Raleigh Record

"John" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've recently taken up cycling again, after about 25 years off, and,
apart from getting useful exercise, am enjoying riding my Raleigh Record
racing bike (called a tourer these days I believe?) which I got in 1981.
Since I stopped using it (it had light use only from new) the bike was
kept in a dry shed and is in excellent condition except for the tyres
-'Raleigh Supalight 28-630 27 1/4" (fifty)'.

These were hardly worn before it went into storage but the white walls
are now sticky with age and are starting to flake off exposing the
canvas-like material underneath. I've had no problems so far but it's
obvious they will eventually need replacing. Can anyone suggest suitable
replacements of a similar spec?

....

Your local bike shop, if you have one, will be able to suggest suitable
replacements. Just take off one of the old ones, and take that along
with you. Once you've got your bearings with those you might be able
to find alternative suppliers on the net. Hard on the local bike
shop I know, but at least he's sold you at least one pair.

....

Quoted message said:

I'm doing rides of about 12 to 16 miles about 4 times a week at the
moment, mostly along roads but also some cycletracks and bridleways,
gradually increasing speed and distance but have come up against a
problem with my wrists which are beginning to ache on longer trips. I
have racing handlebars but usually grip on the horizontal bits not the
'dropped' handles, and am obviously putting too much weight on my hands.
Is there a simple solution to this - would raising the handlebars work?
Any advice?

....

If you haven't cycled for a considerable time then a bit of discomfort
somewhere isn't at all surprising and some might say you've got off
fairly lightly. But you're probably on the right lines.

Assuming the saddle is at the correct height for your leg length.
The height of the saddle can't be altered obviously, so raising the
stem by small amounts should probably do the trick. Unless the top
tube is slightly too long in which case a shorter stem might help.
Or before shelling out money on that, try bringing the saddle forward
if at all possible. But raising the stem a bit at a time should do
the trick.

Changing your riding position, going down onto the brake hoods, maybe
even onto the drops now and again can also be a help I find. I get
aches in the front of the shoulders sometimes.

There's a very good website which answers just about every question
most people would ever want to know, about some things at least -

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/home.html

Quoted message said:

One last question - if my bike gets damaged would suitable spare parts
be available for one of this age? I guess this could eventually be a
problem.

Ebay -

Collectables> Transportation> Bicycle> Other Bicycle

often has suitable stuff. New old stock or NOS a lot of it. Most of the
prices are quite reasonable compared with modern gear from the Net
or a local Bike shop. Some items do get bid up to silly prices
but they're often special models of no special utility value.

michael adams

....

Quoted message said:

Thanks for any help,

John

John said:

These were hardly worn before it went into storage but the white walls
are now sticky with age and are starting to flake off exposing the
canvas-like material underneath. I've had no problems so far but it's
obvious they will eventually need replacing. Can anyone suggest suitable
replacements of a similar spec?
John

Just bought a pair of these
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s142p30 - 1 for my
old Carlton Corsa, and one for the missus' not quite as old Rayleigh.
Probably not the fastest, but pretty tough and ideal for touring, IMHO.
(Buy some tubes too - and you might need some new rim tape.....)
Enjoy!

On 18/09/2006 22:14, John said,

Quoted message said:

I've recently taken up cycling again, after about 25 years off, and,
apart from getting useful exercise, am enjoying riding my Raleigh Record
racing bike (called a tourer these days I believe?)

Not really, a tourer was always a tourer and a racer was always a racer.
Just looked up /the/ reference
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/record.html and the Record
cannot really be called a tourer. The geometries look quite steep, and
it appears to have no braze-ons for racks etc. That's not to say it
can't be used as such.

Quoted message said:

These were hardly worn before it went into storage but the white walls
are now sticky with age and are starting to flake off exposing the
canvas-like material underneath. I've had no problems so far but it's
obvious they will eventually need replacing. Can anyone suggest suitable
replacements of a similar spec?

27" wheels with white-wall tyres - wow! You probably want touring type
tyres (I know!!) for the sort of usage you have in mind. I always use
Continental Top Touring, but have a look at
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/category-27-(630)-203.htm and the Schwalbe
Marathons should do you. Check frame clearances though. It's also
worth buying new tubes at the same time.

Quoted message said:

Is there a simple solution to this - would raising the handlebars work?
Any advice?

Check your bike setup - there are a few websites around that tell you
how to do this. I found that as I got older, the bars needed to get
higher...

Quoted message said:

One last question - if my bike gets damaged would suitable spare parts
be available for one of this age? I guess this could eventually be a
problem.

You shouldn't have any problems on that score - bikes haven't really
changed that much over the years, despite appearances. Many modern
components will fit old frames. I would suggest though that if you have
steel rims, you throw them away and get alloy rims. That way you'll be
able to stop in the wet :-)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Nigel Cliffe said:

John wrote:

Bottom bracket (where the cranks go round) has been standardised for
decades. Modern cartridge types could replace the ball and cups if you
wanted easier fitting (assuming cranks are square taper, rather than
cotter pin, I'd expect square taper on the age).

Quite possibly not, with it being a Raleigh, as they used their own thread.
See Sheldon for details

http://sheldonbrown.com/raleigh26.html

Tom
--
Return address is dead. Real address is at
http://www.box.net/public/0n493oa6y7

John said:

I've recently taken up cycling again, after about 25 years off, and,
apart from getting useful exercise, am enjoying riding my Raleigh
Record racing bike

Sheldon Brown (bows head slightly) has a page of catalogue pictures of
these

http://retroraleighs.com/record.html

Tom
--
Return address is dead. Real address is at
http://www.box.net/public/0n493oa6y7

John said:

I've recently taken up cycling again, after about 25 years off, and,
apart from getting useful exercise, am enjoying riding my Raleigh
Record racing bike (called a tourer these days I believe?) which I
got in 1981. Since I stopped using it (it had light use only from
new) the bike was kept in a dry shed and is in excellent condition
except for the tyres -'Raleigh Supalight 28-630 27 1/4" (fifty)'.

These were hardly worn before it went into storage but the white walls
are now sticky with age and are starting to flake off exposing the
canvas-like material underneath. I've had no problems so far but it's
obvious they will eventually need replacing. Can anyone suggest
suitable replacements of a similar spec?

I ran Panaracer Paselas when I was last on 630's. Eventually the tread
seems to lose interest in staying attached to the casing[1], but this state
of affairs appears to require a couple of years of fairly hard use.

1 - this has happened on two different Paselas now...

--
Dave Larrington
<http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk>
Jack Hackett for Pope, next time!

On Mon, 18 Sep 2006 21:14 John wrote:

[cut]

Quoted message said:

One last question - if my bike gets damaged would suitable
spare parts be available for one of this age? I guess this could
eventually be a problem.

According to my LBS when I had a similar query a few years back, the
only thing you can't get for 27" bikes is frames. However, I found
that mudguards were a bit of an issue. But if you get the
aluminium-appearance plastic type, a hot air gun allows reforming to
suit.

Have fun,

--
Tim Forcer [email hidden]
The University of Southampton, UK

The University is not responsible for my opinions

Paul Boyd said:

Not really, a tourer was always a tourer and a racer was always a racer.

I had a Record for a while and it was most definitely a racer rather
than a tourer - no clearance for mudguards, no braze-ons for racks, etc.

Unfortunately, it got nicked and I put the insurance towards replacing
it with a Raleigh Royal, which most definitely /is/ a tourer (albeit a
'fast' tourer, very suitable for Audax type riding, which is precisely
what I use it for 18 years later).

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Is there a simple solution to this - would raising the handlebars
work? Any advice?

Check your bike setup - there are a few websites around that tell you
how to do this. I found that as I got older, the bars needed to get
higher...

IIRC the Record has a quill stem, so it should be easy to raise the bars
(assuming the quill hasn't rusted into place - a squirt of penetrating
oil and a mallet could be in order).

Quoted message said:

You shouldn't have any problems on that score - bikes haven't really
changed that much over the years, despite appearances.

IIRC (again) my Record had 6-speed indexed DT shifters. Such parts are
not so common these days, but probably quite easy to source from SJS. Of
course, the chances of needing to replace the gear shifters is quite
small. And the more 'disposable' components will be very easy to replace
with - brake blocks, chains, bar tape, cables, etc.

d.

Nigel Cliffe said:

Brake levers haven't changed
significantly in their function and cable pull, though modern ones (so
called "aero"😉 route the cable along the bars rather than in the air above.

I have been led to believe that aero levers give better response and
braking power, which I find quite plausible based on my experience.

Quoted message said:

Cables (both gear and brake) are pretty much the same as ever.

....and if they haven't been replaced for 20-odd years, /NOW/ would be a
good time to replace them.

d.

In article <[email hidden]>

John said:

I've recently taken up cycling again, after about 25 years off, and,
apart from getting useful exercise, am enjoying riding my Raleigh Record
racing bike (called a tourer these days I believe?) which I got in 1981.

The Raleigh Record is the classic 70's 'racer' - it's not a tourer
although at a pinch it could be used for touring with the right bits.

Quoted message said:

Since I stopped using it (it had light use only from new) the bike was
kept in a dry shed and is in excellent condition except for the tyres
-'Raleigh Supalight 28-630 27 1/4" (fifty)'.

These were hardly worn before it went into storage but the white walls
are now sticky with age and are starting to flake off exposing the
canvas-like material underneath. I've had no problems so far but it's
obvious they will eventually need replacing. Can anyone suggest suitable
replacements of a similar spec?

28-630 is 27 x 1 1/8, which isn't common these days. If you have room
for a slightly wider tyre (mudguard clearance etc.) then a 27 x 1 1/4
will fit the rim and they are probably more widely available - the
Michelin World Tour (discontinued - replaced by Transworld City?) is a
basic reasonable quality tyre that's on the wide side for a 1 1/4 so
should be better suited to rougher surfaces. The Schwalbe HS159 is a
similar tyre that should be available in whitewall 27 x 1 1/4. For a
bit more cash you can get tyres like the Schwalbe Marathon, Panaracer
Pasela, Continental Top Touring 2000. The Pasela is also available in
27 x 1 1/8 if you want to keep it narrow.

Quoted message said:

I'm doing rides of about 12 to 16 miles about 4 times a week at the
moment, mostly along roads but also some cycletracks and bridleways,
gradually increasing speed and distance but have come up against a
problem with my wrists which are beginning to ache on longer trips. I
have racing handlebars but usually grip on the horizontal bits not the
'dropped' handles, and am obviously putting too much weight on my hands.
Is there a simple solution to this - would raising the handlebars work?

It should go at least part of the way to reducing wrist fatigue.

Quoted message said:

Any advice?

Make sure the saddle isn't too high - if it is you will tend to slide
forwards, and counter that by pushing on the bars. If you can move the
saddle back then try that too - it will put more of your body weight
behind the pedals, so more will be supported by your legs leaving less
work for your arms.

Quoted message said:

One last question - if my bike gets damaged would suitable spare parts
be available for one of this age? I guess this could eventually be a
problem.

Basic service parts are still available, but you may not get much choice
and they might not be stock items in your local bike shop.

Tim Forcer said:

On Mon, 18 Sep 2006 21:14 John wrote:

[cut]

Quoted message said:

One last question - if my bike gets damaged would suitable
spare parts be available for one of this age? I guess this could
eventually be a problem.

According to my LBS when I had a similar query a few years back, the
only thing you can't get for 27" bikes is frames. However, I found
that mudguards were a bit of an issue. But if you get the
aluminium-appearance plastic type, a hot air gun allows reforming to
suit.

Have fun,

--
Tim Forcer [email hidden]
The University of Southampton, UK

The University is not responsible for my opinions

Does this mean the 'inch' is finally disappearing. Mark my words, the
pound will be next. 🙂

David Lloyd

"Sirius631" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

SNIP

Quoted message said:

Does this mean the 'inch' is finally disappearing. Mark my words, the
pound will be next. 🙂

I was under the impression that most tyres were now measure as metric.

As a result I took the details from my wife's bike to buy some new tyres on
Sunday to a LBS and quoted (50-559) but told the chap I wanted some slightly
narrower ones with more of a road type tread.

He asked if I had the bike so he could have a look. He stated that they were
26"x1.90 (also on the tyre wall) and this is the measuremnt he needs as the
50-559 was an old method!

So I don't know now.

He did agree that measurements that have fractions in them are different to
those with metric (one and 3 quarters is different to one point seven-five).

Quoted message said:

David Lloyd

Dave said the following on 19/09/2006 13:52:

Quoted message said:

I was under the impression that most tyres were now measure as metric.

Not really. Apart from 700c, which originated in Europe, tyres in the
UK have pretty much always been imperial, certainly for the main sizes.
I'm sure someone will come up with an obscure example that has always
been metric though.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Dave said:

As a result I took the details from my wife's bike to buy some new tyres on
Sunday to a LBS and quoted (50-559) but told the chap I wanted some slightly
narrower ones with more of a road type tread.

He asked if I had the bike so he could have a look. He stated that they were
26"x1.90 (also on the tyre wall) and this is the measuremnt he needs as the
50-559 was an old method!

He's talking [censored]. ERTRO sizes are standard and guaranteed to work. Non
ERTRO (there are numerous 26" and numerous 28" sizes, not to mention
16" and 20"😉 are a recipe for confusion.

...d

in message <[email hidden]>, John

(') said:

I've recently taken up cycling again, after about 25 years off, and,
apart from getting useful exercise, am enjoying riding my Raleigh Record
racing bike (called a tourer these days I believe?) which I got in 1981.

No, the Record was a racer (for some value of) and it still is. It's now an
old one, of course, but I've recently brought mine up to pretty close to
modern standard, with a 9 speed cassette and modern brakes.

Quoted message said:

Since I stopped using it (it had light use only from new) the bike was
kept in a dry shed and is in excellent condition except for the tyres
-'Raleigh Supalight 28-630 27 1/4" (fifty)'.

Go down to your local bike shop and ask for 27 by 1 1/4. They will now have
fairly limited stock since this is an obsolete size, but they are still
available and will be for a good few years to come. The bike can be
converted to the modern 700c standard, but this is a bit more complex.

Quoted message said:

I'm doing rides of about 12 to 16 miles about 4 times a week at the
moment, mostly along roads but also some cycletracks and bridleways,
gradually increasing speed and distance but have come up against a
problem with my wrists which are beginning to ache on longer trips. I
have racing handlebars but usually grip on the horizontal bits not the
'dropped' handles, and am obviously putting too much weight on my hands.
Is there a simple solution to this - would raising the handlebars work?

OK. Your bike is not designed for tracks and bridleways; it's stiff and has
relatively narrow tyres. So it isn't going to be comfortable on anything
other than tarmac. If you are putting too much weight on your hands there
is something wrong with your position on the bike but at a guess you're
more likely to need your bars lower than higher. Could you stick a
photograph of you riding the bike one the web somewhere?

Quoted message said:

One last question - if my bike gets damaged would suitable spare parts
be available for one of this age? I guess this could eventually be a
problem.

Yes.

Five and six speed freewheels are still used on cheaper bikes, so the
freewheels and the hubs that fit them are not a problem. Stems and
headsets are similar - the old standards are still used on cheaper bikes.
Front hub standards have not changed, and modern bottom brackets still fit
the same bottom bracket shells. 27 inch rims are still available, but are
becoming scarce. Modern brakes will work, although you may have to
use 'deep drop' models. A modern derailleur will work perfectly well with
older cassettes and freewheels, although modern indexed shifters will
not - but you can still get friction shifters. Modern brake levers will
work with old standard road brakes.

Or you can bring the whole bike (except perhaps the fork, headset and stem)
up to modern standard, but this comes more expensive. However, think
before you do this - the difference in weight between my Raleigh Record
Sprint (one model up from yours) and my modern carbon-fibre racer is quite
staggering. Unless you've got most of the parts lying around, as I had, it
will probably be more sensible to go out and buy a new bike.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Women are from Venus. Men are from Mars. Lusers are from Uranus.

in message <[email hidden]>, Nigel Cliffe

(') said:

Cables (both gear and brake) are pretty much the same as ever.

Up to a point, Lord Copper. Gear cables are significantly different (the
sleeve is much less compressible, to allow reliable indexing), but the new
ones work perfectly well with old systems. The reverse is not true,
however.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; may contain traces of nuts, bolts or washers.

in message <[email hidden]>, Tom

(') said:

Nigel Cliffe said:

John wrote:

Bottom bracket (where the cranks go round) has been standardised for
decades. Modern cartridge types could replace the ball and cups if you
wanted easier fitting (assuming cranks are square taper, rather than
cotter pin, I'd expect square taper on the age).

Quite possibly not, with it being a Raleigh, as they used their own
thread.
See Sheldon for details

http://sheldonbrown.com/raleigh26.html

Not at that vintage. I have a 22 year old Royale and a 12 or 13 year old
Record Sprint, and they both seem to be 'English'.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

...but have you *seen* the size of the world wide spider?

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, John

(') said:

............ my Raleigh Record racing bike

Quoted message said:

Or you can bring the whole bike (except perhaps the fork, headset and
stem) up to modern standard, but this comes more expensive. However,
think before you do this - the difference in weight between my
Raleigh Record Sprint (one model up from yours) and my modern
carbon-fibre racer is quite staggering. Unless you've got most of the
parts lying around, as I had, it will probably be more sensible to go
out and buy a new bike.

One other change would be to jump into the special world of fixed-wheels and
single-speeds. I'd expect the Record frame to make a fairly easy starting
point with its sliding drop-outs.

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

In message <[email hidden]>

michael adams said:

"John" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've recently taken up cycling again, after about 25 years off, and,
apart from getting useful exercise, am enjoying riding my Raleigh Record
racing bike (called a tourer these days I believe?) which I got in 1981.
Since I stopped using it (it had light use only from new) the bike was
kept in a dry shed and is in excellent condition except for the tyres
-'Raleigh Supalight 28-630 27 1/4" (fifty)'.

These were hardly worn before it went into storage but the white walls
are now sticky with age and are starting to flake off exposing the
canvas-like material underneath. I've had no problems so far but it's
obvious they will eventually need replacing. Can anyone suggest suitable
replacements of a similar spec?

...

Your local bike shop, if you have one, will be able to suggest suitable
replacements. Just take off one of the old ones, and take that along
with you. Once you've got your bearings with those you might be able
to find alternative suppliers on the net. Hard on the local bike
shop I know, but at least he's sold you at least one pair.

Best bet is probely continental ultragatorskins

Gwyn

....

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm doing rides of about 12 to 16 miles about 4 times a week at the
moment, mostly along roads but also some cycletracks and bridleways,
gradually increasing speed and distance but have come up against a
problem with my wrists which are beginning to ache on longer trips. I
have racing handlebars but usually grip on the horizontal bits not the
'dropped' handles, and am obviously putting too much weight on my hands.
Is there a simple solution to this - would raising the handlebars work?
Any advice?

...

If you haven't cycled for a considerable time then a bit of discomfort
somewhere isn't at all surprising and some might say you've got off
fairly lightly. But you're probably on the right lines.

Assuming the saddle is at the correct height for your leg length.
The height of the saddle can't be altered obviously, so raising the
stem by small amounts should probably do the trick. Unless the top
tube is slightly too long in which case a shorter stem might help.
Or before shelling out money on that, try bringing the saddle forward
if at all possible. But raising the stem a bit at a time should do
the trick.

Changing your riding position, going down onto the brake hoods, maybe
even onto the drops now and again can also be a help I find. I get
aches in the front of the shoulders sometimes.

There's a very good website which answers just about every question
most people would ever want to know, about some things at least -

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/home.html

Quoted message said:

One last question - if my bike gets damaged would suitable spare parts
be available for one of this age? I guess this could eventually be a
problem.

Ebay -

Collectables> Transportation> Bicycle> Other Bicycle

often has suitable stuff. New old stock or NOS a lot of it. Most of the
prices are quite reasonable compared with modern gear from the Net
or a local Bike shop. Some items do get bid up to silly prices
but they're often special models of no special utility value.

michael adams

...

Quoted message said:

Thanks for any help,

John

--
Gwyn Oakley
Maes-y-Deri, Rhydlewis, Llandysul, Ceredigion
Telephone: 01239 851752
email: [email hidden]