'71 Raleigh Pro Track 650b Conversion

[Paul Brodek]

Don't think I posted this here before? Got the frame last winter, 650b'd it in early covid days, just updated/finalized it with new/old neo-retro 650b wheels.

Picked up this '71 Raleigh Pro Track frameset over the winter, planning to keep it as vintage as possible. First short shakedown ride was all vintage, and was pretty horrible. Bars were too narrow, with too deep a drop, the Campy NR brake lever body felt tiny, and with no rear brake having to dive down for the Campy lever was a little scary. So I immediately modernized the cockpit with wider bars, an aero lever and a 'cross lever. As much as I'd like to see a non-aero lever with some housing loops and swoops, full-on '70s, I'm reluctant to go there without a rear brake. Last basic piece of the cockpit puzzle was a Cane Creek tandem dummy lever for the right/rear side, which makes the bars a bit comfier and helps my upper body feel more balanced. As a bonus, from certain angles, the dummy lever looks a lot like Futurama's Dr. Zoidberg.

Didn't have any vintage track wheels for the first build, so I used a set of on-hand, older Grand Cru 700c track wheels. They look vintage-ish, all silver with narrow rims. 26mm was about as wide as I could go on the tires, with pinch points both under the fork crown and between the chainstays. Tried Vittoria Corsa 28-622, which were around 26.5mm on the narrow Grand Cru rims. Definitely maxed out width-wise.

That all gave me a fast and smooth ride, but definitely a bit harsh, especially for a fixed gear, where lifting off the saddle to coast/float over rough stuff isn't very effective. Can't let your legs get all relaxed and bump-absorbing springy when they have to keep spinning.

So, whilst first hiding from the 'rona in my basement in March, I decided to try a 650b build, using a set of Paul/Velocity Synergy fixed/track wheels I had on hand. Which also look vintage-ish, with highish flanges on the Paul hubs, but still not the Real Deal.

Grand Bois Cypres 32-584 tires fit fine front/rear. Looks like 38s would fit OK in the front, but would be too tight at the chainstays. Plenty of room under the seatstay bridge and behind the chainstay bridge. If I ever decide to get the frame tweaked, it'd be neat to bump the stays to fit 38s, and drill the seatstay bridge for a rear caliper. But I feel like it's too pretty to mess with. The unforgivable tyranny of beauty!

First geared it 42x16, just under 70", then got a 41t TA ring from Peter White, to get the wheel a little further back in the drops, for better tire clearance.

Brake reach is just over 60mm, so most normal-reach vintage sidepulls won't quite reach without modification. I lengthened the slots on a Suntour Superbe caliper, which worked OK, but I really wanted a Campy caliper to go with the rest of the Campy stuff. Got a normal-/long-reach Campy NR brake caliper, filed away the bottom of the slots, and used biggish washers on both sides of the arm to help increase the contact/clamping-force area. The shoes don't hit ribber, and I don't think they'll self-eject, but I wouldn't recommend this to others. I've got room to use a drop bolt, but they're hard to find for front/nutted, and it's a more visible kludge. A period-appropriate centerpull would be more solid, and maybe not look totally out of place, but that would mean a cable hanger/stop, and....not Campy.

The bike stayed in that state since March, with me pining for a 650b wheelset with Campy high-flange track hubs. A few things came together, and yesterday I got a set of neo-retro wheels from Earle Young. Earle used my Campy 36h high-flange road hubs on new Pacenti Brevet 650b rims, with new spokes. Then I did a relatively painless road>track axle conversion on the hubs. The tires get about 1mm wider on the Brevets, still decent clearance at the chainstays, with the wheel further back in the drops. The Brevets look more vintage than the Synergys, and they don't have any tire-seating issues. If you're around vintage wheels a lot, the wider profile does look a little different, but I think that's less an issue with 650b than with 700c. I have a 700c set for my Hetchins, next up.

I also went back to a 7-style stem, Nitto Technomic, instead of the upjutting tig'd Nitto, mainly for vintage looks. Had to fool around with bottle cage and cross lever to get everything to fit.

So other than the possibility of a different brake caliper to be named later, I consider it done.

Hoping to actually get a ride on it this weekend.

Flickr album here, small pix attached:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/26383479@N04/albums/72157712064967518

Paul Brodek

Hillsdale, NJ USA

[Ray]

Amazing photographs and beautiful bike. This looks like a really fun and creative build. I would have never thought to 650b a vintage track bike, but it looks so natural here. Well done.

Also that bike looks too be in amazing condition for how old it is. Did you have any issues with paint? I have a 1974 Raleigh Pro track, and for some inexplicable reason the paint is chipping on the headtube and only the headtube... no rust or anything, clean chrome underneath, just falling right off. No clue why.

Ray in Madison, WI

[Patrick Moore]

That's nice. Yes, the Technomic looks better than a rise stem. Do the 32 mm tires put the pedals at risk of striking in corners? My Riv fixies were built with large bb drop and, when I used to ride 650C X 22 mm (actual width) tires -- 24 1/2" tall -- I'd clip my KEOs in corners if I wasn't careful. Now I'm using slightly taller 559 X 24.8" tires with slightly more compact Dura Ace SPD pedals, but I still have to be careful.

For those of you who haven't seen it, here's an even more extreme, but not nearly as pretty, track bike with wheel conversion:

http://www.63xc.com/jameslee/18spokes.htm

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Paul Brodek]

Thanks, Ray, and sorry for the late follow-up. There are no chronic paint issues, but the chrome on the fork crown is lifting in spots.

Paul Brodek

Hillsdale, NJ USA

[Paul Brodek]

Thanks, Pattrick. Fortunately this is a '71 built mostly for track racing, so the bb is pretty darn high, almost 28cm with the 32-584s. Another way of saying it is the bb drop is very shallow, only 53mm. That is the shallowest I've ever had, though I have/had two true 'cross race bikes at 55mm. Not that I raced them, mind you.

I know I say this a lot on various fora, but I feel like I'm kind of blessed with a strong dose of non-fussiness. I've got bikes with bb drops approaching/at 80mm, some in the 50s-60s, as well as in-betweens, and I have fun riding all of them. I may feel a little more "in" the bike than "on" the bike with the deeper-drop frames, but I'm never on the shallow-drop ones wishing they were deeper.

Paul Brodek

Hillsdale, NJ USA

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