Raleigh Grand Prix

No tips, but I'd definitely love to see some pics.

 

The men in my shop said this was a very nice bike in its day. No reason it can't still be a nice bike if the frame is not too rusted. I have an old Record rigged as a single-speed.

I like old steel bikes.

 

On chrome plated components that have surface rust, use lemon juice or citrus-based cleaner, and scrub with aluminum foil. The foil will not damage the chrome like, for instance, steel wool. The results are pretty amazing.

Before:


After:

 

Lots of elbow grease and WD-40 to get into the tight spots. if everything moves freely this will be a great project. I have a Raleigh tri-light from early 80's. I dont ride her much anymore but its been fun bring her back to life. I still take her now and then just so she does not feel forgoton.

George

 

Hi Dean,

I agree with the specific bike lube, I was referring to wd-40 was if things are frozen, I wasn't clear

George

 

ive recently found a similar bike im trying to fix up

its a 1976 grand prix with just the frame,forks,bars,and crank

im having a hard time getting the crank arms off, being that old would they be one peice or are they just really stuck?

 

I can't imagine a Grand Grand Prix having a one piece crank, especially not in 1976. You can find the original catalogue specs for your bike HERE:

1976 Raleigh Grand Prix

I hope yours is one of those, because it is a Carlton built model as evidenced by the beautiful wraparound stays. If your crank is like the one in the picture, it is a cottered crank. To remove it you will need to unscrew the little nut on the end of the cotter pin and then BANG the cotter pin very assertively with a hammer. Repeat on other crank arm. Once you have the cotter pins out the crank arms should come right off with a little coaxing.

The only thing to keep in mind is that if you are doing this to go to a cotterless crankset, it is going to mean getting a newer cotterless bottom bracket spindle and/or replacing the bottom bracket entirely.

I may be giving you more info than you want, but if you are planning on going cotterless, save those BB cups and try to find a Raleigh cotterless spindle that will work. Unfortunately the threading on your era of Raleigh is proprietary, and a standard replacement BB won't work! The BB shell is threaded for 26 TPI, which only Raleigh used. Anyway if this is what you're trying to do, let me know and I'll give you as much info as I can.

Good luck.

 

Hi there, you may be able to narrow down your search for a year here:

Retro Raleighs: The Grand Prix

Have fun cleaning it up and getting it back on the road. I started my love affair with vintage bikes on a Grand Prix, and I loved that bike (it was stolen).
I've found a lot can be done to improve these bike's appearance by replacing the vinyl saddle (if it has one) with a traditional Brooks leather saddle, and putting on new bar tape, like the Raleigh here:

1974 Raleigh Professional Bicycle - $3,200.00 : HOUSE OF PAINE, store

In any case have fun with it, a Grand Prix is a great place to start, and it's very cool that it was your Dad's bike as well.

 

Funny

Hey, I have a similar model bike that was my father's and am in the process of restoring it! The cotter pins are just really stuck! Those are the things that hold the crank arm on. If you've already removed those then you've already won half the war. Try some WD-40 around where the crank arms meet the main shaft and then try backing it off with a few taps with a hammer padding the crank arm with a towel or wood so you don't dent of damage it. I'll post some of my project pics soon.

 

lube

YES! Definitely do not skimp on the lube! When I first half-assed this bike restore job I used normal heavy duty mechanical/auto grease on all the bearing.
WHAT A MISTAKE!
During this last rebuild I went to the LBS (local bike shop) and got a high quality bicycle grease and what a world of difference it made!

 

I sold these bikes when they were new (early 70's), and owned one myself. My recollection is that the Grand Prix was top of the line Raleigh and a wonderful all around bike, balancing reasonably light weight (for the time) with good strength- would be a "road touring" bike today. I'd clean it up, lube where necessary and replace tubes/tires- then enjoy it. I've found Turtle wax to be useful for cleaning and polishing after the initial wipe down with a damp rag.

 

Grand Prix sort of

I ran around on a old Raleigh Grand Prix for years. I set it up as a cross bike with Sturmey Archer hub brakes and since it was set up with 27 inch wheels originally It worked really well with my 30c tri cross tires. As long as I didn't care how fast I went It was not a problem(I had really low gears on it)

the problem was that it was not the highest quality set up and it had a really weird bottom bracket threading. It was made by the Gazelle company for Raleigh during the first bike boom (around 75). It was never the top of the line. You can't put it in the same league as a Raleigh Pro. Its like comparing a Ford GT40 and a Pinto. Their both cars and their both Fords But, that's it.

If your looking to set it up as a commuter or a around town bike its a good way to go but, its not a super bike by any means.

mike

 

I have been riding my GP (white/black) for 36 years. Bought from Frank Kirby Cycles in St Benedicts, Norwich, UK in 1975. Changed the original rear tyre last week as it looked a little threadbare. Original brake blocks still in but compared to modern brakes pretty ineffective. Sadly, the bike was stored in a damp shed for several years and the paintwork and chrome has suffered.

Must comment on the bottom bracket info given above. I recently replaced the original steel cottered twin crankset with an aluminium cotterless triple (need the lower gearing nowadays) and used a standard modern £6 bottom bracket replacement to fit.

I replaced the original Simplex derailleur (still have it somewhere) with a SunTour VX in the early 1980s ready for wider ratios. An excellent changer.

As I recall, Frank mentioned at the time that these bikes were actually made for the US market but he got mine because regular UK models were in short supply.