BCTTT Forum

In my ongoing quest for a commuter bike that I would feel happy to leave chained up outside the office, I had a wave of inspiration while visiting my parents at the weekend. They are in the slow process of planning to build a new house, and will need to have a massive clear out in the process. Their garage contains my bikes of yesteryear, and I was wondering if I could modernise one of these to make a reliable commuter. There is a choice between an early '80s Raleigh (my 14th birthday present.... how could she have been 14 in the early '80s, I hear you ask.... ) or my student bike... a bit of a frankenbike, build around a frame that my father found in the garage when they bought the house (so early '70s, possibly older). There also was another random steel frame (think from an old road bike that dad bought from a colleague).
Either way, I am thinking that I would want modern gears / brakes / components.
How difficult/expensive would this be to do? Is it too complicated for someone of my mechanical expertise?
If feasible, how do I decide which one to start from?

Would it actually just be best to buy a cheap road/CX bike?

... and no one suggest a fixie please!

Any top tips gratefully received!

An old steel frame, provided it hasn't rusted, it may have an allure of class about it.

It is just the cost of components and if they are easy to get due to how compatible they are, some frames may not have easily obtainable parts.

Go to the local cash converters and see what they have?

By and large it should be pretty easy, especially depending on your budget. There are a couple of things you might want to check along the way such as the BB threading and the spacing of the rear dropouts, but unless the frames are somehow 'exotic' I'm 99% sure it would be entirely strait forward.

You can pick up a full modern 11sp 105 from Merlin for £300
Wiggle have RS81 11sp wheelset for £89
then all you need is the finishing kit which can be as desirable or rough as you like.

So even with new kit it needn't break the bank. I've built up bikes where I've tried to fiddle around forcing various old components talk to one another and it can be a complete pain, but so long as the frame is in good condition it should be easy with most modern components.

Also I think old steel frames with modern groupsets look AMAZING. None of the green neon carbon stuff... if I were building a dream bike it would look like these:

The wonders of ebay is another option. I got a set of sti for about £35, crankset for £12, front mech £10 and rear for £3 (all 9 speed ultegra)

The only issue I've had is the rear brake cable is internally routed to the right hand side, so when I drill the frame for dual pivot brakes I will have to loop the cable round.

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CCS wrote:how could she have been 14 in the early '80s, I hear you ask....

Because you are a mere slip of a girl!

What's wrong with neon green carbon

Meh

Bendy Ben wrote:What's wrong with neon green carbon

Meh

Nothing at all other than the £££ and the fact that I wouldn't want to leave such a lovely think parked in the office car park. Plus I quite like the idea of being reunited with an old friend


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Bendy Ben wrote:What's wrong with neon green carbon

Meh

Bendy Ben wrote:What's wrong with neon green carbon

Meh

P.S. obviously still 1st dibbs when you get bored of it - I could even be persuaded to buy green shoes specially!