Through posting up the Team Raleigh 753 frameset that I acquired last year, I was contacted by a number of Raleigh enthusiasts. One of those enthusiasts was a gent by the name of Matthew who recently sent over the following correspondance which I hope he won't mind me sharing with you.
So CX season is a fading memory and spring is here so that means road bike time. Thought I'd provide an update of my favorite steel bikes; my 2 raleighs.
Pretty significant upgrades this year;
Over the winter I was able to piece together a pretty complete group of period correct Dura Ace 7400 parts. I'm missing a clamp on FD (I got a braze-on one), headset (no biggie) and hubset. I actually got a very good condition 13-24 DA freewheel. The key thing on 7400 stuff is getting brake levers that aren't crashed and ground up and good shifters. Oh yeah, a good RD is a must. I put all this stuff on the red white and blue bike. You'll see in the photos I have a new 7800 crank on there which lets me switch out a compact crank - there are hills here. I'll probably put the 7400 crank on soon though - it looks cool. I got a nice specialized toupe saddle w carbon rails too. Very good saddle and looks good on bike.
On the red and black bike, I got a great deal on a Alpha Q fork with 1", full carbon steerer tube. I have an Alpha Q fork on my ChiliconCrosso and the thing is bomb-proof so, no worries about this one. Switching out this fork for the original cuts more than a pound when you factor in lighter stem, and bars. The fork firms up the front for sure, but I think its actually slightly more laid back in the handling department than the original. I sorta cheaped out with the stem and bars on there now but they work well. Maybe I'll max em out with tax refund moola. This bike has Suntour Superbe pro parts on it which are still working well (with some work). the kinda trick thing on this is I put an XC-Pro mtb crank without the granny on it and it provides a 110 crank spider - a compact. Strange, but it has a perfect chain line and even spacing arm on both sides! I have a 36-50 on there now. Other parts are rounded out with Bontrager take offs from Trek. This saddle is real light but not as comfortable as the Toupe on the other bike. This bike weighs 18.7 as shown.
Did you ever get yours built up?
Cheers,
-Matt
And to answer your question Matt, I decided that the 57cm TT was just too long for me and that I am perhaps a bit on the heavy side of being able to beat on one of these bikes without breaking it. I have to admit though, seeing these photos makes me sad that it's gone. I hope the dude in Chicago who bought it is loving it.
