing bike is from the 1980s
If anyone can advise and or post links to items i can buy off ebay at a good price used or new or decathlon etc or elsewhere for things such as suitable bars and gear shifters, tyres etc it would be much appreciated. Im out of work and funds are fairly limited though i can buy parts as i go, ideally reconditioned second hand parts would be good though maybe not for the tyres.
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Bigger tyres should be fine… 28 mm or so. Flat bars need to match the diameter of the current ones, which are probably 26 mm.left the forum March 20230
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Thanks, ill have a look on ebay for some bars, any suggestions ?0
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That looks a very short stem for flat bars, how does the reach feel if you sit on it now with your hands on the flat bit of the bars? You might want a longer stem, if so just ensure the stem and bars ar the same diameter. Planet X often have bars in a variety of sizes to suit old quill stems like that.0
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Unlikely to be 531 and I'm not aware of any tubeset labelled as '105'. Most probably just high tensile steel.rustyjusty said:not sure what the frame is, possibly a 105 or 531, or maybe neither of those.
TBH, you might not want to hear this, but I would not be spending money upgrading that bike - you are likely to encounter compatibility issues with whatever you buy for it. Assuming it is rideable, I would just ride it as it is..
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Agreed. Not sure if you can get non-indexed thumb shifters these days so you may struggle to get compatible kit.imposter2.0 said:
TBH, you might not want to hear this, but I would not be spending money upgrading that bike - you are likely to encounter compatibility issues with whatever you buy for it. Assuming it is rideable, I would just ride it as it is..rustyjusty said:not sure what the frame is, possibly a 105 or 531, or maybe neither of those.
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imposter2.0 said:
Unlikely to be 531 and I'm not aware of any tubeset labelled as '105'. Most probably just high tensile steel.rustyjusty said:not sure what the frame is, possibly a 105 or 531, or maybe neither of those.
Didn’t there used to be a 501 tubing set which was pretty basic. I remember it being on entry level bikes back in pre history.0 -
left the forum March 20230
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Yeah, 501 - but not '105' as far as I can remember. Unless the OP actually meant mean 501...webboo said:imposter2.0 said:
Unlikely to be 531 and I'm not aware of any tubeset labelled as '105'. Most probably just high tensile steel.rustyjusty said:not sure what the frame is, possibly a 105 or 531, or maybe neither of those.
Didn’t there used to be a 501 tubing set which was pretty basic. I remember it being on entry level bikes back in pre history.0 -
The name has pedigree - but the frame looks repainted (with a brush apparently), so it's not yet conclusive that the frame is actually one of his..ugo.santalucia said:0 -
As above. Dont spend any more money on it.imposter2.0 said:
Unlikely to be 531 and I'm not aware of any tubeset labelled as '105'. Most probably just high tensile steel.rustyjusty said:not sure what the frame is, possibly a 105 or 531, or maybe neither of those.
TBH, you might not want to hear this, but I would not be spending money upgrading that bike - you are likely to encounter compatibility issues with whatever you buy for it. Assuming it is rideable, I would just ride it as it is..0 -
Ditto.
Make sure its safe, ride it. Good luck with job situ..The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
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Ah yeah i meant 501. Im not online at home so sometimes take a while to reply, also ditched my old smart phone when it broke and went back to a basic one that texts only as for the last 20 years i have hammered the internet and wasted too much time, so its an attempt to go back to basics.
I have seen people put flat handlebars on racing bikes. I dont like the drop handlbars, id like not only flat handlebars but also higher up, so would i need a longer riser bar ?
As for the gears i could leave them in place. If i was to replace them with thumbshift gears would i need to replace the front and back deraiileur too ?
In the meantime how much would i be looking at for a second hand flat bar off ebay and maybe longer riser bar that the flats attach too ?0 -
Tbh, its old school 26.4mm so nip to LBS and they may have something in a box in the workshop they'll give you for nothing or near as dammit - we used to do that for people who needed stuff but life was being abitch to.
Recycling place as well. Gumtree/Craig's List/charity shops. Even ask at the LBS if they know of anything.
Keep your eye out and you may pick up a whole bike, strip what you want off it, dump/pass on whats left.
To fit flat bars, take off drops and cables, slide in flat bars and "new" shifters and brake levers, set up, ride off..The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
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By riser bar, you mean stem?
Again, as above.
EBay is a tad iffy now tbh. Not all the bargaintastic it was..The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
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£8.99 from SJS brand new. Not sure you'll find cheaper on eBay tbh
.The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
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Again, £8.99 new from SJS
.The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
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Whats the Lbs ? If i fitted flat bars and shifters would i need to change derailleurs front and back to accomdate as they are from the 1980s, a rear Simplex one and not sure what front one is as im not at home right now ?MattFalle said:Tbh, its old school 26.4mm so nip to LBS and they may have something in a box in the workshop they'll give you for nothing or near as dammit - we used to do that for people who needed stuff but life was being abitch to.
Recycling place as well. Gumtree/Craig's List/charity shops. Even ask at the LBS if they know of anything.
Keep your eye out and you may pick up a whole bike, strip what you want off it, dump/pass on whats left.
To fit flat bars, take off drops and cables, slide in flat bars and "new" shifters and brake levers, set up, ride off.0 -
Thanks for that, great stuffMattFalle said:£8.99 from SJS brand new. Not sure you'll find cheaper on eBay tbh
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£3.99
.The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
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To save money you could go 1x at the front - get a cheapo Amazon chainring and it'll save you shifter, cable, outer, fakking around trying to set up a 30 year old front mech......
The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
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See my other thread that i started about a gt palomar that i got given yesterday by a neighbour who left it out for the scrap man. Im gonna attempt to get it road worthy, it has shocks too which believe it or not, ive not had on a bike before and would be good for when i cycle on the canal paths, bumpy areas.davidof said:Fat tyres, flat bars? Maybe you should buy a mountain bike?
Ive not owned a racing bike before so i want to see if its faster for getting around on the roads0 -
You mean have it as a one speed, or just have it in one cog at the front and 5 at the back ? Id like to get it in all 10 gears ideally, but am thinking maybe i just stick with the downshifters as they are and not put them on the flats which could be hassle as derailleurs would have to be changedMattFalle said:To save money you could go 1x at the front - get a cheapo Amazon chainring and it'll save you shifter, cable, outer, fakking around trying to set up a 30 year old front mech.....
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1@ front, 5 back
Mechs may not need to changed if you get friction shifters..The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
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Whats a friction shifter compared to a thumb shifter that clicks ?MattFalle said:1@ front, 5 back
Mechs may not need to changed if you get friction shifters.0 -
Why not transfer bars, shifters, mechs off that onto the road bike?rustyjusty said:
See my other thread that i started about a gt palomar that i got given yesterday by a neighbour who left it out for the scrap man. Im gonna attempt to get it road worthy, it has shocks too which believe it or not, ive not had on a bike before and would be good for when i cycle on the canal paths, bumpy areas.davidof said:Fat tyres, flat bars? Maybe you should buy a mountain bike?
Ive not owned a racing bike before so i want to see if its faster for getting around on the roads
If the GT is ashitter then take what you want off it, pass on the rest?
Or fit skinny slicks to the GT for best of both worlds at minimal cost?.The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
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Im gonna leave the gt as it is and get it roadworthy, though not a bad idea to use parts off other bikes.MattFalle said:
Why not transfer bars, shifters, mechs off that onto the road bike?rustyjusty said:
See my other thread that i started about a gt palomar that i got given yesterday by a neighbour who left it out for the scrap man. Im gonna attempt to get it road worthy, it has shocks too which believe it or not, ive not had on a bike before and would be good for when i cycle on the canal paths, bumpy areas.davidof said:Fat tyres, flat bars? Maybe you should buy a mountain bike?
Ive not owned a racing bike before so i want to see if its faster for getting around on the roads
If the GT is ashitter then take what you want off it, pass on the rest?
Or fit skinny slicks to the GT for best of both worlds at minimal cost?
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Im unsure what diameter seat post to buy for the gt ? I measured the hole in the frame where the seatpost goes and its 27mm, so what size post do i need ? Im guessing slightly less than 27mm so it fits but not too loose ? I can find the spec for my model of bike so dunno what size post to buy, any ideas ?MattFalle said:
Why not transfer bars, shifters, mechs off that onto the road bike?rustyjusty said:
See my other thread that i started about a gt palomar that i got given yesterday by a neighbour who left it out for the scrap man. Im gonna attempt to get it road worthy, it has shocks too which believe it or not, ive not had on a bike before and would be good for when i cycle on the canal paths, bumpy areas.davidof said:Fat tyres, flat bars? Maybe you should buy a mountain bike?
Ive not owned a racing bike before so i want to see if its faster for getting around on the roads
If the GT is ashitter then take what you want off it, pass on the rest?
Or fit skinny slicks to the GT for best of both worlds at minimal cost?0 -
.The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
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Just read the GT post and now realise it doesn't have a seat post you can look at. 27.2mm is a common size, but they vary by increments of 0.2mm which is frankly ridiculous. I have one bike that takes 26.6, another 27 and a couple that take 27.2. the wrong size either won't fit or slips.
What size is the seat post on the road bike, try that as a starting point. You might be lucky1
