ramzilla

You need a bunch of special tools to remove cranks, chains &, wheel bearings. After that, the most time consuming thing is cleaning the parts. Cleaning all the little bits takes for ever! Putting it all back together is pretty easy for me. I used to be an Electrician in a past life. So, re - cabling brakes & shifters is one of my favorite things.

nomadmax 

Fixed it for ya

"I believe the technical phrase is ea$y pea$y one two three$y". See you tomorrow.

Slightspeed

My first ever build went from a scrap pile Raleigh Super Course frame into a really great bike, one that I'm really happy and proud to ride. Easy ? No, but it takes determination, patience, and a willingness to learn. I lurked on the forum here for months looking at how guys handled similar projects. The free frame ended up costing around $1000 all in, but the biggest expense was paint, which I had done by a pro. Mechanically, thru swap meets, Ebay, back rooms of the LBS, the mechanical cost wasn't a big deal, the new Brooks saddle being the most costly. I was gifted the wheels, which helped a lot. Go for it, take your time, ask questions, enjoy the ride !

Free, found frame, with stuck seat post, but BB was just finger tight.

I stripped the old paint myself.

$800 frame repair, paint and decals. There are cheaper paint alternatives, but I'm happy with how it turned out

My finished 1973 Raleigh Super Course. I did all the parts sourcing, installation, and set up. Its a really fun ride. If you don't have to paint, the cost can be quite reasonable.

polymorphself 

Oof. Where can we see more (and higher quality) photos of this?

Miele Man

It really depends on your budget and what's available.

If you're quite wealthy it can be easy to source need/wanted parts because money is no object. If money is tight it can be quite hard to source parts at a low enough price to meet your budget.

It also depends on what tools you have and how well you can use them. Then there's the issue of perhaps having an orphan or near orphan part or t hreading.

Cheers

theDirtyLemon

If that old seatpost is more than you want to deal with, building up a frameset may not be for you.

Slightspeed

Thanks for the interest. I put this bike on here several times on many posts, but here's a photo album with lots of pictures of the "before", "during" and lots of "finished" rides.

https://goo.gl/photos/T48aWYediYFqZjMv9

polymorphself 

Thanks! Incredible. They never came with triples right, that was your choice?

Slightspeed

I built this bike for Eroica rides, big hills partly on dirt. I figured I'd need all the gear I could fit, so I have a Shimano Megarange 34-14, 6 speed in back and a Sugino AT 32/40/52 triple. It gives me better than 1/1 low gear, and lots of choices, as well as decent top end cruising. This bike was a 2 × 5 originally, with a steel cottered crank, but these old frames are very versatile and fun to upgrade.

OldisGood

I am restoring a 1986 Schwinn Le Tour with a Sachs Huret Rival derailleur. I am looking for replacement jockey wheels and can't find them anywhere. I have checked ebay, amazon and many other sites. Does anybody have any suggestions on a "will work' solution?