Classic & Vintage - Mismatched Raleigh Sport Rims

I've got two old Raleigh Sports from 1966. One used to be my dad's, and I ride it often. The other was my mom's, and is basically my spare-parts bike. You'd think I would have noticed this before, but it just came to my attention that my rider has mismatched rims. The rear is the Raleigh pattern rim, if that's what you call it, with the dip in the rim profile to accomodate rod brakes (though like most Sports mine has sidepull calipers.) The front is a plain steel rim, no dip. On my mom's bike, both the front and rear rims are the Raleigh pattern, although again it has sidepulls.
What gives? Doesn't really matter, I'm just curious. I thought that all Sports used the Raleigh pattern rims. I'm pretty sure the non-matching front is original. Maybe the men's (or would you say "gent's?) models used different rims for front and rear while the women's model didn't. Or is this a case where the good folks at Nottingham just threw on a different rim because they were short on parts, or what? Now that I've noticed, I may switch wheels so they match, although I suppose it would be more correct to leave them as-is.
Jon

Some of the 60s model Raleigh 3-speeds that were lower in the hierarchy used Dunlop rims with a smooth profile. That your dad's bike ended up with mismatched rims could have happened at the dealer or was a replacement or something along those lines. At any rate, Raleigh certainly did equip bikes with those non-Raleigh pattern rims in that era (and Raleigh-owned and slightly lower end brands used them as well).

Neal

At any rate, Raleigh certainly did equip bikes with those non-Raleigh pattern rims in that era (and Raleigh-owned and slightly lower end brands used them as well).


Thanks, Neal. I shudder to think that I've been riding on a lower-end front rim all these years. I will switch rims posthaste, before someone else notices.
JV

My '74 Sports had a similar issue-- I think there was a rim swap at the shop when the bicycle was assembled.

The rear rim was a plain Endrick pattern rim, but the front rim was a Raleigh pattern rim (if anyone has a decent quality Raleigh pattern rim for a Sports they'd be willing to part with, let me know!). Both seemed to be from the right vintage, so it's possible the shop mismatched mine. Mine also has a Nottingham serial number, but lacks a "Made In England" sticker on the top tube. Instead it has a block yellow sticker that says "Made in England, Assembled in USA". Odd stuff, but nothing earth shattering.

You're probably right about it being a rim swap at the shop when the bike was assembled--seems less likely that the factory would have screwe that up, though you never know. Anyway, I'm pretty sure both rims are original--I was a kid living at home when my dad used to ride the bike and I'd probably remember if he'd damaged the wheel badly enough to need to replace it. That would have been a big expense in those days.
Jon

Thanks, Neal. I shudder to think that I've been riding on a lower-end front rim all these years. I will switch rims posthaste, before someone else notices.
JV

Hah! I wasn't quite sure how to characterize those Dunlop rims--not necessarily lower-end because I've seen both Raleigh Pattern and Dunlop rust like crazy and/or shine up wonderfully, so I'm not sure how different the chroming process was. I guess the Dunlops (or Sturmey Archer-branded w/ similar profile) just don't have the mojo of the Raleigh pattern.

Neal

I thought the dropped center was the dunlop pattern, and that Raleigh started making them themselves after Dunlop and they parted ways. The standard rim, was used on the lower end bicycles. Damaged wheels were often replaced with cheap no-brand wheels from K-Mart, etc. Possibly a dealer put the wrong wheel on, maybe one of the 16 yo mechanics not knowing the difference. My Dunelt had the cheaper rims standard, but I was able to tell the front was not original because it had 36 spokes, factory was 32/40 just like the Raleighs. Also parents can be sneaky, and not tell spouses and kids about little accidents, that they had repaired before coming home. Who knows what might have happened in the mists of time?

A couple things to clarify in case anyone lurking here is confused:

Dropped center rims with deep sides for cable brakes - as found commonly on the Sports - are Westrick-pattern.
Rod-brake only with a dropped center and a round edge (no provisions for side-contact brake pads) are called Westwood.
Endrick is the box-pattern with no center ridge, cable brakes only.

Most off-brand models + the Sports S-22/S-22L spartan models used the Endrick pattern, and I believe the '64 Superbe might have used these as well under the marginal premise of cutting down on weight (this particular model used Bronze Green Bluemels Popular fenders as well).

As for timeline, '50s rims would be marked "RALEIGH" - rims from the '60s, "DUNLOP;" and I believe in 1970 or '71, the stamping changed to "STURMEY-ARCHER." This is the case for the Endricks and Westricks as I know them - wouldn't know for sure about the Westwoods, though I'd assume they were stamped the same.

-Kurt

You da man, Kurt!

A couple things to clarify in case anyone lurking here is confused:

Dropped center rims with deep sides for cable brakes - as found commonly on the Sports - are Westrick-pattern.
Rod-brake only with a dropped center and a round edge (no provisions for side-contact brake pads) are called Westwood.
Endrick is the box-pattern with no center ridge, cable brakes only.

Most off-brand models + the Sports S-22/S-22L spartan models used the Endrick pattern, and I believe the '64 Superbe might have used these as well under the marginal premise of cutting down on weight (this particular model used Bronze Green Bluemels Popular fenders as well).

As for timeline, '50s rims would be marked "RALEIGH" - rims from the '60s, "DUNLOP;" and I believe in 1970 or '71, the stamping changed to "STURMEY-ARCHER." This is the case for the Endricks and Westricks as I know them - wouldn't know for sure about the Westwoods, though I'd assume they were stamped the same.

-Kurt


The Westwoods on my '78 DL-1 indeed say Sturmey-Archer on them, like the Westrick on the Sports does.

The Westwoods on my '78 DL-1 indeed say Sturmey-Archer on them, like the Westrick on the Sports does.

Indeed, I am familiar with the later DL-1 rims as having "Sturmey-Archer" markings, but I have yet to see a '50s or '60s DL-1 to confirm whether the rest of the statement holds true. It most likely applies, but I will not venture to guess.

-Kurt

Indeed, I am familiar with the later DL-1 rims as having "Sturmey-Archer" markings, but I have yet to see a '50s or '60s DL-1 to confirm whether the rest of the statement holds true. It most likely applies, but I will not venture to guess.

-Kurt


A '65 DL-1 I saw awhile back had the "Dunlop" on its Westwood rims as well-- though that one wasn't my bike (wish I had that one though). I think you're probably right about it matching up.