USAZorro

Yes. I plead guilty to clickbaiting, but truthfully. Hopefully, as the thread wears on, there will be enough pictures (link to the Flickr album) to make it worthwhile. This is about the makeover of my Raleigh Competition. Here's the backstory. It isn't especially unique. Boy rides bikes. Boy likes to ride bikes fast. Boy grows up, drives, starts family, gets away from bicycling, and in mid life, rediscovers joy in riding and wrenching. Man amasses a number of bikes (in this case, mainly Raleighs).

Along the way, man determines that randonneuring is an especially worthy pursuit, and attempts to build up a bike for the purpose. (Surly LHT). Despite it being very mechanically sound, it doesn't work as a randoneuse. Man tries again. (1959 Viking Severn Valley) Despite it being mechanically sound, it is a bit too large, and it also doesn't work.

Man notices that there are a bunch or Raleighs hanging up in the garage - Team Pro, Professional, two Competitions, a Grand Sports... Man fixates on not having an International and decides that he should get one and make it his randoneuse. Of course, that would require some modifications, so it must have poor paint, so as to not ruin something special for the sake of his vanity. Man actively seeks the International in vain and acquires an Argos on the hope of it fitting the bill. {It would have, but it is far too nice.) Man finally realizes. "duh! the 1972 Competition meets all the criteria, except for it not being an International". That is where things start.

Awkward transition back from 3rd person self-references

After a bit of asking around, it seemed that the frame would be appropriate for what I had in mind. It's a very comfortable size for me, it's relatively light, the geometry provides a comfortable, but responsive ride, and there's clearance for 42's with a 650B wheel. But how to explain this to an old bike that's been my fixed gear machine?



well, I let Loki explain.



I kicked ideas around with gugie, who has been great about everything - from asking questions, to providing feedback, to listening and answering questions. We formed a plan, came to terms, and then I got to work - taking the bike apart, and because of the torch work needed and the state of the paint, stripping the paint... and because the Capella lugs didn't look like there's been a file within a meter of them, to try my hand at some basic lug refining.

A few pictures - there are more in the album that's linked at the top of the post.



Look at those lugs,



a bit beyond "patina"



So off it comes...



No turning back now



and I noticed what might be a crack.

to be continued...

repechage

Enterprising project with a big initial back step.
That seat tube does not look happy. A significant repair. I think I would look for a sistership to work from.

qcpmsame 

Odd crack formation, and location also. Seat post stress, or an oversized post being forced in?

Bill

mountaindave 

Aha! So that’s whose bike is currently chez @gugie! (I follow him on flickr.) You have more story to tell about that crack...

USAZorro

I was using a dremel - but with these - and with a very light touch. I have used this technique before on a few forks and on another frame. I am 99% certain those scores are not the result of my stripping. Evidence seems to be reinforced by the lack of similar markings over the vast majority of the frame.

obrentharris 

I'm looking forward to watching this story unfold.
Well done 3rd person backstory! It's funny how the vision in our mind can blind us to the thing that is right in front of us.
Brent

steelbikeguy

I thought that was part of the charm of owning a bike boom Raleigh?

Well, that and the gamble that one of the lugs might not have been properly brazed....

regardless, I'm enjoying the story so far. The cliff hanger break in the story has me on the edge of my seat!


Steve in Peoria
(living dangerously when I ride my International)

USAZorro

I appreciate the concern and advice. No idea what those marks are, as I removed what was left of the original finish. Perhaps someone with extensive frame-building knowledge can weigh in.

SJX426 

I vote for too short of a seat post resulting in "Seat post stress"

Charles Wahl

I'm no framebuilder, but I do have a bit of experience in the direction of the seat tube defect issue, and I don't think it's a problem that can't be fixed readily. Take a look at this thread of mine:
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...nd-jubile.html

That frame came to me with a wad of paper towel shoved inside, which resulted in a couple rust-through holes about a quarter the way down from seatpost lug. A creative local framebuilder fabricated a sleeve from a piece of 28.6 downtube with a slit about 3 mm taken out of one side. He then cleaned out the seat tube (not enlarging the holes much) wrapped the sleeve around an undersized dowel, tied with thin wire to compress it, inserted it with epoxy into the seat tube, cutting each tie wire as it entered the seatpost hole. When cured, he reamed the interior of the reinforced area to 25.4 mm, and profiled the top of the reinforcement to match the top of the seat tube exactly (didn't even remove the paint on the lip).

You can see the damage on one of my Flickr sets:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131757...7627154051334/

The fix added only about 35 g to the weight of the frame. It now requires a 25.4 mm seatpost rather than the original 26.6; but I'd say it's good as new.

USAZorro

Possibly not that the post was too short, but definitely that insertion was not adequate.

and back to the story...

I was very excited about providing my frame with an immersive, "it's all about you" experience in the land of the Viesen, that I failed to take photos at the Bon Voyage party.

This brings us back to near real-time, as I glean (with permission), a few of Gugie's photos



Naked. Possibly a bit afraid...



The fork. Chrome is still quite good on the ends, and my hope is to preserve most of it.



If I had to guess, I would surmise that a metal lathe was part of the manufacturing process of the crown.



Frame may have been brazed after a long lunch.



I tried to not be too extreme with my first use of the file. That said, the shadow makes it look about twice the thickness that it is.



and finally (for now) the precautionary measure that will be taken to ensure the integrity of the seat tube. It will make a nice landing pad for the 531 sticker.



to be continued...

jyl

Ooo, this is a great thread. It's like the leading scene from the Six Million Dollar Man.

"We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better, stronger, faster."

speedevil 

Wow, ambitious project. I will definitely keep up with this thread. probably not likely to see this one at the 2018 Bourbon and Tobacco Tour, but maybe the next one?

mountaindave 

YOu need to follow Gugie on Flick. I think he’s training for a post retirement income.

USAZorro

I suppose this leads to the question - "where is this headed"?

Unfortunately, I have neither the artistic talent, nor the necessary software (much less the training with it) to create an image to display, so for now, the description will have to suffice.

While the Competition has the geometry and clearances that are appropriate for the metamorphosis, and while it does have braze-ons for fender mounts, there are several things lacking.

Firstly, there are no bottle bosses (yes, I could go uber-retro, but my experience has been that even with rubber backing, the old-school attachments serve as hidden meeting places for fine grain crud that tends to degrade the painted surfaces underneath. They also tend to loosen and slip, and are a tad less elegant than attaching a suitably artful cage or two.)

There are also no integral attachments for racks, and attachment of fenders is reliant on using the daruma arrangement. Nothing wrong with darumas per-se, but it's a couple extra parts, and can serve as an additional obstacle for potential wiring solutions.

As I plan on running a compromise modern drivetrain (2 x 9 bar ends), the rear dropouts need to be spread to 130mm, and bosses are being added to the downtube so stops for the gear cabling I will be using don't require a clamp either.

I've become a huge fan of higher volume tires, so I'd like to run something pretty thick on this one. I envision Grand Bois Hetre's on this, and despite the capabilities of modern Tektro side-pulls, that's going to require a couple of modifications. Cantilever brakes will be necessary to deal with the wide 650Bs that this will get, so posts will need to be added. Also (at gugie's recommendation), the fork rake will be tweaked to provide the proper trail for the type of riding that I intend to do with this. As I do not intend for this to be an outright touring bike that needs to deal with more than 25 lbs of gear distributed front and rear, I don't need additional fork bosses to accommodate racks that support low-riders.

However, I do intend to run this with generator hub lighting, and perhaps a conventional battery lamp as a back-up (this is a randonneuse after all). Gugie has recommended intra-fork wire routing, so there will be some small modifications made for that.

Finally (I hope I'm not leaving something out), seeing as my rear brake-bridge was mounted by a cockeyed torch-bearer experiencing the effects of an inebriant, the graceful arc will be repositioned, and the illustrated solution for the seat tube situation will be employed.

When all is done there, I will bring her back for painting. In a nod to the International that I lack, I'll be spraying the frame a Copper Rose Metallic with either dark brown or black (still undecided which) accents. Will add the decals and then clear coat it with a 2K gloss.

I will be transplanting the stem, bars, seat, changers, crankset and at least one of the racks from the Viking, and finishing it off with wheels that I'm going to build on new 650B rims, lighting and VO Zeppelin fenders.

One step as a time here though. Though Amazon says I will be receiving the Shimano Alfine dyno hub at some point today, and I have a replacement rear hub that I was able to acquire for a song from my friend, fellow vintage bicycle enthusiast, and proprietor of Velocity Bike & Bean here in Florence, Mark Ball, a household move may be in the works before I can get this all completed.

Drillium Dude 

I have a partial-strip project and a Dremel so this looks like the perfect solution for me. What exactly are they? Are they available in job lots, as it appears in your pic, or are they sold as singles?

DD

USAZorro

Hope the link works for you:

Note that you will get paint dust on you and your clothes, so you will want to take that into account. Supremely important is eye protection (in case you're an on-the-fence sort about that). The $7.00ish pair I got at Harbor Freight have retained excellent clarity for me after many uses.

qcpmsame 

@Drillium Dude , Yes that brush shape is available as a single in the Dremel selections. I have one that was purchased at Lowe’s, off of the display rack.

That Amazon link price blows away the price I paid for a pair of the Dremel branded items

Bill

Drillium Dude 

Just ordered a set - thanks for the link!

Oh, yeah - I usually wear an old shirt, safety goggles and gloves when I drill, so I'll do the same with these. They look like they'll do exactly what I need them to do.

DD

Drillium Dude 

I know, right? Dremel accessories are too damn expensive for what they are. By comparison, these were one smoking deal.

DD

Reco Very

Thank you for the link...
When I followed the link, I fell down a rabbit hole (as usual) and found a 100 pc kit for $1 more.

gugie 

UPDATE!

I survived Eroica. But who cares about that. You want to see some pix of USAZorro's Competition!

As you may recall, there may or may not have been an issue with a possible crack in the seat tube. I checked inside and out, and don't think it's really a crack, but better to be safe than sorry. Figuring that a brazed on brass band would be a way to go, but then enlisted @rhm for something a bit fancier.

Shapeways.com, 3D printed in wax, then lost wax process in brass:


Brazed on.


Some of the standard gugificazione.


Wiring for a tail light.


John will attach racks front and rear, and do his own paint. Can't wait to see the finished product!

Oh, and the badge cleaned up nicely.

ryansu

@gugie omg that seat post fix/custom metal badge is AWESOME

busdriver1959

Gugie-Love the brass Reynolds “stickers”! Any chance you’ll do a thread detailing the process?

mountaindave 

Enamel paint FTW?

Another stunning job! Good luck with the bid on the old shop