Raleigh Randonneur 708 (RSP) - fat tyre trad touring Welsh countryside botherer

Yup, agreed - gonna get creative to keep it as cheap as possible. For example, this has come up near my parents’s place, so if it comes down in price around a time I’m heading that way it may be worth it for the wheels and crankset: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404340225557

Otherwise, the monthly Bristol Bike Jumble is a great place for absurdly cheap but often nice bits amongst the crap

I think SP in stead of SON will save you like £200.

Also Re rims, I was thinking of sputniks to for a while but SJS and Spa hold other rims that cost the same, are half the weight, and are still considered pretty strong. Might be a good option.

Re dents, I think it's a total non-issue. Rust spots can go either way, but might be worth saving some money on not treating the dents? Or diy them?

Frame has sick braze ons, nice find.

Also if you're building wheels already, could go 650b and buy yourself some clearance?

All very good points - I'm not wedded to Sputniks but will try to go for the SON if I can... I work in the bike industry (sort of) so may be able to access a trade price if I ask nicely

Re: 650b, it s a good point but 35mm is plenty wide for what I will be doing with the bike... I've also dabbled plenty in switching up wheel sizes so I'm keen to keep it stock for the sake of simplicity

Actually I'm a dummy, you have cantis so you'd have to cut or move them, which is a ballache. Prolly not worth it.

SON will slap for sure, jealous.

I like the look of the spec, but why black Paselas? I've got tanwall ones on my Royal and they look ace.

This is progressing, but like slowly. Funds are going to remain an issue until our house move is complete (hooray for a mortgage being cheaper than rent).

For now, just picking up bits as they come. Today I got the front Sputnik rim NOS from my local bike project, along with a decent dropper post for the MTB, for £30 altogether - not a wild bargain but all proceeds to a good cause.

As soon as I have the money I’ll be sending the frame off to be done… if I have this all together by the spring I’ll be very happy!

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So as I'm leaving Bristol for good next week, I thought I'd get ahead and drop the frameset off at Argos for the repairs and respray needed. Very proud with myself having worked out a way to strap the frame to my bag using a hiking backpack and multiple Voile straps. The forks went in the front bag along with the decals, so +1 for the Brompton too.

The folks at Argos are beyond lovely, and really took the time to walk me through the options. Having seen the colours in person, I went for the straighter green Verde metallic. Also they quoted me £335 for the whole job, which seems very reasonable given the amount of rust. Overall 10/10 so far - we'll see the result sometime in October/November (I've told them to take their time with it as I'm in no rush, and they seemed super busy)

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Nothing too wild happening on this as we’ve moved house this week (and gained a massive workshop) and I’m wrecked. These lovely cranks just arrived though, so it’s starting to feel a little bit closer to a real bike

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That looks like it's going to make a great workshop, very envious.

Cheers - honestly pinching myself. Will make a separate thread for it and the rest of the house soon, given that it’s gonna be a proper project too

Houston, we have progress.

(Proper photos to follow)

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Oh man I’m obsessed with this colour- as you can see in the previous close up it’s an emerald green in low light, but in the rare sunshine we have today it’s a gaudy turquoise totally fitting with the era. So happy with how this has come out

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The crown is delightful. Looking forward to rattling around grim Welsh cycle paths with you on it.

So good to see that frame rescued, metallic green is always a good choice

I love projects like this, good stuff!

Thanks y’all! Excited to get this back on the road.

Currently having some internal debates around the spec - some bits are fixed (3x9, bar ends, Nitto Noodle etc) but the hubs are giving me trouble. Options I have are:

1. Basic Shimano T3000 matte silver rear with polished silver Shimano dynamo front (both rim brake only)
   
2. Shimano RS505 centre lock polished silver rear with the same rim brake dynamo front
   
3. Shimano RS505 centre lock with polished SON centre lock front dynamo
   
4. Something else?
   
   

Noisy freehubs on anything but a MTB aren’t my bag, but neither is things not matching. The non-shiny rear hub is the sticking point that making me doubt my choices. Any of these options will be on polished Ryde Sputniks fwiw. Any views? I have time to dwell on tiny things like this as I don’t need it to be built up before the spring

Look for a LX T660? Bit more silver than the gunmetal T610

Pair it with a SP PD-8 just cos it’s on sale at spa for £54

link

Paint looks great!!

Centrelock hubs on a rim brake-only frameset feel a bit pervy to me. Is the frame 130 or 135mm spaced?

@packet have been on the hunt for both and no luck - I think I’ve found an M Part wheel with one in it but £70 just to unlace it seems silly

@JacqueLucque agreed, even if CL would be more subtle than 6 bolt. It’s 135mm so the shiny Tiagra RS400 hub they do now is a no-go

An extra 2.5mm spacer on either side of a hub wouldn’t be a huge deal IMO. I would be surprised if that didn’t leave enough axle protruding for the QRs. Or you could pinch an axle from a donor 135mm hub. You could also consider an older MTB a hub?

Some context

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Haha I also have a saved search.

Rear wheel currently is a black XT 780, mismatched with the silver SP dynamo.

Might eventually change it but also happy to leave it. The bike is built and works lol

You’re right - could nick the axle from this guy

Bloody lovely refurb. Not sure if it is on your radar, but I found the Argos paint finish quite soft/delicate so perhaps helicopter tape the downtube/fork legs before building up?