cudak888 

I'm pretty sure you can find shorter reach Weinmann brakes out there - or if need be, Dia-Compe - and bolt them right to the existing clamps so you can keep the look intact.

-Kurt

JacobLee 

Oh, the levers are fine. I was referring to the old bars with their lazy bends. By the time they get to the levers those things are about nine inches in front of the flats. I haven’t ridden drop bars in about 15 years, but these strike me as very awkward. I guess they’re better at bending aluminum these days.

Kent T

This thread is beautiful, so is this Green International. One problem exists in life, a 21" of this era in good nick is rare in Eastern Tennessee. And at affordable rates, I outgrew my 1969 Green International in 1978, I've never forgotten it. I hope to at least get to ride one one more time before I die, better yet, hope to be flush enough to own one the rest of my life. My favorite bike ever. Thanks for the nostalgia.

JacobLee 

Thank you, Kent! I’ll tell you, I’ve had my share of nostalgic moments after joining these forums. Mine are mostly caused by 80’s mountain bikes (I’m a year younger than the green Raleigh). What a great bike to stumble upon, though! Glad you’ve enjoyed the thread, it’s been a lot of fun.

cudak888 

Got it. These do seem to stretch out a bit more than the Cinelli Giro D'Italia or some 3TTT equivalents from that era. Are you riding on the tops as well as the drops?

You might benefit from a shorter stem, or a completely different stem/bar combo. If so, it is not that hard to source a shorter GB stem and a matching, period bar with a more comfortable bend for you without sacrificing the original look. You can also get new lever clamps so you don't have to damage the bar tape to remove the old ones.

Even though you will have to put new tape on replacement bars, some cloth Newbaum's would be entirely fitting (they even make padded cloth tape today, if the existing cloth is too rough). They also have oodles of color options.

-Kurt

J.Higgins 

...and I find something of this nature on every Raleigh I build. Oh, I definitely work-around these minor assaults to my sense of quality, but they pester me all the same.

J.Higgins 

I looked all over for some of the Jagwire pads in this color combo, and all I could find was silver/black, and none of the silver/orange like yours. Where did you find them?

JacobLee 

Thanks for the tips. Yes, a shorter, taller stem is definitely needed. I’ve never had a drop bar bike where I’ve used the drops, mostly because I’ve never bothered to set one up correctly. We’ll see what I find.

Look at the reach on these!

JacobLee 

I bought them with the black pads. I was just happy to find them in polished silver. The logos come off easily if you drag a utility knife over them. I had a set of salmon pads in the bin, and the co-op had some un-opened sets for $5, so I swapped ‘em out. I used the acorn nuts off of the Sunlite pads I bought. Jeeze, I spent $75 on the pad setup! Hey, they work great, though.

repechage

My International has a 4" stem... (note GB was still in English units)
And those forward reaching bars.
I left it as is, was less than a CM beyond at the hoods compared to my other bikes that mostly use Cinelli 63's and Campagnolo levers.
The benefit is when climbing, you are almost always on the "tops" and the bars are closer.
I have another bike with Berelli bar and stem, same issue, that bike has one of the shortest top tubes in my fleet, but uses a 9 cm stem.
My "climbing" bike.
These attributes of close and high for climbing are Andy Hampsten endorsed, he won the Giro, who am I to argue?

Salamandrine 

WRT to the levers being way out front, they are. The general rule of thumb is that the bottom tips of the levers should just touch a straight edge held flat against the bottom of the drops. IOW the lever bodies could slide up the bar maybe an inch or more. Those bars wouldn't have nearly as much effective reach if the levers were in a more conventional position.

I guess I see the appeal of the vintage tape, but tape is consumable. If you actually ride the bike the tape will die soon anyway. Personally I'd take it off, set the levers correctly, and replace. The levers are currently in the 1930's racer position, which was still used by a few Italian pros as late as the 70s, but would have been unusual.

Besides all that, the bike looks awesome. Congrats!

JacobLee 

Thanks! You know, that’s probably the best advice. I haven’t set up road bars in a long time, so I forgot about the ruler trick. You’re probably right about scrapping the old tape, the bike isn’t 100% original, so why preserve a bad setup.

JacobLee 

Man, I love the Community Cycling Center!

Wider bars, shorter stem, Weinmann Carlton levers, red cloth tape; all for the price of a new set of bars.

cudak888 

Excellent score - should work exceptionally well.

I'd still ask around here on the forum if you can find an original GB in 80mm though, if keeping the all-original look remains a consideration. Running the VO bars and the GB stem would be a nice way to make the handlebar swap virtually incognito from the side.

-Kurt

JacobLee 

We’ll see how these work. I might have over-corrected with the lever placement. Stem is pretty depressing, but good for testing purposes. Also, had to throw on some platform pedals while I figure out what to use in place of those old, medieval torture devices. On a bright note, the saddle is really comfortable. It has been suggested that I retire it, but I’m gonna give it a few more rides and see what happens. Oh, another thing, does anybody else feel like they’re riding a kids bike when they’re using 170mm cranks? It’s been suggested that I retire those, too, so 175s are on the way. Purists will probably have to plug their noses as I fiddle with this ride.

repechage

My same size International came with 172.5 cranks.
Raleigh, a surprise in every box.

JacobLee 

Another 20 miler around the river with a downtown errand thrown in.

Cross your fingers!




Who would steal that ol’ POS!

The only problem I had today was with the front derailleur cable coming out of the guide a couple of times when I went for the big ring. I probably need to take some slack out of it. Maybe it’s the worn out derailleur? Sort of unnerving when you’re going at a good clip downhill.

I like the wider bars and taller stem. I still don’t have much use for the drops, but that’s just my lack of roadie cred, I guess.

Once I threw a set of familiar pedals on there, I didn’t mind the 170 cranks at all. Even with those, I’m getting a fair amount of toe overlap. I’ve ridden 175s for as long as I can remember, so it got me thinking about the correlation with saddle height, knee bend, etc. Maybe I’m a short-crank-type-of-guy and never knew it!




Gotta turn that rear tire around. The neighbor kids were yapping at me and I couldn’t concentrate.

repechage

Be sure the bottom bracket cable guide is all the way down the down tube. there is a small foot tab that will bottom out on the shell- some of the time.
It will on mine. that will place the exit as far aft as possible.
But yes, you will need a different front mech. with the circlip- the old days of buying spare parts for a reasonable price are gone. Or, find a friend with a machine shop.
I think velobase has an image of the early Record front mechanism.

https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.as...=113&AbsPos=35

howie2wheels

This is such a great thread. That's a nice vintage Raleigh and I am glad to see it refurbished and back on the road.Bravo.

Sandstrom

I think you got it right with your lever placement. I just set these same bars up (with a shorter stem as well) and found I had to mount the levers higher than I have ever done on any other bars I have owned. There is something about that broad curve radius on the VO bars that seem to make the hoods too low if you go with the traditional lever ends in line with the drops method.

Mine ended up pretty much exactly in the same position as yours. When I mounted them traditionally, they were too uncomfortably far to reach and seemed to negate the benefit of the shorter reach stem I used. Now that they are positioned like yours they feel great and the reach seems just right.

JacobLee 

Thank you! It has been a lot of fun, and wouldn’t have come together as nicely if I hadn’t have had a place to share pics and ask questions.

JacobLee 

That’s reassuring, thanks. I had intended to buy something with a tighter bend, but found these at the co-op for $25, so I couldn’t resist. I agree, though, they feel pretty good with the levers up in the air like that.

52telecaster

just curious, why would you think no one would put fenders on these? I put fenders on anything with enough clearance. I also thought the international was considered a good touring candidate. Just wondering..

desconhecido 

Looks like there's room for fenders on mine (74 model) though 32mm tires and fenders might be real tight -- it has fat Continental 28mm tires and there's not a lot of clearance with those. Seems that I've seen photos of them with fenders around the forums.

repechage

it is not really a touring bike, it was designed as a value top tier bike for those who were interested in cycling, wanted as much Campagnolo as possible, and bling.
It was most often purchased by those interested in cycling, but who did not do much afterward after purchase. Why so many are around in good shape.
Tubulars were a mistake for the market, did provide "real road bike" cred, but at the time, the range of clinchers was skimpy. 700c clinchers even less, and the bike while it will take 27" wheels, was not designed for them.

A Stealth Gravel bike.