Hello,

I'm new and have just started researching me and my wife's Raleigh bicycles. I am looking to find out what models they are, along with year of mfg. We love are bikes and enjoy riding them down-town! My father found them in a customer's basement and paid almost nothing for them. We replaced the two seats, but kept what looks to be the original Brooks seats, both model B72. Both bikes also have some gear selection glitches, which I'm hoping to repair myself. Thanks for your help!

My bike has cable brakes, here are some pictures:



My wife's has rod brakes:




The two B72 Brooks seats:

Rusty,
Start here. https://sheldonbrown.com/raleigh.html and this one might help too. https://www.jaysmarine.com/TH_vintref.html

There should be a date code on the 3 speed hub. Something like 66 3, which would be March 1966.
Do the pedals have reflectors? Thing like that. The above link should answer your questions.
Some close up pictures of the brake calipers, rear drops, and the seat stays where they are attached to the seat tube might help.

Good luck.
olddurace82

Very cool bikes! Have you checked out the "For the love of 3-speeds" thread?

Wow. Two of the best bikes ever. The green one is a Sport with the harder to find 23" frame for us taller riders. The black one is a DL-1 Tourist.
I'll bet '69 or '70.

Thanks for the great info! I'm sure this is run of the mill stuff for you guys, but I really appreciate the help.

I'll take that bet.

I bet older than that, possibly by quite a bit....

Yes, I started reading it and then found a link all about Brooks saddles and got side tracked.

So I cleaned off both hubs. Here is what I learned: The Green Sport shows "68 3", so March 1968. The Black Tourist shows "67 10", so August 1967. Very cool!

Someone mentioned taking pictures of the calipers, rear drops and the seat stays.
Green Sport:





Black Tourist:





The learning continues!

Rusty: Isn't it a great adventure to learn the history of your bike(s)? When you get the chance to take a break from riding them, I would suggest a very thorough cleaning and polishing - nothing like the hint of shiny-ness to get you excited all over again.

Here's another site you may not have seen yet that you will enjoy - created by one of this forum's big contributors:
https://www.jaysmarine.com/bikecollection.html

Scroll down to the Raleigh section.

Anyway, keep the photos coming!

Mark

(BTW: is your wife enjoying her bike as well? Mine was reluctant at first - she thought she preferred her road bike and assumed my buying a ladies model was just an excuse for another bike, which it was - but once she started riding it she found it a real blast)

Mark, yes it is exciting! I have been reluctant at cleaning, partly because I did not want to hurt the paint or decals. Which is not an excuse, I know, but once I learn more I'm sure they will get a thorough cleaning. Also, my wife LOVES her bike! Once we put the comfy Bell seats on there, she definitely enjoys it. And thanks for that link, I just quickly looked through it, lots of great info with pictures, which really helps me.

One of my next steps is trying to find a source for parts. I want to replace all 4 of our tires and tubes. The tubes leak slowly and the tires are extremely dry rotted. I would love to find tires that say Made in GB like the ones already on my wife's tourist. They could also use some new brake pads (or whatever the correct term for them is). My wife's grips are split, so I need those too. Are there any well-known reputable parts sources for these items?

Very nice. Give the hubs some oil; that will help the shifting. Also check Sheldon Brown's English 3 speed page.

The stem on your Sports looks dangerously over extended, though. I'd push it in some more.

For tires and tubes, there are many options for the Sports; it takes 650A or 590 or 26" x 1-3/8 tires and tubes. They are available. The Tourist takes a 28" tire; that may take some doing to find tires and tubes locally.

For the tourist, I would recommend kool stop pads and some black rubber grips from Harris cyclery. Schwalbe makes some nice tires and tubes in 28 x 11/2 size.

Yup, looks like a Sport and a Tourist. Very nice bikes and you can learn a bit about their individual vintages by applying some of the information contained in How Old Is My Bike?

I don't have an article on the Sport, yet but this is some information on the Raleigh Tourist that I had a couple of years ago...


Hope this is a help.

Thanks for all the info everyone! I've got some reading to do and some TLC to give to our bicycles!