Elysuim: 1975 Raleigh 9-Speed

This is my second bike-build. In creating this I kept two themes in mind: I wanted to use a good blend of vintage and new parts, and I wanted a geared bike while trying to keep that hipster/fixie look. Overall I'm very pleased.

The frame is a 1975 Raleigh Supercourse. It's made of Reynolds 531, but the real reason I picked it was the sweet Capella lugs which came on all Supercourses that year. Had a local shop do the green flake powdercoat, while the black lugs were hand painted by me. The powdercoaters did an amazing job and these photos don't really do it justice. It *really* sparkles in direct sunlight.

For the drivetrain I went with a 1x9 setup. Probably wouldn't be the best in mountains but for the flat MN geography it does well enough, and it keeps the lines clean. I cold-set the rear triangle to fit the wider Gipiemme hub, as seen on Sheldon Brown's site.

Oh yeah, the original Nottingham headbadge was junk, so I replaced it with the one here. Found it at the LBS - somehow over the years the gold paint had faded/washed away, leaving a silver Raleigh badge. While it's not a USA bike, I like how the color matches.