Fmtrx

Hello to the forum,

Recently, i visited my parents house and discovered the whereabouts of my old Raleigh Stowaway, a bike which was bought brand new back in 1983-84 (i tend to believe it was 1983).
We traveled a lot because of my father's profession so the bike was always with me in my childhood when we visited and stayed in various locations. I ran many many kilometers around many towns in Greece along with various groups of kids in my age. I was the only one with such type of bicycle. I remember the other kids had BMXs or Choppers etc.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, the bike was neglected after i got the Raleigh Mustang,
and the once shiny and clean bike is transformed to this mess you see in the pictures below. The bike was left at the balcony with a cover. But this was not enough to protect it.
Perhaps i am feeling nostalgic this period, which explains why i have decided to restore this bike and even use it to remember good old times.
The progress will be slow, as i am not an expert in restorations. I have not done this before.
I have a checklist in my mind and i will implement one step at a time. I do not care if it takes a long time to complete this project.
Some photos:

Step 1: i have (almost) dismantled the bike and cleaned the areas that are covered with chrome
Problems:
1. the bar which is inserted to the fork is stuck and i cannot remove it. Also the fork cannot turn easily. Did not find any solution yet.
2. i cannot remove the screws in order to remove the crank. I will need to get a special tool.
3. the back screw that holds the back fender is so rusty that i cannot unscrew it. Did not find any solution yet; perhaps i will just break the screw with a hammer.

1. back fender screw is stuck. 2. i do not have the tool to remove the crank


back wheel after removing the rust. Gear mechanism reads "Sturmey Archer AW 78 12" Meaning date of manufacture December 1978.


"made in England" sticker was too dry and was washed away after cleaning the frame. Good thing is that it maintened the original color, which will help when i visit paint shop. Well done England





Ouch. too much rust here. We will fix this...
The stand was broken and misplaced. I have ordered a replacement.


Front fork is stuck. Notice the rice paper on the damaged sticker. I was about to get the Raleigh sticker design with a pencil and recreate it with a photo editing tool, but fortunately i found some NOS stickers (thanks LittlePixel!)


Saddle tube with Tsirikos sticker covering the twenty logo. This irritated me even when i was a kid (!). Come on Tsirikos, ok we got it, you are a big shop, you import Raleighs, you are the man, good. But please...do not destroy the bike design art. Please ?


The condition of this Brooks saddle would make John Boultbee Brooks cry. It is tragic. I will replace with a new saddle. I am thinking B67.



"Soubitez" light by France. I really liked the design of this light. Front light was plastic and it is broken.


heron, i will have to take care when removing the badge from inside the tube.

I will update the thread as i make progress. Cheers.

pastorbobnlnh 

Congratulations on surpassing 10 posts and being able to post pictures.

Is there a hex nut/bolt end on top of the handlebar stem? If so, loosen it and then try tapping the bolt down toward the ground with a hammer. If the stem will still not twist in the fork steering tube, soak as much penetrating oil into the fork as possible and et it soak overnight or a few days. Keep reapplying.

You will probably need to drill or cut the fender screw off.

12boy

Those look like cottered cranks. Consult Sheldon Brown for great advice on them and Raleigh folders in general.... a great source of knowlege.

Fmtrx

@PaStor yes it seems that i will use a saw to cut the screw. I had put oil in the fork but as you say i will need to put many times and wait and see.it has a hex screw nut which is unscrewed but it is still stuck...
@12boy I have recently discovered the Sheldon site. It is like an encyclopedia. I will search for "cottered clanks" to see the solutions.

while searching my allen key, i found this old receipt from the shop my parents bought the bike:


17.000 drachmas in 1983. I am not sure about the analogy in todays money. What i know is that 17.000 drachmas are equal to 51 euros in todays analogy.

i just found it:




We had astronomic inflation in my country during the 80s. This is a site which calculates todays money based on inflation. According to this, 17.000 drachmas of June 1983 are equivalent to 540 euros in todays money. It would be interesting to see what was the cost in UK in 1983 to see the differences in price between Greece and UK.

Bonzo Banana

Great bikes of their day with still excellent ride quality and very strong. Braking is the big issue, the crappy caliper brakes and chrome rims do not provide safe braking by modern standards.

Are you restoring to original condition or just to ride?

https://raleightwenty.webs.com/apps/forums/

Fmtrx

i am planning to restore to its original condition. Although i was tempted for modifications when i saw LittlePixel's twenty. Big 26 wheels, new mountain bike handlebar, shimano 10 speeds and a cool blue electric color for the frame would transform this bike but i will pass as i want to have the initial look - call it nostalgia. Besides my Raleigh Mustang is always available for my quick rides.
i notice you have a forum a devoted to twenties. interesting, i will visit it.

mlau

If nothing else, I would recommend koolstop brake pads.

Bonzo Banana

It's not my forum I'm just a member of it. It's a bit dead nowadays but lots of lovely images of restored Twenties and lots of good info.

juan162

Fmtrx

Thank you Juan, i hope that it will be done with an acceptable quality as i am noob in this process.
Sheldon is a God regarding the knowledge on these bikes.
For the crank disassembly, I have located this tool that will help to remove the vertical pin:
New Crank Cotter Press
The rest of the work I believe that it can be done with normal tools- i even have the original tool that Raleigh gave with the bike. A very cool tool, a single tool that it could unscrew any screw in the bike.
Do you have by any chance any photos of your restoration to share ? I like watching the before and after photos.

Fmtrx

continued here :

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ll-needed.html