Any idea how old this bike is?

[Over The Hill]

I have today collected (free to good home) a Raleigh Stratos ladies road bike.

Here is a pic that has popped up when I google it. This is not the one but it is identical in every way and having just had a rub down with a rag really looks in as good a condition.

or link if pic does not work
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sxE2C63GeKk/S6yicaIv2zI/AAAAAAAABM4/y-aDCEqSO9w/s1600/2010-03-26+004.jpg

It looks completely original and really hardly used. The tyres say Raleigh on them so I am guessing are original.

It has ten gears with the shifters as here on the top of the steering post.

It is complete with rack, sidestand and dynamo lights. The saddle in pic looks changed, this has what looks to be original. Lovely metal pedals.

I was surprised how light it is for a steel frame.

I gave it a quick spin up the road and it all seems fine apart from the front wheel being a bit warped. Gears and brakes were fine.

Plan is to tidy it up for wifey to use. I have a road bike which I tour on so this seems good for her to use.

Any idea how old it is?

I am guessing it is more a touring bike than racing but really not sure how you tell.

As my project to get it fully functional for the summer I will service it and sort out the front wheel. I was then thinking of just keeping it fairly authentic although the saddle may have to go as it is from the harder the better era and I am guessing will meet with complaints!

Any problems or issues I should look out for with an old bike? Will I have problems with spares? What about tyres?

Thanks!

 

[aberal]

Looks circa 1980's to me, but that's only guesswork.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

From what I can see I'd also go for eighties.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

From 1983 Raleigh catalogue.

If the rims are original chromed steel, you might want to assess brake effectiveness and consider upgrade options there first. Options can range from just exceptionally good pads to new alloy 700c wheels which probably also need new deep drop dual pivot brakes. For modern rear hubs you will have to spread the rear dropouts to accommodate. A potential compromise, if the front wheel is badly warped and since it carries most of the braking force, is just to replace the front with a 27" alloy one.

Made from Hi-ten, it was not the lightest steel bike at the time, but given the condition can probably last another 30 years. In terms of upgrades you should probably assess priorities, decide on a budget, and see what best can be accomplished.

 

[mickle]

Don't let anyone meaty ride it - those cranks had a habit of losing their grip on the swaged on chainring if you stood on the pedals too hard.

 

[Over The Hill]

Many thanks all for the info.

I will probably just get it on the road as is and see how Mrs OTH settles in with it for now assuming I can sort the front wheel. It is only about 3mm out and the spokes seem very slack so I hope it can be done.

Wifey is only about eight and a half stone and a rather gentle cyclist so I hope it will be up to her mild use. I may even be able to get her to carry some of the gear now she has a rack!

Not sure how the gearing will be for her but once it is running I will see how it settles in.

I am very pleased with it and it looks a handsome beast.

 

[Zoiders]

I don't think she will get on with it.

The gears are a pain for those unused to non indexed and they are not very stable at lower speeds due to the stupidly short stem and narrow drops.

 

[Davidc]

Beware of the brake levers on the top of the bars. The ones from that era weren't like the ones we see now and were known as suicide levers - for good reason.

 

[Mark Lawless]

I had a large frame Stratos 10 back in the early 80's, when I was a teenager - saved my pennies from working part time to get it. Once I did, I went everywhere on it. Up to that point, I had built bikes myself from whatever I could get, so this was a treat! Anyway, in my later teens, I used the bike to tour all around the south east of Ireland, and it bever put a wheel wrong. It was packed with luggage too, plus my weight - and I've always been a big lad!

The brakes worked fine, whether using the upper or lower levers, and I never felt like they were in any way unsafe. The gears, while not indexed, did have a ratchet in the levers, and were easy enough to use.

I've used a mountain bike for the last 15 odd years (VERY occasionally), but I have decided to get back into cyvling in a bigger way, so bought a hybrid - a Carrera Subway - which should do nicely around here. What brought me to this page however was the Stratos. I'm looking for one to buy and restore, just for fun. Might post here again when I've found one!

 

[biggs682]

looks fantastic to me , the hubs should be date stamped along with the rear of the brake castings

 

[tyred]

The one thing I would recommend if you live anywhere hilly is a change of chainset to something like a 46-34. These bikes are ridiculously over-geared but otherwise fine.

Fibrax leather pads will improve braking on chrome rims, not to the level of alloy rims but still acceptable.

 

[Paul Gee]

I have a Raleigh Stratos which I bought new in 1977, and I think cost me about £24.

I have used it intermittently since then, but since retiring last year and moving from hilly Bucks to flatter Essex I have been out more on it. I notice that I am the only one on the road wearing bicycle clips, I must get modern . I also notice that everyone overtakes me, for which I blame my bike, not my as yet unfit legs!

Apart from changing the brake blocks and tyres/inner tubes no maintenance has really been done on it. But a question; the brakes need work done on them and something makes a noise and clunks as I pedal along. I don't have any spare money to buy a new bike but is it expensive to get these sorts of things fixed at a local bike shop? I just wonder whether it might be better to soldier on with this until I can buy a new bike.

But ........ I am fond of this old bike, if at some stage I wanted to throw some money at it to bring it up to date (especially the gears are too high) what could I do and what would it cost?

Thanks

Paul

 

[tyred]

I have a Raleigh Stratos which I bought new in 1977, and I think cost me about £24.

I have used it intermittently since then, but since retiring last year and moving from hilly Bucks to flatter Essex I have been out more on it. I notice that I am the only one on the road wearing bicycle clips, I must get modern . I also notice that everyone overtakes me, for which I blame my bike, not my as yet unfit legs!

Apart from changing the brake blocks and tyres/inner tubes no maintenance has really been done on it. But a question; the brakes need work done on them and something makes a noise and clunks as I pedal along. I don't have any spare money to buy a new bike but is it expensive to get these sorts of things fixed at a local bike shop? I just wonder whether it might be better to soldier on with this until I can buy a new bike.

But ........ I am fond of this old bike, if at some stage I wanted to throw some money at it to bring it up to date (especially the gears are too high) what could I do and what would it cost?

Thanks

Paul

I would pull the hubs, bottom bracket and headset apart, wash them out in diesel, replace the loose ball bearings (you will need 40 x 1/4" - 9 each side on the rear hub and 11 each side on the bb, 50 x 3/32" balls - 25 top and bottom for the headset and 20 or possibly 22 x 3/16" balls - 10 or 11 each side of the front hub - loose ball bearings only cost a few quid) and re-pack with grease. It will run much smoother.

It isn't difficult to do this on an older bike with very basic tools and there are any number of online guides which will explain the procedure much better than I can - http://sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/hubs.html would be a good place to start. It might be daunting but it isn't difficult or expensive (unless you find major wear or damage) with a methodical approach.

If you have cotterpin cranks, the key to success in removing them is to support it well from underneath if possible (remember to allow somewhere for the pin to come out) and remove the nut, remove the washer then thread the nut back on and hit it very hard with a 2lb hammer. A few sharp cracks will usually move them, if you sit tip-tapping at it, the pin will rivet in place - hit it hard! Once it's started to move, unscrew the nut and drive it out fully. If there is no obvious damage to the threads or the flat part of the cotterpin, you should get away with re-using it.

 

[Paul Gee]

Many thanks for that detailed reply. I don't understand a whole lot of it, but it gives me the basis to get started.

Paul

 

[Mark Lawless]

I had a large frame Stratos 10 back in the early 80's, when I was a teenager - saved my pennies from working part time to get it. Once I did, I went everywhere on it. Up to that point, I had built bikes myself from whatever I could get, so this was a treat! Anyway, in my later teens, I used the bike to tour all around the south east of Ireland, and it bever put a wheel wrong. It was packed with luggage too, plus my weight - and I've always been a big lad!

The brakes worked fine, whether using the upper or lower levers, and I never felt like they were in any way unsafe. The gears, while not indexed, did have a ratchet in the levers, and were easy enough to use.

I've used a mountain bike for the last 15 odd years (VERY occasionally), but I have decided to get back into cyvling in a bigger way, so bought a hybrid - a Carrera Subway - which should do nicely around here. What brought me to this page however was the Stratos. I'm looking for one to buy and restore, just for fun. Might post here again when I've found one!

Sorry to bring up a thread from the dead folks, but I did say I might post again if I managed to find a Stratos and buy it - and I have! I actually bought it last year, but only got around to tidying it up and replacing some bits and pieces recently.

It's a large frame 1978 model. I have a new front and rear light still to go on. I replaced the tyres and leather lined brake blocks, and removed the non standard full length mudguards, as they didn't add anything to the bike. I think it gets away with the shorties. I have since sourced a set of original Bluemels full length ones, but they need a bit of attention.

I was unsuccessful in finding an OEM seat, so I got one very similar from the USA. Looks very similar. I used cloth tape on the bars, as I couldn't find the suede effect stuff.

What do you all think? I quite like it. It looks big compared with my mountain bike, but not as big as the Trek :