Classic & Vintage - The most beautiful Raleigh

Some quick history on this bike. According to my wife (whose memory remains intact), I found this bike at a rummage shop about 10 years ago. I polished and waxed it. I replaced the faulty rear Sturmey-Archer 3 sp wheel with a Van Schothorst single speed rear wheel. It's a beautiful dark blue with silver accents. I'd bought the bike for my mother-in-law. She told me that she wanted to try to learn to ride a bike. She did try once or twice (with training wheels on this bike on one occasion) before giving up and placing the bike in her barn where it stayed until I retrieved it last week. The wax job made cleanup easy and there was very little surface rust on the chrome so it polished up nicely.

I'm rather proud of it and so is my wife. She wants to ride it instead of her more modern mtn bike for neighborhood trips. It's serial number MD91099521. I tried Sheldon's site and I can't date the bike. If you can please let me know. http://www.tealfoundation.org/photos/raleigh_sports.jpg

The handlebars and a second helping of apple pie ala mode...

http://www.tealfoundation.org/photos/handlebars.jpg

The drivetrain...

http://www.tealfoundation.org/photos/drivetrain.jpg

You've got a 1979 Raleigh Sports (DL22). It was built at Raleigh's plant in Malaysia in March 1979.

M = Malaysia
D = March
9 = 1979

Be kind to your wife and put another S-A 3-speed hub in it.

If you still have that "faulty" Sturmey Archer hub, it should have a date on it. That was how I dated my old Raleigh Sports.

You've got a 1979 Raleigh Sports (DL22). It was built at Raleigh's plant in Malaysia in March 1979.

M = Malaysia
D = March
9 = 1979

Be kind to your wife and put another S-A 3-speed hub in it.

Thanks for the info!

Yeah, I'm looking for another S-A 3 speed. I knew my mother-in-law would just ride up and down the driveway so it seemed the thing to do at the time. I have the shifter and cable. The original wheel got lost or discarded sometime during a move.

The Malaysia manufactoring location is interesting. The bike has a "Ti Made in England" sticker on the upper downtube. It's not clear-coated so maybe it was a ruse to help it sell or something.

After looking at it again with a strong flashlight it looks more like ND91099521. :o

That was how I dated my old Raleigh Sports.

I took mine to dinner and a movie. :p

I took mine to dinner and a movie. :p

Did you get lucky?

Sure did -- it was downhill on the way home. :D

Yeah, I'm looking for another S-A 3 speed. I knew my mother-in-law would just ride up and down the driveway so it seemed the thing to do at the time. I have the shifter and cable. The original wheel got lost or discarded sometime during a move...

Hey Moonshot. Guess what I have just laying about? I have an extra wheelset with an older (from the '60's) S/A 3-speed hub that I've been told works. The rim is rather rusty and likely not salvagable, but I believe all the hub needs is a bit of cleaning off. Send me a Private message if you're interested. I'm not a bloodsucker.

Z

I have a 1971 Sports. Old hub had petrified oil and grease. I bought a NewOldStock 1969 hub on ebay, and transferred the internal parts into my old hub. New hub had a slightly longer axle so I had to get another indicator rod, with the tiny chain, in order to adjust the gears properly. If I'd been thinking, I would have reused the old axle and avoided the problem. I later cleaned the old parts and they didn't appear very worn, and probably would have been OK so I put them into the new hub for a spare. I figure I learned something in the process so it was worth it. I'll bet if you just disassemble, clean, and lube your old hub it would be OK. All the sources suggest replacing the tiny pawl springs, and clutch spring. Proper right cone adjustment is critical. Nice Saturday afternoon project.
Couple of good references.
For general info.: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/english-3.html
For parts: http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/sturmey.html

How to Repair Old Sturmey Archer Hubs:
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hadland/samaintind.htm

http://www.toehead.demon.co.uk/adj.htm

Proper right cone adjustment is critical.
I'm curious about this statement. I know proper cone adjustment is always crucial, but if it is a one-piece axle, adjusting one cone actually adjusts both cones, does it not?

hi
i have two of these bikes, one i got for my wife and the other for my daughter for when she visits. one is a 79 (date on SA hub)sn RB997675 it is coffee coloured and in fabulous condition. the stem is alloy (SR) and it has the stylized heron (3 of them) on the chain ring like this one.the other is a navy blure with the same silver highlights as shown but a different pattern in the seat tube transfer. it also lhas a made in Canada sticker at the bottom of the seat tube. the date on the SA hub is 89. sn RB215844. it also has an alloy stem (SR). the coffee coloured had a Brooks vinyl sprung mattress type saddle, the navy blue one had a saddle called Royale, made in italy and looking identical to the Brooks, the chainring does not have the stylized heron. the rims of the tires are different on both bikes. the one wiht the made in canada sticker has rims made in Quebec and the other one is difficult ot read but i will try again. given that these bikes seem different in many ways were they both made in canada? are they just different models? except for the colour they look very much like this one.

Hey Moonshot. Guess what I have just laying about? I have an extra wheelset with an older (from the '60's) S/A 3-speed hub that I've been told works. The rim is rather rusty and likely not salvagable, but I believe all the hub needs is a bit of cleaning off. Send me a Private message if you're interested. I'm not a bloodsucker.

Z

Thanks a lot! I've sent you a PM.

I rode this bike 6 miles round trip to work and back and made a few observations.

One, the upright position is not as desirable as I thought. The saddle position places me almost directly over the BB. Moving the saddle back some might help, but I doubt I'd get it to feel like a road bike in the pedaling action.

Another thing, is I was invisible to traffic! On my road bike I rarely have an incident where a car will pull right out in front of me. With this bike it happened twice in this short distance. I'd forgotten to wear my helmet (no lectures, please, I know...) and with casual clothes I guess traffic felt like they could intimidate me into stopping for them because I didn't have the same appearance as a "roadie."

The bike rides great. Very smooth, possibly due to the weight and the fairly wide 26" tires. I reckon the wheelbase is pretty long too.

And this bike does need a three speed setup. For me, an SS is fine but the wife would really struggle on hills with this heavy bike.

I'm curious about this statement. I know proper cone adjustment is always crucial, but if it is a one-piece axle, adjusting one cone actually adjusts both cones, does it not?

Correct.

Moonshot -- My old Superbe gives me the same riding position troubles; even with the saddle all the way back, it still needs a stem with longer projection to be comfortable.

If nobody's seeing you, get a big ol' double action bell; I've got one on the Superbe and it makes a hell of a racket.

I can visualize how it works and I'll try to put it into words. This hub is different. It's not just a straight axle. The sun pinion gear is attached to the axle in about the middle. The right cone holds together and adjusts the clutch mechanism. The right cone is adjusted and locked in place on the internals before they are inserted into the hub. If you never disassemble the hub, the right cone has been factory set. Only the left cone is used to adjust the bearings. Before the internals are put back into the hub, the right cone is tightened finger tight, then backed off 1/2 turn before locking in place. If the right cone is not adjusted properly, the internal parts (clutch) will not fit together correctly, and will cause shifting problems. Sturmey Archer's Tech. info. on their AW hub explains it a lot better than I can. A bike mechanic told me that the new SA 3 speed hubs are different inside. More like the old Shimano hubs. I once had an old Sears bike made in Austria with a Shimano 3 speed hub, but I never took it apart.
Maybe someone else can do a better job of explaining this arcane bit of knowledge.