Need help identifying/dating this Raleigh
 

Hi,

I joined the forums a couple of days ago and I'm not sure if this is the correct part of the forums to post this.

I would like to know all that there is to know about this Raleigh bike:

http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...20198166_n.jpg
This is how I bought it about a month ago for €30. (story found here)

From what I gather it's a Raleigh Royale (that's what the frame decals say) and the headbadge reads Raleigh Nottingham. I'm not able to find that much information about the Royale as a Raleigh model. The serial number of my bike (bottom bracket) seems to suggest it's pre-1970 as this is how Raleigh placed the serial numbers up until 1969 (theheadbadge.com). I'm curious to know if this bike was sold somewhere else under a different name as I have not been able to find any Royales in any of the scanned old Raleigh brochures that I've found online. Any information you have is appreciated!

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f158/tomasb/photo.jpg
Serial # @bottom bracket

The bike has "GB 88" centre pull brakes, a Milremo stem (with red details), Simplex derailleurs, 5 sprockets in the back, weird 46/49T combo up front, and some funky white mudguards.

Pictures:

http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...25746546_n.jpghttp://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...84890174_n.jpghttp://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...17704524_n.jpghttp://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...11584290_n.jpghttp://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...97280653_n.jpg

Any information you might have on the model/year on this bike would be appreciated. I apologize for the gunk, the bike has been cleaned up since. :D

Thank you in advance and don't hesitate to ask if you need pictures of specific parts of the frame.

Oops, that one picture came out quite huge. Apologies for that.

Up
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=260525
Sorry for the low picture quality, bike is now cleaner. Better photos later this week.

Weekly up, maybe someone could tell me something about the bike? From what I gather it was not sold as a "Royale" in many markets, and might have been sold under a different name.

Looks like a lower end bike from around 1968? possibly earlier. I have not seen the Royale name before, but Raleigh built so many similar bikes and had a different name for every country and year it seems.

Not a bad bike for the money certainly. What did you do with the fenders? I have not seen that brand before.

Aaron :)

Moved from Appraisals to C&V.

What is the wheel size? Raleigh would sometimes repurpose 26" wheeled Sports models into drop barred derailleur models. From the seattube foil bands, maybe something from '65 to '68.

Did you keep the mudguards? They give the bike a certain 1950s charm to it that quite a number of the forumites here love.


The 46/49t chainrings are part of a setup known as 'Half step' gearing. The basic idea being that in the flats, shifting the rear an increment gave too jarring a gear change; the front shift was a half increment to each of the rear shifts. Basically a 1x5 bike that can be fine-tuned with front shifts. That's the theory, in reality, the freewheels weren't properly matched up to the chainrings, again treat it like a 1x5 bike that can possibly be fine-tuned with front shifts.

Simplex derailers shift well until they explode. The no name all metal derailers from department store bikes are derived from Simplex designs, but are much more reliable.

The cottered cranks will be an impediment for refurbishing the bottom bracket. Originally the BB was lubricated with heavy oil, avoiding having to deal with the cotters (it can still be oiled by pouring some down the seattube).

Looks like a UK variant of the mid-1960s Gran Sport and Record models sold in the US.

Fenders were very thin plastic and very worn out so they never made it back on to the bike after taking it apart to clean and polish. They were badly bent and cracked, pieces missing etc. Too bad cause they looked really nice imo.

Wheel size is 32-630. And yes I did keep the mudguards but I doubt they will ever make it back on to the bike. As I said in the previous post, they're toast. :/ About the 46/49t chainrings I read about 'half step' after making this post. Sounds to me like I will be running the 49 a lot.

Keep your eyes out for a set of Bluemels they would look nice on that bike.

Aaron :)

Thanks for the tip! :)

Just picked up a 'new' saddle from an abandoned old Raleigh Sprite that the missus found where she works. Been there unlocked for two weeks with tyres empty and frame bent badly. I believe it's a Wrights W3ST and it looks great on the bike imo.

http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...55838207_n.jpg

http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...17749370_n.jpg

http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...50882090_n.jpg

Total money spent at the moment: €40

Very nice! You might want to tilt the saddle up just a bit so that it is level.

As far as fenders go, SKS apparently has introduced both white and cream-beige versions of their fenders that appear to be a close match visually to your original Brittania fenders. They're on their german site, Longboard model.

I have a Raleigh Royale that I too have been unable to find any info on. I got it in 1990 for my 15th birthday.
It is set up as a five speed with a Raleigh branded Huret Eco derailer and north road bars. The serial number indicates that the frame is made in Nottingham, october 1980. If I'm not mistaken, that is.

I have no pictures of it at the moment other than it is visible in the background in this thread. http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...rom?highlight=

I have once seen pictures of another one like mine located in Finland. From what I understand it is a lower end model. However I really do enjoy mine both in terms of look and ride.

If you like I can have some images uploaded during the end of the week.

Would be nice to see some photos for sure! Sorry responding took a while, been enjoying the countryside with no internets for the past week.

Either way thanks for everyone's input so far. What I've managed to decipher from the contributions is that I have a low end touring (?) bike that's quite old and extremely smooth to ride from my own experiences on it. I absolutely adore it to be honest and for €30 (37.15 USD) it's still a good deal. Please correct me if I'm wrong and if any more ideas about fenders, like above, comes to mind don't hesitate to suggest something. :)

It did take me some time, but here they are.

Everything, even the 700-28 IRC RoadLite tires, is as when I got it 22 years ago except I removed the luggage rack.
I have cleanded it up and repacked the bearings, but thats it.

Btw. I really like seeing yours since they don't seem to be all that common. Very nice colour!

Feel free to ask if you have any questions.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268067http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268068http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268069http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268070http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268071

C-P, your bike is in really nice shape, you took good care of it- thanks for the photos. Very nice!

Thanks! I didn't ride it much when i got it since it was too big and mountainbikes where all the rage at the time so i thought it was kind of dorky. Then i kept it in storage for 13 years and got it out last spring only to find out it now fits me and that i really like it.

Yours looks very nice C-P! I wish mine had all the original parts in working order but right now it looks like I'll have to upgrade the brakes and get the wheels straightened (cheaper vs. buying new ones). I'm just not sure if I want to potentially destroy the vintageness of it by upgrading to new ("better") components but that would serve its purpose as a daily commuter. On the other hand I'd like to keep the bike as close to the specs it might've been sold with back in the day, meaning that the brakes and stuff would preferably be old tech as well.

I'm sure most people on CV will recommend that I find less-used parts from back in the day or retro-looking fenders etc. Ideally I would obviously keep the Raleigh as it was supposed to be and buy a second bike for my commuting needs, but right now it's not a financially viable option. Might just have to tough it out for now and get a commuter during off-season (cheaper).

Thoughts? Recommendations? :)

nice bike tewms

A 60s English Raleigh was my first 5-speed racing bike as a kid. Wish I still had it, but I don;t miss the chrome rims, those were high maintenance, as they tended to pit and rust easily and had to be polished regularly.