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1980 Raleigh EsquireDarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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Dec 20, 2010 21:06:56 GMT
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My new ride: 1980 Raleigh Esquire by retromotoring, on Flickr Very kindly given to me by a friend to replace my knackered MTB that I did about 400 miles on between late August and late November. It needed a good clean which I am nearly finished doing, it has a nice coat of Autoglym SRP and some Collinite on it now. Some of the chrome is pitted but I can live with that... Got two new tyres on order as those look as though they might be the originals and are very cracked/perished, I've gone for Schwalbe Delta Cruisers with whitewalls (took ages to decide on whether to go for whitewalls or just black tyres!). The Sturmey-Archer AW hub seems to be in good nick although the twist/grip shifter doesn't work. That's OK because I don't really like it anyway, so I've got one of these to replace it with: along with new cables etc. Can't wait to use it in the Spring, I'll be doing the 6 mile each-way commute to/from work with it
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1980 Raleigh Esquireretrowagen1234
@GUEST
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Dec 20, 2010 23:17:47 GMT
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Very nice, How isnt the gripshift working thou? Very simple internally. Nothing realy to go wrong....
And a hell of alot better to ride with than the trigger, Imho, Seeing as i own several 3 speed equipped bikes, and my favorites are the gripshift ones, Just so much simpler.
Of my trigger equipped bikes, I find them ok to ride, And i wouldnt go as far as changing them to grip. But they just take more effort. And the point between gears is alot longer...
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1980 Raleigh EsquireDarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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Very nice, How isnt the gripshift working thou? Very simple internally. Nothing realy to go wrong.... And a hell of alot better to ride with than the trigger, Imho, Seeing as I own several 3 speed equipped bikes, and my favorites are the gripshift ones, Just so much simpler. Of my trigger equipped bikes, I find them ok to ride, And I wouldnt go as far as changing them to grip. But they just take more effort. And the point between gears is alot longer... There are no internals in it, the ball bearing and whatever else(? from what I can gather should be in there) are missing. I had a look round on eBay and couldn't find any cheap replacements, and I got along nicely with the trigger SA last time I had one years ago. I can always keep an eye out and change it back if I get the right bits, I'll see how it goes
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1980 Raleigh Esquireretrowagen1234
@GUEST
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Dec 21, 2010 10:02:26 GMT
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Ill have a look in the shed see if ive got one if your interested? Got a few raleigh 20's and rsw's but not sure which ones still had the grips on.... lol.
And internal wise its just a ballbearing and a big thick spring , thats also the pull for the cable... The ballbearing just gives it the click so you can set it to click into 1st , 2nd , 3rd....
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1980 Raleigh EsquireDarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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Dec 21, 2010 14:12:30 GMT
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If you do have one then that'd be grand ;D
My new tyres arrived today but I forgot to get inner tubes, and the originals look quite tired... So I'll have to get some cheap ones from Wilkos (if they do the right size) for now and get them on ;D
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Last Edit: Dec 21, 2010 14:14:11 GMT by DarrenW
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Dec 21, 2010 14:31:06 GMT
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That colour is lush.
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lae
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,045
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Dec 24, 2010 14:01:52 GMT
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That's a very handsome bike, and with proper mudguards, chainguard, steel c/ring and a 3-speed hub, definitely much more suitable for town commuting than a lot of modern town bikes!
If you don't get on with the trigger shifter (I don't like 'em personally), non-indexed downtube shifters work very well with SA hubs and you can get band-on ones to fit your bike.
The colour scheme is gorgeous - my next bike will hopefully be orange/peach with polished or hammered alloy mudguards.
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Currently: Mk1 Focus blandmobile
Formerly: 1969 MG Midget 1972 Avenger GT 1981 Datsun Cherry 1989 Corolla 1979 Mercedes W123 200D 1995 Ford Falcon 1996 Ford Telstar (bet you had to google that one)
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1980 Raleigh EsquireDarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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Dec 24, 2010 14:21:25 GMT
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That's a very handsome bike, and with proper mudguards, chainguard, steel c/ring and a 3-speed hub, definitely much more suitable for town commuting than a lot of modern town bikes! If you don't get on with the trigger shifter (I don't like 'em personally), non-indexed downtube shifters work very well with SA hubs and you can get band-on ones to fit your bike. The colour scheme is gorgeous - my next bike will hopefully be orange/peach with polished or hammered alloy mudguards. Downtube shifter sounds interesting... I'll see how I get on first... I'm desperately waiting for the snow and ice to clear so I can take it out for a proper ride 1980 Raleigh Esquire by retromotoring, on Flickr 1980 Raleigh Esquire by retromotoring, on Flickr
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maxlee
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,200
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good to see onther one we have a mint one down the unit from time to time when its not raining
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Nice aquisition. I really like that laid back relaxed look it's got.
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1980 Raleigh EsquireDarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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Feb 23, 2011 20:48:39 GMT
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So I've done about 50-60 miles on it now, I love it I had to get the front hub and the crank looked at by my local bike shop, all sorted now for a tenner (I think things just needed tightening). I made this for it: An old non-working lamp bought off eBay, with a battery powered LED camping lamp soldered/wired in and made to fit. Took me an hour or so one wet Saturday afternoon, and it works really well! My mate has a Triumph Traffic Master (very similar, badge-engineering), we took them out recently: 1980 Triumph Traffic Master and 1980 Raleigh Esquire by retromotoring, on Flickr Can't wait for warmer weather and lighter nights
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Last Edit: Feb 23, 2011 20:50:26 GMT by DarrenW
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lae
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,045
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Feb 23, 2011 21:57:44 GMT
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Very nice, good work with the lamp too. Looks like you've got a retro camera to go with it (or some photoshoppery)
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Currently: Mk1 Focus blandmobile
Formerly: 1969 MG Midget 1972 Avenger GT 1981 Datsun Cherry 1989 Corolla 1979 Mercedes W123 200D 1995 Ford Falcon 1996 Ford Telstar (bet you had to google that one)
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dazza
Part of things
Posts: 71
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Feb 23, 2011 22:54:21 GMT
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Nice bikes , I'm on the look out for a cheap 36 hole sa hub to make a 3 speed mountain bike , so it look like a single but cheating !
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1980 Raleigh Esquireretrowagen1234
@GUEST
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Feb 23, 2011 23:54:31 GMT
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Nice bikes , I'm on the look out for a cheap 36 hole sa hub to make a 3 speed mountain bike , so it look like a single but cheating ! haha did something very similar recently using an old racer. Made it look FIXIE but its actually a single speed with a pedalback brake ;D
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1980 Raleigh EsquireDarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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Very nice, good work with the lamp too. Looks like you've got a retro camera to go with it (or some photoshoppery) I have a couple of vintage cameras but that's Lightroom and Photoshop
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Thats a very nice bike man.
Loving the lamp as well, i went out on my folder bike last night and put the lights on, didnt make a single difference in terms of lighting the way (on the roads with no street lamps).
Cant wait to get my Raleigh up and running for summer now!
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Feb 24, 2011 19:08:35 GMT
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my raleigh Travellers from 1979 and is very similar to your bike. Its got a trigger gear shift. I did get a twistgrip from ebay. but not fitted it to any bike yet. My Raleighs sitting upside down in the bedroom. rear tyres flat...again. And front tyres off. As Ive built new alloy rims onto the hubs. not finished truing up. Its going to get Weimmann alloy sidepull brakes and big old Leechi MTB levers then
Oh sorry, no picture. I had a few on Photobucket. where are they? My Flickr pics will not show on here. this is soooooooo annoying.
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Jun 19, 2011 21:40:00 GMT
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Hey man,
I just found this same bike in my grandparents shed this week.
Do you know much about it? What year etc?
Yours is incredibly well done up!
I have never done work on a bike this old though. The frame seems in great condition but cannot say the same about brakes, tyres and saddle.
Where would be a good source of replacements? What do you use to restore the old chrome looking parts?
Thanks!
M
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1980 Raleigh EsquireDarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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Aug 22, 2011 14:25:31 GMT
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Hey man, I just found this same bike in my grandparents shed this week. Do you know much about it? What year etc? Yours is incredibly well done up! I have never done work on a bike this old though. The frame seems in great condition but cannot say the same about brakes, tyres and saddle. Where would be a good source of replacements? What do you use to restore the old chrome looking parts? Thanks! M you can date it approximately by looking at the code stamped in to the rear hub, it should be a Sturmey Archer AW, mine has "80" stamped into it. eBay is a decent source for parts, although I haven't really needed any for mine. The chrome parts hardly needed any work at all, I just polished them up with some Autosol and a bit of elbow grease! Thought I'd revive this 'cos I'm on holiday in Bavaria at the moment and I have brought it with me, here are some pics: Cycling around Garmisch-Partenkirchen by retromotoring, on Flickr 1980 Raleigh Esquire by retromotoring, on Flickr 1980 Raleigh Esquire on the way to Eibsee by retromotoring, on Flickr I'm fairly sure that it needs a new chain, and I might change the sprocket on the hub to alter the gearing a bit. I've done about 1600 miles on it since I got it, love it!
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lae
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,045
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That looks like fun! Amazing scenery
What's the gearing on yours? Mine is set up as 42t front (with Biopace ring!) and 22t rear, which, on 700c wheels, gives 69", 51" and 38". I find it perfect for the rolling terrain that I normally ride, but with those mountains you might want something a bit lower!
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Currently: Mk1 Focus blandmobile
Formerly: 1969 MG Midget 1972 Avenger GT 1981 Datsun Cherry 1989 Corolla 1979 Mercedes W123 200D 1995 Ford Falcon 1996 Ford Telstar (bet you had to google that one)
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