The Raleigh Oakland Reviewed Part 5

The biggest flaw with the Raleigh Oakland is that the wheels are badly built. I broke three back spokes when I tried fully loaded touring on my Oakland last year. Both front and back wheels were out of true. I bought a second Oakland in September last year, and just like the first both wheels were badly built and out of true.

My upgraded Oakland

Last week I took the back wheel off the second Oakland and took it apart. Before rebuilding I had to order new spokes as the originals were 4 mm short, and I was unable to build a good wheel with them. I got the new spokes from Chain Reaction Cycles, 36 DT Swiss Competition Stainless DB Spokes, 18 spokes at 290 mm and 18 spokes at 292 mm.

With the right size spokes the wheel build went perfect and I ended up with a first class hand built back wheel. I had previously rebuilt the front wheel (which had the right sized spokes).

I also changed the tyres, not because the originals 700 x 28 tyres were worn out, they were not, but I’ve come to like a 700 x 35 tyre. I chose top of the line Schwalbe Marathon puncture resistant tyres. The original 28 tyres had a max pressure of 65 psi, the Schwalbe Marathon has a max of 85 psi. The bigger tyres runs better with less rolling resistance because of the extra air pressure. They are also a lot more versatile and comfortable on the rough roads and tracks I ride on.

Rebuilt wheel, with original
hub and rim.

The Oakland frame and the supplied components are good, but the bike is let down by the poor build quality of the wheels. When you get used to cycling with poorly built wheels you stop noticing how bad they are. When you cycle the same bike but with hand built wheels you realise the difference well built wheels make. If you buy an Oakland and want to make any upgrade to it, then get a wheel builder to strip down and rebuild the wheels.

With the newly upgraded wheels and a new chain the Oakland has cost 515 euros so far. It has done close to 10,000 km and it’s running perfectly. In fact with its rebuilt wheels its now running better than it did the day I bought it.

36 DT Swiss Competition Stainless DB Spokes
From Chain Reaction Cycles €23.05

Schwalbe Marathon Tyre
From Halfords €32.99

 DT Swiss Competition Stainless DB Spokes

Oakland Reviewed Part 1
Oakland Reviewed Part 2
Oakland Reviewed Part 3
Oakland Reviewed Part 4
Oakland Reviewed Part 6

The Raleigh Oakland Reviewed Part 4

I’ve had the Raleigh Oakland since June of last year and have done almost 9000 km on it. This week I stripped it down to the bare frame and rebuilt it. The head set had been showing some signs of needing a service, so I changed the bearings and regreased and it’s now running fine. I changed all the brake and gear inner cables and replaced the brake blocks. I also stripped down the axles and replaced the bearings.

9000 km and counting

I stripped the brakes and gears, cleaned, relubed and reassembled them and all are working fine. The original tires are starting to get a bit bald but there is probably another few thousand km left in them.

As part of the rebuild I took the front wheel apart and rebuilt it. The original wheels were slightly out of true, but after the rebuild both wheels are now perfectly true.

This bike is still my main transport, I have a road bike for sportives and group rides and a touring bike for long distance travel, but the Oakland is my main transport for short local journeys.

Down to the frame

So far it has cost me about 420 euros, for this I have done almost 9000 km, the cost stands at about 4 cent a km. The bike is running perfectly, the only expense I can see in the near future is two new tyres.

In the last year and half since I bought the Oakland the price of many essentials like car fuel and food has gone up. But an Oakland can be bought for pretty much the same price as in mid 2011. If you are looking for a hybrid bike to do short local journeys and are on a tight budget, the Oakland is an excellent choice. Take care of it, keep it serviced and it will give years of good service.

Available for only €269.00 from isport.ie

The Raleigh Oakland Reviewed Part 1
The Raleigh Oakland Reviewed Part 2
The Raleigh Oakland Reviewed Part 3
The Raleigh Oakland Reviewed Part 5
The Raleigh Oakland Reviewed Part 6