obrentharris 

As I recall (and my recollection of events 45 years ago is not entirely reliable) the Raleigh Pros came as complete bikes. I don't recall anyone buying one as a framest only.
Brent

cudak888 

Yep, I know only the SBDU's came as framesets. Still, some old racer with five bikes spaced at 120 might have asked for the downgrade.

At any rate, it's too much of a coincidence that this thing is at 120. Someone put it there.

-Kurt

Pars 

The '73 price list floating around here (I just put it in the RRA thread current), shows the Pro as 12 speed (RRA also), so 126 should have been factory stock width. IIRC my RRA measures about 124 or so. I traded my International frame to a friend for this, so never got a chance to measure the stock Maillard 700 hub OLD on that. For my Campy stuff from the International that went on this, I don't recall whether I respaced the hub for 126 or just slapped it in at 120. Not having internet, great forums such as this, etc. I'm sure I didn't know any better at the time

cudak888 

Part of me wonders whether 6-speed Ultra freeweels could have been involved, but IIRC, the Pro would have had a Regina Oro, right?

-Kurt

alcjphil

The Raleigh Pro that I bought in 1973 was 6 speed with 126 mm spacing. Later on I upgraded it to 7 speed

Pars 

Yes, Regina Oro according to the catalog. I don't think the Ultra stuff was available that early. Raleigh was the first big manufacturer to go 6 speed in 1973, Many didn't start until the late '70s.

cudak888 

Ok, this took far too long to get to. Brought her down from the ceiling today and grabbed the frame alignment gauge.

But first, I'm going to subject you guys to some new beauty photos (oh, how excruciating...):





Yes, I know it'll never shift that combo...

North Roads look good on anything. Or rather, anything looks good with North Roads. Fact.



I never had much faith in these Dia-Compe / Weinmann levers until the day I mated one to the Campagnolo NR brake on this bike (which, at the time, was set up as a front). That's when I discovered that they're the perfect upright bar brakes for the job.



My crusty Nuovo Record rear brake. I need an equally crap mate for the front.



Beautiful, isn't it?



And ​​​​Mad Honk's beautiful contribution in the form of this sparkling Sunshine hub...



And since I'm reaching the picture max, the next post will have the bad news - which isn't all that bad, just a prelude to some cold setting.

cudak888 

So that's where those 6mm went. So much for all my smart-arse theorizing about the seatstays. The left chainstay has been pushed in.

Seems so obvious now, even though it really looks like everything could be blamed on the seatstays had one not checked with the frame alignment gauge. Gotta have one of these around. A lot quicker than the fumbly-bumbly string test.



Tempted to ride it before cold setting just to see how obvious the doglegging feels just from riding it.

The only other thing is...now I'm after a 126mm-compatible axle for the Sunshine hub

-Kurt

eeuuugh

What's the length and threading of the current axle? Is it keyed? I may have something.

Mad Honk 

Kurt,
You already know this but you can replace the axle and re-space the hub to fit without having to change your wheel dish. I would suggest doing that. Smiles, MH

cudak888 

Yep, but I may have a six-speed freewheel much better suited to the Pro.

132mm, keyed. The weird thing is that I'm coming up with 25tpi. My 26tpi thread gauge isn't fitting just right. It's definitely not 24tpi though.

-Kurt

Mad Honk 

Kurt,
I have torn a few Shimano 6 speed hubs out lately. If you want them send me a note with shipping info. It will be good to get them out of here. Smiles, MH

cudak888 

Sending a PM.

-Kurt

Pars 

Standard non-Campy axles should be 10mm x 1.0, which would be equivalent to 25.4TPI. A 6 speed Campy Record hub normally takes a 134mm axle (10mm x 26TPI). I doubt that the Sunshine hub is threaded to Campy standards (such as they are).

cudak888 

That's what it is then. I didn't think of the 1" equivalent thread pitch.

-Kurt

Mad Honk 

Kurt,
These axles are 135 and 136 in length, There should be enough old spare parts to fill your junk box as well. The cassette may be ok but will need some wire brush treatment and fresh paint. But as you can see they are old six speeds with no hope if finding new cassettes. One is not marked the other has a faint Sante logo. Send me addy and I'll get them in the post to ya. Smiles, MH

tricky 

cudak888 have you seen these QR fender adapters? I assume you have, but I didn't see them mentioned. They are less cludgy then c-clamps at least. Maybe they would fit with quick and dirty (but still good looking!) nature of this build.

https://www.somafabshop.com/shop/pro...2?category=192
https://ridepdw.com/collections/fend...nt=24829600001
https://mybikeshop.com/products/axio...er-eyelet.html

cudak888 

Update time!





First off, Mad Honk and eeuuugh have been kind enough to send over axles for respacing the Sunshine hub to 126mm. Mad Honk's axles arrived on Friday, and though the donor Uniglide hubs weren't keyed, I spent no time Dremeling a slot into both sides of the axle and fitting it.



Nothing like shiny stuff on a crappy frame!

While I was at it, I also removed the crankset and went to town pushing the left chainstay back out to where it belongs. That was all that was necessary to get the frame back into alignment, according to the Park frame gauge. I didn't even have to do anything to recenter the brake bridge - it pulled right back into place. Usually this stuff doesn't go so well!



I also happened to have a NOS, but lightly crusty, 6-speed Atom freewheel (in a Schwinn wrapper) kicking around here. I don't remember Schwinns ever using anything but 5-speed Schwinn Approved-badged Atoms, but it was there, so I used it.



Personally, I hate the 5-speed Atoms beyond belief as they're super prone to chain skate - literally catching the outer chain plates on the V-grooves in their teeth, hampering, not benefiting shifting - but but the 6-speed seems to be narrow spaced enough that it works. Plus, I have an old, super-wide, bulged plate Shimano Uniglide chain on it, which might even be working in my favor.

The rear brake cable has been run too. The cable housing is old but NOS, I think. No idea what it's from, but I'd guess Schwinn. Krate front brake cable? Who knows.

All I know is that it fits perfectly under the original Campagnolo cable clips.





FYI, the saddle is pretty much 90% torn under the left rivet, so even though I'd like to see it stay, I may just throw something else and a beat Campag NR seatpost in here.



I also greased up the lower pivot of the NR rear derailer. It was full of petrified grease-as-molasses. Still a tight fit, but working just fine now.



Even though it doesn't have a front brake (hint, hint still looking for someone with a crusty Record front brake to trade - even just the arms would work), I went ahead and took it for a quick test.

That's when I discovered this (see next post):

cudak888 

(Continued from previous post)



Apparently, the threads in the BB are gacked up in such a way that the crankarm bolt tends to bind up before it bottoms out on the crankarm. Not enough to prevent proper installation, but enough that it might confuse some mechanics.

Though I had tightened the bolt fairly well (admittedly, I should have run a tap through it) what I didn't realize was that the previous rider had already damaged the left crankarm taper through this. So now I'm after another Dura-Ace left arm. Might throw a Sugino or later Shimano on it for the time being - it's only 170mm, so I have a couple of functional arms that can go in its place.

So much for this being a "quick COVID build." It's now a bloody mission.

I know these exist - thanks for forwarding them - but they're not my style or approach. If this was an all-out, don't care commuter build, I might approach it like this.

Mind, there's enough toe overlap on this thing without a fender in the first place...

-Kurt

cudak888 

Didn't take long to solve this. Somehow, in my gazillion thread taps, I didn't have an M8x1.0 sitting around. Amazon delivered a set yesterday. The gacked threads in the bottom bracket spindle cleaned up with no problem at all.

I pulled a Sugino crank out of my spares box and installed it. Fits perfectly, and I hate it. For the last 12 years, every time I need a spare left hand arm, all I have seems to be these generic Sugino or Sugino AT arms. They seem to congregate in my parts bins the same way Toyota Corollas litter the streets like cockroaches.

But...it works, as do those Wellgo pedals, which I think are bent - but they make decent "test pedals."



I took it out for a longer spin (than down the block ) today. I'm not sure what to make of the front end handling. It's very composed in a straight line, but fairly skittish if you push it quickly - more so than I expected from the increased rake in the fork in comparison to the much tighter Mk.V. The ridiculously short Sports stem might have something to do with my steering inputs being a bit quicker than the fork geometry expects. Anyone have a longer Raleigh Sprite stem with the 7/8" clamp kicking about?

All in all, it was lovely riding 531 with upright bars. After all these years, I think this may be the first time (short of the too-small International) that I actually mated a high-end 531 frame with upright bars. I pulled out the phone GPS speedo for part of the ride, and my slow cruise was 13mph - fast cruise was a sustained 16mph, with 17mph if I punched it a bit. Heck, I'm lucky to get my modern, pedal assist 3-speed e-bike to a sustained 18mph. That's the difference between 23 pounds and 56.

One last thing - the Atom derailer and the old chain stink. Yes, they work, but all those old stories about Nuovo Records shifting like crap certainly reared their head here. Finding a gear was like looking for an AVA stem without a crack.

-Kurt

cudak888 

Seems like black components are my thing as of recent. Scored these first-gen Dura-Ace brakes off eBay for a fantastic price ($50 shipped). They compliment the crank nicely (which still needs a black 42T inner ring). Need to get some more grey brake cable housing.

Methinks it's time for a black Shimano Crane FD and RD.





It's also time for another front wheel. The Mallard/Weinmann wheel that's up front keeps popping tubes for no good reason.

-Kurt

cudak888 

I patched that front tube yesterday. Or maybe it was the day before yesterday. It doesn't matter.

What matters is how on earth a wheel - with a perfectly good rim strip - can possibly give a tube a snakebite after sitting a month untouched. It literally deflated and hissed in front of my face without warning about a week ago. Pulling masks on and off the bike is the only movement that's happened to it in that timeframe.

But never mind the tube. I took it for a spin. Rear wheel almost immediately slid in the dropouts - solved with a bit of Q/R tightening. Brakes are fantastic. The later Campag shifter inserts can't hold their position worth a damn, but I knew that already.

Since I've been mostly on the Bike Share Museum bikes and my Raleigh 3-speeds as of recent, I've really had to reassess that front end handling. It really is intensely skittish and downright dangerous if you're not ready for it. Does it make it bad? Not sure, and I don't think I'd classify it as such. It all depends on what you like in handling.

Maybe sometime I'll return this to the drops as Gods of Carlton meant it to be. I could complete the Dura-Ace set that way. I'd also probably wind up ruining the fun of having a bike on the indoor trainer that doesn't break my back.

-Kurt