Here are some before and after pics of a 1956 Robin Hood I just finished rebuilding. It was in very bad non-ridable shape. Here are things I did:

1) stripped the whole thing all he way down to screws and bolts. De-rust, grease and lubed everything. The hub took almost a full week of soaking in diesel/oil mixture because there was a lot of internal surface rust.

2) Straightened the fork. It was probably bent by a 500 lb rider, LOL. I used a tube and a car (trying to jack up the car).

3) Removed the surface rust and put two coats of clear coat.

4) previous people painted the rear wheel/hub/spokes red. I Cut the spokes, removed the paint on the hub (using brake fluid), found a better wheel, and laced with new spokes and nipples. In the process, I obtained a lot of original Sturmey Archer new-old-stock spokes and nipples. These are 276 mm pokes. If someone needs to rebuild a 36-hole rear wheel, these are the right spokes and we can trade.

5) I am not sure if the rear hub is original because it only has 36 holes but is dated "56".

6) The front wheel is also rusted out so I found another 36 spoke wheel.

7) Used fenders/saddle from a 1988 Sheffield bike. Someday I will find some Raleigh fenders/saddle.

8) Installed some Altenburger Synchron brakes, cable housing.

9) New Nimbus tires.

10) DIYed a TravelPro Platinum tote bag so it can be hooked onto the saddle with quick release. It is a pretty big saddle bag and my frame pump can be put inside. It is very convenient so I can move it from bike to bike.















The bike rides and shifts very smooth.