Tag: Featured
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TI-Raleigh Tour de France Hennie Kuiper HK276
“TI-Raleigh Tour de France!” It only really dawned on me the day after I bought it, but this bike could be something amazing, a special bike for TI-Raleigh and the Tour de France! The day after Nigel and Carol left HK276 with me, I sat at my computer and ‘BANG!’, the thought came into my
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Bob Jackson Preserving SB498 NYC Reynolds 753 Show Frame
When builders create frames destined for cycle shows, they want the frame to be the best of the best. They want an object that represents the pinnacle of their brand. After all, they want sales, they want people to see they are embracing the latest technology. They want great press, and they want people to
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TI-Raleigh Team Bike Number Use – Is There a Definitive Truth
Is there a definitive truth about what each numbered bike was used for. Every now and then I dip into social media. I often jump straight back out after reading some comments. The problem can be that lots of statements are made, and worryingly, lots of those statements are believed. But what’s behind these statements,
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Alan Oakley’s Raleigh Dynaflite 753 (No Frame Number) – New Arrival
Sometimes I feel the Raleigh Gods look favourably on me and send cool bikes my way. It’s either that, or it’s my dedication to a decade of blogging and networking to get my name out there that does it. Whatever it is, pictures of Alan Oakley’s Raleigh Dynaflite fell into my email inbox, and I
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1980 Raleigh 753 TI-Raleigh SB4039 – New Arrival
A 1980 Raleigh 753 in TI colours, there is no better way to start the year. 1980 was maybe the pinnacle for this bike and colour combination! It was the height of TI-Raleigh’s success following Joop’s victory in that year’s Tour de France. Some would say the 1980 TI-Raleigh was Iconic. SB4039 is clearly a
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Bob Jackson 753 1975 SB498 From Raleigh SBDU – New Arrival
A Bob Jackson 753 from 1975? Yes, that is how it appears. It’s only the presence of an SB frame number that confirms this as a Raleigh SBDU. For many years, the story of this frame was unknown. It is only recently that a clue has been found. However, even with that clue, the story
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1974 SBDU SB9 Assembly – Part One
1974 SBDU frames are incredibly rare, so SB9, which still has original paint and Campagnolo Super Record 1st generation components is getting a full strip and clean. I don’t think it has been cleaned since it was first built. This is the first part of putting SB9 back together. The paint and chrome have been
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SBDU Paint Preservation – SB9 1974 Cleaning the Original Paint
SBDU Paint Preservation is step one of the work I need to do following the earlier stripdown of SB9. I don’t know if SB9 has ever had a clean since it was built in 1974. Every surface, every scratch and every lug line seems to be ingrained with 46 years of dirt and dust.
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1st Generation Campagnolo Super Record – SB9 Stripdown
1st Gen Super Record components on an original paint 1974 SBDU bike! Not just a 1974 SBDU bike, but also a single digit SBDU bike! This bike has to be preserved. It is suffering, it has 46 years of dirt, built up year on year, layer on top of layer. To see the real beauty
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SBDU SB9 – Sharing Frame Numbers Across the Pond
SBDU SB9 has certainly sparked interest in the Raleigh community since it returned to the UK. And it is set to create more. If SB9 is now settled back in the UK, how can it also still be in the US!
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1974 Raleigh SBDU SB9 – New Arrival – Home From America
1974 Raleigh SBDU frames, there aren’t too many, believed to be no more than 50. My thoughts on the use of the word ‘Rare’ are documented in my blog, I think it is used too much to incorrectly describe common SBDU frames. But just like my 753 Dynaflite, I think SB9 rightly deserves it. This
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Handlebar Wrapping – Putting the Finishing Touches to SB5422 with New Cables and Bar Tape
Handlebar wrapping can be one of those bike building tasks you either love or hate. When it is done badly it will make the best build look terrible. When it is done well it will be the crowning glory. So for this post, I did a video to show my method and theory.
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50th Anniversary Super Record Bits and Pieces – SB5422 Gets a Few More Parts
Bolting a couple of derailleurs and other small parts to a frame is the easy stage of any bike build. Normally I build in three stages. In the previous post, I did the first stage, the frame prep and fitting the BB and Headset. That means all I have to do next is use a
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Campagnolo Super Record Titanium Bottom Bracket and Headset – My SB5422 Build Continues
Campagnolo Super Record 50th Anniversary Group – that’s what I’m working with again. But before I get to the shiny gold parts, I need to fit the BB and Headset.
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Frame Prep – Frame Facing and Fork Crown Race Cutting – My SB5422 Build Starts
Frame Prep! Any task requires prep. Great prep should be the foundation of everything you do, it will give you the best chance of achieving the results you are after. So if you are restoring, renovating, or just servicing some parts, don’t skip the fundamentals! SB5422 has been built previously, and everything seemed ok with
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Frame Preservation Required. A Bargain New Arrival with Issues and a Missing Fork. An Original SBDU Ilkeston Team Pro Under £100
One of my top collecting aims is to document and preserve the originality of SBDU frames, especially the TI-Raleigh scheme. This scheme is one of the most recognisable in cycling history. But it’s also the one that renovators get wrong so often. So frame preservation and securing those details is key with this example.
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SBDU Frame Number Mystery – Solving a Puzzle
It’s time to figure out the correct SBDU frame number for my frame stamped as SB4522. Is that number correct? Is it SB5422, indicated on the fork column? Once again, being able to read the SBDU frame details should give me the answer to this mystery.
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Campagnolo 50th Anniversary Super Record Raleigh Ilkeston SBDU Reynolds 753 Bike – New Arrival
This is probably the only bike that has had a pre-new arrival post. I wrote about this Campagnolo 50th Anniversary bike a short while ago when I had it ‘on approval’. A kind of try before you buy deal. I had only spoken to the seller online but he trusted me enough to drop the
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Raleigh SBDU Track Bike SB8850 (Nottingham) Reynolds 531c – New Arrival
This was a quick decision, a moment of thought before pressing the button. It was a lovely Raleigh SBDU track bike. I knew this bike before seeing it for sale online. I saw details and images of it last year, so when it appeared, I recognised it straight away and knew a little about it.
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A Reynolds 753 Ilkeston Raleigh SBDU with Campagnolo Super Record 50th Anniversary Group – Built for Denton Cycles, But What’s the Frame Number
There is no doubt that this bike is fitted with a Campagnolo Super Record 50th Anniversary Group. There is also no doubt that this is a Reynolds 753 Ilkeston Raleigh SBDU frame. And there is indeed no doubt that this frame does have an SB frame number. So why am I confused about the frame
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Roy Schuiten GP Lugano and Grand Prix des Nations 1975 TI-Raleigh Bike
Back in March 2018, a short but interesting email dropped into my Inbox… I am the son off Roy Schuiten. I recently found a time trial bike off my fathers. I want to share some pictures and thoughts with you. Rob Schuiten 24th March 2018 That was it, short and sweet, but I was intrigued
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Motor Paced Stayer – Could it be a Jan le Grand Build for TI-Raleigh Rider René Pijnen
I’m going to make a bold statement right at the beginning of this blog post… my theory is that this Stayer frame could be a frame built by Jan le Grand for TI-Raleigh team rider René Pijnen – now all I have to do is use the rest of this post to try and convince
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A Mysterious Motor Paced Stayer Frame – New Arrival
Every now and then I spot something slightly different, something that I struggle to identify but which has the potential to be something nice, maybe even special. Usually I might be the only one to spot it which normally gives me the luxury of a little time to do some research. On this occasion though,
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SB4059 SBDU Ilkeston 1980 TI-Raleigh Team Pro Reynolds 753 – Seat Lug Thread Repair
I’m gradually working my way through the snagging list on SB4059, all those little jobs that I know about and that require attention are slowly getting done. Not so long ago I swapped the original Campagnolo grey outer brake cables for original Campagnolo black alternatives, and I also updated some of the frame transfers so
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SB6827 SBDU Ilkeston Raleigh Reynolds 531c 1984 Road Bike Unridden Condition – New Arrival
Sometimes when I see a bike that someone else owns I feel a little pang of jealousy, I can’t help it. And that is exactly how I felt nearly two years ago when I was first sent images of SB6827. The images were of a beautiful SB bike, it was original, the red paint was
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Specialist Bicycle Development Unit (SBDU Ilkeston) Seat Stay Design and Seat Lug Attachment
You probably think seat stays are quite boring, why on earth would I devote a blog post to the two narrow tapering tubes on the back of a frame? Well as you hopefully all know by now, I do like my details, especially the small details! The various designs and subtle differences in seat stays
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Shimano Dura-Ace 7400 7401 7402 7403 7410 Series Road Component System 1984 – 1996
The year was 1984. I was only 14 and riding a beat up Raleigh Grifter around the estate. My parent’s shed was my workshop and I was kept busy fixing the bikes for all the local kids. My own bikes were fitted with names such as Sturmey Archer, Simplex, Huret and Weinmann. At the same
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SB4059 1980 SBDU Ilkeston TI-Raleigh Team Pro Reynolds 753 Replacement Brake Cables
It’s been a while since I’ve written anything about this bike. SB4059 is my original bike, number #1 in the collection, the bike that started the blog and the search for SBDU knowledge! One day I hope to say SB4059 is finally finished and today, it takes one step closer.
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SBDU Ilkeston Reynolds 753 Raleigh Pursuit Frame SH377T – New Arrival
eBay… it is a place I try to avoid. I like to find bikes and frames that haven’t had much exposure to the internet. eBay links containing interesting vintage bikes are shared across social media, and before you know it, the item has been seen by thousands and hyped up to a point that the
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SB3505 1980 SBDU Ilkeston Reynolds 753 TI-Raleigh Team Pro – Photographed
If I ever get the time and opportunity, I’ll take bikes into my wife’s photography studio and pick up the camera to capture the details of these frames. It’s good to get them into an environment where there are no background distractions, the focus is purely on the frame. Because SB3505 is in it’s original