RAGBRAI Raleigh Revival
 

I picked up a Raleigh Kodiak from an estate sale. The guy had a collection of old road & touring bikes, and a few cool oddballs. I think this one is a 1986 model (based on first digit of S/N), and it's been sitting for many years. Every moving part is functional, but the bike is in generally poor (neglected) condition. It's been modified a bit (handlebars & brifters are the most obvious changes). My plan is to strip it down, repair as needed, and then to take it on RAGBRAI. What's RAGBRAI? It's a 500-mile tour across the state of Iowa (held each July). It's a very light-hearted ride, nothing serious. But I do need the bike to be reliable before setting off.

As background to this story, Younger Me put about 4500 miles on a pair of 1985 Schwinn Travelers. I have many fond memories, but then I took a decade off from riding (still not sure why). The last 8 years I've been riding hybrids & ebikes. After trying a bunch of combinations, I still found myself wishing for the geometry of my old Traveler. Drop bars and long wheelbase gave me a comfortable riding position. I've gotten somewhat similar with an aerobar/butterfly bar combination on my 1993ish Schwinn Crosscut. But it's not quite what I wanted, as the frame geometry is still a bit off. So rather than trying to recreate the geometry of an 80s touring bike, I simply bought an 80s touring bike.

Is it old? Yes.
Does it need some work? Also yes.
Is steel heavy? Yep.
Is it slow? Yes, compared to some bikes. I'm ok with that.
Are 27" tires harder to find? Yes, though not THAT hard. And 700c is an easy swap
Are old caliper brakes marginal? Yes, but this bike has cantilever brakes. Should be good enough for me.
Are old bikes cool? YES!

This'll be a fun project.

I threw on a new chain and a set of 700c wheels and gave it a series of short test rides. After 60 miles or so, I'm really liking it. The geometry does fit me better than the other bikes I've tried, so it's not just nostalgia talking. Speed isn't my focus, but my commute is slightly faster on this bike than on my similarly-equipped Crosscut. Aerodynamics are doubtless better, but I think I'm also pedaling harder in this position than I do with the upright bars.

Here's how it looks with the 700c wheels:
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0dd613d34b.jpg

Nice! I'm probably building up an 80s Focus canti frame for Ragbrai too. Vintage steel just seems appropriate that week.

You've found the right crowd, can't wait to see how you clean it up!

Also, there's no need to apologize for steel frames and rim brakes. They worked for over 100 hundred years, they'll continue to. Especially rim brakes. Pros only went to disc because their sponsors forced them to. But that's another topic!

Lovely bike :)

It is appropriate! And it's not just that the ride is rooted in old steel bikes, nor that they're celebrating 50 years this summer. I personally rode it 6 times on those old Travellers, so I have some nostalgia in play here. These new memories will fit right in with my old memories. :thumb:

Thanks.

It's not an apology. I'm just setting out the goals at the start of the project. Chromoly was one of my criteria for this build. I prefer the ride quality of a flexible frame. I didn't expect canti brakes when I went shopping, but I'm happy to have them. They're a nice bonus in my book.

Though the pads just...barely...will fit the 700c rims. These canti arms do not have very much adjustability. Looks like wider rims would help my pad angles a little bit. I might try that when I have the bike torn apart.

Dia Compe 981s are what I use for this very reason. They have quite a bit more adjustability than other cantis.

If you are building wheels sun cr18s usually are wide enough to work in those situations. I know they helped on a trek 720.

STI shifting with that unique stem is quite the combo!

Nice bike. Would love to see it restored.

Old 27" steel works great on RAGBRAI, and the ladies love it.:) (When I first started riding RAGBRAI in 1978, steel and 27" weren't old.)
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...839e7e0cdc.jpg

It is, and that was what drew me to this particular bike. I like brifters and someone has already put in the work to convert this bike. Skips the Shimano shifting boss issue I've read about. Win-win, eh?

Nice! I like the fenders.

I caught a few miles of RAGBRAI 2012. Not enough to really count, but I did technically ride a little piece. ;)

Came really close to tearing into the bike this weekend. Got derailed on Saturday when a car rear-ended our cargo bike. Wife & three (little) kids went to our local trauma center. Everyone's hurt, and it'll take a bit for the emotions to die down. Momma can't walk at this point, so I'm pretty sure she won't be medically able to join me for RAGBRAI (61 days away). My oldest kid is my main RAGBRAI training partner, and I don't know if or when she'll want to get on a bike again (also medically unable at this point). So RAGBRAI might get canceled, and this project may not get off the ground.

I'm kinda glad I don't have the bike torn halfway apart. And yet, it might be good therapy in the midst of a sucky time. Maybe?

At this point I'm not sure when I'll have the time. Depends how the healing goes for each of the four family members.

Sigh.

Blast the luck. We are all hoping for fast and total recovery by all concerned. May the inattentive driver suffer water in his/her fuel and spend hours beside the road in the rain as a token penance. I hope you and your family are back on the bikes soon.

Oh man, really sorry to hear that.

So sorry to hear. Hope everyone heals.

Thanks for the kind words. The kids are healing quickly, and Mom's making progress as well.

Today I took the most significant ride of my life. It was only 4 miles long, and the average speed was irrelevant. But the kids asked to go, and I wasn't about to hold them back.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...af72d5fa8d.jpg

The kids are the real stars. But I also grabbed a couple shots of the Kodiak out in its natural habitat. Seeing the world, one back road at a time...

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...43cbeec61b.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...06e87652a9.jpg

Oh gosh, what a setback. I'm glad you are charging ahead, and very glad to hear everybody is getting a little better instead of a little worse.

Yes, everybody is getting better. In time they are expected to make full recoveries. Praise God!

And, yes, we're charging ahead. I tore into the BB tonight:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a9576cc4e0.jpg

I misunderstood the "sealed bearings" sticker. These aren't modern sealed cartridge bearings, these are just normal cage bearings with (failed) rubber seals. Nothing new or modern here.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...de7db8c08d.jpg

The rust wasn't great, but it yielded with a bit of effort.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...89924b0df3.jpg

The other side is more firmly stuck. Might need some torch heat to free that side up.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b405c6b454.jpg

I thought this was a standard 68mm British BB, and measurements quickly confirmed this. But the 3S stamp on the spindle was a nice confirmation (https://sheldonbrown.com/bbsize.html).

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4fe85969a5.jpg

I have ordered a new Shimano EBBUN300B27B (Square Type BB Cartridge - BSA 68MM w/ 127.5MM spindle). It's wider than the 124.5mm that the bike came with, but the new cartridge is symmetrical while the old spindle was lop-sided. This should keep the chain rings in the proper place, and the 3mm difference in the left pedal placement shouldn't make a significant difference.

Now we hurry up and wait for the parts to arrive. :popcorn

I'm now back to work after the bike crash, and today was my first bike commute. In addition to being psychologically hard to get back in the saddle, it's amazing how out of shape I feel after 2 weeks of not riding. As the Raleigh is still in pieces, I rode the Crosscut this morning:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...664266e1c8.jpg

I also raced an airplane. I didn't win, but it made for interesting scenery.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fc74f4250f.jpg

Good to see you riding. Be careful.

Regarding the Kodiak, I tried unsuccessfully for a couple hours to remove the other bearing cup. Various wrenches wouldn't grab the flats. Heat & cryogenic temperatures didn't free it. I tried cutting it into two pieces. I eventually gave up and welded a piece of scrap steel to it. That made easy work of it (should have started with that, eh?).

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0f72881a9c.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...646c926e91.jpg

It's rusty, but the threads are good.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bb85458b4d.jpg

Modern, splined cartridge so I will never need to mess with the flat wrench again:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...85c36eff2a.jpg