ultradavec

A question - I have an old 1983 Raleigh Super Gran Prix road bike that I crossed the country with back in 1984. Over the years it has been sadly neglected - Left outside briefly (a long time ago) to corrode somewhat, or stored inside gathering dust and cobwebs. About 27 years ago (or so), I replaced some of the worn-out components, and got the frame repainted (not original colors). The past 15 years or so I've only used it on my wind trainer. So, it is serviceable and ridable, but I would like to upgrade it (again), without breaking the bank, to use on easy local rides. I'm only keeping the bike out of sentimental reasons, it’s kind of a beast, to be honest. What I would like to upgrade are: The shifters to index shifting (currently Bar-Con friction shifters, and they suck), and the drive train (crank, derailleurs, chain, cluster). What is currently on the bike: Dia-Compe Caliper Brakeset, 53/42 Shimano 600 Crankset., 175mm crank arm length, Dura Ace RD-7400 6-spd. front derailleur, Dura Ace RD-7400 6 SP rear derailleur, Suntour SIS 14-26 6 SP cluster, Suntour Superbe Pro rear hub, Cinelli Handle Bar and Cinelli 120mm(?) stem. Bottom bracket? 700C clincher wheelset - Mavic on the front and Matrix(?) on the rear. Currently has Look pedals, but I’m changing those to Eggbeaters that I took off of my mountain bike.
The frame size is 23 inches (a tad big for me, I’m a bit over 6” tall, 32” inseam, but it’s not too bad) I think the distance between the rear wheel stays is about 130mm?
About 15-18 years ago, I bought some (brand new) components with the intent of starting the upgrade. That never happened. I have in my possession:
Dura Ace SH-CS7700 12x25 9 speed cassette
Dura Ace CN-7701 Chain
Dura Ace RD-7700 Short cage rear derailleur
The question - Does this sound like a feasible project? In light of how many components I’m going to have to replace, it would be nice to be able to use the NOS Dura Ace components I have in my possession to keep the project costs down somewhat. It seems like the big $$ outlay would be for a new/used crank and new/used brake-shifters. I am perfectly happy in finding used components from Craigslist or eBay, as long as they are decent quality and in good shape. Dura Ace would probably be preferred, but if too expensive, I guess I could consider Ultegra? SRAM? One other thing that I wouldn’t mind having is a triple crank, if that is do-able. These old legs are finding it a real chore to comfortably get up steep hills in a 42-28 gear sometimes…
Any thoughts about whether or not I can make this happen? Can I make those new Dura Ace components I have work on this bike? If not, I could always sell them on eBay. I know the NOS Dura Ace derailleur and cassette sell for good prices. The bike is intended to be used as either a casual cruiser for 20-40 mile road rides, or mounted on the wind trainer. Nothing fancy. If doable, what Brifters would work? Do I need a special front derailleur to function with the index shifters? Is the triple crank option possible? Or out of the question? Any thoughts or advice would be most appreciated. Thanks so much, and Happy Holidays to everyone!

lasauge 

1. The shortest and simplest route to putting all those parts on your bike is to replace the rear wheel with one that has a freehub body, and then install the cassette, chain, and derailer you already have. After that the only thing you'd absolutely need would be whichever 9-speed shifters you choose and of course brake and shifter cable and housing. Your existing brake calipers will work, but you might want to upgrade to newer dual pivot calipers for more braking power. The crankset and front derailer you have now would function, but be slow to shift, somewhat noisy, and there'd be a slight risk of the narrower chain falling into the gap between inner and outer rings, though these issues could be diminished or eliminated by installing 9-sp chainrings on your existing crank arms.
2. For triple gearing in the front, yes, you could install a triple crankset on that bike, but that does introduce extra complications because you'd need to replace your front derailer with one designed for a triple, use a different rear derailer since that short cage derailer will only wrap enough chain to work with a difference of 14t between the largest and smallest chainrings, and finally you'll have an extra challenge because Raleigh used their own standard for bottom bracket shell threading, so your options for triple cranks are pretty much limited to square taper options. You can read all about the last issue at this link here:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/raleigh26.html#bottom

All of these issues can be overcome with the application of enough money, but you may want to consider whether this Super Grand Prix that's a little big for you is worth investing in or not. If your end goal is simply to get a rideable bike that shifts well and has a lower gear with a minimum of fuss and expense, I'd install a modern 7-sp freewheel with a lower gear, slap on a cheap derailer that will handle a larger cog, add a modern chain, and fix the shifters.

Phil_gretz

Answer this: How much money are you willing to spend on this project? Be realistic. In that way, you can decide where to spend the money. You'll potentially need: crankset, bottom bracket bearing/spindle, shifters/brake levers, cabling, rear derailleur, front derailleur (potentially), rear wheel w/freehub, cassette, and chain. Starting with the total budget, you can see what is affordable to do the rest.

You may be able to sell off the existing parts to help recover a portion of the costs. The rear derailleur, rear hub, and barcons would sell for certain.

dedhed

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...i-s-ergos.html

Iride01 

You can put pretty much anything you want on it that is a road groupset today. I upgraded my old Raleigh Comp GS and a Schwinn Paramount frame. Doing all the work myself and waiting for deals on the components I saved maybe 500 to 1000 dollars of what a new bike would have been with the same components. However the new bike would have been 3 to 5 pounds lighter.

If you ride the road a lot and ride far and in rolling terrain, you'll appreciate a lighter bike. I finally got one this year, though I did thoroughly enjoy building up and riding the Raleigh and Schwinn for many years. But the new bike is more enjoyable, mainly because it's lighter. The Raleigh built out at about 23 pounds and the Schwinn 22 pounds. My Tarmac is 17.8 pounds.

So if you can put your newer Dura-Ace on it and not have to spend much more getting the other stuff to work with it, you'll be off to a good start. Ride it till you get the enjoyment out of it and then treat yourself to something new.

Surfer77

Dura Ace is not cheap. Go price a Dura Ace crankset on Ebay.
You will regret it. You will end up getting a newer frame and try to swap parts onto that.

meb

I suspect the dropouts are not 130mm but likely 126, possibly 120. You said the barcons suck but didn't say why. Suntour had 3 different spacings in the 6 speed cogs so there is a chance of a mismatch on indexing. If you have the narrower Ultra, the cogs were closer to fit on the 120mm dropout of 5 speeds frames, so your frame might be 120mm, plus that would mess up the Shimano Indexing. If the wider Accushift, that might also mess up your Shimano indexing with the 5.5 mm between cogs. If indexing was the issue, recheck which Suntour cog spacing you have.

You may not be limited to square taper if you replace the axle while keeping your 26tpi cups.


I have an earlier 120mm rear 5 cog rear Super Grand Prix and did borrow a 6 speed rear from my Technium when I had some broken spokes, and was able to flex the frame to fit the 126 wheel with hands only, so you probably can flex the frame to fit the 130mm rear in that frame.

I have friction bar cons on mine and dislike the bar cons because they are hard to move and hard to reach.

dedhed

OP states friction barcons

ultradavec

My issue with the barcons sounds like yours - They are a bit stiff, I can't get chain onto biggest cog, and I'm not crazy about taking hands off hoods to shift.

ultradavec

lasauge,
Thanks for the advice and info, it is *much* appreciated, and gives me some ideas on how to approach the project. Thank you!

Phil_gretz

If they are stiff, then you need to disassemble, clean, and service them. It's not difficult. Remove the built-up sludge and lubricate with light oil as you reassemble. Full take down, no short cuts. It's simple. Why complain passively?

ultradavec

My issue with the barcons sounds like yours - They are a bit stiff, I can't get chain onto biggest cog, and I'm not crazy about taking hands off hoods to shift. And I did remeasure the rear dropouts, and its definitely 130mm.

ultradavec

I would prefer to not have barcons at all, and switch to brifters. I have used the barcons on the bike for the past 36 years, and haver always been somewhat "meh" about them. Not complaining, would just like something different.

chancelucky

I'm in the midst of something quite similar. I have a Univega Gran Turismo that I rode across the country in 1987. Because it has tremendous sentimental value and because I'd worn out the drive train, I decided to modernize it. Mixing and matching parts has been a nightmare. Just finding a rear wheel with 130 mm spacing and rim brakes isn't that easy any longer, if you want anything other than lower end stuff. I got a good deal on a Sora Groupset so I could go with brifters, then realized that I'd locked myself into a 2x drive train and my lbs guy is insisting that I should only use a Sora crankset which leaves me at 50x34 instead of 46x30 or 32. It's got me thinking that I should just go back to the original derailleurs and shifters.

SurferRosa

If you just overhauled everything and bought new consumables, including a new chromed Sunrace 6- or 7-speed 14-28t freewheel and 8-speed chain, it will feel like a new bike, and better than it has ever felt, even when new.

If the wheels are tired and dead, you might want to rebuild the hubs on new rims.

I would do all that, sell the bike, and buy a higher end vintage road bike that is 531db throughout (or similar).

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dedhed

I'd suspect this bike has standard 68mm BSA threaded bottom bracket, not a 70mm Raleigh threaded