Restore or upgrade?

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Xiorell

Über Member
Location
Merthyr, Wales
Just been given a FreeBee, old Raleigh Nirtro MTB. It's bad boy lol, 10speed, canti brakes indexed shifters

I actually really like it, the paint is in remarkable condition, few dings but it'll come up good and as a whole it has a charm to it and I'll probably keep it.
Question is, do I restore it back to near mint with original kit that's on it now OR, upgrade it?

If I upgrade I dunno how far it, take it, just put Vs on and newer shifters/cheap up to date drive train, or go the whole hog with a bouncey fork and disc up front etc

Thoughts?
 

Rickshaw Phil

Overconfidentii Vulgaris
Moderator
Somehow I doubt that this is likely to be a serious collectors item anytime soon (mass produced, fairly ordinary spec) so if it was mine I'd go down the upgrade route and enjoy it. I'd suggest keeping it simple (drivetrain, shifters & brakes mainly) as the geometry probably won't suit a suspension fork.

Is it a quill stem on this? I'd expect so, in which case your choice of suspension forks will be pretty limited anyway and out of those there won't be many that'll take discs.

Don't forget if fitting V-brakes that you'll have to change the levers as well. The levers for cantilever brakes have the wrong pull for V's
 

RecordAceFromNew

Swinging Member
Location
West London
Personally I wouldn't sink a ton of money to upgrade it. The thing is if it is 10 speed it will have freewheel not cassette, if you are getting new shifters depending on #speed you might have to change the rear wheel as well as cogs/chain. If you change the canti for V you are likely to have to change the levers at the same time since they don't have the same cable pull requirement. If you need more bounce why not just go for some big bouncy modern tyres rather than hunting around for a set of suspension forks with (I presume, since you have canti's) 1" steerer which have for all intent and purpose been obsolete (ok ok granted some mickey mouse outfits still make lousy ones for lousy bikes) for about 15 years...

I say get good brake pads, good tyres; tune it to perfection, polish it until it shines, and enjoy it for what it was and is!
 
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Xiorell

Über Member
Location
Merthyr, Wales
it is a quill stem

i suppose I could just tart it up and sell it on seeing as it cost me nothing , but it just seems to want to stay with me lol

Upgrading - I've got some shimano shifter/brake levers in my spares box so I could whack a tripple chainring on there, get a 7 speed cassette sorted, v-brakes, maybe a modern low end rear mech, tourney or something, Job done
 

Rickshaw Phil

Overconfidentii Vulgaris
Moderator
If you have some of the spares already available then fine. It sort of sounds like you want to customize it.:thumbsup:

Just a few points to note: As stated by RecordAceFromNew, the existing wheel will almost certainly take a screw on freewheel (rather than cassette) and it is possible that the distance between the rear dropouts is the older 126mm which could be tight for clearance for 7 speed. Having said that, Raleigh do seem to have spaced their rear dropouts at 132mm from about the mid 90's which opens up possibilities. Just check it before you start.

The quill stem is an issue as it means the steerer is an older 1 inch not the 1 1/8 inch which is currently standard. This being the case I'd stick with the rigid forks TBH.

Nowt wrong with choosing Tourney - in my experience if it's connected to a good quality shifter it works really well. You will need a new chain and I'd suggest using a new chainset and freewheel would be less troublesome than trying to reuse any old ones you might have around.

Hope this helps - let us know what you decide to do.
 
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Xiorell

Über Member
Location
Merthyr, Wales
If you have some of the spares already available then fine. It sort of sounds like you want to customize it.:thumbsup:

Just a few points to note: As stated by RecordAceFromNew, the existing wheel will almost certainly take a screw on freewheel (rather than cassette) and it is possible that the distance between the rear dropouts is the older 126mm which could be tight for clearance for 7 speed. Having said that, Raleigh do seem to have spaced their rear dropouts at 132mm from about the mid 90's which opens up possibilities. Just check it before you start.

The quill stem is an issue as it means the steerer is an older 1 inch not the 1 1/8 inch which is currently standard. This being the case I'd stick with the rigid forks TBH.

Nowt wrong with choosing Tourney - in my experience if it's connected to a good quality shifter it works really well. You will need a new chain and I'd suggest using a new chainset and freewheel would be less troublesome than trying to reuse any old ones you might have around.

Hope this helps - let us know what you decide to do.

It's definately a freewheel aint checked the spacing between dropouts

I got a bunch of perfectly useable chains kicking out from last years projects so that's covered
The spare 26in wheel I have IS fitted with 6spd not 7, I suppose I could get that on there and stick a tripple on the front, get some 3x6 shifters cheap on eBay and make it an 18spd bike

Then it's just v brakes and it's all a bit more modern.

Still I guess I should wait to see how it all cleans up, I might just get a better rear mech and better cantis and it'll be mint.... then continue building this hybrid I've been messing about with all week lol
 
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Xiorell

Über Member
Location
Merthyr, Wales
Arrrggh!
Trying to get the decals off and it's SUCH a pain in the ass. I usually find furniture polish over the decals then wrapped in cling-film, left for a couple of hours, gets the decals off no problem. These bastards just won't go away!

If I get those off, lightly scuff the paint then re-lacquer it, it'll look mint.

Leaving the rear of it alone but I think I'll put a tripple chainring up front :smile:
 
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