I’d say that’s perfect for what you’re after, probably a 501 frame but cheap for £80, the Exage groupset is worth that alone.
Thanks - that's good to know although as above (assuming I've got the model right) I'm not sure those sold on
ebay suggest it's a great price, given its condition and the mystery factor.I think I'll let this one pass anyway as I'm still learning exactly what I want (this in itself it quite fun and rewarding) while the project is really an aesthetic-led self indulgence so I'd prefer something with a crowned fork
That amateur bodge repaint job could be hiding all sorts of trouble underneath.
Thanks - this of course is very true although it looks very badly prepped so I'd hope that any dings or corrosion would be obvious having not been properly attended to..
I would steer clear of repaints , patina with old decals is better in my mind .
Ta - were I leaving it alone I'd agree entirely; however I'd really like to have the frame refinished in a non-standard colour with no decals (but head badge retained) so would prefer not to be killing an otherwise original one. No moral dilemma if someone's already done it for me
I can appreciate the argument for an original frame and am open to the idea in principal but I'm not keen on a lot of the original paint jobs tbh; especially those from the time period that would yield the most suitable frames.
I'm really enjoying learning all this stuff as it feels like I'm narrowing down a shortlist of suitable frames. I have a load of Raleigh catalogues from the late '80s / early '90s and I reckon the Elan was probably one of the "top end" standard / non special-products division.. and spending more would get you a 531-framed "lightweight" with a crowned fork and a few other nice bits (
as illustrated in this 1990 catalogue) like the Volante ("race" geometry with 531 forks), Veloce ("training" geometry with 531 forks). and Vitesse ("training" geometry with chro-mo forks; although it seems this model cheapened with welded / unlugged chro-mo frames and unicrown forks from 1991).
It seems the difference between "race" and "training" (what I guess would now be called "endurance" geometry) is that (for the 57cm frame) the latter has 3mm more fork offset (44 v 41mm), 10mm longer chainstays (415 v 405mm) and bizarrely 5mm more on the distance between the front dropout and BB (600 v. 595mm) which seems like and odd dim and arguably impossible given that the top tube length and headtube / seattube angles are thes same (assuming the top tube is horizontal on both). Never mind; bit to much detail for now anyway.
These models are at the entry point to the SPD bikes, the upper end dominated by the bonded-frame Dynatech range which holds little interest for me. It also seems that these appear to be the last of the brazed / lugged frames produced by Raleigh, with higher-end models continuing with bonded construction and later lower-end ones becoming welded.
A quick browse of ebay suggests earlier lugged 531 psychedelic Vitesses can be had for maybe £100-150 and later welded chro-mo ones for typically £60-80 (and one for £15!) although these hold little interest tbh.
I also spotted
this Vitesse - which is a later one with a lot of nice components on it (essentially what I'm aiming at with a better base-frame and less busy aesthetics!). Despite the frilly bits I think the price is extremely optimistic though considering what the base bikes go for!
The only Veloce sold on ebay recently was a tatty-ish 60cm job that went for £80, while
there's a nicer example currently up for £65 with 3 days left.
There's a "refurbed" Volante on there that's not sold for ages at an asking price of £200 and the only one that's sold recently went for £90, so it seems that there's not a lot in it price-wise between these models, so choice will come down to locality, condition and favoured geometry.
Heartingly it looks like (just as I was told!) I should be able to get an ideal candidate for well under a ton; but I guess this will ultimately be a minimal part of the overall cost factoring in £400ish for a groupset, probably £200ish for rims, a good few quid for refinishing and all the other bits required..
As an aside looking at the 1988 catalogue the lightweight lineup is totally different; with the model range made up of the Record Ace Moderne, Competition, Corsa, Road Ace Select, Ritmo, Triathon (with its lovely yellowy-cream paint at gloriously '80s decals) and Quadra. All of these will be investigated for suitablity and added to the list as appropriate. Sadly I don't have a 1989 catalogue or anything from 1991 SPD onwards.
So in summary it looks like I'm after a 531-framed SPD / Lightweight bike from probably about '87 / '88 onwards, preferably a cheap, cosmetically tatty but intact one so I don't feel guilty for drilling the frame and bridges to take modern brakes (assuming this is still necessary on these later bikes; looks like it might not be as many appear to have dual-pivot calipers), re-setting the rear dropouts and getting it resprayed.
Space and finance dictate that I'm in no hurry to get this project underway and for now I'll content myself with knocking up a spreadsheet of all pertiant information - thanks for everyone's help so far
