Jun 112009
Few changes to my Raleigh Arena Lately. New Nitto Riser bars and Technomic Stem. New Front wheel- Black Velocity B43 Rim Radially laced to Blue Soma Track Hub. Held together by black custom length wheelsmith spokes and blue nipples. Rolling on a Maxxis Detonator front, Rubino rear.
Lookin’ good dude! I’m loving that front wheel!
Holy sh*t, real people in wellington with actual fixies. Do you guys do meet ups or anything? Haha, would be keen…
Hey Max,
We’re just 2 friends with fixed gear bikes. We try and ride around 3 times a week. Glen also has a few people he knows that ride too.
We should definitely meet up somewhere, sometime.
Hey awesome looking bikes you guys have, im from the hutt too. heres a couple of photos of my fixie
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40095175@N04/3686065241/in/photostream/
I’m around town pretty much for the rest of the week, except Tuesday…
Bike looks great, I’ve just bought an old Raleigh Arena frame for a fixie project, it’s currently got 26″ wheels on it – did you manage to fit 27″ers on yours? cheers
Hi Anna,
I put 700C wheels on it, which are slightly smaller than 27″.
700C is the common size for road wheels. You should be able to get some nice rims over that way. Try Bricklane Bikes
Have a look here for more information on rim sizing: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rim-sizing.html
Thanks for your interest, and enjoy the Raleigh
Cheers for the advice
I’ve started to dismantle but the stem is stuck and the cotter pins are seized up in the cranks – nothing is ever easy LOL
bike project! sounds exiting. Be sure to share your pics!
Hi Richard and Anna,
I too have just purchased a Raleigh Arena, ready to transform it to a fixie beaut. Being a Nottingham lad living in Tokyo, i naturally wanted a solid piece of Nottingham steel between my legs!
Here is the bike as it stands:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160377431043&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
For its age it looks in great condition to me. Can you give me any advice or any problems you have had with your projects? It would be a great help. Also, what are the dropout spacings? 120mm on the back and 100mm o the front? Bottom bracket size? Easy to convert?
My dad is picking it up next week and i intend to do the conversion when i am in the UK over Christmas and then bring it back to Japan.
Excited!
Cheers,
Mark.
Hi Mark!
The condition of the frame looks great!
The spacing is 100m front and 120mm rear. If it’s a bit out you can always put washers in.
I was quite lucky, in that I didn’t really encounter any problems. With the bottom bracket, I think it’s 68×103 or 109, I can’t really remember. From memory, the seatpost size is 25.4mm, which is a little smaller than the standard 27.2mm – limiting the choices if you want to get a replacement.
Good luck with the build.
Hi Richard, thanks for the info. Your Arena is looking HOT by the way!
You said you put 700cc wheels in no problem? I like the look of the B43s on the frame. I will upload photos as i go so you can see the project. I am glad to have finally found someone else who has chosen a Raleigh Arena as their project! I may be in touch with more questions…
Mark.
Thanks for the comments.
The 700c wheels fit in fine, though using brakes could prove difficult. The wheels that come on the frame are 27″ which is slightly bigger than 700c. The bike has changed a little from this post, I put dura-ace cranks on it. Now I’ve got a white rear B43 laced to a Dura-Ace hub and Blue Sugino 75 cranks. If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to ask.