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| Raleigh Oakland 6500 km done |
I’ve now had the Raleigh Oakland for seven months and I’ve been doing an average of around 1000 km a month on it, slowed up a little for the last few weeks but I’ve now done more than 6500 km. This winter has been very mild and I have been able to keep cycling away.
In my previous reviews I wrote about the poor quality of the chainwheels. Well things got worse since then and the chain began to slip badly, so I decided to overhaul the entire drive system. I replaced the chainwheels, cassette and chain with new parts.
The chain was long overdue a change and in future I will pay more attention to its condition and make a greater effort to keep it cleaned and lubed. Hopefully this will extend its life. The chainwheels and cassette were a problem from I first rode the bike. In the early weeks I changed gear hard and with the power full on and this caused some chipping of the teeth. I am changing gear carefully with the new gears and expect to get at least 12,000 and maybe 15,000 km out of the new set.
All new parts were purchased from my local Raleigh dealer Clarkes of Cavan, where I bought the bike. They had the chain and cassette in stock, the chainwheels they had to order, which took a week. The chainwheels cost 28 euro, the cassette 13 euro and the chain 10 euro. I also changed the brake blocks, which cost 3 euro, got them in ALDI on special offer last year. Total cost of new parts 54 euro, added to the 360 euro I’d spent already and the bike has so far cost me 414 euro.
I also stripped, cleaned and regreased the pedals. I had to fiddle about with the brakes to get them working properly. In all it took me about 4 hours to complete all the work, but a lot of time was lost learning as I went.
I took the Oakland out for a 30 km run after the service and she is running like new. Apart from the drive train, the brake blocks, the back wheel and the bottom bracket all the components have been on it since the day I bought it and are all working well.
This bike is my main personal transport and my main leisure transport. Right now it is running perfectly and I’m looking forward to the next 6500 km. The tyres are beginning to show signs of wear but I reckon there is a few thousand km in them yet.
The days are beginning to get longer and I’m starting to wonder where me and the Oakland might go touring this summer. I’m thinking of Clifden on the west coast.
In my previous reviews I wrote about the poor quality of the chainwheels. Well things got worse since then and the chain began to slip badly, so I decided to overhaul the entire drive system. I replaced the chainwheels, cassette and chain with new parts.
The chain was long overdue a change and in future I will pay more attention to its condition and make a greater effort to keep it cleaned and lubed. Hopefully this will extend its life. The chainwheels and cassette were a problem from I first rode the bike. In the early weeks I changed gear hard and with the power full on and this caused some chipping of the teeth. I am changing gear carefully with the new gears and expect to get at least 12,000 and maybe 15,000 km out of the new set.
All new parts were purchased from my local Raleigh dealer Clarkes of Cavan, where I bought the bike. They had the chain and cassette in stock, the chainwheels they had to order, which took a week. The chainwheels cost 28 euro, the cassette 13 euro and the chain 10 euro. I also changed the brake blocks, which cost 3 euro, got them in ALDI on special offer last year. Total cost of new parts 54 euro, added to the 360 euro I’d spent already and the bike has so far cost me 414 euro.
I also stripped, cleaned and regreased the pedals. I had to fiddle about with the brakes to get them working properly. In all it took me about 4 hours to complete all the work, but a lot of time was lost learning as I went.
I took the Oakland out for a 30 km run after the service and she is running like new. Apart from the drive train, the brake blocks, the back wheel and the bottom bracket all the components have been on it since the day I bought it and are all working well.
This bike is my main personal transport and my main leisure transport. Right now it is running perfectly and I’m looking forward to the next 6500 km. The tyres are beginning to show signs of wear but I reckon there is a few thousand km in them yet.
The days are beginning to get longer and I’m starting to wonder where me and the Oakland might go touring this summer. I’m thinking of Clifden on the west coast.
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| Old chain on top, note the stretch. |
Oakland Reviewed Part 1
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