graywolf

I have never heard that before. My info was that it was designed from the get go to be used either way. Back in the 1930's depression folks could not afford two bicycles, so used the same one to commute to work durning the week and as a club racer on weekends. Simply flip the handlebar, raise the seat a bit, remove the chaincase, and maybe swap the rear sprocket and you were ready to go racing on Saturday. That really was what the British Sports vehicles were all about, bicycle, mortorcycle, or motorcar. The old books that I read as a kid mentioned that they used the new chain for racing, and when the old chain worn beyond good use the racing chaing went into service as the daily ride chain and a new chain was bought for racing. Over on this side of the pond jalopies were so cheap that adults did not ride bicycles for transportation, so those options never became available for bicycles, but a lot of those jalopies were converted into hot rods for racing on the weekends.

Schwinnsta

Hadland says, in new Raleigh book, that the Northroad was originally used in the drop position.

ThermionicScott 

From today's Tweed Ride in Iowa City, hopefully to become an annual event. The weather was perfect, which is to say cool, overcast, even drizzly at times.



I didn't get a lot of pictures, but I spotted a Dunelt, some Raleigh Twenty's, and one couple rode a matching pair of gent's/lady's Humbers. There was also a mustache contest and prizes for the best-dressed gent and lass.

- Scott

wahoonc

I know where that phone booth is...

Aaron

yellowbarber

here's a result from my rather compulsive eBay scouring (note to self: ride more, geek-out on eBay less)
anyways here ya go
this good person must be dreaming, $800 for a Raleigh Twenty?
posting it here in lieu of sending them an inappropriate message
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1969...item43aed5ce60

"The seat alone is worth over $150.00!"
hahahahahahaha!

jrecoi

For 800 USD, it better be in impeccable NIB condition and gold plated to boot.

Mike from Iowa

... and one couple rode a matching pair of gent's/lady's Humbers. ...

- Scott[/QUOTE]

That would have been my wife and I. Here's my Humber, it's Raleigh made, 1972. Lisa's is the women's model:

Sixty Fiver

I would just send a nice note telling them that a Raleigh Twenty is not worth $800.00...

wahoonc

I don't even bother with those anymore. There was a Raleigh Compact RSW on there a while back with a $1600 price tag, yes $1600! It did not sell after 3 attempts, haven't seen it listed again. People that grossly over price things on ebay soon learn that they will be keeping it for a while. I have been watching a few dyno hubs that keep being relisted time and time again for the same inflated price. One is NOS/NIB and they want $400 for it. It has been listed and relisted at least 4 times that I can recall. He still has it too and no $400.

Aaron

ThermionicScott 

Fantastic -- it was great meeting you two! Now my interest in doing the Lake Pepin Tour has been rekindled. Any idea if it's sold out yet?

And wahoonc/Aaron, were you on the trip as well, or was that pic from a different occasion?

You meet the coolest people doing bike stuff...
- Scott

photogravity

I'm going to be at Lake Pepin... Give Jon Sharratt a shout and he'll be able to tell you if there are any spots open on the tour. I have almost decided which bike I want to take. The choices are down to two unless something else shows up that seems more interesting in the meanwhile.

ThermionicScott 

Wow, I was only able to snag a spot due to a cancellation. Choosing the right bike is a little easier for me , but I need to work on my outfit a little.

- Scott

photogravity

That's great news that you were able to get signed up for the tour! As far as the choice, I have a good number of bikes to choose from and, since I'm guessing a large majority of the bikes will be Raleigh built, I'd prefer to bring something that isn't common. I just finished counting and I have eight 3- or 4-speed bicycles that WERE NOT built by Raleigh and another eight 3- or 4-speed bicycles that WERE built by Raleigh. In any case, I've got choices which is supposed to be a good thing.

As far as the outfit, it is a "Lycra-Free Event" and I'll not be wearing any, but I'll likely be wearing jeans and a pullover shirt. I don't have any riding gear like that which some will be wearing. Anyway, I guess I'll see you at the tour, eh?

gna

It's not a tweed ride. You can Tweed up if you wish, but it's not required. It's more about the bikes and the style of touring. Wear what you want, just no lycra.

wahoonc

About 2-3 years ago. I was working at U of I on a construction project at Burge Hall. I was "living" at the Heartland Inn for about 4 months Haven't been back since October of 2011, but hope to make another trip out soon.

Aaron

ThermionicScott 

Nice!

Ah, that works! After looking at some pictures of past tours, it appears that only some of the participants go all-out on replicating the old clothing.

ThermionicScott 

Coolness. Give me a holler next time you're in the area.

jrecoi

I walked into a bike shop, looking for cream tires for my indian roadster. It wasn't a very serious search, I sincerely doubted I could find anything of the sort, but it passed the time until the trip back to Colombia. I didn't find any such tires, however I did find something else.

Hidden in the back I saw the familiar curves of North Road handlebars. Peaked, I took a closer look, and found that it was a rather old Raleigh, one that still had a pulley for its Sturmey Archer. Intrigued I followed the enameled cable down to the chainstays where I snapped at the sight of something. A chaincase boss.

Bingo

Trying not to look too excited I asked the shop owner if that bike was for sale. He replied that he had been trying to get rid of it for two years, ever since the original owner sold it to him. Now certain that I've found something special and that it was available, I handed the shop owner what money I had in my pockets and rushed out to complete the sum. One hundred twenty dollars with tax, and I left the shop grinning and the bike ticking.

Here is my 1961 Raleigh Sports.


Serial number and the name tag the original owner left.


It has been upgraded with new inner tubes and a 22t cog and a longer chain. It needs new tires, and I'll add a chaincase at a later date.

auchencrow

Nice going jrecoi ! You snagged an extra-cool one with that black & white two tone. - And the chaincase boss to boot!

jrecoi

Some additional photos:



I have a slight problem. See, the rear tire has torn at the bead, and the nearest city that I know for certain that has 26 x 1 3/8 tires is a 10 hour bus ride away. This means that until I figure out if the cities closer to me have the tires, I'll be booting the originals.



I'm thinking of gluing on a scrap of cloth to the inside of the tire, and sewing it tight against the bead as well as the tire. Will this work?

auchencrow

I'll say you have a slight problem: No one is permitted to kill themselves here on Bikeforums. Didn't you read the fine print?

DON'T even THINK about riding those tires!

Check the internet man - There's got to be a place that ships to Columbia.

Amesja

I've been pretty happy with the Michelin World Tour and have bought 4 so far. I recently put them on my '54 Sports. It's a nice-looking tire and even has the reflective sidewall.

I"m not sure if Niagara will ship to Colombia -but it is worth a try. Either through Amazon or directly through Niagara themselves on their own store.

photogravity

Nice bike jrecoi. I definitely would not think of riding the bike with those tires as they are. Definitely replace them!

About the chaincase boss: Huh? Can you take a picture of that please? I don't think I know what it is.

photogravity

+1 That is one hella bargain for as nice a tire as it is.

jrecoi

The chaincase boss is the circular bump behind the chainring.

Here is the same boss on a DL-1 frame that has the crank removed for clarity:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/34725412@N05/3858653151/

The idea is that the chaincase bolts directly onto the frame through the boss, and thus doesn't rotate around the chainstay as it would have were it attatched to the frame with a strap. From what I've seen, this boss is pretty standard on bikes that have chaincases, see this dutch bike from the 90s that has a similar boss to attatch its chaincase:



Does anyone know what bolt threads onto this? I have a sneaking suspicion that it is probably Witworth threaded.