Bling

I have been busy here rebuilding an old lugged Raleigh "Sportif" that I rescued from the metals bin at the town transfer station earlier this summer. I am very pleased with how this project is progressing and the bike turns out to be a very comfortable and responsive ride. When I dragged the carcass home, the bike had been the victim of a poorly done "flat bar" conversion complete with big old ugly "comfort" saddle. The wheels were egg shaped and rubbed the brakes both fore and aft. The only thing that saved the old cromoly was a protective coating of oily grease on everything. I wish I had taken a "before" picture. I completely stripped the frame and did a through cleaning, hours of truing and polishing, lots of fitting and re-fitting. New cables, a nice vintage brooks, salvaged bars, and brand new fenders from Velo Orange. I still have to decide on what color bar tape, a water bottle cage and it will be ready to roll. Oh, and yes, I have cut the fender stays since the pictures were taken.






I am really happy with the fenders, they are nice quality and fairly easy to install. Steve and Sam over at Revolution Bicycles in Saugerties were very helpful as always. It is so nice to have a LBS in the area where you can ask questions, order parts, or simply talk bikes without any of the attitude or pressure that I feel in other bike shops.