Every dark cloud has a fluorescent lining

[raleighnut]

Keep the paint and stick a rack on it.
We all like shiney, trouble is so do the thieving scum and until bike theft is taken as seriously as car theft by the police and punished accordingly one of the ways to avoid it is to ride 'stealth' bikes. These should be kept as ugly/dirty as possible yet be mechanically in tip-top condition so an old 531 Raleigh fits the bill to perfection.
FWIW I think someone took the original wheels off and replaced em with a crap pair cos "It'll only get fixied won't it" but a nice boring wheelset with a screw on 7 (wheel nuts not Q/R) should be about £80, but if that rear wheel is OK just screw on a 6 or 7 block (indexing is the same unless its set up for a 'supersix' block) and fettle the front wheel/ brake/ headstock and jobs a good un.

 

[philtalksbx]

The message is getting through chaps.
Paint will stay as is, new seven speed freewheel matches the indexed shifters and will stay in place.
Going to get some mudguards and reversible SPD pedals to make it a winter commuter.
I'll put some new pics up when those parts go on.
Thanks for all the help and guidance.

 

[philtalksbx]

Basic work done - sorted out the seven speed hub, A-530 SPD pedals, brake cable inners and swapped the bars for some slightly wider ones with a better tape job.

First commute tomorrow, really looking forward to it.

 

[philtalksbx]

What a lovely ride to work. This is my first properly sorted steel bike and I'm in danger of preferring it to the carbon Orbea. So good on the cracked and pitted roads. Fractionally slower but not much. This could change my whole bikes master plan.

 

[raleighnut]

What a lovely ride to work. This is my first properly sorted steel bike and I'm in danger of preferring it to the carbon Orbea. So good on the cracked and pitted roads. Fractionally slower but not much. This could change my whole bikes master plan.

Kind of addictive ain't they, I love the ride quality of my Worksop 531 Raleigh but then again the lesser steel models (18-20) also have that 'planted' feel on the road.

 

[I like Skol]

X2 I 'borrowed' my son's 531 Raleigh for the commute one day and I could not believe how plush yet lively it felt compared to my many aluminium framed bikes I ride. Most road imperfections don't even register, it is a joy to ride.

 

[philtalksbx]

Just got back from the return commute. Rained all the way but I just enjoyed the smoothness of the ride. I do need to sort the barked block out though. Just over five minutes slower than my carbon over 17 miles, but the carbon feels a bit lively and jittery, almost fragile by comparison. I love the carbon for speed and sharpness but with a backpack on a daily run, I am surprised how good this Raleigh is. And a bargain too!

 

[Andrew1971]

Just goes to show that the older bikes are the best

 

[raleighnut]

Just got back from the return commute. Rained all the way but I just enjoyed the smoothness of the ride. I do need to sort the barked block out though. Just over five minutes slower than my carbon over 17 miles, but the carbon feels a bit lively and jittery, almost fragile by comparison. I love the carbon for speed and sharpness but with a backpack on a daily run, I am surprised how good this Raleigh is. And a bargain too!

Fit similar wheels/tyres and transmission to the Raleigh then try it against the carbon bike, might be a shock.

 

[philtalksbx]

Fit similar wheels/tyres and transmission to the Raleigh then try it against the carbon bike, might be a shock

Yep. I have fairly agricultural wheels with 28mm at 80psi on the Raleigh. The other bike has Aksium and OpenPro with 23mm at 100psi. Bound to make a difference. This is where the cheap build turns into an upgrade path with a bit more cash thrown at it. How much difference in comfort does the change of tyre width and pressure make? I've never really tried them back to back.

 

[raleighnut]

The 28s will increase comfort but are heavier to spin up but its amazing how much 'road buzz' a 531 frame will absorb.
Kinda gets away from the point of this bike being a cheap hack though but I for one can never resist a mechanical up-grade, tend to stick at 105/Ultegra level on mine.

 

[philtalksbx]

"New" 105 or original? A current spec 2x10 compact on that frame sounds very interesting. It has original 105 at the moment and I like the indexed shift on the downtube, but the 7speed freewheel lets it down - not the best cluster I have ever ridden.

 

[raleighnut]

Newish 105, 9 speed I think (could be a ten though) as the whole transmission is a bit of strange combo.
I wanted bar end shifters and got a set of Dura-ace 8/9 speed ones cheap (plan was to run em friction) with a 7 speed screw on freewheel. I then changed the rear mech to the 105 and the wheels to 500s using a Dura-ace 8 speed hyperglide block which also happens to be the same spacing they use for standard 8 speed now. Then I changed handlebars and had to go back to downtube shifters (Triathlon base bars now fitted with bar-end brake levers) but they are 7 speed yet work OK with the 8 rear cluster as there are 7 clicks and then some slack cable with no click but enough to let the last gear engage.
This was my best bike til 4 years ago when I got a 653 TT frame so the bits got shuffled around until I could afford to buy an all Campagnolo 10 speed set up for that (mainly Centaur but some Super-Record Bar end shifters and cassette) then it all slowly made its way back to the Raleigh (I don't even want to think what I paid for the Roval Classique Pave wheelset on the 653 frame)
Soooh, sky's the limit really but I reckon a basic 8 speed splined rear wheel could be 'persuaded' to fit/work if your downtube shifter has some slack cable before the first indexing click with the set up you already have either that or get an old Maillard hub and rebuild it with a good quality rim/spokes (Mavic Open Sport/Pro) then fit a decent 7 speed freehub.
As for cranks they're dead easy to swap about as long as you've got the extractors and spanners (I think I've had about 5 different ones in the 531 frame so far even an Ultegra triple for a while)

 

[philtalksbx]

And here we are....

Clean and beautiful. Spec is now:

• 1990 Raleigh Veloce in Reynolds 531, 23 inch
• 2x7 Shimano 105/Exage
• Schwalbe Durano 700x25
• Hubs and rims unknown - future upgrade
• Bluemels mudguards
• A530 SPD pedals
• Vetta SL saddle - another future upgrade

Very happy with the result on what was originally an emergency buy to keep my son mobile, but has turned into an unexpected gem. And of course there is more to come on the upgrade path, but that is for another day.

 

[cyberknight]

Nice , are the tyres filled with helium ???