Modding a Raleigh Winner from the 80s

[velonewbie]

Hi Everyone! I hope I am posting in the correct section, if not please bear with me..

My son is getting into kids of steel triathlons and I want to get him to ride a road bike but without spending too much $$$... my wife had an old Raleigh Winner from the 80s that she rode and I figured why not... he is only 4'4"... took a look at this bike and here is what I want to do it..

I want to swap out the wheels with 650c wheels but all the wheels I found have the modern freehub...the cog set on the raleigh is a 5 speed shimano mf-z012. The RD is a Suntour Rival using suntour power shifters. I took off the cassette since the existing wheels are pretty much gone not to mention very heavy.

So, what do I do to put a set of 650c newer wheels on this bike? is there someway I can install the cassette on it without modding anything else?

Advice would be appreciated!

 

[alfeng]

Hi Everyone! I hope I am posting in the correct section, if not please bear with me..

My son is getting into kids of steel triathlons and I want to get him to ride a road bike but without spending too much $$$... my wife had an old Raleigh Winner from the 80s that she rode and I figured why not... he is only 4'4"... took a look at this bike and here is what I want to do it..

I want to swap out the wheels with 650c wheels but all the wheels I found have the modern freehub...the cog set on the raleigh is a 5 speed shimano mf-z012. The RD is a Suntour Rival using suntour power shifters. I took off the cassette since the existing wheels are pretty much gone not to mention very heavy.

So, what do I do to put a set of 650c newer wheels on this bike? is there someway I can install the cassette on it without modding anything else?

Advice would be appreciated!

Presuming that your wife's bike is a Road bike, then without knowing how tall she is/was & without actually seeing your wife's bicycle, I'm going to guess that it will still be much too large a bike for your son to ride after you install 650c wheels ... at least, until he is about 5'0".

At 4'4", your son is probably going to need a bike which uses 24" wheels.

There must be USED "racing" bikes in sizes for smaller riders ... ask the race organizers what shop(s) sell the smaller racing bikes AND then ask the shop(s) if any used bikes are available.

BTW. Installing 650c wheels in a frame designed for larger wheels (700c or 27") is not a simple chore ... you will need to measure the "brake reach" and then find suitable calipers which can be used OR braze/weld new attachment bridges.

The ONLY really long reach caliper that I've actually looked at in the past was a BMX brake caliper (95mm), and it was incredibly stiff and I suspect would be very tiring for a young rider (heck, anyone!) to use.

I suppose that there is a chance that you might be able to take an "old" 3-speed frame (26" wheels) ... spread the rear triangle to 130mm ... and then, change the wheels out (to 24" wheels).

What is your son's inseam length?

Start with THAT measurement to determine how small/large a frame you can/(need to) work with -- 5cm for the saddle + 16.5cm for the crank == 21.5cm + frame seat tube length/(minimum frame "size") == your son's inseam.
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