fords4life

New rider and certainly new to bike repair/maintenance but pretty mechanically inclined. Bought my Trek DS1 in May and am loving riding. I decided to get my Dad's '84 Raleigh Prestige back on the road and have been collecting parts. One item he mentioned and I'm concerned about with the hold around here is only having a 42/52 double chainring. I've been considering doing a triple conversion. From what I've read, I'll need to change to a long cage RD(undecided on which one) and the crankset/BB. From what I've read, the FD should be ok. Any advice/thoughts on the conversion? Recommendations on a crankset/BB? I found an Ofmega CX Triple and BB that I'm really close to pulling the trigger on, but looking for a little advice.

branko_76 

Nice bike!

Is this the crankset you're considering?

VeloBase.com - Component: Ofmega CX (triple)

fords4life

Thanks! He kept it in tip top shape until he quit riding. Aside from being dirty it is in great condition.

That is the crankset yes. The one I found is NOS without the chainrings, but the rings are much easier to find than the cranks and BB.

Pcampeau

I’ll be curious to see what you do, I’ve got a Prestige too and may have to try this if it works out for you. Will you be keeping the same 7 speed freewheel in back or try to get some larger cogs? I would think a long cage Cyclone derailleur would be a good pick but I’ll have to defer to people with more triple experience as I can’t say for sure.

plonz 

That there is the rarely seen ‘84 Prestige and it looks terrific! We sometimes get treated to the ‘85 with the red, white and blue USA but rarely the ‘84. I absolutely prefer the yellow accents. My size and I’m jealous.

Anyway, the bike came standard with Ofmega Mistral cranks and Suntour Superbe derailleurs, neither of which were offered as a triple. I think Ofmega CX cranks and Suntour Cyclone derailleurs are good choices for a triple setup on this bike and a nice touch in keeping with the original brands.

Have fun getting it cleaned up and be sure to report back with pics.

RiddleOfSteel

You may have enough BB spindle length to fit a 30T small ring--I can't see the chain stay gap from that photo, but it looks possible. That could allow you to obtain a "tripleizer" (or triplizer depending on which spelling people use) middle/small ring combination. Is your BCD 135mm or 144mm? [forgive this younger C&V member for not knowing!] The options can be a bit pricey, but deals do exist!

I have run a Campagnolo Chorus/Record Carbon 10-speed setup with a 53/39/30 front combo and a 13-26T rear (could have also been a 12-25T), with a short cage rear derailleur. This was a number of years ago, on my 1985 Peloton. No issue! Since this is a Superbe Pro RD, it should abide a triple up front, IMO, especially if you keep the rear FW, which looks decently non-corncob-like.

bikemig 

The Ofmega CX triple is 144/74 bcd. If I were going to the trouble of installing a triple on this bike, I'd run a 110/74 bcd triple, which is common and easy to find. A Shimano 600EX triple woud look good on this bike and BBs are easy to find for it.

One issue you may have setting up a triple on a racing bike is that the chain stays are short and getting the chainline to work right can be a pain.

The other option worth considering is picking up a crank like the Shimano 600EX and running it as a compact double with 50/34 rings.

3speedslow

Kudos to you for bringing your Father’s Raleigh OUT of retirement. Lose that aero bar! Please...

Lascauxcaveman 

Maybe it's just the camera angle, but the fork looks like it could be bent. If so, it most likely can be straightened, because it's steel.

I would also recommend going for a more conventional triple crank than the Omega; I'm not sure if that's one of them, but some use an odd size spindle which may be hard to find.

fords4life

Thanks everybody! My thought/intent behind the CX crank was to keep everything as close to original as possible. Since I can grab the crank and BB at the same time, I'm not too worried about fitment. I hadn't thought about regearing the current chainrings. I do plan to ride it before I make the switch too. I know I drop into lower gears on my DS1 than I will have on the Prestige, but the Prestige is also 8-9 lbs lighter so we'll see.

As for the Aero bars, I have trouble with my hands falling asleep so I was actually looking forward to giving them a shot.

The front front fork is good. The bike has been in an accident but has been ridden since. I'm excited to get it back on the road, just need to get it cleaned up, bearings replaced/lubed and a new chain. It does need a new rear derailleur but I've already got one on hand.

Pcampeau

You can always box up the original parts and keep them for the future. As long as you’re not altering the frame you can put them back whenever you’d like. I’m not at all trying to discourage you from the build you’ve stated but there’s no shame in building the bike as you’d like it to be. Build what you’ll ride, no matter what that means parts wise.

RobbieTunes

We have the technology.
We can make you Better. Stronger. Faster.

Ultegra 6500 BB, crankset, calipers, FD, RD.
DA 7700 DT shifters. Modolo Pro brake levers.
DA 7403 hubs laced to Matrix ISO-CII by @speedevil.
Dairyland Dare tested and passed.

If that Prestige was my size, I'd be hounding you for it....

sced

Instead of a triple you can keep the crankset and put on a (1) mega 34/other max tooth freewheel, (2) a road link, and (3) a RD with the needed wrap. I did this last year on a new build for a restored frame and it works great. I used an inexpensive copy of the Wolftooth road link that cost $4 (have since bought/using another). Lovely bike BTW.