Cycling UK Forum

I have a beautiful old raleigh classic touring, recently acquired. I wanted a reliable comfortable go anywhere and do everything bike and chose this over a new one (cost reasons, as the same quality of bike new would cost £700+) I also had in mind some touring at home and overseas.

I took it to my LBS and the chap went quite misty eyed when he serviced it. Told me all was tip-top and that it was a fine old bike. He also told me I was under no circumstances to take it out in the rain, lock it away all winter and take it to bed with me whenever possible.

Now I feel guilty using it!

I would be interested in some advice as to whether it is worth pampering this bike as it has an intrinsic value as an immaculate older bike. Obviously this would involve buying another one to actually ride day to day! Would I be better selling this bike to a collector type who would really appreciate it?

As I really like the look of the bike and find it a very comfortable ride I was more thinking of keeping it however there are one or two issues, primarily with the brakes.

The original brakes are Weinmann centre-pulls (630 I believe) on 27 inch Weinmann wheels (which are immaculate and look indestructable). They are a little short on stopping power and I worry that a fully loaded hilly descent might be a bit hairy.

Any advice on how best to upgrade these? I was thinking of a new fork with cantilever bosses, but am not sure whether I can actually get one that will accomodate a 27 inch rim. Alternatively a modern caliper brake system wuold be OK as long as I can find one to fit the centre bolt and also clear the rim and mudguard. Thirdly I suppose I could but a 700c fork and wheelset and store the old wheel fork and brakes...

I am stuck! Any advice much appreciated...

Cheers, Ant

I've upgraded the brakes on a couple of machines that started out with 27 wheels - I agree the Weinmans did give some concern (one question though ... I presume the wheel rims are alloy ? .. if they are steel then any sort of brakes are a totally different ball-game)

I changed the brakes to Alhonga deep-drop dual pivot calipers and noticed a dramatic improvement in stopping power (I did change the wheels to 700 too but that was for conenience with tyres and spare wheels etc). Brakes are around £20 a pair

There's some info at www.beewee.co.uk and the Bikes section (the Red Galaxy and the CB Majestic)

Rob

My word that was a quick reply! Cheers!

Now I am not 100% sure what the rims are but I think they are alloy. Am at work at the moment so can't check 'til tomorrow...

I'll try that link anyway, thanks again.

Thw Weinman brakes aren't wonderful but you could try modern brake pads from Aztec or Koolstop which should improve them.

David

you could simply try new (greased) cables and modern rubber/plastic brake blocks. i'm certain that for £15 and an hours work, you'd find a huge improvement

ib1dej. great minds think alike

Ant

Don't forget that there is the back as well as the front. By this I mean you cannot replace the rear triangle as easily as the front forks. Also, I should check the clearances you are talking about before you do anything drastic. The real problem that is solved by deep drop brakes is the conversion from 27" x 1 1/4" to 700c. Although older bikes were generally built with generous clearances compared with some modern ones, they can still be measured in mm rather than feet and inches. Dual pivot sidepulls are infinitely better than Mafac or Weinmann centrepulls.

Ant , This is the reason most of us have a winter bike with all that salt on the roads and you only have to fall off once ! You will often find suitable bikes on hear and E-bay for about £100 or so , did you find the Raleigh cla
ssic on E- bay there was a beauty for sale a while ago .
ps by this method you end up with several bikes !

Thanks again for the quick replies. To answer a couple of them:

The pads and cables replaced in the service. The brakes work pretty well, probably as well as they ever will, I just think that any further improvement will only happen with a newer system.

If I can keep the original rims (which I would like to do) then I was only considering replacing the front brake as it does the bulk of the work. I think the rear will do for regulating speed on downhills rather than actually stopping the bike. The question then is what is the best option for replacing the front weinmann, bearing in mind the clearance needed for 27 inch wheels, fairly big rubber and mudguards?

Finally, yes it's an ebayer. A really fine bike, basically it was bought, ridden a few miles, hung up on the wall and left for 20 years. No rust, no dings, no wear! Everything on it is like new.

I am thinking maybe a third bike is the best plan so if any of you have any tips for buttering up the girlfriend (it's her garage) then I'm all ears...

Cheers guys, Ant

Ant

I would still say measure your drop before you dash out and buy any new front brake. As far as I know Shimano still do two versions of their dual pivot brakes with a deeper drop. One is equivalent to what used to be the RX 100 group (ie. cheaper) and the other is equivalent to Ultegra (ie more expensive.) If you stick with the original front wheel they may do. Obviously, you do not want to be pushing the front mudguard down too close for safety, but 5 minutes with a ruler does not cost anything.

Thanks Mate. I am at work at the moment but rest assured I won't be buying anything before I am sure it'll fit...

I'll look into those brakes. Thanks for your advice.

Ant

Ant wrote:The brakes work pretty well, probably as well as they ever will

then just ride it knowing this. i.e. read the road ahead.
you'll be fine

I got a old Bob Jackson 531 frame,fork & chainstayTourer at the York Cycle Show (Rally) last year for £80 in the bike auction. I did go blind and when I picked it later, I thought what a waste of £80. 27" x 11/4". and a bit sorry state to say the least. Still it going get a good clean up and will use it for work. Got new tyres, cable and outer casing, brake shoes, saddle, chain, block, bb ballbearings, wheels tuned, headset,hubs, & bb repacked with grease.

Boy, it runs like a dream . Now I use it for Sunday cycling .

Hi,

You might want to cast an eye over the thread I raised re: Upgrading a Claude Butler Majestic a week or two ago. There is a lot of info about brakes (although mainly 27 to 700 stuff).

Also, today I was in Condor Cycles, London and spotted Acor dual pivot caliper brakes @ £10 per unit. Pretty keen if you wanted to try one (or two). They have a reach like the Tektro 556s, ie. lots of clearance for tyres and a reach up to 73mm!

Good luck.

I had a similar issue with an old Viking - same Weinman centrepulls. I swapped the levers (because I had some spares in the toolbox) and the brakes were vastly improved.

Try some of the basic Shimano ones around £10-15. Worked fine for me, and a lot less faff than worrying about drop on callipers etc.