Turning wreckage into GOLD. Abandoned 80s vintage road bike restoration Part 1
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- Can it be done? Another charity bike restoration, and perhaps the most ambitious yet judging by how utterly ruined this pile of rusty wreckage looked when I found it. But under those cobwebs there's gold...
Looks a beauty of a bike, even while decorated with tears of cobwebs! 👌🏻
You could tell even in the bottom of a skip that this was something special. So many nice parts.
Can’t wait to see part 2 of the video I know you will get that BB sorted out. That bike a great vintage find, good luck!
Somehow I will. Not entirely looking forward to it - but the end result will be stunning.
Vice Grip makes a headset tool for everything. Farmers best friend.
Any time we needed anything fixing when I was a kid, my dad and I would pay a visit to one of his farmer friends. Those boys can fix anything, and there's always an approximation of the right tool or part buried in those barns.
Shout out from France ! I picked up and restored my first 26" Titanium MTB (Decathlon) because of your channel. Always a treat to watch your restorations and to feel the passion across the screen. Keep it up chief.
As you'll know from my channel I love anything and everything French! Including Decathlon, of which I have the privilege of a superstore within walking distance. Glad my restorations have had a positive effect, stay tuned.
Great work! Knipex wrench pliers are a good way to get things like that headset lockring off but you managed fine with the mole wrench. As for the BB cup I have got those off before by welding a bit of square tube directly to the cup. I just used a basic flux core welder. This doesn't damage the paint but puts enough heat in to remind the thread that it is a thread and then gives you a lever to turn to get the thing off. Worked for me on a much older 1960s vintage Raleigh.
My only worry with this process is damaging the paint. Like you say, it's about finding the "right amount" of heat to break the seized thread, which will require care and patience. Problem is I lack both these things.
@@red_dread You can wrap some damp cloth around the BB shell to provide cooling. Nowadays I would use the TIG which is around 20,000°C where the arc is but the bluing only extends for about half an inch either side. If there is some paint damage well it's black anyway so easy to match and that bit is all hidden behind the chainset and gets covered in mud anyway.
I would refuse to believe that the bottom bracket cannot be removed. I've never had one that cannot be removed with soaking in the right product, a strong vice, and tools secured in place properly.
I agree. Stay tuned for Part 2, in which this issue gets tackled with vigour, persistence, escalating ordnance and (where necessary) primal violence.
Same here, I've had things come loose after multiday soaking and a lot of elbow grease. It will just require patience.
Using the proper tool, I use a rubber hammer to smack the end of the tool. Works on rusty stored in the rain New England bikes. You need a big ass crescent wrench for the headset and removing freewheels.
Never give up!
There’s a long road ahead
I remember these bikes as a kid. It was around this time I got my first "decent" bike. It was a Raleigh, but more entry level than this one. The black and gold looked amazing on the Record Sprint.
I don't remember seeing them at the time, but then in '85 I'd have been obsessed with BMXes so a road bike would have been invisible to me.
Ah, the old sprint. Lovely looking bike. One of the lads at the club had one. He had his leg pulled so often he had Tony Oliver build him a custom frame and the appropriate parts therein. Peers eh?
Do you have a chest feezer?
Leave it overnight and immediately put heat on it. Expansion and contraction works every time 👍
If you have sorted it, I'm looking forward to the build.
Funny how we "outgrew" the Raleigh badge in adolescence, only to rediscover how great they were when age and wisdom took over. I'm pinning all my hopes on heat and expansion to shift this thing - but I'm in no rush so first I'm going to experiment with ways of getting penetrant inside the shell.
@@red_dread out of all the bikes I've owned, I've never had a Raleigh. I'll put it down to circumstances.
Good luck with the frame mate. 👍
I remember dreaming about anodized Ringlé partes for my 1991 MTB.... Oh Boy do I miss the Early 90s
Same, except the bottle cage which I always thought was hideous! The skewers are still tasty if you can find them. Very few of my bikes from that era have much Ringle on them because I like to mix things up, but there’s definitely bits and pieces I still cherish.
the dreaded raleigh record ace
The Ace is the higher spec model in the Record range, it had a 531 frame and fancier components. But as far as I know the Sprint was the only one you could get with gold bits, hence I love it.
@@red_dread yes my mistake the sprint was king of the littlewoods catologue empire
My parents bought me one of these brand new for my 13th birthday £169 i seem to remember when i picked it out. The shifters and both mechs were campagnolo. And the saddle was a suede selle model.
Sounds like yours was the Mk1 - there's an immaculate one somewhere on RUclips with a much higher spec than my one. As well as the Campag bits and the proper saddle, the earliest ones had more gold too. Stunning.
Made in Belgium rims are probably from the Weinmann brand.
I’m sure you’re correct. They were a big Raleigh supplier at the time, the brakes were ubiquitous. Quality kit.
Unless there's galvanic corrosion (between aluminium and steel) you can always find a way to get it out. Lots of heat (which will destroy your paint) or impact wrench.
It’s all steel so it’s just a case of loads of rust. I’m planning to fabricate some sort of oil bath to soak it in penetrant, plus a light lick of the blowtorch to crack the threads. Will definitely shift it.
I had one that literally came out of the river. Nothing was working, so in the end I carefully cut the square shaft flush both sides with an angle grinder. I then cut a slot like a screw head and opened up the opposite side to the one I needed to turn in by veeing it out with the grinder. A big hammer and an old, blunt cold chisel. Three or four mighty whacks got it moving, then it is just a case of keeping it turning until it with turn with a spanner or has come out. Turn the frame over and repeat. One wrecked bottom bracket, one undamaged frame. It is brutal but if nothing else works.....
Ugh, some weeks later and I still haven't really had a go at it. So far penetrant hasn't worked so I fear I'm going to have to resort to some similar scorched earth techniques.
a beautiful diamond in the rough, all that BB needs is some elbow grease and weldtite TF2
I fear it’ll take a bit of ingenuity and patience, but I’m not quitting.
Do you have a mountain bike with the limited edition Shimano LX Gold groupset?
No, I never have. If I remember correctly, I wasn’t a fan of the gold finish on that groupset - it was sort of satin/matte mixed with black and didn’t really do it for me. I think of that late 90s period in general as the “Ugly Era”, however I cannot deny that the Shimano kit of the day was functionally amazing. In fact a lot of the XT parts I hammered in 99 are still running today!
Fire makes everything compliant but penetrant down the seat tube first perhaps. What would Gary do?
Yes, I’m taking my time with this one. Penetrant first for sure.
Also assuming you’re referring to the one and only Gary, he’ll be asleep right now as he’s in the opposite hemisphere, but when he wakes up I’m betting he’ll be in favour of more time and patience, less fire and violence. He’s a chill guy.
I’ve got two frames at the moment. a 1992/3 trek 990 Red Deore DX/XT group set whole bike and an off-road Proflex 1991 950.I’ll get them built up eventually! How much do you charge per build! I’ve loved your work particularly on the muddy fox bikes and your Raleigh Ti
I’ve never done it for money to be honest (not since the 90s when it was my student job). All my builds on here are either for charity, for my own collection, favours for mates, or just to make an interesting video! Yours both sound pretty tasty, could you send me pics? Oliver.chesher@yahoo.co.uk
My first bike was red and silver handle bars no finders dulled silver wheels black tires. it was and old bike when I got it. the backwards pelting to break did not work. I rode that bike so much. I got it in 1966.
My second bike was 1975 sears and roebuck green 10 speed frist 5 gears did not work .
My third and last bike was a 1978 rampar 10 speed blue 27 inch. I won it in a bike race with the green 10 speed. I still have it to day. it needs to be cleaned and reworked. I would love to ride that bike again.
More often than not all that's needed is a good clean. I hope that bike will live on for many more years.