Piff 

About a week ago I saw a raleigh for sale on my local craigslist. The photos were poor, and at first glance I thought it was one of those Raleigh Team USA bikes with 555 or 531 tubing.

A fairly common bike. Good rider, but nothing I was really looking for. And I actually wasn't looking to buy anything at all unless it was something a bit different and for a good price. But, there were some stickers on the Raleigh that really caught my eye:






A quick look in person sealed the deal that this was, in fact, a SBDU frame. Serial number 7269, so a later production.




Haven't been able to find any information about this SBDU apart from this catalog page. Look at the bottom right picture, the custom framesets. Link: https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r_crbgMHv...25282%2529.jpg



Talking with the previous owner, he said that he had a client that was french and an avid cyclist. The frenchman purchased the Raleigh back in the day, and then promised that the bike would be handed over to him when the guy passed.

According to the guy, it has been kept ever since in the garage with a blanket on top of it. He didn't want to sell it, but his wife and daughter told him that he shouldn't be riding this kind of bike anymore (not cool). We settled on $350 for it

It definitely hasn't been taken care of, there's plenty of grime, grease, dirt, and a few flakes of paint coming off of the rear brake bridge that will need to be investigated. I think the frame warrants a full soak in oxalic acid and then a good spray of rust-inhibitor, there's some evidence of it being put away wet.

I am very excited to get working on it, but the bike wil have to wait. My graduate research is coming to a close within the next 3-4 months and needs a lot of attention. So, getting to work on and then ride this bike will be a graduation gift to myself and from my girlfriend, she even threw a $100 towards the purchase.

I will update the thread as work is done, but it will be quite the wait!! My long term intentions are to build a new wheelset for it, figure out the perfect cockpit (after 10 years of this hobby, only in the last year have I worked out my frame size), and do minor weight weenie stuff like maybe a carbon fiber seatpost if it takes a 27.2mm post.

Current setup:
Frame: SBDU 753r
Rims: Saturae HC19
Hubs: Shimano 6207
Cranks: Shimano 600 triple (6206)
Pedals: Shimano 600
Rear Shifter/Derailleur: Shimano 105
Front Shifter/Derailleur: Shimano 600
Brakes: Shimano 600 single pivot, 39-49mm (6208)
Bottom Bracket: ?
Headset: Shimano 600
Stem: Cinelli
Handlebars: Cinelli Campione del mondo (66-42)
Seapost: SR Laprade
Saddle: Brooks B17 competition

P!N20

Fantastic!

For the love of Merckx, please don't.

icemilkcoffee 

A steal at $350!! This one will clean up very well!

Piff 

I do have a nice, lightweight, aluminium seatpost in 27.2mm as well...but I've always wondered about how much truth there is to CF seatposts improving comfort

Piff 

Minor update: The frame is bare!



Took some time today to indulge in getting the frame bare, wiping off the worst of the grime, and finally getting to check out how the frame looks on the inside. So far, great news! No significant rust damage that I can see. And nothing seized That was my greatest worry, this bike can't have been worked on in decades.

Here's a pic inside of the bottom bracket. I was a bit surprised to find the fixed cup threads were a little rough considering how much love and praise is heaped upon the SBDU workshop.




But, I can't really fault them, the rest of the bike is perfect. Looking up tubing information online, I'm pretty sure the butting profile for this 753r tubeset is:

Top tube: 0.71/0.56
Down tube: 0.81/0.56
Seat tube: 0.71/0.56
Head tube: 0.91
Fork blades: 1.02/0.56
Seatstays: 0.56
Chainstays: 0.61

This is markedly thicker than when 753 first came onto the scene. Those tubes were both thinner in diameter and walls, making for frames as light as ~1600g. I haven't weighed mine, but I would guess it probably hovers around 1750g. Fork is probably somewhere between 630g-670g. All in all the frameset is probably around 5.5 pounds or less, which ain't bad for a mid 80s steel frame. I'm really hoping it doesn't shimmy like some lightweight bikes do, but we'll see. Even if it's a thicker version of 753, it's still very thin tubing.

Measurements are what you would expect. ISO headset, english bottom bracket, 126mm OLD dropouts, 27.2mm seatpost. Front tire clearance has loads, probably 32mm or even higher. Rear tire clearance is tight, 25mm fits fine but 28mm might be cutting it close at the chainstays.

While taking the bike apart there were some casualties of time. The fixed cup is fairly worn, but I wasn't planning on using the bottom bracket anyways. Surprisingly the spindle and other cup looks fine? Also, the headset is shot, needs to be replaced. Haven't taken a look yet at the hubs but I'm worried they might be goners too.

In my first post I wrote up the 'current setup' of the bike. After giving it some thought, I think I've mostly figured out how I want to spec the bike.

Planned Setup:
Rims: Saturae HC19
Hubs: Shimano 6207 (if they survived)
Freewheel: Shimano 600 13-24
Cranks: Dimension 110/74
Chainrings: 49/38/28
Pedals: KKT quill + toe clips
Rear Derailleur: Suntour Vx GT or Tiagra 9 speed
Front Derailleur: Suntour Cyclone II
Shifters: Not sure, but friction downtube.
Brakes: Shimano 600 single pivot, 39-49mm (6208)
Bottom Bracket: ?? Need to research proper spindle length for 6207 cranks
Headset: ?? Need to purchase
Stem: Nitto Dynamic II
Handlebars: ?? Unsure. I have some Nitto 135 randonneur bars in backup, but the ramps may be a bit long on this bike for proper fit.
Seapost: Specialized Pave w/ zertz (got it for $10 bucks at the bike co-op!)
Saddle: Specialized Oura
Accessories:
Zefal HPX pump
Nitto M18
Sackville small trunk bag
Small topeak saddle bag


Some of you may scoff at weighing the bike down with a rack and bag, but I'm planning on making this my ride-all-day bike so it needs storage for food, water, tools, clothes, pump, light, wallet/phone, etc. I hate carrying stuff on my back in a jersey.


Some more close up pictures of the bike below!


Serial number stamped onto the fork.



On the rear brake bridge there's some flaking paint. You can see where I lightly sanded down to the metal to see how bad the rust is. It's surface, not bad at all. However, there are plenty of small places all over the frame with spot rust or paint bubbles and it makes me want to get the frame repainted given the thinness of the tubing.



For better or worse, the steerer threading is not keyed. The shimano 600 headset dug into the threads, but I chased them with a steel headset lockring and they're working fine now.



This (slightly underexposed) picture is of the fastback stays. The seatstays connect directly to the pinch bolt rather than the top tube or seat lug. The way raleigh was able to do this was by fashioning double taper seatstays. Narrow-----------wider-----------narrow.





So that's the first step done! Stripped the frame, noted what needs replacing, what parts need TLC, issues with the frame, etc. The bike could be finished somewhat quickly...but I'm really trying to avoid not spending too much time on the bike. Now that's it's broken down I can put it away in storage, it previously was taking up room in the living room of my and my girlfriend's small apartment. Out of sight and out of mind until I can work on it w/o guilt!

mhespenheide 

I hope it's not a derail, but can anyone say what kind of lugs those are on the headtube? I have a Mercian with ones that look similar to those.

Fahrenheit531 

That is an almost obscenely cool frame.

icemilkcoffee 

On the contrary I think the BB shell was finished very well- look at how perfectly they notched the chain stays and seat tube to follow the curvature of the BB shell exactly.
Anyways- if you're building up with 6207 cranks, why not just have the complete Shimano 6200 groupset? It's a good looking groupset, and you have the option of going either friction or indexed, and the option of running either aero or non-aero brake levers.

Piff 

Prugnat 62D.

Ty I am obscenely excited to ride it!

It is very well finished inside, I agree, leagues better than my old Miyata 1200, but the last few turns of the cup get rough even after chasing all the threads. Prior to chasing there were multiple spots along the threading that were rough. But you're right, I was missing the forest for the trees.

I could do the full 6200 groupset...but I'm not really a restorer guy. And since this isn't a team bike or anything, just a custom frame some guy bought in the 80s and built up with a mishmash of 6200 and 105, there's nothing really to retore back towards. I admit I'm awfully close to having a full groupset, all that's left to source is a rear derailleur, brake levers, and a seatpost if it's long enough. At the same time I'm a grad student and am on a student budget.

AdventureManCO 

It took me 250 posts for what took you 5. You have my respect

alexihnen 

Nice bike!

georges1

very nice find and a 753 frame is just the icing on the cake

cs1

Typically, 753 tubing used a 27.4 seapost. I would check first. If you use a 27.2 and clamp it down, you might crack the lug. Don't ask me how I know.

Piff 

Thanks
And I thought it was that one too at first, but they're slightly different. Some frame details are off, like the fast back stays. That catalog page must be from one year prior or something.

There's a great blog run by a huge Raleigh fan where they've accumulated tons of info specifically on 753 frames built by the SBDU workshop. They wrote up a blogpost about seat posts (or pins, as they like to call them), and I feel confident that it's truly 27.2. Thanks for the warning, though, would be a shame to wreck a frame like this from such a mistake. https://raleigh-sb4059.com/2017/02/0...seat-pin-size/


They've also got a whole video specifically about SBDU bikes built with fastback stays. Here if anyone's curious:

unworthy1

you did well and good to buy this, congrats.
Hope the build goes smoothly and please continue to provides updates so we can be jealous, uh...admire!

Piff 

One final post before I put the bike away for a few months. I have a backup 126mm wheelset that should fit the bike perfectly. It fit my last 126mm OLD bike, so why is it that when the wheel is installed does it look like it's dished incorrectly...about 2mm pulled to the left.

Pop it out, replace with the wheelset that came with the bike. Perfectly in the middle.

Out comes the tape measurer, and the rear dropouts are NOT 126mm. Rather, ~128mm or so.

Well, that's strange. The serial number places this frame at 1985 when 126mm hubs were king. My thoughts on why the frame isn't 126mm:

1. Original owner saw the future and knew that 130mm hubs were on the way so they stipulated the custom frame to have inbetween hub spacing? According to who sold it to me, he was supposedly french, not a japanese board member of Shimano who knew that 8 speed dura ace would define the new road bike hub spacing for decades to come.
2. Crashed? Even if the bike had been crashed and the OLD altered, the original hub's spacers would assumedly be setup for 126mm. And yet the hub slips into the ~128mm dropouts perfectly, while my 126mm wheelset sits loosely. And I see zero signs of stress anywhere on the stays/bottom bracket.
3. Altered after purhasing? Only likely option to my mind. But why would the original hub be setup for the in-between spacing rather than 126mm? I suppose the guy could have altered the hub with a new axle and spacers afterwards, but if they went to the bother of cold setting the frame you'd think they would have replaced the wheel with a 130mm hub at that point rather than messing about with their old hub.


The bike tracked straight when I rode it. The original wheelset looks perfectly straight too, dead center. Any thoughts to my hypotheses?

merziac

Did you string the frame?

It may pull to one side under load with wheel clamped in.

Wheel dish and or uneven washer spacing off side to side?

Piff 

Haven't strung the frame yet, was planning to tonight. I know for a fact my 126mm wheelset is correctly set up in terms of dish/spacers. No clue about the wheelset that came with the bike, but it really does fit the 128mm dropouts perfectly.

merziac

I have confirmed this on both alu frames I have, newer Fuji's, one with crabon fork front and rear, one just front, crabon SP on both made a huge difference and I am highly allergic to alumabuzz so....

merziac

Maybe string with and without wheel too?

And also congrats by the way, been following along closely for most of this, your odyssey has added these to the traditional Ti versions too for me now, tx a lot.

Piff 

Thanks I'm surprised as anyone else a 753 SBDU frame popped up in sleepy San Luis Obispo. Good luck finding one And that's nice to hear about the seatpost improving the ride, I'm really hoping there is a difference.

Just strung it-- alignment is perfect, nary a millimeter of distortion.

cs1

The way I heard it was, 753 was basically heat treated 531. Because it was stronger, Reynolds could recuce the tubing thickness. Hence, the I.D. became smaller because the tubing was thinner.

Piff 

It is stronger, and it was thinner, but by the time 753r came around it no longer was as a rule the super thin tubing that gained 753 notoriety for being so lightweight. 753r (the tubing my bike is made out of) is no thinner than 531 professional. 753t is however just as thin as the original 753, as thin as 0.3mm in some places.

There's tons of reading on that blog I linked above about 753/753r/753t and SBDU frames in general. My frame definitely only takes a 27.2mm post, I can't imagine it fitting anything larger.

Hondo6

I noticed above that you were trying to find the spindle length for your existing FC-6206. Here's the Shimano EV for that crank:

https://si.shimano.com/en/pdfs/ev/FC...6207-0650I.pdf

Per Shimano, that crankset used the BB-6207. In the triple config, Shimano specified the D-3SS spindle.

Shimano quotes the length of that spindle as 121.5mm. A second source agrees, and further indicates that 3SS spindles are asymmetric, 32/52/37.5.

Based on a quick eBay check, square taper cartridge BBs in 121.5mm are still available for around $20 in that spindle length. Can't say whether those are properly asymmetric or not, but for that price one might be worth a try. Finding a BB-6207 in good shape with the spindle you need might be difficult and may well cost more.

Best of luck. Nice find.

Piff 

Thank you! The bike came with a 116mm spindle installed, matching the documentation you linked. Oddly, ebay seems to be awash with 116mm spindles. Amazingly enough, there is a replacement on Amazon...one can only guess to the quality of the steel used however:

https://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-Botto...ustomerReviews