Raleigh Sports 3-Speed Women's tune up
06-01-13, 12:21 PM
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Raleigh Sports 3-Speed Women's tune up
Just picked up a Raleigh Sports women's bike for $40 at a garage sale as a gift to my wife. Seems like it's in excellent shape and highly original. Smooth rider for sure. The only issue I'm seeing right now is the brake pads don't stop it smoothly. Instead of a smooth curve down in velocity, it kind of oscillates when braking, so it's really fast/slow/sort've fast/slow/medium/slow/slow/slow. It feels like skidding to a stop every time. What's going on? Are the brake pads not grabbing hard enough? They are clearly new.
06-01-13, 12:50 PM
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How are the rims? Straight and true, or dented and/or wobbly?
06-01-13, 02:38 PM
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I would bet on either a bent rim or possibly a high spot where they were welded together. Also if they are the original pads they are probably very hard, even if they look okay. I would have the wheels checked for trueness, then put on a set of Koolstop Continental brake pads.
FWIW I have multiple Raleigh 3 speeds and the couple of them had very bad rims on them, I made them into much better riders by swapping out the stock rims with Sun CR-18 rims, it is a straight swap over, don't even have to use new spokes. The ride is even better and the braking much better.
Aaron
FWIW I have multiple Raleigh 3 speeds and the couple of them had very bad rims on them, I made them into much better riders by swapping out the stock rims with Sun CR-18 rims, it is a straight swap over, don't even have to use new spokes. The ride is even better and the braking much better.
Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
06-01-13, 03:50 PM
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Sun CR-18 rims work with the gear shifting setup?
06-01-13, 04:08 PM
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06-01-13, 09:11 PM
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Sorry, I looked up what it is and it makes more sense. The rims look fine however. Is there not something a bit simpler I can troubleshoot first before blowing cash on whole new rims?
06-01-13, 09:14 PM
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I would bet on either a bent rim or possibly a high spot where they were welded together. Also if they are the original pads they are probably very hard, even if they look okay. I would have the wheels checked for trueness, then put on a set of Koolstop Continental brake pads
06-02-13, 04:52 AM
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Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
06-10-13, 03:37 PM
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I think there may indeed be some trueness issues. Thanks for the recommendation about the Kool Stop pads, I will check those out. The ride is smooth and the gear shifting is excellent for something this age.
