Retro Road Bikes ?
Discussion
Love this thread! I have (modern) gravel, MTB and steel single speed bikes, but never bitten the bullet on a full road bike mainly as I just don't find the modern ones all that pleasing to the eye... something far cooler about these. I'm more a casual cyclist than a racer too, so the latest tech is of little interest to me.
David_M said:
OK, so a bit of a devil's advocate post.
I got into cycling in 2002 by stripping what was my BIL's inherited road bike, an old Claude Butler steel frame that I would guess at 1970's vintage, to bare metal, respray, rebuild and rode it year-round for about four years. I doubt that I have ever been much faster than I was on that bike, that was mainly due to the amount of time I spent training / riding. I really loved that bike, rode about 20,000km on it and I still have it.
However: everything has moved on and almost nothing is (readily) compatible any more. 27" rims, narrower frame spacing, down-tube unindexed shifters, five-speed freewheel, single pivot long-drop brakes, quill stems etc etc. Makes it harder to upgrade or even replace items at reasonable cost.
I would add that those old brake levers where the cable exits from the top are probably the first thing to upgrade as the leverage on them is simply worse than modern levers (Tektro used to make some that were both nice and cheap).
I do also wonder about riding 75km/h downhill on crappy tarmac on forks that are fifty years old, and that's why it doesn't do much other than sit in the shed now.
Classic steel frames IMHO are like classic cars; I'd restore/very lightly restomod it for an enjoyable but not too strenuous ride. I got into cycling in 2002 by stripping what was my BIL's inherited road bike, an old Claude Butler steel frame that I would guess at 1970's vintage, to bare metal, respray, rebuild and rode it year-round for about four years. I doubt that I have ever been much faster than I was on that bike, that was mainly due to the amount of time I spent training / riding. I really loved that bike, rode about 20,000km on it and I still have it.
However: everything has moved on and almost nothing is (readily) compatible any more. 27" rims, narrower frame spacing, down-tube unindexed shifters, five-speed freewheel, single pivot long-drop brakes, quill stems etc etc. Makes it harder to upgrade or even replace items at reasonable cost.
I would add that those old brake levers where the cable exits from the top are probably the first thing to upgrade as the leverage on them is simply worse than modern levers (Tektro used to make some that were both nice and cheap).
I do also wonder about riding 75km/h downhill on crappy tarmac on forks that are fifty years old, and that's why it doesn't do much other than sit in the shed now.
Either that or make a trendy fixie out of it.
Not being much of a cyclist, I still clicked on this thread and wasn't disappointed to see the Raleigh Arena! My dad bought me one for xmas 1980 and I lived on the thing as a 10yo.
Then 6 years later I bought a Raleigh Pulsar with my first wages.
What I really want to know is; what makes the Pulsar different from the Record different from the Equipe etc etc.
They all look the same to me!
Then 6 years later I bought a Raleigh Pulsar with my first wages.
What I really want to know is; what makes the Pulsar different from the Record different from the Equipe etc etc.
They all look the same to me!
Parsnip said:
Saw a guy out a couple of weeks ago on a gorgeous Colnago Steelie from (I think) 1990, but built up with what looked like modern day Campag Record - wish I had asked more about it and got the details of how he managed to make the modern bits work on the old frame. The thing was stunning.
The bike equivalent of a Singer 911 or Eagle E-Type.
Modern parts will fit fine assuming you have 130mm rear spacing on the frame. You put adjuster bosses where the down tube changers were, and there are still new quill stems and period sized handlebars on the market. The bike equivalent of a Singer 911 or Eagle E-Type.
I’ve built a couple over the past few years and they are a treat to ride.
Fastchas said:
Not being much of a cyclist, I still clicked on this thread and wasn't disappointed to see the Raleigh Arena! My dad bought me one for xmas 1980 and I lived on the thing as a 10yo.
Then 6 years later I bought a Raleigh Pulsar with my first wages.
What I really want to know is; what makes the Pulsar different from the Record different from the Equipe etc etc.
They all look the same to me!
obviously components vary but wrt frame differences:Then 6 years later I bought a Raleigh Pulsar with my first wages.
What I really want to know is; what makes the Pulsar different from the Record different from the Equipe etc etc.
They all look the same to me!
Equipe is 18-23 “gaspipe” steel. good frame angles but very basic metal.
Pulsar similar but downtube and seattube squished a bit into oval profile. Called “aerospace”. Also had higher profile sloping crown forks.
Record Sprint same as Pulsar but with Reynolds 501 tubing. number is a code for mix of cromo steel, the higher the number, stiffer and lighter the bike.
They also did a Quasar, similar spec to Record Sprint. Proper rare.
J4CKO said:
Exactly the same as I had as a kid, loved it, but cant imagine it feels great now.
Some lovely retro goodness in this thread, other than Pig Iron bottom of the range Raleigh tat ! Which I still have fond memories of, not bought the Record Sprint, looks like its gone anyway, did wonder whether I would ride it.
I had a Record Sprint in 1985 as my school / paper round bike (Bianchi and Colnago were my club / racing bikes). What I remember of my R.S., the bar tape was like velour and didn't last long. I lost count of how many times I replaced it, and the wheels weren't very strong - easily buckled - so I replaced them with Mavic G40. The original rear hub (helicomatic?) didn't have a lot of choice for rear sprockets. I ran 13-18. Standard front was 42/52. Some lovely retro goodness in this thread, other than Pig Iron bottom of the range Raleigh tat ! Which I still have fond memories of, not bought the Record Sprint, looks like its gone anyway, did wonder whether I would ride it.
Edited by J4CKO on Tuesday 14th July 13:28
I rebuilt the bike many times over the years, then I gave it to my uncle when I moved abroad in 1998.
He still uses it!
The 1985 Mavic rims are still going!
J4CKO said:
So until I got a cycle to work bike I only ever had Pig iron bottom of the range Raleighs, what did you have ? still got them ? should I buy that Record Sprint ?
When I was big enough to ride it, my dad he let me have his Record Sprint. Having used and abused it as only a thoughtless teenager can, I dragged the poor thing out of his shed a couple of years ago and tried to give it a new lease of life. 
Edited by Risotto on Tuesday 1st September 18:02
Hugo Stiglitz said:
A few years back I picked up an immaculate 80's 631? Shop branded road bike. I stupidly sold it and the new owner messaged afterwards thanks etc and he can't wait to convert it into a fixie. I was mad
No problems unless the new owner was going to dremel bits off the frame. At least it’s being used!
I'm looking into resto-modding this, a Specialised Cirrus Triple. It's from the early 90's when "hybrid" didn't mean flat bar commuter. It has Biopace chain rings and mtb derailleurs but otherwise is standard low ish budget road bike. I need a winter bike so if my man can get wider tyres AND mudguards on it, bingo!😁
So, here's the Col:
We have a Colnago Master F&F, period fluted seatpost and 3ttt stem and bars, NOS Campag brake levers pulling on early 2000s Veloce brakes. Gears are on Miche downtube shifters with Veloce and Record mechs, Chorus cranks and a new Tifosi BB. Chain is a needlessly pimp gold affair. Contacts points are a Flite Ti saddle, Deda tape, which started yellow and now really isn't, Look Keo Carbon pedals and the whole thing rolls on Campag Nucleon tubs with 25mm Conti Gatorskins. I bought it to celebrate the birth of my first son and built it as a keeper. It's a combo of parts I had and parts I always wanted. There's plenty of scope to upgrade and to make it more rideable I do fancy some new bars and Record shifters, but it's great as it is.
My OH needs a decent bike to cope with the surrounding hills, so I've gone for a custom built mixte steel frame with a triple on 9 speed. It's still a pile of parts because I committed to painting it once I saw the state of the frame in the metal - eBay photos and descriptions are never quite right, are they? I was initially going to get the Peugeot frame below that seemed in better condition and was certainly much cheaper, but there were Hermes related issues - more on that later.
So, on the the Holdsworth:
I threw a few bits on to try and visualise... A kindly friend compared it (favourably I think) to the Flying Pigeon.
The frame has some nice details, but some bad bits too. I was able to look up the frame number (the forks match) and roughly date it to 1981, but it's not clear which model it is as it has some details only found on Claud Butlers, which were made in the same factory. It's possible they took a CB frame and painted it up as a Holdsworth as, as far as I can tell, it's not been repainted since, but also isn't any listed colour from the catalogues I've seen. Still, no worries - it's a decent frame.
The frame lugs are really nice and I love the gold detailing, but the bottom bracket has the worst of the rust and some damaged threads. I made my own thread chasing tool from a cheap BB cup to resolve this. I can see from the decals it was made from Reynolds 531, which was definitely an upgrade from the Carbolite of the Peugeot.
The idea is to equip it with comfortable and easy to use kit, plus some light wheels and CX tyres so it will climb, cruise and not stress the back and joints. I've still got a period stem in mind, but I may have to switch to a quill with positive rise to get the fit right. Useable trumps looks.
So, the recondition and repainting got underway. I elected to use Spray.Bike paint but to do it justice, I stripped the forks, and then the frame back to bare metal to clean off all rust, prime it with high build to cover the little dings and scratches and make the surface nice for paint. I'm using a colour called Plumstead and pairing it with a light coat of Keirin Sunlight Osaka Purple lacquer to give it a very subtle fleck in sunlight and then several coats of gloss lacquer for protection.
I did some stripping, found some more indicators of quality in the Campagnolo dropouts (both frame and fork), some priming in my pro-spec spraybooth and lots and lots of very gentle wet and dry rubbing to get the surface nice and tidy before paint. It's worth noting C-19 really made getting a mask for painting in a pain in the arse. Bad timing!
So priming done, I got into the painting. The forks were pretty easy, the frame a right pain in the backside. Spray.Bike paint has to be applied at close range and in quite a specific temperature winfdow or it doesn't go on well. This means spraying the awkward bits of chainstay and the like often drops spits of overspray, which requires remedial work with the wet and dry. As it stands, the frame has one coat of base which has been rubbed back, and the forks have three coats of colour, the gold detailing, then the flake lacquer and the Reynolds decals. The forks still need the final coats of lacquer and there's plenty of time to put into the frame yet. You should be able to see the difference between the matt look frame and the much more intense forks in the pics above. More lacquer will only add to it, so I'm really hopeful of a cool looking finished bike. I have a load of Holdsworth decals to apply too, so that will add to it.
And that Peugeot? Well, I won it on eBay and it disappeared into the black hole that is the Hermes courier system. After several weeks, some frustrating messaging with Hermes and a pretty awesome seller, Hermes admitted they'd lost it. The seller was able to claim the cost back, I got my refund and that was that. Until late June, a full six weeks later.
Yeah - that's f
ked. Thanks Hermes.
We have a Colnago Master F&F, period fluted seatpost and 3ttt stem and bars, NOS Campag brake levers pulling on early 2000s Veloce brakes. Gears are on Miche downtube shifters with Veloce and Record mechs, Chorus cranks and a new Tifosi BB. Chain is a needlessly pimp gold affair. Contacts points are a Flite Ti saddle, Deda tape, which started yellow and now really isn't, Look Keo Carbon pedals and the whole thing rolls on Campag Nucleon tubs with 25mm Conti Gatorskins. I bought it to celebrate the birth of my first son and built it as a keeper. It's a combo of parts I had and parts I always wanted. There's plenty of scope to upgrade and to make it more rideable I do fancy some new bars and Record shifters, but it's great as it is.
My OH needs a decent bike to cope with the surrounding hills, so I've gone for a custom built mixte steel frame with a triple on 9 speed. It's still a pile of parts because I committed to painting it once I saw the state of the frame in the metal - eBay photos and descriptions are never quite right, are they? I was initially going to get the Peugeot frame below that seemed in better condition and was certainly much cheaper, but there were Hermes related issues - more on that later.
So, on the the Holdsworth:
I threw a few bits on to try and visualise... A kindly friend compared it (favourably I think) to the Flying Pigeon.
The frame has some nice details, but some bad bits too. I was able to look up the frame number (the forks match) and roughly date it to 1981, but it's not clear which model it is as it has some details only found on Claud Butlers, which were made in the same factory. It's possible they took a CB frame and painted it up as a Holdsworth as, as far as I can tell, it's not been repainted since, but also isn't any listed colour from the catalogues I've seen. Still, no worries - it's a decent frame.
The frame lugs are really nice and I love the gold detailing, but the bottom bracket has the worst of the rust and some damaged threads. I made my own thread chasing tool from a cheap BB cup to resolve this. I can see from the decals it was made from Reynolds 531, which was definitely an upgrade from the Carbolite of the Peugeot.
The idea is to equip it with comfortable and easy to use kit, plus some light wheels and CX tyres so it will climb, cruise and not stress the back and joints. I've still got a period stem in mind, but I may have to switch to a quill with positive rise to get the fit right. Useable trumps looks.
So, the recondition and repainting got underway. I elected to use Spray.Bike paint but to do it justice, I stripped the forks, and then the frame back to bare metal to clean off all rust, prime it with high build to cover the little dings and scratches and make the surface nice for paint. I'm using a colour called Plumstead and pairing it with a light coat of Keirin Sunlight Osaka Purple lacquer to give it a very subtle fleck in sunlight and then several coats of gloss lacquer for protection.
I did some stripping, found some more indicators of quality in the Campagnolo dropouts (both frame and fork), some priming in my pro-spec spraybooth and lots and lots of very gentle wet and dry rubbing to get the surface nice and tidy before paint. It's worth noting C-19 really made getting a mask for painting in a pain in the arse. Bad timing!
So priming done, I got into the painting. The forks were pretty easy, the frame a right pain in the backside. Spray.Bike paint has to be applied at close range and in quite a specific temperature winfdow or it doesn't go on well. This means spraying the awkward bits of chainstay and the like often drops spits of overspray, which requires remedial work with the wet and dry. As it stands, the frame has one coat of base which has been rubbed back, and the forks have three coats of colour, the gold detailing, then the flake lacquer and the Reynolds decals. The forks still need the final coats of lacquer and there's plenty of time to put into the frame yet. You should be able to see the difference between the matt look frame and the much more intense forks in the pics above. More lacquer will only add to it, so I'm really hopeful of a cool looking finished bike. I have a load of Holdsworth decals to apply too, so that will add to it.
And that Peugeot? Well, I won it on eBay and it disappeared into the black hole that is the Hermes courier system. After several weeks, some frustrating messaging with Hermes and a pretty awesome seller, Hermes admitted they'd lost it. The seller was able to claim the cost back, I got my refund and that was that. Until late June, a full six weeks later.
Yeah - that's f
ked. Thanks Hermes.
Just resurrecting this, put a bid on another Raleigh Record Sprint but had decided to get one and to restore it to as new, maybe with a few little modern touches.
Will do a full repaint and am thinking that as these had various gold anodized parts I can potentially set up at home to re anodise if required, anyone done it ?
Can get the graphics online which is the usual stumbling block.
Going to stick a Selle Royal Turbo Saddle on it like I had back then.
Any tips on getting a really good glossy black paint job ? worth sending it off ?
Nostalgia, terrible thing
Edit, bought it, £150. Will collect it later, may even document the rebuild process.
Will do a full repaint and am thinking that as these had various gold anodized parts I can potentially set up at home to re anodise if required, anyone done it ?
Can get the graphics online which is the usual stumbling block.
Going to stick a Selle Royal Turbo Saddle on it like I had back then.
Any tips on getting a really good glossy black paint job ? worth sending it off ?
Nostalgia, terrible thing
Edit, bought it, £150. Will collect it later, may even document the rebuild process.
Edited by J4CKO on Tuesday 16th March 14:29
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