revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Picked this up at the tip the other week, the 531 tubing label caught my eye and upon closer inspection is looked to be a potential project. £20 changed hands and I dragged it to the car.

Tyres/tubes shot, chain and rear mech need replacing along with all cables. The rest of it looks like it could be cleaned up.

Stripped it down to a bare frame and began cleaning components to determine what needed replacing and what could be serviced.

Rear derailleur had snapped, front was okay. Brake levers were serviceable, but I had the safety levers, centre pull brake callipers were in decent condition.

So according to the frame number it's a 1973 and made in Worksop. Raleigh and Carlton sold the same model under their own brand for a while, but the 'Londoner' moniker related back to old 1920's models. I'm still trying to work out exactly what model this is. Brakes are Weinmann, but badged as Raleigh. Gears are Suntour, but again badged as Raleigh. Crankset is an SR Sakae, again rebadged as Raleigh.

Everything that is being reused cleaned up pretty nice with just Muc Off, brake cleaners and a good scrub. I could have used the ultrasonic tank, but I don't want it gleaming. There are some lovely old details on the frame, brazed lugs and nice cable routing. I've washed and cleaned the frame, but will leave the surface rust.

Bottom bracket was stripped and no wear on the cups so was repacked with grease. Head bearing races and cups were worn so the whole thing was replaced. I found a Suntour rear mech from the same era and also some drilled Wienmann levers plus NOS boots.

5 speed freewheel has no play so got a scrub and clean up. Front wheel is fine, rear one has a couple of loose spokes and needs truing up. They are 27 x 1 1/4" and mated to Mallard hubs, tyre choice is limited but I found some gumwalls that look okay along with new tubes.

Got back from Las Vegas yesterday and all the bits I've ordered from eBay and Ali Express have arrived. The chain had escaped at some point in transit and just an empty box was delivered, but I got a refund and Amazon will deliver another tomorrow. A 1970's ally SR seatpost replaces the old chromed steel one, and a modern brown saddle and bar tape should keep with the retro theme. New cables are to be fitted and I still need to true up that back wheel.

Nice! Good job.

Well it's no KX,but nice work.

Can you beat Weeksy Jr down hills on it?

Are they allowed to sell stuff at your local dump? Always thought it's a good idea to do that sort of recycling and wondered why, if places have space they don't have an associate charity recycling/upcycling on site. A 'men in sheds' group could probably get a good business going - maybe in conjunction with a local charity.

That looks a cracking job, I bet it was very pleasing to do, from dirty, neglected and broken, to shiny, renewed and ready to go.

Count Steer wrote: Sun Oct 12, 2025 8:13 am Are they allowed to sell stuff at your local dump? Always thought it's a good idea to do that sort of recycling and wondered why, if places have space they don't have an associate charity recycling/upcycling on site. A 'men in sheds' group could probably get a good business going - maybe in conjunction with a local charity.

My local tip has a recycling/ reuse shop, I’m pretty sure the proceeds go to charity. I’ve never taken the time to take a look inside but it appears to always have people going in or coming out when I arrive for my allocated time slot to drop off my waste.

Nice job, watching with interest.

That's epic. It's the sort of thing I'd like to be able to do, but have zero knowledge or skills to do it.

I've done some electrical stuff, putting in two new lights in the garage today, and that's a major achievement for me! The stuff's been sitting there for weeks and I've been putting it off because I'm crap at stuff.

A few years ago my mate was a roadie monster. Regular 100-150mile rides on his Pinarello but he got a bit bored with that so bought something like the above, converted it to a fixie and would then potter about on the local backroads, occasionally baiting the Lewes Wheelers when he "bumped" into them on their training rides and doggedly sticking to their peloton wearing a flat cap and trainers with a satchel slung over his shoulder before stomping past them on the climbs.

On a similar note, at Cheddar car boot I bought a hand powered drill press for a fiver....locked solid....
A bit of heat so far has made no progress, but there is losds more heat to go....

Chain and bar tape arrived today. Fitted the gear and brake cables also. Lovely looking bike. Just the buckle and loose spokes to sort in the rear wheel and regrease the pedals.

derek badger wrote: Sun Oct 12, 2025 9:33 pm

Cheers

Lovely job, well done.

That's lovely.

I'm particularly pleased by the brownness of the seat.

Did a similar thing a few years back with an old Raleigh Team USA I'd had since the 90's.
Back then I bought it from a friend for whom it was also second hand.

I converted it to a single speed to use primarily to follow our kids when they were little around the park, trouble was it is so light and has such low rolling resistance one turn of the pedals or slight downhill and I was off away from them.

Still have the old Campagnolo group set and Cinelli bars stowed away for re-commissioning one day.

Count Steer wrote: Sun Oct 12, 2025 8:13 am Are they allowed to sell stuff at your local dump? Always thought it's a good idea to do that sort of recycling and wondered why, if places have space they don't have an associate charity recycling/upcycling on site. A 'men in sheds' group could probably get a good business going - maybe in conjunction with a local charity.

The local recycling centre has a small shop and yard where you can purchase stuff. Tons of bicycles. My son was approached by the local council to get a contract and agreed rates to refurbish the more valuable bikes. They managed to completely mess it up to such an extent it folded. Shame as it would have helped my son's business during the quiet periods.