This is a mid-1980's Raleigh Wild Strawberry girls bicycle that belonged to my wife. As you can see, it is complete minus the handlebar streamers. I have completely disassembled the bike in plans to restore it for my daughter.
The paint is in good condition but is faded. I am thinking about having it media blasted and then repainted. I appreciate your thoughts on this.
The handlebars and wheels are in the best condition, but there is a bit of rust on each. I believe I can clean that up.
The banana seat is faded and cracked. I am going to pull it apart and reupholster it with original parts and new vinyl. Is there a specific foam to use between the underboard and the vinyl?
The sissy bar chrome is in very rusted and pitted. I really do not know what to do with this. I have considered having it re-chromed, but do not know if it's possible in its condition.
There is one chrome piece attaching the front fender to the frame that is in equally bad condition. Thoughts?
The handlebar grips are very dirty. I have not tried to clean them beyond dish soap. I thought about Simple Green or even Bleech-White. The same goes for the pedals. The blocks are all in good shape, but very dirty. I can get very similar, new white block pedals and grips off eBay, but I would prefer to keep this as close to original as possible.
This is not a rebuild designed to increase value but to keep a family piece in the family.
Any and all thoughts are appreciated.
The paint is in good condition but is faded. I am thinking about having it media blasted and then repainted. I appreciate your thoughts on this.
The handlebars and wheels are in the best condition, but there is a bit of rust on each. I believe I can clean that up.
The banana seat is faded and cracked. I am going to pull it apart and reupholster it with original parts and new vinyl. Is there a specific foam to use between the underboard and the vinyl?
The sissy bar chrome is in very rusted and pitted. I really do not know what to do with this. I have considered having it re-chromed, but do not know if it's possible in its condition.
There is one chrome piece attaching the front fender to the frame that is in equally bad condition. Thoughts?
The handlebar grips are very dirty. I have not tried to clean them beyond dish soap. I thought about Simple Green or even Bleech-White. The same goes for the pedals. The blocks are all in good shape, but very dirty. I can get very similar, new white block pedals and grips off eBay, but I would prefer to keep this as close to original as possible.
This is not a rebuild designed to increase value but to keep a family piece in the family.
Any and all thoughts are appreciated.