Cory's Albion-Blue Raleigh

I’m not a 26er guy. I’m not even a mountain biker in any way, really. If you know me and my bicycle *ahem* preferences, then you know my heart lies on the road. 700c x 28 is a wide tyre and I’ll die on that hill. Before I got this bike, it’d been about seven years since I’d ridden anything other than Campagnolo. So, yeah, this Raleigh is a bit of a departure from the norm for me.

I bought the bike from a friend / old C&L colleague who hadn’t been riding it enough, just after moving to Montréal from England. Knowing I was flying into Toronto, then driving up to Montréal with a car already loaded with furniture, I didn’t think it prudent to bring one of my bikes from the UK with me. To hell with it, I thought, I’ll just build myself a road bike as soon as I get there. The reality is, though, that it’s difficult to justify building a bike which is practically the same as another bike you already have - even if that bike is 3000 miles away. So, I thought why not get something that I don’t already have? Why not do something a little different? Why not do something a little more C&L? 

At first, the Raleigh had some Velo Orange rando drop bars on it, and bar end shifters. I rode it like that until winter hit (I’m not yet culturally immersed enough in Québec to ride winters, but it’s coming). For spring, I knew I wanted to change it up: add some flat bars and thumb shifters. Everyone had been raving about the KT bars to me for ages so, though I hesitated between them and the new Nitto Bobby bar, I really had no choice but to KT up my bike. Reusing the Silver2 shifters from the bar ends in the XO Rivendell thumb mounts was a no brainer. I whacked some Dia-Compe SS6 brake levers on there and Bob was my proverbial uncle. The only shame was that they’re not the blue ones from Blue Lug - I had previously put some of their green SS6s on a ‘the theme is Green’ bike - the rest of the cockpit is blue enough as it is. My green Sim Works Bubbly pedals actually found their way from that bike to this, and although I love the bearings on those things, they’re one part I really wish did come in blue. 

Speaking of blue, the grips are some nice Lizard Skins that a UK online bike retailer mistakenly sent me instead of green a couple of years ago (no prizes for guessing which bike they were meant to be for) and by the time I tried to return them, the retailer had gone bankrupt and into administration, so the grips went into my parts bin, until they found a home on this Raleigh. 

The bike is honestly a bit janky. My cables are frayed; the grips are now worn down and the Velo Orange mud-guards that I’ve reinstalled since this photoshoot are bent and buckled. But that’s just the way I like it. I don’t want it to be a bike that I’m overly fussy or prissy about, just a bike that rides fine and has a bit of character. This is the first time I’ve gone to the dark side of friction shifting and I’ve been happily proven wrong about its shortcomings (if your gear slips you have no one to blame but yourself). I still maintain that indexed is king but hey, it gets the job done. 

Over the summer I’ve taken the Raleigh on a couple of longer rides / overnighters / camping trips and it has seriously surprised me with what it can handle. I didn’t expect it to be so nippy on such a wide range of terrain, but it performs decently on asphalt, gravel and mud alike. Even under load it gave me some serious action. When it comes to load, I’ve really fallen in love with the Carradice Cadet saddle bag and the Bagman QR bag support. The bag is a veritable Tardis: I’ve never once found myself lacking for space, no matter how much I put in it. Sleeping equipment, food, repair kit - the whole shebang. The quick release function on the support just makes my life a bit easier since I can just unhook and go without fussing and fiddling with leather straps. Anything that reduces faff is a win in my book. The Carradice also gives me my absolute favourite thing about the bike: my Albion pendant. If you know me, you probably know that football (it’s not soccer) is my religion, and Brighton & Hove Albion are my vengeful God. They’re my hometown team. Sometimes we’re fantastic, sometimes agonisingly dreadful - just like my Raleigh! Also just like the Raleigh, the team’s colours are blue and white, which made for a perfect base for an Albion themed bicycle.

Photos by Troy @killiskii