realsteel

Most of my collection consists of Reynolds 531 framesets and I've been hankering after a 753 frame for a while now.

One appeared on eBay last year which was just my size and I liked the colour scheme. It is a Raleigh made by the Specialist Bicycle Development Unit (SBDU) at Ilkeston, England in 1986:







I'm going to build it up (it doesn't need restoring as such) over the next month or so. The pace is not going to be as frantic as the Holdsworth (https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...fessional.html) but it should still be reasonably interesting from a C&V point of view.

It's going to be mostly period-correct (with a few concessions made to expense and availability) and I'd certainly appreciate any pointing out of mistakes in the build or anachronisms; as well as stylistic comments.

qcpmsame 

Subscribed.

That is a pretty frameset, it looks to be in great condition, from your pictures. Other than Period Correct, what are you looking at, as far as components? This one should be just about as interesting as your Holdsworth thread was/is.

Bill

realsteel

After I'd bought the frame, I discovered that the original owner had started a thread on C&V about his bike built with this very frame: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...eigh-753r.html

The fellow had the bike custom made in 1986 outfitted with first-generation C-Record components -- must have been quite expensive back then.

Here is his photograph (reproduced without permission, but I don't think he'll mind):



Unfortunately, the frame should have been 53 cm but the SBDU built it as 56 cm and then he moved from Scotland before he could get it changed. Even more unfortunately, he had a crash and scratched the frame and the rear derailleur.

Fast-forward to today and you can see that the damage is relatively minor and only to the paintwork on the seat-stays:



(I'm not going to fix the paint damage: it's part of the frame's history.)

realsteel

Hi Bill!

Good question. I think the C-Record groupset looks wrong with this frame. C-Record is perfect for a Saronni red Colnago Master but too over-the-top for the Raleigh IMHO.

Production of Super Record components ceased in 1987 so it will be acceptable to use this groupset instead.

qcpmsame 

I had C-Record in the back of my addled mind, and much the same thought came up as I thought about that group. I cannot get to like C-Record for some reason, nothing drastic, I am sure the usual Campagnolo quality is present, too. The SR stuff sounds good to me, not that it matters one whit, just my thoughts. I think that 87 SR stuff will be nice looking on those subdued colours, IMHO. This is going to be interesting to follow along. Best wishes on the upcoming build phase, it just keeps getting better here.

Bill

realsteel

A 753 tubeset is heat-treated and requires silver brazing so as not to accidentally anneal it. Frame builders had to be certified by Reynolds in order to use the tubeset and consequently 753 frames are fairly rare. The heat-treatment allowed the steel to be drawn finer than before resulting in a (potentially) lighter frame.

Before starting the build, I was curious about how much weight advantage Reynolds 753 steel gives. I had the opportunity to compare the weight of the 1986 Raleigh 753 frame with a 1987 Saronni red Colnago Master of exactly the same size:



... the only difference is the headset: the Raleigh has a first-generation Edco Competition (VeloBase.com - Component: Edco Competition (early model)) at 109 grams, and the Colnago has a C-Record headset (VeloBase.com - Component: Campagnolo 304/104, C-Record) at 153 grams.

Two top-end steel frames from the same era and the same size: 753 vs Columbus (probably Gilco Design - Profilo S4, but the sticker is missing).

Anyone care to guess the winner and by how much?

(This is like guess-the-weight-of-the-fruit-cake but you don't get to keep the fruit cake.)
(Also, this is only for fun: tubesets came in all sorts of gauges and could vary within the same type of steel)

Knet

Wow, very nice. I'll be following along.

jyl

Okay, I'll guess.
Reynolds 753 frame 1600 g + fork 570 g + headset 109 g = 2279 g
Columbus Gilco frame 1700 g + fork 700 g + headset 153 g = 2553 g
So I'm guessing Colnago weighs about 300 g more.

jyl

FYI my 753 Team Pro with Super Record and tubulars is currently a bit less than 19 lb.

Bikerider007

Good call, I have been trying to determine a good frameset to do a C Record build on at some point that will flow, but IMHO Raleigh has a Classic feel in addition to vintage.

Subscribed.

rando_couche

Given the frame, a period correct weight-weenie build would be fun.

eastbay71

What a beautiful frame! I'm excited to see what your ride impressions are and how you feel this frame compares to your 531 frames. I was surprised when I started riding my 753 Gazelle. I expected the ride to be a bit harsher than the 531 framed Trek in my collection but it was noticibly smoother over rough pavement. I also love the way the 753 frame feels when I'm climbing. It seems like every bit of power from my legs gets transmitted to the wheel but that could be due to the modern group set (Shimano 105 5800) on my Gazelle compared to the older parts on my Trek (Shimano 600 6400). Enjoy your build!

realsteel

It's not going to have the full Drillium treatment, but it should be the lightest bike in my collection. I'll be using a bit of (non-period-correct) carbon fiber somewhere...

realsteel

Thanks! I'm really looking forward to the first ride too and how it compares to my other bikes.

jyl

Okay, I love spending other's money . . .

Full Super Record group.
Light stem and bars, like 3ttt Superleggera, with Ti quill bolt (that's a long bolt to be steel) and alloy expander.
Light saddle, something period with alloy rails.
Light tubular rims, GEL280 etc.
Light tubulars, get close to 200 g per.
Light freewheel, maybe a corncob, maybe one with alloy body.

That bike should then be comfortably under 19 lb, even before any CF, or drillium, or Ti bolt kits.

realsteel

That's a great kit. The money's already spent though and everything is decided, down to the toestraps.

Super Record group apart from the pedals which are 1037/a
GB Biba stem, Raleigh bars
Brooks C13 Cambium with carbon rails
Galli Milano-Torino rims
Wolber tubulars
Regina Corsa six speed freewheel

What do you reckon: the right side of 20 lb?

jyl

I bet it's <20 lb.

Ed.

The first understandable thing I said after my crash was "How's my bike!?" Wrecking Geraldine, my SBDU Honey, would be horrific, to say the least.



Nothing weight weenie, but sewups for certain.

jyl

I'm sorry to say that was the first thing I wondered when I read about your accident . . .

realsteel

The Super Record crankset was cleaned up.

I clean threads with a shot of WD-40 and pulling a microfiber cloth in as far as possible and then rotating:



The crankset was then coated in wax and polished:



Not much more to be said, except that this is my first encounter with a SR Crankset and it really is a work of art.

realsteel

This is the 1938 Brown Brothers Cycle Catalogue:



It had 572 pages of (mostly British-made) bike components. Back then you were spoiled for choice; there were dozens of possible handlebar stems:



... including the bonkers 'All-rounder Universal Adjustable Stem'.

By 1986 the British bike component industry had all but disappeared -- a sad end to the industry which had given us the first proper bicycle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_bicycle).

realsteel

Gerry Burgess (GB) was still going however, and still making stems. So I decided to use one of the last racing stems produced by GB -- the Biba:



The only reason (I can think of) it was called 'Biba' is that the logo looks like two cyclists:



Nevertheless, it's a good-looking stem and every bit as good as the Cinelli equivalent.

qcpmsame 

Beautiful crankset there, I have strongly considered the poor man's upgrade of my NR crankset, by swapping out the chain rings for a set of SR rings. (Shhhh, that is a secret, not supposed to admit to doing those corner cutting tricks, you know.) Nice detail with the microfiber cloth and the pedal axle hole's threads, I like to use pipe cleaners for this, they are useful little buggers for thread and hard to get to spaces. But, your MF cloth has much less lint coming off, less to get in the way for assembly time with your way.

I have started using an aluminum truck tool box polish for the aluminum alloy parts, Better Built/Daws Industry puts this out for their commercial truck boxes. Very good for cleaning off surface grime and then it polishes up very nicely, with little or no scratching of the finish. Diamond Brite is the rand name for it, not sure at all if you can get in in Germany, but it is available on-line, also. I got mine at a Lowe's store.

What size rings are you using on the Raleigh, RS? It looks like a 53 big ring, but I cannot make out the tooth count engraving.

Bill

realsteel

You're quite correct: it's a 53-42 combination.

You have to be careful with abrasive polish on anodized parts, you can inadvertently removed the coating if you're too enthusiastic...

qcpmsame 

So far the Diamond Brite has not scratched any of the anodized surfaces I polished with it. It doesn't have the feel of a polishing compound at all, most of its action seems to be removing the usual black grime that builds up on aluminum surfaces. It was formulated for the diamond plate aluminum tool boxes that many US truck owners have on the beds of pick up trucks, Daws Industries owns the Better Built product line now, they started up here in Pensacola back in the mid 80s.

But, I do just as you recommend, gentle cleaning and light polishing with a clean microfiber cloth. It was a pleasant surprise to see how it turned out on the NR crankset, NR seat post, SR calipers and both NR derailleurs. The SR shift levers got clean enough, but that finish of the aluminum does not polish out to a shine, something in their anodization coating must have a duller appearance than the other components. Probably the nicest surprise for me was the NR seat post, that looks fantastic. I' posted pictures of it in the thread about the Medici build, but they aren't any kind of quality at all. I imagine that if I was bearing down hard, or attempted to use a power polishing wheel, the finish would be removed, or at least burned in its look, by the Diamond Brite.https://www.dawsbetterbuilt.com/shop...-brite-polish/

To me the SR components have a slightly brighter appearance than the NR things, one of the real Campagnolo experts can hopefully tell me it there is a difference in the annodization, or whatever the SR finish is. Or, if that is just how they are polished up at the factory.

Sorry for the hijack of your thread, back to our regularly scheduled programing.

Bill