'86 Raleigh Technium 460 Part 2

Here is the second installment of The Technium Project...

The hoods were dry-rotted, so they had to come off. Then, because I couldn't stand it anymore, I removed the handlebar tape. It was a horrid hot pink/black checkered finish (my apologies to Henry or whomever chose the tape in the first place.) Not exactly my style. The hoods came off easily, of course, but the tape left a sticky residue. I went for the old stand-by Goof-Off. It didn't take long, and the handlebars were looking shiny and new. By the way, I absolutely love the look of those vintage Weinmann (drilled out) brake levers. Totally cool...

My next step was to tackle the front chain ring and derailleur and rear free-wheel and derailleur, the crank, and the chain. They were beyond dirty.

 

I went to my LBS and picked up a crank remover. While I was there, I also ordered the handlebar tape and replacement hoods. I chose a lite gray color for the tape, and black, Cane Creek repro hoods for the brake levers. Even though I wanted to keep the Tech as close to original as possible, I couldn't see spending the extra money on NOS Weinmann hoods.

After I removed the crank and chain ring, I placed the parts in a weak solution of Krud Kutter. It did a wonderful job. They cleaned up nicely. I soaked the chain in the same solution, and it too cleaned up very well. (As an aside, here, I will probably use Mother's Mag on the aluminum parts now that I am done. I think it will do a better job than the Brasso I used.)

 



I then removed the rear derailleur and de-greased and re-greased the gears. It is buttery smooth, now, compared to the condition I found it in. No bearings here, only bushings. (The fight with the bearings comes in the third installment, as I take on the hubs.) Here is a pic of the finished product:

 

I was very lucky, by the way. The cables, and their clear plastic covers, are in excellent condition. I did not have to do anything to them other than clean the covers.

 

At this point, with my fingers, thumbs and forearms aching, my wife insinuated that I loved my Tech more than her. I simply re-directed her gaze to the soft glow of her Ipad and lived to polish another day.

 

Thanks for reading, and please join me for the third installment of The Technium Project.

 

Hickorygrove

 



 

'86 Raleigh Technium 460 Part 1

It all started with a Craigslist post.

My wife wanted to get an Ipad, and I wanted to get a new road bike. I wanted to get back into road riding (I had an aluminum Schwinn 594 back in the early '90's, and sold it after my son was born).

My wife had been saving for awhile, and I had been saving for only about a month. I realized it would take me a lot longer to save (especially since the bicycles I wanted (a new Trek) would be about $1000), and she was very close to having her Ipad. I had saved $250, and she was $150 away from her Apple Tablet.

There was no way I was going to be able to save enough money before the Fall, so I decided to go a different direction. I began to look for an old, solid, light road bike. My plan was to pick up a fixer-upper and ride it while I saved for next season.

I answered a Craigslist ad for an '80's Raleigh Technium. It was an older, Finnish gentleman who was trying to sell the bike. He was knowledgeable about bicycles, and had several others in his garage. He was kind, but didn't exactly want to give the bike away, obviously. He wanted $125, and I knew I wanted to stay at $100 or less. We did the Craigslist dance, and settled at $100.

(The Raleigh Technium was built using thermal bonded, high strength, heat treated aluminum. Translation, the aluminum tubes were bonded together using a chemical curing method, instead of the traditional welding method. It is a very light bike for having been built in 1986, by the way...exactly 24lbs, by my scale.)

I was really happy with my score, but knew I had my hands full, as the Tech needed to be cleaned desperately, and needed new rubber. The brake lines and other cables were solid, as were the rims and spokes, although they needed cleaned.

Later that day, much to her surprise, I was able to present my wife with the $150 she needed to procure her Ipad, and then went to work on my Tech.

Here is the Tech as it stood when I brought it home...



 

 



As you can see, the Tech needed some TLC. I didn't have a bike repair stand, so I used our bike rack on the back of the van. Any old port in a storm, so to speak. The first thing to go was the old, Serfas Tailbones gel saddle. It looked like something my mother would use on her cruiser, so it had to go. I immediately began looking for a new one on Ebay and at my LBS.

 

After I began taking pictures, it became apparent that I would be in the market for a good degreaser.

 

 

 

I wanted to use a biodegradable one, as my LBS tech informed me that the one they used to use (which was not biodegradable) was now not considered acceptable for use on bicycle chains and gears by them and the degreaser company. I settled on Krud Kutter.

 

I have some mechanical ability, thanks to my father and working on my first bike (a 1984 Schwinn Predator), and the aforementioned 594.

 

 

 

So, I went to work.

 

Look for '86 Raleigh Technium 460 Part 2 soon...

 

Hickorygrove