Doohickie

...and it's all mine!

I haven't been posting here long, but if you remember my first few posts, you know I recently bought a "brand new" Nishiki from a lady in my church who got the bike when her daughter-in-law's father died. The other bike she got out of that was an old Raleigh. Well tonight, I shelled out the bucks ($30, to be exact... asking price was $25 but it was for the church garage sale and I didn't have change, so I just gave her $30) and I picked up that bike too!

It looks to be very much original. It is at least 33 years old based on a 1975 Houston registration sticker on it. EDIT: The hub says Sturmey Archer AW 65 12, which dates the hub back to 1965, so figure the bike was probably built in 1966.

I think all it really needs is some cleaning up. Some things I've noticed about the bike:

. Brakes: The have rigid linkage. The front link goes directly to the brake; the rear brake link drives a little lever at the base of the head tube that pulls a cable. The brakes themselves are weird: They don't squeeze like calipers, the pull directly into the rim. For those familiar with vintage bikes, this is probably no big deal but I've never seen brakes of that style (anyone know the term for them?)

. Gearing: Three-speed Sturmey-Archer. It doesn't shift very well, but when I disconnected the cable and pulled the chain by hand, I think I got three gears out of it. I'll need some help cleaning that up and adjusting it properly.

. Saddle: Brooks saddle, "Made in England" (of course). The leather is cracked but I think the seat is worth keeping. I'll need some advice on what to use to clean and condition it.

. It's a 2030 straight-tube frame. The tubes that run from the seat post to the rear hub are a bolt-on piece and not part of the rest of the frame. At first I thought the color was black but now I'm starting to think it's a very dark green... maybe I can tell better in the daylight. Almost all the decals are intact; unfortunately the Raleigh decal under the seat has the registration sticker over part of it.

. Full fenders and upper chain guard. A little rusty but not so bad I want to go out and paint them.

. 700 x 38 rims, very clean. Front rim is perfectly straight, rear rim is off a bit but not too bad.

. Accessories include leatherette saddlebag (the closure straps are broken off though), front and rear lights that run off a generator and a handlebar bell.

Where can I find a serial number on the frame? Any way to tell conclusively what year it is?

StephenH

I think the hubs normally have a date on them, and if it's the original hub, that'd be the bike date, too.

Sounds like a good find. I've seen those go for $200-$400 or more depending on condition. The brakes are "rod brakes". I've seen the Raleigh Tourister, and DL-1, not sure if those are the same bike or not.

Dynocoaster 

I just found a Raleigh Superbe and the dates in the front dynamo hub and the SA hub were 1961.

Doohickie

Okay, I was gonna wait until tomorrow when it was light out, but here are some pics:

Dynocoaster 

Check the rear hub, what are the number? one is the year the other the month.

SirMike1983 

Looks like you have a Raleigh DL-1 there, known popularly in the US as the "Tourist".

The brakes are "rod" brakes. They are simple mechanical linkages to direct the force into the rims. They take some getting used to and provide rather mediocre braking in the best of conditions. When they're wet they don't work well at all. Be sure and get a feel for them before you ride in traffic or on a busy road. You adjust them by loosening the little nuts you find on the stirrup yokes and then setting the shoes a little distance off the rims (be sure the brake levers are resting in a non-engaged position). Then retighten the nut. The result should be that the brakes activate with a little pull on the levers, not a lot of pull.

For general 3 speed maintenance try this:
https://sheldonbrown.com/english-3.html

That Sheldon Brown page is a nice primer on starting out with an English Three Speed.

Have a look here too:

https://sheldonbrown.com/raleigh.html

To date your bicycle you can look at the serial number or the SA hub date code. These will get you into the neighborhood for when you bicycle was made. Perfection in dating isn't really possible at this point, though you can narrow it down pretty well usually. Welcome to the world of the rod brake Roadster-- I have a 1978 DL1 and love the thing.

USAZorro

Check the seat tube (up near the top) for a serial number.

jet sanchEz

Neat bike, my neighbour has a newer version without the rod brakes and he loves it. For $25, you did very well, congrats!

sailorbenjamin

Scoooore!. Drop some oil in the hub, some in the little cap between the spokes and some in the hole where the chain comes out (lay the bike down for that). I like neetsfoot oil for the seat but there's lots of different treatments. Clean the whole bike with soap and water and wax it. Bronze wool and WD-40 work great on the chrome. Set it in the sunlight, set downon the porch and stare at it for a while.

Doohickie

See, that's what I need to hear. Good advice. I got the gears working tonight but they're still rough. I think the gear cable got kinked at the front and now it doesn't slide very freely. There's also a large gap between 2nd and 3rd where NO hub is engaged and it freewheels; that can be dangerous.

I took it on it's first "mission" tonight- over to Walgreens to pick up a few things.

EDIT: I'm not sure what you mean by "the cap between the spokes" but I oiled all the other areas around the hub (3M household oil is the best I got on hand). Seems to be shifting a little more readily.

sailorbenjamin

Oh, yeah. Lube the cable too. And it's a good idea to put some lube in the barrel adjuster (so that it spins freely of the cable rather than twisting and eventually braking the cable when you try to adjust it.
That 2-3 gap should go away when you adjust the cable properly. Again, https://sheldonbrown.com/english-3.html has all the details on that.

SirMike1983 

That freewheel "gap" between 2 and 3 doesn't go away. The mechanical design of the hub is such that when the shifter cable is positioned in that spot, the hub will not engage with the clutch. It's just a part of the design. No amount of oil or fiddling with get rid of it because it results from the actual design of the AW hub.

The real issue is when the hub is maladjusted enough that the free wheel neutral is located right in where 2 or 3 are on the shifter.

A properly adjusted hub should not "fall into" neutral. That freewheel neutral position should be half way between 2 and 3. In 2 you should be squarely engaged and the same with 3. But if you pull and hold the lever half way between those two gears, you should find that freewheel neutral. You should shift "through" the neutral to reach 2 or 3.

East Hill

What a beautiful bike! It should make an excellent commuter, or just a fun to ride bike.

I am envious of the mudguards on that bike... .

East Hill

Doohickie

Yeah, I like the fenders a lot too.

I've got the gears shifting okay... kind of. The problem is with the cable. If you look in this picture,



You can see the gray shifter cable kind of wrapped around the crest at the top of the head tube. It's been kinked pretty badly there and so when the cable should be traveling back to the hub for higher gears, it just kind of takes its own sweet time. I found I can speed up the process by tugging on the cable where it runs along the top tube then quickly releasing after I've shifted.

Besides that cable and a pulsing front brake, the bike is in very good shape. My plan for it is to put a basket on the front, maybe eventually a rack and pannier baskets (is that the right term) for the back and using it for local errands (like my trip to Walgreens tonight).

I couldn't find any numbers on the seat tube at all. I will check out the hub for numbers eventually; I think I'm gonna need the right light because my eyes ain't what they used to be.

Question- my right brake handle activates the front brake. This is opposite my other bikes. Is this a trait of English bikes, or was it assembled wrong? Should I just swap the linkage rods?

StephenH

On my Indian Arpan bike with rod brakes, the front brake lever was on the right.

SirMike1983 

The standard practice with hand brakes for many years was that they were the reverse in Britain of the standard in the US (left and right are swapped). I've seen DL1s in the US market that have regular US pattern hand brakes (my 78 DL1 has them), but I've also seen roadsters with the British arrangement (some Raleighs, and the modern Indian roadsters usually have this as well-- I know Eastman does). I guess it depends on the age of the bike and the target market for it.

I can't see from that picture well, but it is also possible your roller lever rods are crossed. Sometimes this happens, and usually you can tell because the brakes won't activate very smoothly. If they seem to be "crossed" then swap them. They should drop straight down from the rollers and not cross.

If your brake rods and levers travel smoothly and engage each other properly, I would leave them alone. If I recall, the rod linkages for front and back are different-- the longer link from the roller levers goes down to the front stirrup usually and the shorter one attaches to an elbow hinge on the front of the frame that in turn runs another rod to the back brake. I used to play around with them and found that swapping didn't really work.

"Pulsing" rod brakes can come from wheels being out of true, but usually happen when the wheel is slightly out of round. I found this out the hard way on one rim I had-- I had it trued up professionally because I couldn't get it to stop pulsing. It still kept pulsing. It turned out the rim was very slightly out of round-- I only noticed it after staring at the wheel spin for awhile; you could barely see anything of it, but you sure could feel it. Sometimes the rims can be adjusted professionally to get them back into round and true, but sometimes the rims can't be re-rounded perfectly enough to get rid of the pulse. I had to replace that rim-- I think the previous owner took it off a curb at some point. Rod brake are dangerous when the wheel is badly out of TRUE-- the worst thing is when the rod brake shoe goes into the spokes while riding. There is a ridge on the Westwood rim to prevent this, but if the rim is really bad, that won't save you. I would suggest getting the spokes and the wheels adjusted; it may not fix the pulse entirely, but it may help.

due ruote 

[QUOTE=SirMike1983;7539286]The standard practice with hand brakes for many years was that they were the reverse in Britain of the standard in the US (left and right are swapped). I've seen DL1s in the US market that have regular US pattern hand brakes (my 78 DL1 has them), but I've also seen roadsters with the British arrangement (some Raleighs, and the modern Indian roadsters usually have this as well-- I know Eastman does). I guess it depends on the age of the bike and the target market for it.

QUOTE]

Don't have time to search for it now, but if memory serves, there is a discussion of this on Sheldon Brown's site. I believe he preferred to set up his bikes in the British manner.

SirMike1983 

Yes- he said he preferred it because it put the front brake in his dominant hand.

cudak888 

Same here - I use the English setup so I may signal with my left and operate the front brake with my right.

-Kurt

Doohickie

Well, I got the gearing figured out. The cable still needs to be replaced since it is kinked and worn from catching on the heron in front, but I moved the shifter further toward the grip and now it doesn't catch anymore. After some lubing with WD40 and some adjustment, the gears seem to be switching predictably.

I keep coming back to this picture:



You can see that the shifter cable is actually looped around the heron. With the shifter closer the grip, it doesn't catch anymore. I'm starting to shine the chrome and most of it looks pretty good underneath, at least the primary hardware (handlebars, brake levers, etc.). The add-ons like the light and the bell.... not so much. But at least things are getting cleaner.

SirMike1983 

Remember too that shifting performance can also be a function of the indicator chain/spindle not moving freely against the hollow indicator nut. I give that contact point a drop of light oil on occasion- it helps. Also be sure that the hub itself gets a few drops of medium oil every so often.

As for rod brakes- moving contact points should get a drop of light oil every so often. The stirrup pegs contacting the holes in the set clamps come to mind, for example. With rod brakes where a metal moving surface rubs on a stationary one (or one moving the other way) it should get a drop of oil every so often (obviously except for the shoes).

Doohickie

The bike is running better. The biggest issue, aside from the shift cable, is that the front tire is out of round which makes for some nasty braking. I'll be talking to my LBS about trueing that rim for roundness.

I found a shifter cable (potentially), at a LBS in Philly that I hope will mail order it to me here in Texas. Has anyone ever heard of these guys? https://www.bikeville.com/derailleur.html

SirMike1983 

That shop is well-known for having some interesting historical parts. I find their prices on the high side though, for many things.

CrankyFranky

The Sturmey Archer hub will no doubt need a bit of oil - don't overlook this. And if you are totally unfamiliar with SA hub shifting, read up on what to do with the pedals when shifting - well, I'll say it - when shifting, always let up on the pedal pressure and backpedal perhaps a quarter turn. That's assuming that it's lubricated, that the selector is adjusted correctly and that the hub is not full of gunk. Second gear is the one that is direct drive, and #1 is 1/3 lower, #3 is 1/3 higher.

bmorey

Back in the early 60s I had a gents steel utility bike but my friend over the road had one of these Raleighs. I was hugely envious -- in our rural town it was like having a Rolls Royce. It was a quality bike and rare -- his parents weren't well off and would have paid a lot for it.