molleraj

Just picked up this Raleigh Technium 400 today (60 cm/24 in frame) plus rechargeable front and rear lights for $75 in my quest for a light road bike with aluminum rims. 2x6 with an SIS indexed Shimano Light Action rear derailleur. The bike feels like it's about 27 lbs, but I think a good part of that is the front rim. Front rim is a Rigida dimpled chrome steel rim, while the rear is an Araya aluminum rim (both 27 x 1 1/4). I now have noticed on both this bike and my Panasonic (chrome rear and aluminum front) that the heavier rim stops much faster and the lighter rim doesn't slow down much while braking (no surprise there), even if the rear properly locks up when engaging the brakes. The question is, do I transfer the aluminum rear wheel or chrome front wheel to the Panasonic? I would guess swapping aluminum for chrome on the Panasonic front wheel would make more sense. Anyway, just curious as to what you all think. Seems to be great quality.


Front view

Side view

Some of the rear

6061-T8 thermally bonded tubes

molleraj

I guess possibly more like 1987 based on @T-Mar's assessment in other threads (27 inch instead of 700c wheels).

Pcampeau

Whichever bike you will never use in wet conditions gets the steel wheels. Steel wheels in wet weather means no emergency stops allowed.

Bianchigirll 

Does that bike fit? It looks huge.

What do you mean by ‘if the rear properly locks up’? You shouldn’t be locking up the brakes to the point where a wheel or two is skidding. Aside from being bad for the tires it means you have no control over where that wheel is going. I think you probably need to really clean all the rims, get some new Kool Stop brake pads and be sure the brakes are properly adjusted.

molleraj

OK, probably the Panasonic then. I do plan to convert that to aluminum 700c wheels though. I found some locally for $40 with a 13-30T cassette on the back wheel that's hopefully compatible with my derailleur.

molleraj

Weirdly enough it does. I'm 5'10" and apparently have long legs. I can stand just over the top tube. My trusty Panasonic is also a 60 cm/24 in frame.

Agreed. The rims definitely need a ton of cleaning.

I think I didn't explain the phenomenon clearly. What I mean is if I just lift the rear wheel and rotate the pedals, and then apply just the rear brake, I can make the wheel stop rotating. Same for the front (but just spinning the wheel up with my hands). However, whether on the Panasonic or the Raleigh, I have to brake the steel wheel first to slow down. Thus front braking on the Raleigh (steel Rigida rim) and rear braking on the Panasonic (steel Araya rim) are much more sensitive than rear or front, and I pretty much can only use the other brake to further assist the brake acting on the steel wheel. I definitely don't apply the brakes so hard while biking that the wheels lock up and I skid.

molleraj

Basically the heavier wheel always feels dominant when it comes to braking.

GrayJay

Those brake levers are cheap garbage, probably harvested of same huffy bike that supplied the heavy steel wheel. Replacement of the brake levers will improve braking. If you go to 700c rims, you will need long-reach brake calipers.

molleraj

Hmmm OK, I think they are Dia-Compes. Good to know. I think I will stick to 27 x 1 1/4 aluminum rims for this and grab a set of 700c aluminum rims for the Panasonic.

1989Pre 

It sounds like you are starting to develop a plan, but you asked, so here is my take: Start with considering the type of riding you are planning on doing with it. ie: commuting? racing? high-speed training? Noodling around? but regardless of which of these you decide (or all of them), the frame-set is too nice for steel wheels, a dork disc and turkey levers. If it was mine, I'd strip it down, clean and polish it and spend the winter on deciding on tasteful up-grades for all of the components. (I popped a Kinesis threadless, aluminum fork on mine and lost a pound and a half of weight).

molleraj

Good question! I plan to use this for long distance (40-60 miles, hopefully 100 miles at some point) rides through suburban and rural Maryland on asphalt roads. I'm absolutely going to swap front rims with the Panasonic I have now, which has an aluminum front rim (Sun CRT 16 II). I think I will next replace the saddle, probably sticking on a gel saddle, and possibly the brake levers. I also think I will need to overhaul all the bearings.

This bike feels smoother riding than my hi-ten Panasonic I think due to the chromoly stays and fork. I definitely didn't feel bumps in the way I am accustomed to feel them.

sdn40

Looks like someone performed some downgrades through the years. Because of that, it's a perfect candidate to tear down over the winter and slowly build back up for spring. Especially if you plan on longer rides. The time you spend will be well worth it and it should clean up nice.

molleraj

Agreed, thanks. Just to be clear, downgrades as far as brake levers and the front rim? Or more beyond that?

sdn40

The shift levers aren't original and were originally mounted on the downtube

molleraj

Oh really! I had thought the Technium 400 had stem shifters while the other models had downtube, but I suppose you are right.

1989Pre 

Yeah, 40-60M are the distances I do on my Technium (I love my Sunday 60-milers). You can't lose with the Sun rims. That is what I use, but I have the now-discontinued Venus rims. Dia-Compe are pretty good brake levers, so unless you want to go Campy aero or something, keep that in mind.

I've noticed that your bike has two features I had never seen on a Technium before: No shift lever bosses on the down-tube and the seat stays are not "fastback". Which means your seat stays are brazed to the middle of your seat cluster, and not behind it.

Yes, the smoothness is the first thing I noticed about the Technium when I first rode it (I was coming from a hi-ten Raleigh Grand Prix). While it doesn't give all of the feedback of a good steel frame, the weight savings is perfect on long rides. Again, think of trying out an aluminum fork.
1987 sounds right for yours. It must be one of the first with the cables entering from the left side (which began in 1988 model year).

molleraj

Nice! I need to get up to Sunday 60-milers haha. I commute 40 miles during the week and then do about 60 miles usually on the weekends, though not this one (lots of rain). Good to know the Dia-Compe levers are solid! I will clean and tune them up.

Glad to hear I am not the only one who noticed an improvement from a hi-ten frame, haha. I should try an aluminum fork, but I am especially attracted to this frame because it combines the weight savings of aluminum with the shock damping of steel at the right places (stays and fork). Is an aluminum fork not that much harsher?

Good to know about the model year. Someone on the Vintage_bicycles sub****** also suggested it was a 1988 model.

GrayJay

The stem mounted shifters and the turkey brake levers were likely original to this bike. The lowest spec technium models came with these to appeal to entry level recreational riders as seen in this raleigh catalog;
https://threespeedhub.com/wp-content...g-1986-US1.pdf

Every bike Ive ever ridden with turkey brake levers just felt like the mechanical advantage of the levers is all wrong, you will get better braking force from nicer levers.

Way back in 1987 I bought a technium 460, used it for my first year of getting into racing and slowly upgraded it with shimano 105 SIS drivetrain parts, 700c rims so I could use decent race tires, and aero brake levers. It was never a true racing bike but it worked reasonably well for getting started, until I crashed it hard and bent the rear triangle. It always made a distinctive annoying rattle from the internally routed brake cable housing "pinging" the top tube.

1989Pre 

A good way for you to tell if the bike is '87 or '88 is the wheels. In '88, Raleigh USA went to 700c. If those are stock, you'll be able to determine that way.

Yeah, if the bike is not too heavy for the distance/pace that you do, then keep the steel fork, because you are going to get a better ride.

T-Mar

The serial number format for the Technium models is well established and will us to determine the exact manufacturing date, which should alow us to determine the model year, unless it's during the transitional period.

1989Pre 

Yep.., first and fifth number on the under-side of the B.B. is the year.

molleraj

Interesting! I would guess 1987 then given this has 27 x 1 1/4 rims. I did find the serial number on the bottom bracket (to be posted soon) that suggests 1989 is the model year, which surprises me given the wheel size...

molleraj

It's hard to tell from the pictures or even looking at the stamp directly, but my guess is the serial number is (R)802390234. So it was built January 23, 1989? I can't tell 3s from 8s here, haha.



Closeup of serial number

Serial number from a little further away, and probably blurier

1989Pre 

Yep, it looks like you got it right. I guess I am just not that familiar with the 400 model. Actually, I'm not sure I heard about it before. I hope you treat yours well and see what it can do. I cherish mine. Curious, because in the 1989 Raleigh U.S.A. catalogue, they had done-away with the 400-series designation and instead, there was Pre, Sport, Comp and Pro (all the same frame-set). I bought Pre, because I knew I was going to be up-grading.

molleraj

Awesome, thanks for confirming! I hadn't been familiar with this either, though I had heard of the Techniums before. I sure will! This winter I will repack the bearings, replace the saddle, and possibly get new tires and tubes. Of course I plan to swap out the front rim ASAP. Can't wait to take it for some long rides.