bloom87

sorry but i have to post me techy

oldster

I have one as well, its aluminum, hard tail,non suspension, mtn bike...I assume a precurser to the suspension ones...
Bud

Gr3ymalkin

Oh. Man. If anyone else finds a 1986 Raleigh Technium 440 for $20 in a thrift store, please. Contact me. Especially if it's bluish-grey. I got mine in 1986 for around $600, rode it everywhere and back in two states in high school and college and then it was stolen from me in 1990 (apparently at some point after people figured out you could pick the old U-bars with a disabled ballpoint pen). I've been in mourning ever since (it wasn't insured, and I wasn't a "serious" cyclist and then, well, never had the money for a long time).

I just got my first bike since then (I know...). It's the gorgeous Raleigh Clubman, but man, is it HEAVY. I love it, though. Bit harder to carry up a flight of stairs than my old bike but hey, I need the exercise.

Still. I'm dead serious about that 1986 Raleigh. I'd pay considerably more than $20 to have something like my old bike back again. Sheesh. Twenty bucks................! Congrats.

BigBlue

To continue the resurrection...I just snagged a derelict Technium 460, judging by the color of the head tube, at my local bike-o-junk store (a true counter-culture hold out) for the price of a modest lunch. It is now being bead-blasted to remove a couple of layers of rattle-can goo...perhaps it was stolen and re-purposed at some time? Since all the frames (440,460 and 480) were the same build, I'm thinking of the pearl white/aqua metallic that I see on the 1986 catalog photo of the 480. I'm busy sourcing period correct parts, and have done deep cleaning and rebuild on the salvageable bits (hubs, rims, brakes, rear DR). Its a 25" frame, which is still small for me (6'8", 230#) but it will do, as my 25" 1973 Super Course does. It will join the SC and my 1982 Fuji 27" (frame) Royale (upgraded with drillium!) for rides in the tulip fields surrounding my town. Any ideas are welcome!

BigBlue

Further update on Technium 460 above: Got frame back from bead-blasting today, wife asks "why not just clear-coat it now?", gotta love her! I like the bare metal look too, but my goal is peal white, so I proceed. Discovered frame number R803060008...any ideas? Packages from Harris Cyclery and e-bay vendors arrive next week with various bits of bike-bling ( Sugino Super Mighty drilled crankset, double butted Swiss stainless steel spoke-sets, Nitto "Technomic" alloy stem and "Olympiade" handlebars, color matched cables and tape, etc...). I'm so completely upside-down on this now I've got to just keep going...knowing I will enjoy the ride for years to come. I hope to be painting next week, I have located Pearl White Metallic and Cobalt Blue Metallic. I need to find a source for decals.

BigBlue

Re 460 in Posts 29 and 30:
Finished final detailing of frame for primer coat. Built two wheels for the first time..was fun! As recommended in the Sheldon Brown web site on wheel building, I got them completely straight and smooth-running by mounting them in the drop-outs and attaching a metric ruler to the forks or seat stays with a rubber band so I could tune them. S-B also provided step-by-step instructions on lacing which helped get everything off to a good start. Packages from Harris Cyclery have arrived, with bling bits as mentioned in previous post, as well as white H-B tape, white brake and shifter cables, downtube cable end housings for conversion to bar-end shifters. I'm still on the hunt for a Suntour 14-24 freewheel, and a nice leather saddle. Next big step is the paint...report to follow. Decals anyone?

BigBlue

Retro Grouch 

Ooh! You're a tall one.

I hope that you enjoy riding it as much as you did the rebuilding process.

BigBlue

Yes, at 6'-8" I'm beyond most frame sizes. Attached, my 1973 25" Raleigh Super Course, 1982 Fuji with a 27" (C to T) seat tube, and the resurrected 1986 25" Technium. The rebuild was a great little three week fiddle-vacation, and there may be a sun-window this week-end!

BigBlue

I've had a chance to ride this rebuilt Technium for about 60 miles these last two days. I like the bike, it weighs in at just under 24 pounds, seems responsive but not nervous, and to me seems reasonably smooth on our chip-seal country roads, and very smooth on proper asphalt. I'm riding on Panaracer Paselas at 27x1 with about 105 psi. On my other bikes I run at 100 at the rear and 85-90 at the front, I will try this combo on the Technium next time. It does not seem to be a particularly stiff frame, but at my size and weight (6-8, 230) and with the long stem and seat, I can create a fair amount of torque on the 25" frame. I like it. Below; as it is now, and what I started with.

jaycoble

Nice bike BigBlue! I recently purchased a Raleigh Technium Tri-Lite Prestige road bike. I knew nothing about them. Thanks to all of you guys for posting info! This bike is in excellent condition and is a great pleasure to ride. Sadly, it is just too big for me (measures 22.5 inches (57cm) bottom bracket to center of top tube & 60cm from center of bottom bracket to top of post). Have it posted on craigslist now.[h=2][/h]

CB HI

Huffy never bought Raleigh.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raleigh_Bicycle_Company
https://sheldonbrown.com/english-3.html

JanMM

Later on, in the 80's, Huffy bought Raleigh, or at least Raleigh USA. Then, later, sold Raleigh USA to Derby. From Wiki, again: 'In 1982, rights to the Raleigh U.S.A. name were purchased by the Huffy Corporation............................................In 1987, the leading German bicycle manufacturer Derby Cycle bought Raleigh USA from Huffy.'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raleigh_Bicycle_Company

My recollection of Raleigh Techniums was that they were American bikes, no connection to Raleigh England.

(har831's 2009 post was his only BF post.)

CB HI

Maybe we are talking semantics, but I would call it more of a franchise agreement rather than a purchase.

JanMM

Someone should write a comprehensive book so we don't have to rely on Wiki, or our memories of what we read in Bicycling a long time ago.

CB HI

Scary thought, the team of lawyers needed to read all the contracts and sort out the bicycle industry.

BigBlue

Good information on the Raleigh/Huffy/Derby relationships and Technium-specific history can be found (see years 1985 - 1988) at:

https://mombat.org/MOMBAT/BikeHistoryPages/Raleigh.html

Regards; BigBlue

rawly old

Hey Blue,
You're just across the Sound. Noticed today on Skagit craigslist a nice tall
technium rd bike for $250 in Coupeville. I can't afford it, but being tall, I thought you
might be interested. Besides, got mine for $30 five years back at a flea mkt.
Needed tires but's bin great ever since.

BigBlue

Thanks for the heads up. I'm thinking that one Technium is enough at the moment. So far I've got British, Japanese and American bikes...I'm feeling a bit of Italian coming on, something interesting and big (25" to 27")....with Campy dripping from the frame...

1989Pre 

Big, thanks for sharing your Technium restoration with us. I like your headtube paint. Looks great. i see that you went with Barcon shifters, like some of the older Raleigh Super Courses came with. I like your gum rubber brake hoods too. The bike looks really nice.
Personally, I think these Techniums are worth whatever you want to pay for them. I can't say enough about mine (a 1989). I bought it new in 1990, and gradually upgraded all the components. I now ride it in a club setting and the bike can hold it's own against any current bicycle (if I lag on the ascents, it is my lack of training, and I am not going to blame it on the bicycle.
I was looking at a 2013 Scott CR1, but saw that it weighs 19 pounds...the same as my Technium. Some would say that riding with a six-speed freewheel is a handicap. I say, "Not in the slightest.". It is lighter and more aero-dynamic than the ten-speed ones. The tubing on the Technium is more slender and aero-dynamic than the recent carbon bikes, too. On the descents, I have to use my brakes a lot to stay with the paceline.., otherwise, I'd fly right past them. On the flats, I'm with them every step of the way. Since this is my first year club riding, I haven't yet strengthened my legs enough to stay competitive on the ascents. That will happen this winter, so next season will be different.
I was riding with a (fast) fellow member on a club ride and asked him how fast we were going on the flats: He told me "22-25mph".
I almost took the door off of a Saab 9000 with the bike back in 1993. No damage to the bike.
Raleigh Techniums are unsung heroes: U.S-made, adaptable, light, fast, strong, inexpensive. Fits in anywhere from a time-trial to a picnic.
I loved reading you guys' comments and seeing your pics of Techniums. Please continue. Will I ever retire my Technium in favor of another, more-recent frame? I can't think of a single reason why I should. If I want it to go faster or longer, all I have to do is train more intelligently. Does it ride like my former bike, the 1980 Grand Prix? No, it does not ride like a classic steel Raleigh, but the weight savings more than makes up for it.

Paul

1989Pre 

Big, I was wondering if your Technium is a 5 or a 6-speed freewheel. Also, I noticed that you have mounts for a rear rack (my 1989 frame doesn't).
One more question (sorry.., I'm fascinated by Techniums and interested in Raleighs-in-general): What kind of set-up did you use to turn the (downtube) shifter bosses into cable stops/guides? Just a ferrule? Or is there a mount for the ferrule? How did you paint the headtube and fork crowns? Is that the original paint scheme for the Technium 480? It's very nice.
Hey, it looks like you have the Suntor Superbe Pro rear derailleur (older type without barrel adjuster). That's the same derailleur I am using!
Anybody know which year the Techniums went from 27" tires to 700c? Paul

1989Pre 

Bloom, did you strip the paint off your forks? (I rode with bare forks when I replaced my chro-mo ones on my Technium with Kinesis aluminum ones. (they came unpainted, clear-coated).

Paul

1989Pre 

To answer your question about decals, Big, I have not seen a single Technium decal available online (and I look, too). They are even more rare than the Technium headpost marquis. (As soon as you give up look, you'll find some, though).

Paul

1989Pre 

Thanks for posting your bikes side-by-side, Big. (You may get a slightly more snappy ride from the Technium, with its straighter forks.)

Paul

BigBlue

Thank you for your comments. The Technium is getting a lot of miles, I still very much like the character of the ride. I was recently offered a 1972 Raleigh International frame. I found that the Technium and the International are nearly identical in important dimensions (rake, wheelbase, BB to front and rear hub centers). I decided to pass on that particular international (did not get excited by the mud-brown color), but am still looking, as I think the ride will be similar. To answer your questions: I have Barcons on all my bikes. At 6'-8" it's just too far to reach to the downtube to shift, it's actually dangerous, so all my shifting happens at the bar ends. Shimano makes a "Housing Stop Adapter" fitting that bolts onto the DT shifter mount, and handles the cable-end from the bar, its a sweet little unit. The paint is as close as I could get to the original 480 color scheme. I used Rustoleum Pearl white for the frame, found an automotive paint at NAPA called Bahama Blue, which I used for the HT and forks. The rear DR is a SunTour Cyclone running with a 5-speed cluster.