The conservation or renovation quandary I have an early 90s Raleigh in below-average condition. The frame colours are a bit naff -- sort of sky blue meets white with black serif lettering.
It was bought cheap off eBay after sitting in a garage for decades. The bike is at the end of its natural life and needs most components replaced. My plan was to give it a new lease of life with an all over spray from spray.bike and new vinyl lettering, with a name of my choosing, new tyres, tubes, handlebar grips -- the works. I would keep only the red/gold Raleigh badge on the head tube.
However, my immediate neighbours -- cyclists in their 50s and 60s -- have a soft spot for Raleighs, particularly from this era, and seem to think conservation is better than renovation. This has given me pause, and made me wonder if I wouldn't be losing something by spraying over the bike.


Is there a consensus that renovating a classic bike from a reputable company is fair play, or would I be breaking a tacit bicycle commandment by doing this?
Has anyone regretted carrying out such an operation?
1 Is there a consensus that renovating a classic bike from a reputable company is fair play, or would I be breaking a tacit bicycle commandment by doing this?
2 Has anyone regretted carrying out such an operation?

Question 1:
There is no consensus on renovating vs. conserving
There are no global tacit bicycle commandments.
There are localized tastes and peer pressure. Localization may be just the group of people you know. Some attitudes may be city, county or country wide.
The role tacit bicycle commandments should play in determining what is best for you in your situation is questionable.
Question 2:
Yes, there are people who have regretted carrying out such an operation.
I have regretted both conservation and renovation.
There are also people who have enjoyed and have been happy with both operations.
Here's my story
Renovation - once it was all done, time and money spent, I rode the bike every day. The lovingly painted frame chipped up, the new parts dinged up, and common usage took it's toll.
My conclusion was that it's better to ride a dinged up bike than to renovate it to new and ding it up again. I began to see the wear and tear as a sign of a well used bike and not something to feel bad about.
Conservation - once it was all done, time and money spent, I had a bike I couldn't ride for fear it would get dirty or more dinged up. It became a museum piece. Now it collects dust in my basement.
Before you start on either project ask yourself &quot;What will I do with this when I'm done&quot;
Do what meets your needs and your aesthetic.