A Proper Rat Rod

[ingola]

Not original all Raleigh spindles are stamped

 

[Jude Ephesus]

This is stamped?

’JAHEUNG. SK. 54’. ?

 

[Wildcat]

It's from the 60's so I would think the original was worn out and changed out maybe 20 years ago or more.

 

[twojs.bike]

That would explain the non-Raleigh cotter pins. Those cotter pins probably matched the spindle. And might explain or at least be related to the wobbly spindle. Good news is you have spare parts!

 

[ingola]

The wobble was most likely caused by the wrong bearing size Raleigh bottom brackets are on odd size if you change the spindle you need to change the bearing size to

 

[ingola]

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/raleigh26.html

 

[Ulu]

I can tell you, getting that right side BB cup off was a BEAR!

-I’m guessing that thing has never been off….

You were able to get it off just with the park tool? You didn’t have to bolt that tool onto the bearing cup with a nut and washers?

I built a tool from a block of half-inch thick steel for that job. I bolted it right to the cup, and then put a big crescent wrench on the block. Then I wacked the wrench with a mallet. That finally did it without tearing the cup up.

 

[Jude Ephesus]

You were able to get it off just with the park tool? You didn’t have to bolt that tool onto the bearing cup with a nut and washers?

I built a tool from a block of half-inch thick steel for that job. I bolted it right to the cup, and then put a big crescent wrench on the block. Then I wacked the wrench with a mallet. That finally did it without tearing the cup up.

Meh.. I’m country strong. I saw the ‘pinch the wrench’ deal on YouTube and didn’t have the patience and am too cheap to run out and get the threaded rod and hardware. (I thought I’d give it a half hour: If I couldn’t grunt it off in 30 minutes, I’d go to the store the next day for the hardware kit)

I did put on a good set of mechanic gloves as the tool was so thin, it was digging into the skin on my palms As I was torquing it.

I did have to press and hold the wrench on the BB with my left hand and rap the tool a few times with a hammer.

the challenge was getting the wrench to ‘bite’ and not slip off.

I think the hammer hits freed up the BB and I horsed it off the rest of the way by alternating pushing down on the wrench on one side and lifting up on the opposite side using the chain stay as leverage.

 

[Jude Ephesus]

I need to make a set of brackets to hold my rear baskets on.

The brown Raleigh I pulled this off of had the arms mounted through the rear axle.

-to me, it looked a little off / un-level.

I’m going to try to make some handy brackets that wrap around the seat stay to mount the basket stand-offs to.

 

[Ulu]

Meh.. I’m country strong. I saw the ‘pinch the wrench’ deal on YouTube and didn’t have the patience and am too cheap to run out and get the threaded rod and hardware. (I thought I’d give it a half hour: If I couldn’t grunt it off in 30 minutes, I’d go to the store the next day for the hardware kit)

I did put on a good set of mechanic gloves as the tool was so thin, it was digging into the skin on my palms As I was torquing it.

I did have to press and hold the wrench on the BB with my left hand and rap the tool a few times with a hammer.

the challenge was getting the wrench to ‘bite’ and not slip off.

I think the hammer hits freed up the BB and I horsed it off the rest of the way by alternating pushing down on the wrench on one side and lifting up on the opposite side using the chain stay as leverage.

You don’t need a threaded rod. All you need is a short bolt, nut & washers. You hold it with a socket wrench thru the bottom bracket. Perhaps you did not need that much effort but just one slip and the cup is damaged.

Since I had no idea where I could get another cup for a 60-year-old English bicycle, I didn’t wanna take any chances.

 

[twojs.bike]

You don’t need a threaded rod. All you need is a short bolt, nut & washers. You hold it with a socket wrench thru the bottom bracket.

Wow!! That is a brilliantly simple solution. I’m almost embarrassed how difficult I make this. I have used bar clamps and 2x4s to hold the tool in place.

 

[Jude Ephesus]

So…. This was quick, easy, cheap and went exactly as planned!!!!

THAT’S A FIRST FOR THIS BIKE!!!!!

Just got some pipe hanging tape, some snips, some hardware….. BOOM!

I’ll remove this and paint it to match:

 

[SwissGuy]

So…. This was quick, easy, cheap and went exactly as planned!!!!

THAT’S A FIRST FOR THIS BIKE!!!!!

Just got some pipe hanging tape, some snips, some hardware….. BOOM!

I’ll remove this and paint it to match:
View attachment 235209View attachment 235210View attachment 235211View attachment 235212
View attachment 235213View attachment 235214View attachment 235215View attachment 235216

Yeah, those hol(e)y strips come in handy all the time on my builds as well!

 

[ingola]

Simple nice

 

[handyandy1100]

That perforated plumbing tape is like the duct tape of rat rod bikes!

 

[MattiThundrrr]

That perforated plumbing tape is like the duct tape of rat rod bikes!

Like a roll of brackets! Looks proper, Jude! I've got an old set of brackets on a rack that I'll be scavenging for my bike, they appear to be dipped in black vinyl to protect the paint on the stays. If they don't work out, I might be copying your method. How tight are they grabbing on the stays?

 

[Wildcat]

It looks adjustable too. You could raise the baskets or lower them a few inches.

 

[Jude Ephesus]

It looks adjustable too. You could raise the baskets or lower them a few inches.

100%; this is mostly a test fit And mock-up. During final assembly, once the fenders, wheels and brakes are on, I’ll lower rack accordingly.

 

[Jude Ephesus]

Like a roll of brackets! Looks proper, Jude! I've got an old set of brackets on a rack that I'll be scavenging for my bike, they appear to be dipped in black vinyl to protect the paint on the stays. If they don't work out, I might be copying your method. How tight are they grabbing on the stays?

They are grabbing awesome; I can get them as tight as I want.

As the baskets are super sturdy as-is, (I can carry the bike by the baskets and nothing moves) I didn’t torque the hardware all the way down During this mock-up.

for final assembly I’ll torque them all the way down and it’ll be like the baskets are part of the frame.

-if you decide to use, I’d highly recommend, with one caveat: a lot of factory made hardware Will easily slide around on a frame while moving or adjusting.

this stuff DOESN’T. Once you put in place on your ride be careful moving the stuff around as it doesn’t ‘slide well’ and will dig into your paint!

 

[OddJob]

Looks like you put the clamps on that basket mount task!