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