Picked this bike up for free at work. wondering if its worth investing time into it to sell if my girlfriend does not want it? Thanks :).
by just-that-human
Picked this bike up for free at work. wondering if its worth investing time into it to sell if my girlfriend does not want it? Thanks :).
by just-that-human
10 Comments
Absolutely. Nice bike.
Raleighs are always worth fixing up. They are good quality frames and had above average components. Fix it up and ride it forever.
Doesn’t look it needs much.
it’s a low end raleigh (see: stamped dropouts, stem shifters, hi-ten frame) but even the cheaper ones tend to be nice riders. could be a fun project if you want to learn more about fixing bike. don’t expect to make a killing if you re-sell it, if you invest in new consumables you’ll (hopefully) break even.
This question is so hard to answer? Will you do the work yourself? Do you have the tools needed to do the maintenance? It will it need some investments. And still it’s a pretty low end heavy old bike. But it will get you from A to B.
I bought my wife a 1981 Grand Sport mixte, which she rarely rode. In my seventies now, my hips are a little stiff to straddle the road bike, especially if I carry a light touring load, so I modified her bike for myself. I built up some 700c Velocity rims with Sora hubs, and ended up with a 3×11 drive train, just because I already had a lot of the hardware. Note that the triple chainwheel is nice, but I had to scrounge in my junk box for an asymmetrical crank axle to accommodate my particular crank.
I can squeeze Marathon 38mm tires, but it’s a tight fit. In particular, those stamped dropouts require a separate derailleur hanger, so you don’t have the full depth of your axle slots. I went with a flatbar and Tektro sidepulls and levers. There’s your next clearance problem: very little room between the arch of the brakes and the tire. I’m now using Marathon 35mm tires for a bit more margin- don’t want a small stick or pebble jamming my wheel.
Since your bike is a 12-speed, it’s probably younger than mine. Hopefully Raleigh went with a larger diameter seat tube on yours- mine is only a 26.2mm. Although you can buy new posts in that size, the selection is limited, and I don’t think you’d ever find a dropper post that small. Good luck, and have fun- it’s a solid frame to play with.
That bike looks like it has barely been ridden. Yes. New cables and brake pads and you should be good!
I’m about to rebuild a very similar 81 Gran Sport for my girlfriend, but I’m going to change a lot of stuff up. 8 speed Alfine or Nexus hub, 700c wheels, Gravel King tires, alloy upright:swept back bars, Tektro 559s, Brooks leather saddle etc. should be fun. I did something similar to a 72 Raleigh sports three speed, and it’s one of the most fun bikes I’ve ever owned. That said, this is a big gamble, because my girlfriend has balance issues (which is why I went for a mixte bike, to see if that would make her more confident writing)
It looks fine to me and once you get this in a riding mode then it’ll pay you back and it looks like its going to be a great bike either for you or your girlfriend once you get it checked out here.
Financially, no. You would earn more doing a normal job.
As a nice thing to do? Absolutely.