Raleigh Pro Race

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stuart goodliffe

Active Member
I recently bought a Raleigh Pro Race off ebay for £50, in good condition. My friends and I have started doing some longer faster rides and even though they are riding new Scotts, Carerra's,and claud butlers im keeping up with them ok. But i was wondering if there is anything that can be done- without much cost- to give me more speed and send my piece of steel past them on the sprints- other than me getting extra developed leg muscles.
 

RecordAceFromNew

Swinging Member
Location
West London
I recently bought a Raleigh Pro Race off ebay for £50, in good condition. My friends and I have started doing some longer faster rides and even though they are riding new Scotts, Carerra's,and claud butlers im keeping up with them ok. But i was wondering if there is anything that can be done- without much cost- to give me more speed and send my piece of steel past them on the sprints- other than me getting extra developed leg muscles.

Good tyres with correct (highish) air pressure, aero yet comfortable posture with correct saddle height, close fit clothing that minimise air drag, bearings in good condition and brakes properly set up with no rub, not only are these things practically free they also make the most difference to efficiency for speed. The brand of a bike is, frankly, usually irrelevant.
 
I suspect its perfectly possible to race your mates effectively on the old Raleigh. Have a look at 70's and 80's racing on the web. I would echo tyres will make the biggest difference and assuming your on down tube gear shifters, canny gear selection for the sprints.
 

Andrius.B

Active Member
Location
Bristol
im new to the sprinting side of things- any tips about gear selection etc.

Lighter is better
 
RE tips for sprinting. In some ways, the best training for this is to go out with a gang that treat village 30mph boundary signs or similar as the end of a bike race. I even know of a gang that has 'ahem' painted finish lines in the road. One great tactic is to sit just behind one of the other riders, this way they are working harder than you and then as you get the close to the finish give it everything and try and get past them. You'll probably need a slightly bigger gear than you need to 'sit on their wheel' Knowing when to go will come with practice, its a combination of the distance you can sprint without your legs giving up and surprising your opponents. Watch the finishes of the tour stages on the telly no harm learning from the best in the world.

This type of situation is where your having friction levers on the down tubes is a disadvantage. Modern gears are much easier to change quickly in this type of situation.

If it's you on the front, try and position yourself so they can only pass you on one side. This makes it easier to spot the attack coming, giving you a chance to respond. Again having gears on the down tubes is a disadvantage, if they know what they're doing they will jump as soon as you start changing gear! My guess is many of the young racers these days wouldn't know this as they will not have raced much against people using friction levers.

Danger
What is really important when sprinting, is to 'hold your line' DO NOT come across sideways into other riders that are passing you. Do not close somebody down against the Kurb or force them out into traffic coming the other way. Be predictable in tis sense for the others. You will be reaching speeds where crashing is really horrible, riders get hurt and bikes get broken.

Best thing, join a good club with people that train for road racing and learn with them. They may well be set up to do this stuff in places safer than the public highway.

And don't blame me or anybody else if this all goes horribly wrong. Racing on bikes is aways a bit risky....
 
OP
OP
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stuart goodliffe

Active Member
nice 1 thanks. just been getting over a virus and ran out steam towards the end last night but got some good speed up but couldnt push on. i put it in top gear- should i have kept 1 down. thanks for advise.
 

sidevalve

Über Member
When did racing of any kind become legal on open public roads or is it ok if you're on a bicycle and call it something else ?
 

Nahuel

New Member
Hello

I ride a raleigh pro race reynolds 501.
I'm having trouble with normal tyres and decided I need puncture resistant tyres. I'll go for schwalbe marathons plus. Now, my question is, does anyone know what clearance is in the frame? Could I fit a 700x32 or 700x28? Which one is better for cycling many times on crap surfaces (I live in LEEDS!!).

Thanks
 

JoeyB

Go on, tilt your head!
I have a 25 / 23 combination on my road bike with puncture resistant tyres, no need to go wider than that.

Ps - I also have a Pro Race (but running 23c vittoria tyres)
 
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