Raliegh Bomber - Dennis the Menace

[druggedonions]

Used to admire these bikes as a kid and a month ago one came up on ebay. As I was looking for a bike to ride this summer I stumped up the cash. The last month I've been putting a little time in, mostly to get the wheels built and adding a few parts to get that BMX cruiser look. Here are some pics so far.

by me, on Flickr

I added the brooks seat and some old pit bike handle bars. Rebuild the wheels round a SR BMX front hub and a F&S automatic rear coaster. Also used a few old BMX parts. I went round to the bike recycling centre to get a hand to true the rear wheel, I mentioned I wanted to get a single front chainring for the bike and they showed me this.

also by me, on Flickr

I thought they would fit the build so the new cranks will be getting fitted at the weekend I hope.
After that there are a few bits of bling to tie the colour scheme together. Hope you guys like. It's a pretty fun bike to ride. It's been a few years waiting, but the kid in me has finally got his hands on a Raliegh Bomber

Cheers Jonnie

 

[user 135]

Re: Raliegh Bomber > Cruiser BMX build

Cool bike. I like the chrome camelback frame . I have always wanted one of those Fitchel and Sachs Auto hubs.

 

[druggedonions]

Raliegh Bomber > Cruiser BMX build

Cheers.

The chrome frame is the remains of a Super Bomber. It was originally covered with a clear blue plastic. A previous owner saw fit to remove the plastic but I like the old school chrome look.

The hub is interesting. I had been after one for a while too but you don't find them often enough. The shift takes you a bit by surprise, but it isn't a huge jump. Stay tuned for a disassembly.

Jonnie

 

[gowjobs]

Re: Raliegh Bomber > Cruiser BMX build

Gotta ask: What tires are those red-lines? I was looking at some red-line semi-slicks, but your tread pattern looks different.

 

[druggedonions]

Re: Raliegh Bomber > Cruiser BMX build

If you gotta ask, I gotta tell ya; They're Electra hotster redlines. The plan was to put Maxxis Holy Rollers on the bike but they're 2.4 wide and I couldn't find the clearance. I was saving these for a more euro cruiser build at some point. But they fit and are now responsible for the red and black colour scheme so they get to stay.

 

[druggedonions]

Raliegh Bomber > Cruiser BMX build

Well the bling arrived today.

Many thanks to the good people at PorkChop for the speedy delivery.

Posted from Tapatalk for the iPhone

 

[druggedonions]

Dennis the Menace

Managed to get some time to finish the bike last night. We had some trouble getting the drive side crank off as the thread was stripped. But I learned an ingenious method using a car ball joint splitter to persuade the crank and the axle to part company. Once that was dealt with everything else went smooth. I'm pretty happy with the result. Just unsure whether red pedals and red cranks is too much. If anybody has an opinion I'd be happy to hear about it.

A friend took some better shots of the bike last night which I hope to post soon. I'm hoping to share these when I get a copy. A big thanks to the good people at the Bike Station in Perth for sharing their knowledge and parts bins.
Cheers Jonnie

 

[Critter1]

Man that bike looks comfortable to ride! It's very nice..

My opinion would be..... Keep the red pedals. When I first saw it, my thought was it should have chrome bars too.

BTW, thanks..... Now I added "Raleigh Super Bomber" to my list of wants..!

 

[deorman]

Who the heck :? is that imposter?!?! :shock: :x
:lol:

 

[druggedonions]

Thanks for the feedback. It's all appreciated. In my opinion, if there was only one opinion in the world things would be pretty dull. So keep any thoughts coming.

Critter1 - Not sure what to say about adding another frame to your wanted list. A mixture of guilt and happiness.
I like the red bars and I don't have chrome ones so they will stay for now. Glad to hear you like the pedals, they're growing on me too.

Peatbog - I am going for an 80s inspired BMX look. I'm of an age that I grew up watching the chase scene in E.T. and BMX Bandits over and over again. But I wanted a full size bike.
BTW do you know of a band called the Peatbog Fairies? They are a contempory scottish folk band with some good tunes.

deorman - :lol: Every day's a school day. I had thought up to now that your Dennis was an american copy of our Dennis. But thanks to the power of the internet I find it's not so. I like the idea of having put together a british bike that nods it's head to an american style and naming it after a character that I thought had traveled the other way across the Atlantic. Perhaps a name change is called for, how about Freddy Krueger?

 

[Strings_and_steam]

BTW do you know of a band called the Peatbog Fairies?

I'm a musician and specialize in Irish and Scottish folk and traditional music. The Faeries are one of my favourite contemporary groups, I was actually listening to 'Mellowosity' just this morning!

Nice looking bike, by the way. I was also thrown by Dennis the Menace, I grew up with the cartoon deorman referenced

I like red pedals and crank, as well as the grips. If it were my bike, I'd swap out the bars for something chrome with a lower profile, and maybe see about getting a red or black seat as well. Don't get me wrong, I love the seat that's on there, but it sticks out a bit too much to me against the black tires.

I did a google search and found this:

http://www.sourcingmap.com/red-black-fa ... 71300.html