New arrival: Raleigh Medale 1979

[mikeymustard]

Very smart Mr Lane!

 

[biggs682]

there is a nice one for sale local to me original owner since 1978 i could be tempted

 

[YorkshireDaniel]

Hi all, I know this is an old post but i have just managed to get hold of basically the same frame as the first in thread.

I just wanted to ask how can i work out what year my frame is from using the serial number? also work out roughly how much the frame is worth?

here is my second dilemma. I rebuild bikes and sell them as a hobby mainly road bikes. I was going to respray this frame, modernise it and turn into a trendy, steel fame vintage racer to suit the London hipster scene but a friend told me that this particular model is actually a pretty rare one, is this correct?
if so i was wondering if it might be worth doing a restoration job and trying to get it back to its original glory.

Any ideas, tips or suggestions welcome and also advice on the year of the frame i have the serial number is HP9320546

THANK YOU

 

[Cycleops]

As far as I know these were made in great numbers and aimed at the low to mid price cycle market for the commuter with the five speed more for the younger buyer. Hence the proliferation of them shown in this thread. Production would have started in the early eighties and there were five and ten speed models made from plain gauge tubing. They were subject to specification changes through their production run. Here's the Raleigh catalogue featuring it.

One of the Raleigh experts will probably be able to help you with frame number and exact year.

 

[Cycleops]

By the way Daniel welcome to the forum.

 

[DCLane]

I just wanted to ask how can i work out what year my frame is from using the serial number? also work out roughly how much the frame is worth?

here is my second dilemma. I rebuild bikes and sell them as a hobby mainly road bikes. I was going to respray this frame, modernise it and turn into a trendy, steel fame vintage racer to suit the London hipster scene but a friend told me that this particular model is actually a pretty rare one, is this correct?
if so i was wondering if it might be worth doing a restoration job and trying to get it back to its original glory.

Any ideas, tips or suggestions welcome and also advice on the year of the frame i have the serial number is HP9320546

Welcome - here's a good source for frame numbers; http://www.kurtkaminer.com/TH_raleigh_serials.html

Yours will have been made in Handsworth (Birmingham), November 1979.

Basically it's a budget frame, so isn't worth much. It'll be their standard 20-30 tubing. A restored one probably isn't worth more than £100, probably less in the current sluggish market.

 

[clyde]

Hi all, I know this is an old post but i have just managed to get hold of basically the same frame as the first in thread.

I just wanted to ask how can i work out what year my frame is from using the serial number? also work out roughly how much the frame is worth?

here is my second dilemma. I rebuild bikes and sell them as a hobby mainly road bikes. I was going to respray this frame, modernise it and turn into a trendy, steel fame vintage racer to suit the London hipster scene but a friend told me that this particular model is actually a pretty rare one, is this correct?
if so i was wondering if it might be worth doing a restoration job and trying to get it back to its original glory.

Any ideas, tips or suggestions welcome and also advice on the year of the frame i have the serial number is HP9320546

THANK YOU

Yes spend a fortune on it and then sell it to the hipsters for £495.
If you build them to sell that's a not a hobby. If you build them to keep that's a hobby.
If you know about bikes you know it not rare or expensive. It's worth £50 restored.

 

[BenWilliams98]

This might be a long shot...

Recently came across a bike on Facebook marketplace, for free but in need of a lot of TLC. For some reason thought it might be a fun lockdown project. Although it had been painted black I managed to scrape off some paint and found it was a Raleigh Medale.

Ive encountered a few problems a long the way, biggest of them being the stem, and head set . The top bolt on the headset seems to tighten when turned either way and the stem is very much seized.

any ideas or suggestions on how to get past this would be appreciated!

 

[raleighnut]

This might be a long shot...

Recently came across a bike on Facebook marketplace, for free but in need of a lot of TLC. For some reason thought it might be a fun lockdown project. Although it had been painted black I managed to scrape off some paint and found it was a Raleigh Medale.

Ive encountered a few problems a long the way, biggest of them being the stem, and head set . The top bolt on the headset seems to tighten when turned either way and the stem is very much seized.

any ideas or suggestions on how to get past this would be appreciated!

Yep undo the top nut on the stem a bit then 'whack' it with a hammer, that should free the wedge off.

 

[Illaveago]

This might be a long shot...

Recently came across a bike on Facebook marketplace, for free but in need of a lot of TLC. For some reason thought it might be a fun lockdown project. Although it had been painted black I managed to scrape off some paint and found it was a Raleigh Medale.

Ive encountered a few problems a long the way, biggest of them being the stem, and head set . The top bolt on the headset seems to tighten when turned either way and the stem is very much seized.

any ideas or suggestions on how to get past this would be appreciated!

If you find that the stem and expander are seized you could have a look at my Dawes Red Feather Find post, that was seized and I tried different methods to free it . It eventually came out .
It sounds as though there is corrosion on the bolt threads below the expander . You could try inverting the bike and pour some lime or lemon juice down into the stem with the bolt tightened up . This will help to seal the tube and also expose more thread to the acid . Leave it to work a day or so and then try loosening the bolt again . As I said if that doesn't work you could read my saga.

 

[rogerzilla]

Raleigh threading? If so, run!

 

[midlife]

Might have to hacksaw through the headset top nut...

 

[BenWilliams98]

If you find that the stem and expander are seized you could have a look at my Dawes Red Feather Find post, that was seized and I tried different methods to free it . It eventually came out .
It sounds as though there is corrosion on the bolt threads below the expander . You could try inverting the bike and pour some lime or lemon juice down into the stem with the bolt tightened up . This will help to seal the tube and also expose more thread to the acid . Leave it to work a day or so and then try loosening the bolt again . As I said if that doesn't work you could read my saga.

The expander is loose but stem very stuck. I have tried penetrating oil and rust remover so far. Will try lemon/lime juice next and see how that goes. Also struggling to get good leverage on the stem without bending the forks.

 

[BenWilliams98]

Might have to hacksaw through the headset top nut...

Hoping it doesnt come to this but have considered it 🥴

 

[BalkanExpress]

I had a situation where the expander bolt was loose but the plug bit was stuck. The bolt had to come out, a screwdriver inserted down through the hole where the bolt fits and the plug “ persuaded”down and out,