New to this - a little help!

[feeblington]

Ignoring the stupid face on the bike thats my old raleigh, sinse this the front tyre has basicly disolved and the markings are gone - meaning I have no idea of wheel size, ive tried 700c and 27"

but that aside...Any thoughts on what I could turn this baby into? i was thinking somethnig with a slightly larger tyre setup


cheers!

 

[freddyfingaz]

A measure tape and this website link is good way to confirm your bead mm rim. Bead mm meausre is the most important to get correct tires.

http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

 

[feeblington]

I shall measure when i see the bike (in different house atm)

I mite add it has rod brakes and no rim it seems on the wheels. the tyres just kinda....sit on top when i go back ill get more pics

 

[feeblington]

could possible be 28 x 1 1/2 - if its a road bike?!

 

[feeblington]

Roadster**

 

[freddyfingaz]

Did u measured bead or outer diameter of rims? What I do is meaasure bead to outer rim then multiple two and sub outer diameter and convert result to mm then match it to closest bead off this chart. To be more safe, go to LBS with ur wheels. So u wont waste money on errors.

 

[Bicycle808]

If your bike is a Raleigh DL-1 roadster, then you need some true 28" tires, most likely. These would be 635mmx40mm. Best bet is Schwalbe Delta Cruisers.

If this is a Raleigh Sports or some variant thereof, you may need some 26x1 3/8 (aka EA3 aka 650A) tires. These would be 590mmx38mm. Again, Schwalbe Delta Cruiser is probably your best bet.

Looking at the proportions of the bike, plus the fact that it has john bull-style rod brakes, it's prolly a dl-1. Just measure the diameter; a rough estimate should give you all the info you need.

hth
rob

 

[Bicycle808]

PS- if that's a dl-1, you could switch tyre-size, but you'll likely need to change out the brake system. The reason for this is b/c you basically cannot get tyres wider than the 1.5" size that fits on those rims. You could theoretically switch to 700c, but you basically cannot find 700c rims in the "westwood" style that is compatible with the rod brakes. (Westwood is the name for type of rims you described above.) So, yeah, you could switch to drum brakes or a coaster with 700c rims, but I'd wager that there's not room between the chainstays for anything fatter than maybe a 45mm tyre, so it might not be worth it. (Unless you feel comfortable doing frame mods, but i think that'd be a shame. Those ol' roadsters are collectible.) Of course, best to measure between the fork blades about 311mm up from the axle, and between the chainstays about 311mm up from the axle, to see what you really have room for, rather than listening to crazy guys on the interwebs.... Maybe you could fit some 29x2" meat in there....

 

[feeblington]

big help u guys, and in response to what i can - agreed on not wanting to mod the frame, i wanna keep the seperate parts as orig as i can, as for the wheels, still havnt been back to the house to check the bike but i got my ma' to measure them, seems there 26 1/2 or SOMETHING. ill take her measurements with a pinch of salt.
does anyone reckon theres a way to convert the rod brakes so they can be used to normal calipers etc? if i did a bit of welding and metal-botchery?

 

[Bicycle808]

big help u guys, and in response to what i can - agreed on not wanting to mod the frame, i wanna keep the seperate parts as orig as i can, as for the wheels, still havnt been back to the house to check the bike but i got my ma' to measure them, seems there 26 1/2 or SOMETHING. ill take her measurements with a pinch of salt.
does anyone reckon theres a way to convert the rod brakes so they can be used to normal calipers etc? if i did a bit of welding and metal-botchery?

You can create a "hybrid" system, with rod-actuated levers that pull cables. Ppl tend to do this with drum set-ups. You'll need some ingenuity, plus either different rims (if you want to do caliper brakes--westwoods won't work with other rim-brake styles) or different hubs if you go the drum route.

I vote for upgrading your brake pads, tuning the john bull system as best you can, and getting some cream-colored schwalbe delta cruiser tires in the appropriate size (likely 26x1 3/8", unless you're very tall.) That'd be the cheapest way, and you'd keep things more original that way, if that's your goals. If it's a 26x1 3/8 wheelset, you'll have trouble fitting anything truly fat in there anyway. And, while rod brakes do kinda suck, they are interesting and unique.

hth
-rob

ps- just so you're aware, all of the threads and most of the fitments on your bike will be either whitworthless or old-raleigh proprietary threads. So, be very nice to that bottom bracket and headset, and consider using adjustable wrenches to tune those brakes; metric/granpa wrenches aren't going to work properly, and will end up stripping your bolts.

 

[feeblington]

tbh i do love how the rods look - do they still sell the bizarre side mounted pads though?
i was also considering a long set of front forks......would this be viable or would it throw the geometry of the frame off badly n cause damage eventually?

baring in mind when i do ride this itll be at 3mph, grinning

 

[Bicycle808]

Refill inserts here:
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brakeshoes.html#rodbrake Salmon color pads will stop better; the black color pads will last longer.
Very nice Brit-made Fibrax shoes available here:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/vinbrake.html scroll down a few items; pricey at $20/pair
All kinds of roadster/rod-brake stuff available here:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/eastbits.html Notice you can get all the linkages (below the handlebar) AND 4 brake pads for $50. Keep in mind that these are stamped-steel made-in-India bits, but the price is nice, if you're current stuff is worn out. The OG brit stuff was made to last, though.

As for the fork, you could swap it out, but you'll need to change the headset (or, possibly, just some headset parts) as the Brit threads are a different TPI than any fork you're likely to find, unless you just cram some roadster forks on there, assuming you find a fork with the right length steerer tube... Plus, yeah, it'll affect handling-- maybe for the better, but probably for the worse.

If that thing has a 3speed, you can probably go pretty fast on it....just remember that rod brakes are terrible in the rain or other wet conditions, so be careful.

 

[feeblington]

I think ill let you in on a past event on this bike -

when i first got given it the back tyre was perished beyond life - the front had minor bits of rubber left. upon cyclign down a flat road in the wet, getting cut up by a car and then realising after slammign the brakes on, they do NOTHIGN atall in the wet, i went into the back of a parked car and knocked the front wheel out of the bike - all fixed now!
but the fear has never left me

cheers for ur help looks like those inserts would fit.
as for forks and all that crap, headsets and BB are my forté
if i got a set with major offset and some wider , lower bars i should be on a winner?

 

[feeblington]

P.S.
it has sturmey archer internal 3spd on the back wheel - whenever i find some tyres n ....

 

[Bicycle808]

If you wanna change the headset, go for it. just remember, there's not nearly so much adjustability in reach for rod-actuated brakes as there are with cables, so you can't do anything too dramatic. Although, it might be interesting to try to put a 28" fork/wheel up front and have a big hoop up front with the OG one in the back.

Indian-made roadster parts are almost always compatible, and easy to come by.

 

[feeblington]

fair play -

i was thinkign if i did get some longer forks, i could just weld/bolt/join the rod to another rod and get a dead ratty looking rod which should hopefully still work....also, what u reckon tryin to run a disk brake from a rod....in theory it should work..just be quite botchy

 

[Bicycle808]

You could theoretically run a disc off of a rod set-up; it'd probably be alot like trying a hybrid system for drum brakes. That being said, you'd want to run the "road" version avids, as the rod levers are decided "short-pull". It'll be harder to find the 1" steerer disc fork, but Dimension makes a threadless one. You could buy that, cut the steerer tube to the proper length, and have someone machine it with the compatible 26tpi threading for your headset. (Or, do it yourself, if'n you have access to a lathe.)

I don't have a link available, but there are articles online for converting rod set-ups to hybrid rod&cable use. Google it for inspiration, I guess. But, for now, click this link for some "required reading". http://www.sheldonbrown.com/raleigh26.html

Right about now, I'm feeling PO'd that I gave away my roadster.

 

[feeblington]

with all your knowledge on this im surprized you did!
and with SOME 1" threaded dheadsets the cups in the frame allow you o have a 1 1/8 threadless

thats my 1984 Raleigh Burner converted to threadless.....you can see how tight it is - but no rub and its smooth as any other

 

[Bicycle808]

I get to visit my Roadster from time to time; a co-worker uses it on rides with his son (the kid is, like, 8.) But I do miss messin' with it.

I like whatcha did with your ol' BMX bike; is that the stock set-up, or did you have to tinker with it?

Your Burner is from when Huffy was licensing the Raleigh name for (usually) asian-made bikes. It had all of the typical BMX specs of the era: american BB shell, oversized 1" headset, ISO threads. I've seen folks run 1.125" forks on bikes with the old 32.5mm ID headtubes, but usually ya gotta play around with the size/quantity of the ball bearings. Personally, I'm pretty psyched to try a Genuine Bicycle Products "Retro Ryder" headset, which is a drop-in 1"threaded-to-1.125"-threadless converter. http://www.flickr.com/photos/17534977@N00/sets/72157628195500205/ Won't work on most bikes, but should do fine on this Worksman I'm building.

Now, your old Nottingham Raleigh? That thing'll never be converted without some sort of radical frame-mods....

 

[feeblington]

....!!

and I feel for you i gave away an old quadangle before I knew what it was ( almost 10 years ago now and im still having withdrawl)

as for the BMX

is how i got given it

after many parts just falling apart i was left with the front wheel and frame only (still got headset n brakes but more for ornaments than working parts)

i had to remove 3 rings worth of small bearings and put them in loose ball for it to work. no frame mods, same cup size etc...that bike now looks like this though

soon to have nice mid BB crank new seat and all that jazz...i dont think this bike has been a solid bike for more than half its life with me - yet is my fav

as for the roadster
looks like ill scrap the disk idea....still goin after the long forks though, i feel like bit needs a good retirement - if i kept the same front wheel, and had a 24" with a 2.4 tyre or sumin...should fit and have a nice riding position