Building a new retro road bike...

[SimonR]

Hi folks,

I just joined this forum because I've recently bought 26 year old unused Reynolds 531 racing frameset and am intending to make it into a glorious retro bike.

The frame came from an eBay auction and I bought it because since writing off my Raleigh Record Ace about 10 years ago I've not been able to find a replacement bicycle to suit. This frame is exactly the same geometry and size as the Record Ace so I'm hopeful that I'll end up with exactly what I want.

I also have found a couple of donor bikes as a source of parts - a Raleigh Zenith (501 frame with Sugino GT cranks and Campagnolo chainset) and a Claud Butler Majestic touring bike with a 531 frame, light-weight Suntour chainset & 27x1.25" alloy wheels. I think I'm eventually going to rebuild the wheels with new spokes so that I can be sure that they're completely true and how I want them!

I'm also replacing my original Record Ace saddle's suede cover and hopefully adding a bit of gel cushioning to it to make it a little more comfortable. It was always pretty comfortable anyway.

I'm dismantling the donor bikes at the moment to work out what parts are re-usable and then I'll clean them all up with degrease before polishing and re-greasing them. I can't wait to get cracking with the build!

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice from doing a similar project - this is the first time I've tried something like this so it'll be a fairly steep learning curve!

I'll post some pictures of my progress as soon as I make any!

 

[alecstilleyedye]

don't skip the other frames, anything you don't need could go on ebay or freecycle (or the cc classifieds). or keep them for a future fixed project or similar…

 

[hubgearfreak]

that frame's rubbish - post it to me for safe disposal

 

[swee'pea99]

I've done it twice...can't think of any tips as such...it's just a question of taking bits off and put them on. Must say I wasn't quite so rigorous as you seem to be...nver bothered with taking things apart/regreasing/anything like that. Long as they work, quick wipe with a greasy rag and stick it on.

The only slight pause....the wheels. You don't say enough to judge, but you do want to be sure they're good ones ('alloy' covers a multitude of sins...and 1.25" sounds a bit on the wide side). Second-rate wheels will drastically reduce performance and fun.

Other than that, have fun! Oh, and welcome!

One last thought, depending on how spanner-experienced you are, you might find it worth checking out bicycletutor.com.

 

[Tel]

Are you intending to use the 27" wheels on this frame? Because I do believe that it takes 700c, although I could be wrong. The frame looks vaguely familiar to me from an old Raleigh catalogue, if memory serves me right it was sold as a stand alone frame rather than as a built bicycle.

 

[SimonR]

Cheers for the replies all.

Yeah - I'm not planning to chuck any of the parts that I've got left over - I'll probably stick them on eBay and see what they make. I've amazed at the cost of retro bike parts!

I'm afraid that I'm a bit anally-retentive when it comes to restoration projects (I spend a lot of time working on cars) so everything will be removed from the donor bike, cleaned, inspected, polished with metal polish and a drill-mounted buffing pad and then carefully re-greased and fitted to the bike... It'll take a bit of time but then I'll know it's done right and it'll hopefully look pretty good too.

Are you intending to use the 27" wheels on this frame? Because I do believe that it takes 700c, although I could be wrong. The frame looks vaguely familiar to me from an old Raleigh catalogue, if memory serves me right it was sold as a stand alone frame rather than as a built bicycle.

Yeah - I've trial-fitted a pair of 27" wheels to the frame and they do fit although you may be right because there's not a whole load of clearance between the top of the front wheel and the forks. I guess I'll find out when I fix the brakes.

I also think you're right about the origin of the frame - I can't find any bikes sold with that frame as standard and the bloke who sold it to me suggested that he bought it as a bare frame all those years ago.

Has anyone got a copy of the catalogue?

 

[nuovo_record]

i'd get some decent 700c wheels....as mentioned you have a campag chainset, decebt BB.....you can always build up and update slowly.
i see you are in cambridge....town centre or a village?

 

[SimonR]

i'd get some decent 700c wheels....as mentioned you have a campag chainset, decebt BB.....you can always build up and update slowly.
i see you are in cambridge....town centre or a village?

Yeah - that sounds like a plan! It kind of depends on the condition of the parts from the donor bikes...

I'm in Fulbourn, Cambs so the choice of wheels and tyres will be based on how well I think they'll fair on the extremely shoddy roads around here. When built the bike will be used everyday for my 13 mile commute from home to the centre of town and back so a certain amount of ruggedness will be important, sadly at the expense of speed.

I've just picked up the Claud Butler majestic donor bike from the Emmaus shop in Landbeach so I can start the build this weekend.

 

[nuovo_record]

i have an old set of campag 8 speed wheels and they cope quite well.
i tend to go out towards elmdon (live in sawston) as there are a few hills to break the scenery.
any problems send me a mail and i can try to help if you get stuck.
if you get upto 8 speed wheels you should be ok with D/T levers.

my bike has gone the same route as you will be doing. i've updated over quite a long time to get where it is now...

http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=35616

 

[SimonR]

Nice Bike! Cheers for the offer of help - you may live to regret that!!

So do you reckon that this is good value for a pair of wheels?

 

[LittleAngus]

Hey, I would be interested in the Claude Butler Majestic frame, as mine got nicked about 20 yrs back! I still miss it as I'd cycled the length of France on it! What size fram is the majestic? Please reply to regoryak2006@yahoo.com

 

[mattsccm]

I reckon the wheels should be 700c. My 531 Raleigh is older and they were fitted to that. 531 bikes could well be aimed for race wheels which were bound to be 700c and quite possibly tubs/sprints which were definitely.
Do it nicely and go Record throughout. After all, at that age that stuff would have been the best.
Cinelli for bars and stem, maybe a Rolls saddle, and Christophe toes clips or maybe some nice Galli ones.

 

[PpPete]

Hey, I would be interested in the Claude Butler Majestic frame, as mine got nicked about 20 yrs back! I still miss it as I'd cycled the length of France on it! What size fram is the majestic? Please reply to regoryak2006@yahoo.com

2nd dibs on Majestic frame if Angus don't want it.