Beljum

This 1974 24” Raleigh Tourist was snagged by me a few days ago.








I disassembled the entire bike yesterday and started cleaning and inspection today. A c-clamp and socket was used to press out the crank-arm cotters. The sprocket side required tightening the clamp and running a propane torch very lightly over the cotter pin area. Just a few quick applications of heat and then leave it sit….within a minute or two the cotter pin pops out.

This Raleigh did very little touring as indicated by the condition of the bearings. All were in like new condition.





The crank fixed cup was curious. It appears that it is assembled prior to frame painting and gets coated inside and out. Shown below is the crank bore looking down at the inside of the fixed cup. You can see the paint and thin wear mark from ball bearing contact. I didn’t bother removing it because it is like new and was easily cleaned in place.



It seems as though it would be straight forward to add a seal to the outside bearing race (if it was not hardened steel). Is there an aftermarket item? I’ll check into getting one machined if I can find a standard seal that will fit.



The paint was in good condition overall so I do not plan on refinishing the frame. I may touch up a few places and maybe refinish the front of the front fender.



Anyone know of a good paint match? I’ll redo some faded pinstriping while I’m at it.



Here the mighty Raleigh’s current state…



I have tires/tubes, a side-stand and cotters on order.
The chrome is a bit rough in some places but should clean up nice enough.

beljum

Michael Angelo 

Looking good

NormanF

Delta Cruiser tires are available from Schwalbe in the 635 mm size. Go for cream. They make the bike absolutely sick!

Narhay

Looks like it is off to a good start. Too bad alloy rims in 635 with the Westwood brake track for the rod brakes are so darn expensive.

JBC353

Great find. I have done a '75 and a '69. A '78 is in the queue. The paint on these is really tough and rubs out beautifully. I have used both Rustoleum gloss black enamel and acrylic lacquer but neither seems as good as the original paint.

Beljum

Thanks guys!

The original paint sure does polish up nice! This is a section of the front fender that was OK. Even the gold pinstripe stands out better. Raleigh Tourists must have looked striking when new.



Still, with the front of the fender (shown in previous post) and the rear of the fender looking like this:



I may just repaint the whole fender with old school Rustoleum enamel (thanks for the suggestion). I’ll fool around with this while waiting for parts. Also planned is to disassemble, inspect and lubricate the 3 speed hub. Wear is not expected, however, rust may be an issue. Besides, I recall 45 years ago wondering what was in these hubs.

New rims would be nice. I’m OK with the way these cleaned up even though there is still a good amount of pitting. Hopefully the rust is in check.

I already ordered tires. I kinda gambled and will clue you good folks in on the result when they arrive.

This bike is missing the tire pump. Any suggestions for a suitable replacement? I saw a few knockoffs that look OK but do they work? Should I look for an original?

bel

randyjawa 

Great old roadster and, if my guess is correct, you will love riding the bicycle. Two have come my way, so far, and I wish that I had kept one. They are an absolute hoot to ride around town...

nlerner

One product to use on those fenders is black shoe polish. It really works to fill in those scratched areas and has a wax component, so it really shines up.

Beljum

RandyJawa.. That is a beautiful machine. The curved step thru frame really sets it off. (PS: I have kin in Lundar. Not too far from you.)

Nlerner.. Thanks for the tip. I already used a technique using paint to patch up the rear fender and frame with very good results. I sprayed and pinstriped the front fender. I’ll post details on that later this week (I’m too lazy now).

Some progress was made since the last post.

All rotating assemblies were disassembled, cleaned and lubricated. No real problems during this task except for a few surprises that were gifts from the Raleigh and Sturmey-Archer assembly lines.

A cracked spacer on the rear brake linkage pivot near the crank. Stock spacers appear to be made using a sintering process. I fabricated one out of regular old steel (7/16” OD, 0.2” ID and file a tapered radius) and painted it black before assembly.



Inspection of the rear hub assembly revealed a stuck pawl. After prying the pawl pin out, the problem was discovered. Looks like the spring got in the way of inserting the pin and our friendly Sturmey-Archer assembly person used a bit of old-fashioned persuasion to drive the pin home.





A little straightening and some lubrication resulted in an operational assembly.

The grease I use is synthetic and waterproof.

bel

noglider 

Good work. Better you than me.

Last year, I had my hands on some NOS Raleigh fenders for a Sports model. The paint was astonishingly good. It was like cream. Man, I wish paint like that were still used.

Beljum

Thanks noglider!

The Tourist is complete and I’ve been riding it instead of updating this thread…until now.



The front fender was completely sandblasted and sprayed with black enamel. A gold pinstripe was added that deviated from the stock design by rounding the corners (I think it looks nicer). All other paint and decals remain original with only the chips and scratches touched up. I did not touch up the pinstriping on the rest of the bike which I might do at some point in time.



I have a bike transport rack that slips into a receiver hitch and holds the bike by clamping down on the top tube. I use a small bungee to keep the front wheel from flopping around and also keep the crank from rotating.




While working on the Tourist, I noticed a few design similarities to my 1955 Triumph 650 motorcycle.
Mechanical DNA…





Cotter..




Just after the first ride…




I plan to install a larger rear sprocket and come up with some sort of rear rack.

bel

Go for a ride on the 1955 Triumph!! 1955 Triumph Thunderbird 6t - YouTube

noglider 

Wow, @Beljum, you really went all out. Very impressive. The paint job is professional? How did you find the painter?

Beljum

Thanks noglider! You’re too kind. All fettling was done by me in me shed.
I was fortunate to find a very lightly used bike. The Tourist was tossed about over the years but hardly ridden.

Here are some pearls of info that I found out during the rebuild….
The rear fender stays would twist when tightening the axle nuts so I filed a couple washers with flats to fit between each nut and stay. Works great!
Before and after







Note how the nut is very flat on the right hand side. That is the side to position against the washer.
I didn’t notice until I looked at the photo; check out the “SA” stamped on the nut (Sturmey Archer?). Kinda hard to see.





The front fork has a nifty design that retains the axle. The bearing race has a pilot that fits into a keyhole type feature in the fork. Make sure this in in place (both sides) before tightening the axle nuts.



New crank cotters were fit using a file and ink (fat sharpie marker). I roughed them into shape based on the original cotter and then inked the taper face. Position the cotter in in the crank assembly and tap lightly in place with a small hammer. Tap the cotter out and file the high spots…repeat. Try to get a pretty good fit over the surface. The replacements are not near the good quality as the originals. I used a clamp to install and they are holding tight even with me chugging up some steep grades, off the saddle, in the gear Raleigh calls first (I'm waiting for a 22t rear sprocket to replace the original 16t).


Beljum

garage sale GT

Can you get these cones new anywhere? I picked up a pretty nice '70 but the cones were shot.

Beljum

Ran across this guy that might have them...

bike wizard by ozz parts/

I noticed he has a NOS 28" stainless steel rim if anyone is interested.

Didja contact the folks at Harris Cycle? Three-Speed Bicycle Parts from Harris Cyclery

Beljum

Installed a 22T sprocket……




This really transformed the bike. I went for a 16 mile ride on it and was able to climb hills with much less effort only needing to get off the saddle twice. I also noticed the big jump from 2nd to 3rd. I might experiment with a 24T and see how it is to ride the flats in 3rd and use 1st and 2nd for hills.

Since the drive mechanism was upgraded, I felt it necessary to upgrade the halt mechanism. Purchased a set of salmon Kool Stop pads…

New Kool Stop salmon pad on left with the two black originals on right. The pads are handed, each with a closed end and an open end. Note the closed end on the leftmost black. This should be positioned away from rotation so as to force the pad into the closed end when brakes are applied.



Clamp the pad in a vice and tap the holder off with a putty knife or flat screwdriver.



After installing the new shoe, support the rubber on flat stock (not sharp) and tap the holder with a plastic mallet to slightly set into the closed end.


What a difference these brakes make!

The mighty Raleigh Tourist has been piling on the miles with no issues.

I just installed a speedometer and plan to check it out tomorrow.

A rack was bought (ebay auction) that looks to be good quality and appears like we can make it work. Style-wise, it is a little new looking so I might cut, file, weld and paint…not sure yet.


beljum

PS: The sprocket info was posted on the main CV forum in a separate thread. I thought it pertinent here.

auchencrow

Whoa - 16T to 22T is a HUGE jump!

noglider 

I went from 16 to 22 on my Rudge Sports. I liked it, and then a generous BF member gave me a 24! I liked that even more, as I was living in a hilly area. You should consider it, too, since your bike is so heavy.

Back in the day, people walked up hills. I guess that explains the tall gears they rode.

Beljum

Yeah...I wondered if the engineers ever rode one of these with 16T rear gearing. Maybe they used Eric Heiden as a test rider. With the 22T, I cruise at 14 to 15 MPH in 2nd gear. Third gear takes me into the low 20's which is too fast for me for any length of time unless there is a downhill!! .

Last weekend, I installed a speedometer on the mighty Tourist and give it good marks. I really wanted something lightweight to complement the DL-1 so the main search criteria was weight.



Seriously, I was after a large display and wireless. I’ve had good luck with Cateye products in the past so I bought a RD310W Cateye Strada Slim. Out of the package, I was a bit skeptical whether the display would be big enough, however, when installed and in use, the display is very nice for my old eyes. Installation and setup was a snap.

You push down on the bottom of the speedo to change modes. There is a button on the back and when you push down, the speedo pivots and actuates the button. Seems to work well so far.




The slim sender works fine.



In the 80’s and 90’s I rode a Club Fuji with a Cateye mate. If memory serves, it took AA batteries, was huge and never gave problems after thousands and thousands of miles.

BTW…the standover for the DL-1 is 34” which, thank goodness, gives me a couple inches clearance .


Beljum

mparker326

You had me until you installed the speedometer.

wahoonc

I have a suggestion for a rack...

I have one for my DL-1, just haven't had time to install it yet.

Aaron

JBC353

Thanks for the link to the rack. Best part, it gives dimensions!

noglider 

Yes, a mechanical one, with no electronics, would seem fitting here.

Beljum

Now that is a great rack! Nice find. That would most certainly be on the top of my list if I was still in the market. I already picked up a Pletscher (on the cheap!) that I am modifying for the Tourist. A rear rack will come in handy to secure clothing layers as the morning temps rise from the 40s to near 70 in the afternoon. Rack attachment brackets will be machined to fit the frame exactly and lined with rubber to protect the original finish.

Thanks Aaron as I'm sure there are others who will go for it (I would)


I bought a Brooks saddle after reviewing the Raleigh catalogs of the period (and reading rave reviews). My DL-1 had a Rampar mattress saddle which was OK but I admit to wanting to try the Brooks. After a few rides, I am really liking the Brooks. It’s a keeper. The quality of the saddle is most impressive (a can of proofide woulda been nice though). The guy I bought the Tourist from had inherited it from his recently deceased grandfather who probably had the Rampar saddle installed.

This will probably be the last chapter in this refurbish thread because the mighty Tourist is where I want it. I am using it for conditioning on dedicated bike trails near my home. The 22T gearing is about right for the trails as my conditioning improves. My overall impression of the bike is favorable…I love it! Size-wise I’m 6’ 4” with a 36” inseam and 215 lbs weight. I am very pleased with the frame size and stiffness. The only issue may be the handlebar-to-knee clearance for tight turns….no big deal.

The mighty Tourist after a 30 mile ride…….





Dang!! I keep forgetting to mention about the brake lever actuation. The right side lever actuates the front brake and the left actuates the rear. Great!!! Just like motorbikes.


beljum

NormanF

I'd recommend a Brooks B-73 saddle for a Tourist. The B-66 came standard on the Sports.