Couldn't resist - Wayfarer

[GrahamNR17]

Picked this up today for pocket change. I just could resist the nostalgia for the price! It's a 1976 Raleigh Wayfarer in original condition (even the tyres look perished enough to have been factory fitted).

There's something about older roadsters I just find irresistible.

 

[Arch]

That's a beauty!

There was a thread in Beginners recently from someone wanting a suitable bike to take to live in Copenhagen, and that was exactly the sort of thing I recommended...

What's your plan for it?

 

[GrahamNR17]

Not sure what to do with it. I was thinking of using the frame and forks as the basis for the 30s sports bike replica, but then again it's so complete and original I should preserve it. As we speak, I'm adjusting and lubricating with the aim of using it all this week for work. If I hate it by Friday, it gets pulled apart to make something fun. If I still love it to bits, then it gets preserved as it is and used as the local hack for supermarket runs etc.

He shall be called Wilberforce

 

[Speicher]

Wilberforce is a lovely colour. Normally I like a Red/Yellow combination like that of Caisse D'Epagne, but that blue is excellent.


So that is two ladies of this forum impressed by your new bike, what do the men think?

How tall are you? If you are not very tall, and I decide to go and live in Copenhagen, I could take Wilberforce with me. I am sure he would really like it there.

 

[Soltydog]

I had one of those for christmas one year, prob late 70s when i was about 10
I ended up fitting 5 spd gears & drops to keep up with my mates & spraying it black to make it faster LOL

 

[TheDoctor]

Oh, nicely retro.
I'd be a crime to rip all that to bits to make a fixie.
26 x 1 3/8 tyres might be a bit thin on the ground by now, but I bet SJS has them if nowhere else does.

*approves*

 

[GrahamNR17]

How tall are you? If you are not very tall, and I decide to go and live in Copenhagen, I could take Wilberforce with me. I am sure he would really like it there.

But... but... but Wilby doesn't have a passport, or know how to talk foreign But I'm 5'8 with ikkle legs, maybe I'll give him to you for christmas, if you're bad

Just been up to Sainsburys on him, and my legs hurt I wonder if Raleigh also made nuclear missile bunkers in that factory and got the parts mixed up. Damn it's heavy

 

[Speicher]

How badly do I need to behave?

I am five foot four and a bit inches tall, but with comparatively long legs.

 

[GrahamNR17]

Rode it to work and back twice today (came home for lunch). Had a goodly head wind at lunch time. I now fully understand why cyclists like aluminium so much. Almost had to stop and push my intestines back up my bum a few times, such was the effort required

Note to self: gearing is too high, get a smaller rear cog really soon

 

[tyred]

Lovely. Exactly the sort of thing I want but have been struggling to find in decent condition/sensible sized frame. If the ladies like it, I want one even more now...

You want a larger rear cog, not smaller to reduce the gearing. It's probably 18 tooth at the moment. 19 - 22 tooth are available and quite cheap on ebay and are really easy to change but pay attention to which way the shims come off to retain the correct chainline.

26 x 1 3/8" tyres are easily available from Halfords or any number of ebay sellers.

 

[GrahamNR17]

Lovely. Exactly the sort of thing I want but have been struggling to find in decent condition/sensible sized frame. If the ladies like it, I want one even more now...

You want a larger rear cog, not smaller to reduce the gearing. It's probably 18 tooth at the moment. 19 - 22 tooth are available and quite cheap on ebay and are really easy to change but pay attention to which way the shims come off to retain the correct chainline.

26 x 1 3/8" tyres are easily available from Halfords or any number of ebay sellers.

Had the afternoon off so I spent it in the garage with the bike. Front chainring is 46T and rear cog is 20T, which I think makes it about 59" if my understanding of my books is correct. Popped over to Madgetts in Diss and picked up a 22T cog, which I think should give me about 54". If it's still too high I'll see what I can find by way of a smaller front ring on fleabay. Got a couple of white wall tyres while I was there, new tubes, rim tape, handlebar grips (the old ones were so hard they hurt!) and a 'should look ok' rear carrier. Grabbed a pocket full of bearings and some moly grease too, as some of the bearings feel a little notchy. A few more evenings in the garage should have the bike back to it's full former glory. It's definitely a keeper, even it is as heavy as a car

But all said and done, the biggest surprise has been the thrill I'm getting from riding an old bike. There's just something about it. I used to arrive at work with a smile on my face riding my lightweight modern bike, but I'm told my smile is now so big they all think I "got some last night".

I always said bikes were better than sex, apart from falling off*

* falling off bikes can be harsh, too.

 

[tyred]

There is something majestic feeling about riding a bike like this and they can go faster than you think once you get the feel for it. Also extremely comfortable.

You just need to practice the old school roadster riding style of riding uphill into a gale force wind in top gear at about 10 RPM cadence.

 

[Davidc]

It's very like a Raleigh bike I was given when I was about 12 or 13. (I was full height 5'10" at 13!). It wsa built like a tank and had a weight to match. Like most 3 speed geared bikes at the time mine was high geared.

I got rid of it when I was 15. The replacement (also steel but 531 instead of gas pipe) weighed a tiny bit above 1/3 as much, and I felt as if I was flying!

Given the age and condition it would be a shame not to preserve it. A good example of a mass produced, mid price British bike. That design was, IIRC, virtually unchanged from the 1940s (before my time) until the early 1980s, but I'm open to correction on that.

 

[chris667]

Wonderful! Chain Reaction Cycles do Michelin World Tours in this size for £5.99 each. New cog & chain (£8ish) and you have a quality, civilised runabout. Pifco lights are rubbish, though.

 

[GrahamNR17]

Wonderful! Chain Reaction Cycles do Michelin World Tours in this size for £5.99 each. New cog & chain (£8ish) and you have a quality, civilised runabout. Pifco lights are rubbish, though.

Yep, Pifco does seem to be a byword for junk. I've consigned the plastic Pifco to the junk box for when someone asks for one.

Got a pair of Raleigh Record white wall tyres for it yesterday, as originally fitted. Looks good

Riding home just now in diagonal rain, I discovered the downside of junk quality pressed steel long-reach side-pull brakes, with hard rubber blocks on shiny chromed steel rims. I'd forgotten just how awful brakes were back then. Still, as I hurtled towards the stopped car at a junction, squeezing the levers til my knuckles went white, I knew that if I hit the car I'd not fall off - my butt was gripping that saddle so tight that a crowbar couldn't separate us

Note to self: It's called a Wayfarer cos it's only to be used in weather way farer than this