1974 Raleigh Fixed Gear Conversion

[Harvey Haines]

It took several months, but I finally finished building myself a bike. Every part was carefully, obsessively selected. I spent way too much money. It was frightening, interesting, and exciting. Now I get to have an absolute blast every day on my commute to and from work, and I have been trying to ride a few hours on my days off. I don't have a car, so I get to spend a lot of good time on the bike!

As the thread title says, she's a 1974 Raleigh SuperCourse MKII. The patina is gorgeous, so it was really important that I find components that wouldn't distract from the beauty of the frame. Well-made, emotionally satisfying, understated parts were sometimes a struggle to find! Lots came from Japan or were made here in the U.S., a couple emigrated from England.

Photos are at the link below, since all my files are way too big to upload here. Parts list is after the link for anyone who is interested in the details of how crazy I went.

Gallery of (too many) Photos


I still need to get my kickstand figured out, and I'm waiting on a Nitto AS1 rear cable-hanger before I can get the rear brake functional. Also, gotta decide on a front light. Other than that, she's golden!


Please tell me I done good...


PARTS LIST:

Frame: 1974 Raliegh SuperCourse MKII

Crank: Chater Leigh "The Grand Tour" 1x

Gear: Chater Leigh 48t

Cog: Phil Wood 17t

Chain: Izumi Super Toughness KAI

Headset: Tange Levin NJS headset with Blue Lug brass spacer

Bottom Bracket: Phil Wood JIS 111mm

Stem: Nitto Tallux 10cm

Handles: Nitto Albatross in aluminum with Nitto Bar Ends and shellacked Newbaum's Cotton Bar Tape

Brakes: Paul Long Racer with Paul Canti-Levers, Nitto front cable-hanger, Velo-Orange stainless steel brake housing, Analog Cycles brass ferules, and Forager Cycles Cable Cherries

Fenders: Honjo Liner 44

Rims: Velocity NoBS 700c with Newbaum's Cotton Rim Tape, Phil Wood straight-gauge spokes, and even Phil nipples

Hubs: Phil Wood High-Flange SLR

Tires: Continental Gatorskin Hardshell Black Edition with Trik Topz Rocket Ships

Tubes: Continental Conti-Cross

Bell: Spurcycle

Basket: Wald 137

Rack: Nitto RBW52F

Pedals: Sylvan MKS Touring NEXT

Saddle: Brooks B17 Brown

[Tim's Bitstream]

Congratulations! The short answer is that if it makes you happy to ride it, you done good.  It's quite lovely.

The only thing I would question would be flat petals with no foot retention on a fixed gear, since I always use either clipless pedals or Power Grips on my fixie (my old negected Ritchey from my racing days, hauled out of the back room and converted with a White Industries Eno eccentric hub).  I see a lot of Tube videos of people riding fixed with flats so it must work. I just have the mental image of my feet getting tossed off on a fast downhill and then getting egg-beaten by my own pedals: whapitty-whapitty-whapitty-whapitty.

There is an odd little niche video series on the 'tube of a guy riding up mountains with professional cyclists on fixed gears (and riding back down at 190 RPM, the host sometimes with no brakes except for the wheel).  He must go through a lot of rear tires.

Tim

On May 6, 2022, at 8:40 AM, 'Harvey Haines' via Gentleman Cyclist <gentlema...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

It took several months, but I finally finished building myself a bike. Every part was carefully, obsessively selected. I spent way too much money. It was frightening, interesting, and exciting. Now I get to have an absolute blast every day on my commute to and from work, and I have been trying to ride a few hours on my days off. I don't have a car, so I get to spend a lot of good time on the bike!

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[Syke]

Absolutely beautiful. Hopefully you’re spending a equal amount on a lock. 

Syke - Sent from my iPhone

On May 6, 2022, at 11:23, Tim's Bitstream <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote:



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