BigChief

Very true. The Raleigh versions from the 60s were quite nice.
https://www.ecovelo.info/images/20110210a1-1000.jpg

autoteacher

It's a Raleigh Twenty folder.

El Segundo

Hello tbo,
Looks like you have a nice Sports. I just finished mine and used the Tektro brakes on both ends of the bike. The rear fits just fine and works terrific.

BigChief

I see you used the long reach R 559s . Hard to see from the pictures, but did you need the extra reach. Would the standard length R 540s be long enough?

El Segundo

I don't think the standard length would have worked in my case. CR18 rims were used and the brake pads are mounted pretty low in the calipers. Will post better pic tomorrow.

Velocivixen

All I can say about the Tektro R559 is that braking is fantastic. I use Yokozuna brake pads and ditch the stock Tektro pads (I do save them).

Sixty Fiver

I scored a nearly mint 1951 AW hub today... will be looking forward to lacing that up into a new wheel as these 50's hubs are by far the nicest ever made.

Also scored some vintage HH Brown boots that had never seen the ground, they should be nice for some tweedy adventures.

Spring is just around the corner... we have a three speed ride planned for St Patrick's day too.

BigChief

There were quality problems with English products in the later 60s and 70s, but from my experience,
Sturmey Archer AW hubs seemed to be an exception. I know there were design faults in some of the
other hubs from that period, but the AW stayed pretty much the same reliable workhorse it always was.
Even the plating on the hub shell still held up well. I've never had a problem with any AW that wasn't solved
by a cable adjustment or at most, replacing the indicator pin/chain assembly. The only reason I've had
to take them apart was to grease the bearings. I prefer English bikes from the 50s generally, but I'm fine
with the later S/A AWs .

Salubrious

Sweet.


@Velocivixen - you've got me thinking that I may have been too provincial setting up my S.O.'s 3-speed. She didn't really complain about the braking, but I remember it took her a while to descend the backside of the Bay City Hill on the Lake Pepin 3-speed ride. A lack of braking confidence could really affect enjoyment!

Velocivixen

@Salubrious - most of you are probably more adept at braking and confident riding, so using original brakes could be in your nature. Although I rode from the ages of 10-25 years of age daily, then off & on the rest of the time, I managed to crash on an Electra Townie a few years ago, going slightly faster than walking speed. I broke a bone! Only broken bone in my life. Now I am bionic with titanium inside. Hey.....wait....this titanium is probably as close to a titanium bike I will ever get! I will bask in the glory.

I've contacted a CL seller who is selling a SA 3 speed hub attached to an entire 26" wheel for $10! They wanted me to come to Portland to see it at night over the weekend, but I didn't feel like going to look at a bike wheel at 10 pm. I'm waiting for seller to tell me the date code.

Fidbloke

I think you may find that the oil filler has a BA thread. I've read somewhere that they're 2BA, but I'd double-check the specs if I were you.

Salubrious

^^ I think you are right, but they are apparently so close that the threads will work. I plan to use a tiny bit of gasket sealer to insure that oil can't leak past the threads.

El Segundo

@BigChief - here are some pictures of the brake and pad from better angle.

BigChief

Modern oil hole covers use SAE threads. I wouldn't recommend forcing one into a BA threaded hole. I see old English covers for sale on ebay all the time.
Best to use one with the correct thread IMHO.

Fidbloke

Fair enough.
I think I've seen some of these oilers sold somewhere as NOS, but I can't remember where.

I tried to carry your original quote across, so that it was highlighted in blue as a link, but I obviously still need to learn how to 'drive' this forum jobby...

Fidbloke

I've only ever had old Raleighs from when I was younger in the 1970's, apart from a couple of unfortunate forays into the world of mountain bikes.

That means most of my bikes have had steel rims and the steel Raleigh brakes to go with them. I've never really known any different, so it's quite interesting to see some of the views on the forum about the subject.

Salubrious

The way to do it is click on the little "+ icon in the lower right of the post you want to quote then click on ''+Reply to Thread'.

I got the oil port on ebay from a guy that had a box of NOS Sturmey Archer oil ports.

Yup- ebay is where I got mine. I've also mined donation bike shops for used hubs- not surprisingly, hubs older than 1960 (the cutoff year for the metal oil port) are harder to find and when you do find them the port is often mysteriously missing... So I bought several NOS to keep me in supply.

What you may have missed is this is for a Brampton hub which has a different thread diameter, so I am drilling it out and tapping it for the SA oil port.

Sixty Fiver

SA hubs from the 60's through the 80's are still ok... but those late 40's and 50's AW hubs are like silk.

I too have very little need to tear down many SA hubs although the '74 hub on my 1954 Raleigh is going to get that '51 hub and a new wheel...

BigChief

Positively! A 50s Raleigh deserves a 50s hub. Good find. 50s stuff is getting rare.

PalmettoUpstate 

Is there that much difference in the performance of the pads to do so? I have a 17T tall Sports that I ride sorta hard from time to time and I'm considering doing the Tektro 559 conversion and if I'm gonna do that I might as well go all the way with it if there's a marked difference. [in the pads]

Velocivixen

Really, I notice the difference while riding in the rain. However I may not be quite as discerning as other riders who spend more time in the saddle. I had Tektro brake pads on one of my bikes before and I switched out and noted a positive difference. The pads aren't that much from Universal Cycles.

Sixty Fiver

The finest SA hub I ever ran was on my 1949 Rudge... it was smooth as silk.

Back in the 40's the production tolerances at Sturmey Archer were some of the highest in any industry, as 3 speeds became relegated to lower priced models and derailleurs took over they did not re-tool as often and what would have never passed in the 40's and 50's was considered ok in the 70's.

With that being said an SA hub from the 70's is still going to work reliably and maybe only a princess like me would notice the difference but that also stems from experience in using hubs from many eras.

BigChief

Yup, long reach it is. Glad to know this. One of my projects is replacing a bike I had as a kid and now regret selling. But that one was made entirely from junk day finds. It was just a stripped down 50s Rudge Sports. This Hot Rod Rudge will be a bit fancier and not a true restoration. These brakes and CR-18 rims will be part of the finished package. This is a really great thread. Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences. It's been very helpful.

El Segundo

Hope to see the Rudge soon. Not all bikes are candidates for restoration, which was my case with this Raleigh, not rare and not pristine. The brake/rim upgrades really work great in the rain, only time I have been able to ride it lately is in the rain. One thing I may have done differently is using 700C rims and shorter reach brakes. There seems to be enough room for the larger rim, probably would cause some toe overlap or handling problems. Has anyone on this thread done a 700C conversion?

nlerner

I have fit 700c wheels to Raleighs originally made for 590mm, as well as to ones originally made for 597mm wheels. No problem with the fit at all. In fact, I have a 1970s men's Sports that I repainted for the Velo-Cheapo contest that will be missing its wheels once I put them back on the bike they belong to. I'll likely set that one up as a single speed with 700c wheels.