This is the bike that started my blogging. This is SB4059, my Raleigh SBDU Team Pro 753.
My site is full of posts about this bike so here is a space that brings the best of those posts together into one place.
I don’t build replica bikes, I build bikes to be visually how I want them to look and I use parts that I personally like to ride. So not only do I not build replica bikes, I also don’t always follow the purist path and use what many would consider to be the correct period parts. But SB4059 is different – this bike has been built to a spec, in fact to be completely correct, it has been built to a mixture of specs. It was built to two known sources, both by Gerald O’Donovan, that detailed the spec of the TI-Raleigh team bikes between 1980 and 1982.
Every part you see on SB4059 is as per team specification. These parts have been built onto a 1980 Reynolds 753 SBDU frameset. The frame uses the classic SB 753 frame features from the 1980 period such as the Metric diameter tubing, over size seat stay caps, drilled Campagnolo 1010/B fork ends, RGF bottom bracket shell, Prugnat 62D lugs and a Vagner semi sloping fork crown. It was built at a transitional period as the SBDU were introducing recessed brake fittings. SB3800 is an example of a frame built for recessed brakes and uses a Cinelli fork crown and different brake bridge in order to achieve that. SB4059 retains the nutted brake calipers that it was built for.
Here is SB4059…
Here are a selected set of posts from the many that I’ve written about this bike.
Gerald O’Donovan described it as the ‘Team 80’ spec… here is a look at the detail of Joop’s 1980 team bike
TI-Raleigh Joop Zoetemelk Team Bike Specification from SBDU
I’m frequently asked about the specification of TI-Raleigh’s team bikes. The most popular search terms I see on my blog stats and the most viewed blog posts relate to ‘specifications’. However, the question about specification isn’t an easy question to answer by any means! Professional teams, not just TI-Raleigh, had a range of kit they would use. Each race was different and each stage of each race was different. Different gear ratios were used, different derailleurs, different rims, different tubs, depending on the road surface, conditions and stage type. Each rider was also different. So how do you answer that question when there are so many variables?
A lot of careful work went into removing and fitting replacement transfers and fresh paint so I could finally correct the look of SB4059
SB4059 SBDU Ilkeston 1980 TI-Raleigh Team Ppr Reynolds 753 – A New (and Correct) Look
It has been a long couple of days but I’ve finally completed this small and difficult project to bring SB4059 up to spec in terms of a 1980 period SBDU TI-Raleigh transfer scheme. Deciding to go for it and wreck the paint on a perfectly good frame meant that there was no going back. Thankfully my patience and care have paid off and SB4059 is done!
A tiny detail, but this bike is all about those tiny details – new and original period Campagnolo brake cables and cable setup
SB4059 1980 SBDU Ilkeston TI-Raleigh Team Pro Reynolds 753 Replacement Brake Cables
This build started in December 2011 when the frame turned up in a box and a lot has happened since then. I first blogged about it in January 2012. During the last 4 years, as I’ve found new replacement kit that matches the Team spec, I’ve swapped several bits over. From the initial build back in December 2013, I’ve replaced the saddle, freewheel, chain, tubs, gear cables, spokes, toe clips and straps, handlebar finishing tape and end plugs, and now it is the turn of the brake cable outer. It has been 90-99% complete and perfect since I wrote a blog post about Gerald O’Donovan’s description of the ‘Team 80’ specification last year, but there were still a couple of things that needed attention.
Even though the wheels on SB4059 were immaculate, they weren’t team spec until I finally sourced and fitted chrome Berg Union spokes
TI-Raleigh Team Specification Berg Union Spokes SB4059 SBDU Team Pro 753 1980 Wheel Rebuild
This post gives me the opportunity to play with my favourite bike, my Team Pro 753 TI-Raleigh. I’ve built this bike as close to the only specification I’ve ever seen for the TI-Raleigh team. Hunting down the perfect quality parts has been an obsession for over 4 years. Last year I got to approx 95% of that team spec after I found some Sturmey Archer toe clips and straps. I think most people would be happy with that, but in the back of my mind, my OCD was shouting at me to finish the quest for 100% perfection.
Some things develop over time, and these Sturmey Archer toe clips were the 4th set of clips on this bike
TI-Raleigh Creda Sturmey Archer Sportif Toe Clips SBDU Ilkeston Team Pro 753 SB4059
Is SB4059 ever going to be finished? The answer is probably no, but today I took another step closer when another piece of the puzzle slotted into place. I’ve had various sets of toe clips over the last 5 years but they have never been the period correct item. Period correct is what I am striving for with this build.
An extra special bit of detail, a Contrex Feed Station Bidon…
A Little Bit of Detail From the Tour de France Specialites TA Contrex Feed Station Bidon
Some things I set myself up to find for my bikes are extremely rare! Patience, and keeping one eye constantly on the internet, is the only way to secure these hard to find parts. One such item is the type of water bottle seen handed out at feed stations and kept in the water bottle cages of the likes of Joop Zoetemelk and the rest of the TI-Raleigh team during the Tour de France of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
My initial build specification of SB4059. It has changed many times since I wrote this post but there is still good technical detail in here
TI Raleigh Team Pro 753 1980 SB4059 Build Specification
I’ve just realised that I have never detailed the build of this bike. I tried my best to recreate a build specification that was sent by Gerald O’Donovan to a customer in 1982. This was the first build in 2014, but as more ‘correct’ parts became available such as Sedis chain and Maillard freewheel, the build changed.
Here is a full list of posts about SB4059
