1968 Claud Butler Project.

New project. 1968 Claud Butler.

Frame-set has been over-sprayed in silver. Some wire-wool has revealed the original paint scheme and partial Reynolds 531 fork decals.

 Head-badge is in fair condition

Partialy visible Reynolds 531 decal

 

Claud Butler Fixed Wheel

1950's Claud Butler frame.

Reynold's 531 tubeset, Nervex lugset  with Columbus fork ends and rear dropout's.

Powder coated by Shermayne's Morecambe in RAL Pure Orange.

Bottom Bracket, Tange 110mm sealed unit.

Andel 48 tooth Single Speed crankset. 170mm  crank arms.

Refurbishment of 1970's Raleigh Hustler.

We acquired a boys Raleigh Hustler 3 speed 'racer' with the intension of sprucing it up as a town bike for my daughter Ashley.

First thing to do after stripping the bike down to frame and forks was to have it powder coated.

I chose the colour grey-brown from the RAL colour chart.

A big improvement on the original colour scheme.

Next job was to connect the fork back into the frame. The original headset was found to be in good serviceable condition so after cleaning up the chrome and repacking with Finish Line teflon grease we attached the fork to the frame.

I used a rubber mallet to whack the upper and lower cups into place as opposed to using a 'cup press' tool.

I also reused the original ball bearing after cleaning.

Handlebars in next. Original steel Raleigh chromed bars were in excellent condition and enhanced further with wire wool and 'Brasso'

Up next, seat post. Original Sturmey-Archer high chrome polish.

Both wheels seemed to be in a bit of a sorry state. Chrome rims, hub and spokes all dirty with years of grime. But after many hours of meticulous wirewooling and degreasing they finally are up to scratch.

Rear is a 3 speed Sturmey-Archer Hub Gear. Which will be perfect for 'around town' in Lancaster district.

 WOW this bike is begining to look like a 1903 'Tour de France' machine. Original tyre on front wheel.

Original front brake caliper fitted after total strip down and chrome cleaned.
Original Weinmann front brake lever fitted.

 Watch this space for further updates.

Well, after a few more weeks of fiddling about with wire wool, grease etc... the bike is finally ready for the road...

Looking really good. New tyres, new inner cables, new chain, new handle bar tape.

Everything else original taken from the bike and cleaned and brought back to life.

Road tested today and all is working well. Particularly impressed with the gear shifting. Whilst only a 3 speed, it should serve Ashley well as a town bike.

Completed RRA Fixed Conversion. A real head turner.

Raleigh Record Ace Converted to Fixed Wheel Flyer

I bought a 1983 Raleigh Record Ace 6 speed racing bike with intention of converting to fixed wheel.

The RRA frame is constructed of Reynolds 531c steel tubes and at the time of production, this was one of the lightest materials from which to construct a bike frame.


The usable parts on the bought bike were :

1. The frame but this required repainting.
2. Headset
3. Quill stem
4. Handle bars
5. Bottom bracket
6. Pedals.
7. Crankset

To complete the build we needed:

1. Wheelset
2. Sprocket
3. Chain
4. Brakeset
5. Brake levers
6. Handlebar tape.
7. Seat post
8. Saddle

We had the original frame and forks powder coated by a local engineering firm and sourced the required parts mainly from EBAY.

We cleaned the original parts thoroughly and built the bike over a period of 2 weeks in our spare time.

Photo's of the completed build are shown.