'83 Raleigh Condor

Well I finally got the few things done I needed to get done to have this bike in one piece and ride ready. So here she is!



And here I am in my "cycling clothes" going to the Italian Market for some olive oil.

I rode it to the University for a work visit today. It's a very nice riding bike, and very fast feeling. The Mangaloy 2001 Tange tubing is much stiffer than the Chromoly that I'm used to. The seat definitely needs to be changed as it is very narrow. I think for now I may just put the old Vetta saddle that came off the Colnago on it.


It's a little wider, but not by much. As always I'd like to put a Brooks on there, but I'm going to hold off on pulling the trigger on a third one of those just yet.

I was able to get the rear hub fixed by visiting the son of the late Jack Nauss, Dave, at Jack Nauss cycles, the oldest cycle shop in Halifax. And when I went in, this is what I got to see the in the display cases...


Tons of really cool vintage bicycle components! Wait... what is that in the back?


Not even out of the packaging, Simplex SLJ Golden derailleurs and shifters....wtfffffffffffffffff.

Very cool collection.

Anyway, back to the Raleigh.
The rims and spokes still need to be cleaned up and the wheels need to be trued as the spoke tension is pretty loose. Looks like I may be buying a truing stand pretty soon.

1983 Raleigh Condor (almost) Finished

So due to being busy with work and thesis writing, the Raleigh got put in the shed mid project. I ran into a bit of a hiccup when repacking the rear wheel hub and didn't have time to sort it out. Well tonight I decided to take a little me time. I went and saw Green Lantern in 3D (I'm an avid reader of several GL comics from DC). It was okay, not spectacular but it was fun, definitely could have been better. When I got home I wasn't sure what to do. It was 930, I was feeling a little sluggish and I do want to get up early in the morning to head to the farmers market.

I decided to do a little wrenching. The brake lever hoods I ordered from the Halifax Cycle Gallery had come in a while ago ($4.50), so I could at least clean up the levers, do the brake cables and tune the brakes. I also snipped the derailleur cables I had temporarily mounted, and threw on the new chain. Here is the Raleigh now.


Paint still has a few bad spots that I'd like to not be there, and as you can see in the bottom pic the outer part of the bottom headset cup is in rough shape, but the inner race is fine. The freewheel and dork disk cleaned up really nice though.


I've also ordered some brown Salsa bartape for this from JensonUSA.com. I ordered my new 48t chain ring from there and to make it worth the shipping I ordered two rolls of bartape. This brown stuff for the Raleigh, and a surprise for the Bianchi (You'll see it down the road).



The only thing needing to be done on this bloody Raleigh now is the rear wheel hub. One of the cones has a pretty nasty mark on it, and the damage is bad enough that I can't get a good hub adjustment. It needs to be replaced. Only thing is I can't seem to find a cone that is the same thread as the axle. I don't know if the Sunshine brand hubs used a different threading than most others but it's a pain in the but. I'm going to drop into a shop I haven't been to yet here in Halifax tomorrow, Jack Nauss Bicycle Shop. Apparently if it's broke, he'll know how to fix it. Been in the business a long time. Worst case scenario, I just buy a set of 700c wheels for the bike used.

Other than that it should be together soon! I'd like to have one of these for it...


But it will have to wait.

Oh yes, and reassembled and looking very much like a touring bike.


However tomorrows 1 night tour is canceled due to weather. Oh well, another time. Just have to put the new chain ring on when I get it on Monday.

One-Hundred and Forty

Was able to get all this for $140. On my way back from a work trip into New Brunswick, I saw this listed for sale in a small town close to Truro. It would be a 5 hour round trip from Halifax, but was just a dart out of the way on my way back home. I figured it would be an easy flip for me here in Halifax.

But it is a full 6spd indexed Shimano 105 Bianchi Brava in my size, and the shoes are SPD, brand new and in my size. Amazing find. I'm going to sell the rollers, hopefully for ~$100 and will make a good chunk of my money back. $40 for a full 105 Bianchi and brand new shimano shoes is not a bad deal at all. It came with lots of other bibs and bobs as well including aero bars, a seat bag, some repair kit stuff, and a chain tool.

Sad story however. I actually dealt with the lady's neighbour who sold it to me for her as she was at work (this was pre-arranged before hand). He told me this was her husbands bike stuff, and he had passed away (not sure how long ago). He was 41, in great health, and died unexpectedly from a brain aneurism. She knew what she had was worth more, I think she just wanted to get rid of it quickly. Makes you think about how short life is.

So now I have 2 very nice Italian road bikes. However due to working on my thesis a lot lately, and the queue of bikes I have to work on, I don't think this one will see the mechanics stand until this winter probably. I'm in no rush, I've got my Colnago, and the Surly is almost back together after being stripped for maintenance and cleaning.


I had to order a new 48t chain ring for the Surly, as the old one had 16 bad teeth! Not sure how that happened.

Going on a 1 night tour with Velo-Halifax this weekend (weather pending). I will try to take lots of pics and make a blog when I get back.