Raleigh Furley
Backlinks: Fitness Tech
After breaking my old single speed spring 2012, and with my bike being my #1 means of transportation, I figured it was time to invest in a commuting machine.
On the porch in Burlington VT: raleighfurley003.jpg.
2012
Fall 2012 update: 1000 miles in, I’ll offer up to the world my thoughts (I couldn’t find a good review myself back in Jan).
Eventually I settled on the Raleigh Furley, which met most of my criteria. I was looking for a steel/ti, road geometry, disc brake, belt drive, internal geared machine. This guy is cromoly, has perfect geometry for me, and disc brakes. It didn’t have a belt drive or internal gears, but as it turns out I don’t need the gears at all, and it’s cheaper than the belt drive options. Belt drives fall into the “fixing a null problem” category, since there’s just nothing wrong with a chain drive. I’ve dropped oil on it a couple times, but that’s it.
After 1000 miles, I’ve done hardly any maintenance. This thing’s a tank. Okay I’m not sure how much else I have to say. It’s get the job done, fast, and is super reliable. The brakes aren’t fantastic, but they work fine. And they work just as well in the rain.
2014
Alfine hub upgrade
I added an Alfine 8-speed hub, a full new wheelset. Shipped for $325 via eBay.
2018
Converted to an ebike in early 2018. See more notes on the ebike parts and build on the ebikes page. As an ebike on :
2021
Back to carrying kids on :
2024 ATTACH
2024 review: Still a great bike! Heavy as hell, but gets the job done.
Seatpost seems welded to the frame at this point, I can't remove it. Haven't tried heat or PB Blaster yet.
2025
This is now built up as the Grin Ebike. Some of the TODO's are below here, but a lot more notes on Grin build, and you can see some photos on EBike Battery Mount.
DONE Remove the kids seat on the raleigh
- State "DONE" from "WAITING"
- State "IN-PROGRESS" from "TODO"
Knocked this out over the weekend, I think Saturday afternoon.
DONE Add some sort of shifter for use with the new motor
- State "DONE" from "WAITING"
- State "IN-PROGRESS" from "TODO"
Knocked this out yesterday night late. Got the 9 speed from the Niner ready to install on this. I guess it should be in progress until I have it actually shifting but I want to get the wheel on for this.
DONE Install new motor
- State "DONE" from "WAITING"
- State "IN-PROGRESS" from "TODO"
Waiting on the parts to come in.
At night I fixed the flat and continued working on the Raleigh; got the alfine wheel all the way off and pictures taken for selling that wheel/hub system. It's a good system but that's going to be the ebike. I feel like that frame could use a full paint job, maybe I should slap some of the rust stopping paint on it.
Got this all built up a few weeks ago and I've been ripping miles on it. Silent, smooth, fast.
Mileage
Pulled from the local Strava database (~/projects/2026/strava-database/strava.db),
which the daily health routine refreshes.
The blog build re-runs the block on every publish; C-c C-c to refresh it here.
| Rides | Miles | First ride | Last ride | Last 12 mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 921 | 5722 | 2011-10-08 | 2026-06-11 | 871 |
Components
Parts logged with strava-db component (chains, cassettes, wheels, tires, …).
Miles are reconstructed from the Strava rides on this bike while each part was mounted;
indoor trainer rides only count toward the trainer and what is mounted on it.
Current setup on Commueter, as of 2026-10-21:
| Part | Component | Since | Miles here | Lifetime miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| battery | 72V 16.5Ah Triangle ($890) | 2025-05-27 | 1247 | 1247 |
| charger | 72V 5A Satiator HV ($330) | 2025-11-25 | 337 | 337 |
| controller | V6 Phaserunner L10 ($350) | 2025-05-27 | 1247 | 1247 |
| display | Cycle Analyst CA3-WPx + MFSwitch ($135) | 2025-05-27 | 1247 | 1247 |
| freehub | Torque-sensing freehub HG ($110), fitted by Grin during repair | 2026-04-25 | 45 | 45 |
| motor | Grin V3 Rear All-Axle Slw PAS, 700c Grin wheelbuild (~$700) | 2025-05-27 | 1247 | 1247 |
| mount | 3D-printed triangle battery cradle (blog post 2025-10-26) | 2025-10-26 | 764 | 764 |
| tires | Kenda Kwick Journey 700x40/38 pair ($60) | 2026-02-26 | 102 | 1157 |
Past components:
| Part | Component | On | Off | Miles here | Lifetime miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| wheelset | Shimano Alfine 8 IGH wheelset ($325 eBay 2014) | 2014-06-01 | 2025-05-05 | 4096 | 4096 |
| ebike-kit | Bafang BBSHD 1000W + 52V Shark battery, sold to Kris 2025 | 2017-12-01 | 2019-12-01 | 1618 | 1618 |
| accessory | kid seat | 2021-03-21 | 2025-05-03 | 648 | 648 |
| tires | Kenda Kwick Journey 700x40/38 pair ($60) | 2025-05-16 | 2026-01-06 | 1054 | 1157 |
| charger | 72V Satiator ($295), died 2025-11-18 | 2025-05-27 | 2025-11-18 | 856 | 856 |
| tires | 45NRTH Gravdal studded pair ($110) | 2026-01-06 | 2026-02-26 | 91 | 91 |