ChickenKev

Hi,

I’ve recently acquired a Raleigh All Steel touring bike but I’m struggling to find the exact make and model. Here’s what I know so far:

Sturmey Archer three speed, dated 1959
Raleigh All Steel frame
Rod brakes
Dynamo lights and front hub
Semi covered chain guard

I can’t see a frame number, and a lot of the information online seems to contradict each other. For example, I believe the Superbe came with dynamo lights, but mine hasn’t got a fork lock, and the chain guard isn’t the full covered one.

Can anyone on here shed some more light on which bike it might be? I’m going round and round on google but never quite finding the right answer!

Much appreciated,

Kev

USAZorro

Raleigh produced a bunch of different models, and used "Sports" as part of the name on many of them. Even if the bike were kept original, figuring out exactly what you have could be a daunting task, as the basic Sports was produced for many years and for many different markets.

If you can take pictures and provide a link to them (as opposed to posting them - which requires 10 posts) it would give people something more to go on.

Doohickie

Does this help? EDIT: Just noticed, lack of rod brakes.

dweenk 

You probably have a Raleigh DL-1. Does it look like this?

kohl57

Sounds like a Raleigh Dawn model

All brazed up frame and 26" wheels, hockey stick chainguard and rod brakes



Peter Kohler
Washington DC USA

ChickenKev

Thanks for the amazing help so far! I don't think I can post photos yet, as a new member sadly!

Same chain guard as the Sports Light and Dawn, rod brakes and lights like the DL-1!

kohl57

It's pretty easy to discount if it's a DL-1.... does it have 28" wheels? If it doesn't, it's not.

Peter Kohler
Washington DC USA

ChickenKev

26 inch wheels, which I think makes the Dawn the closest, but with the Dynohub lights

ChickenKev

I’m having fun stripping this down, and trying to get the dynamo lights working!

I’m confident I can get the bike in working order, but if I’m looking to do this bike up to eventually sell on, do I give the mudguards a respray, as they are in poor condition? I don’t want to respray the frame, as it would lose the stickers.

USAZorro

One thing to consider is that during this era, Raleigh offered options to customers who ordered bicycles. The dyno-hub could have been an upgrade that was requested at the time of purchase, or it could have been something done later on. I do think the Dawn model seems a pretty good fit, though apparently you see "Sport" or "Sports" somewhere on a decal, and that has not yet been accounted for.

BigChief 

We roadster enthusiasts tend to prefer our bikes with original finishes whenever possible. Many times a compounding and wax will bring up much of the lost gloss. If there is serious rust issues with the mudguards, what I do with black enameled bikes is scrape off any loose rust. Not to bare metal. Just enough to smooth it out a bit. Then I'll touch up the spot with an enamel paint like Testors or Rustoleum and blend in the repair by compounding the whole mudguard. The repairs are noticable, but don't jump out at you and you can preserve most of the original finish.

scarlson 

Be careful if you intend to take apart the dynohub. St. Sheldon has a whole page on these, if you're interested. The main precaution you must take is never to separate the magnet from the armature - even for a few seconds - or it will lose its strength and the hub may no longer work.

BigChief 

I serviced my first dyno hub last year and found this video very helpful:

ChickenKev

Thanks again for all the replies. All the bits are now off the bike apart from the right hand crank due to a stubborn cotter pin. It's resisted my light taps so far, so I'm going to try and knock it out on the weekend once I can get it properly supported. Everything else came off really nicely - it's true what they say about build quality being a thing of the past!

First bits of chrome have been polished up, and they have come up lovely. A good wash and a compounding of the frame and mudguards next, though I get the feeling the dirt might be hiding more rust that I'd like!

Still can't post photos I'm afraid, but as soon as I can, I will!

ChickenKev

Got the crank off, all it took was a little supported tap, which I was really surprised about!

The frame was a little more pitted than I would have liked, so I gave some of it a touch up with paint to keep the rust at bay, but kept all the stickers original. The mudguards and chain guard both needed a respray.

Most of the parts have gone back on now, including new cotter pins, which were dead easy! The front rod brakes were a pain as the rods had bent, so there’s very little adjustment, but I love the action of them once they’re set up!

Got some wiring to do on the Dynohub, and waiting on a new tire, and then it’s time to hit the road to make sure nothing falls off! I’m looking to sell the bike on eventually, but I’ve learnt so much, it’s been a great experience!

Photos to come once I’m verified!

CO_Hoya 

Pic assist:



Nice

ChickenKev

Thanks for that! That was her as just bought, with all the dirt and rust and spiders webs! Hopefully gets some new photos up soon!

ChickenKev

Oh forgot to say, the rims were of mixed success. Used a light steel wool attachment on a dremel multi tool, which took the rust off amazingly, even though I did go through three attachments!

The inner rims (where the braking surface is) were much trickier, so they are still looking a bit rough

BigChief 

I like this bike. The general scruffyness doesn't bother me a bit. Judging from the top tube mounted guide wheel and the lug shapes, I'll say it's from the late 50s. Check the rear hub for a date. What I do with rims like this, since they are expensive to replace, is remove the rust from the inner rim with a wire brush on a drill. For deeper pitted areas, I fill and smooth over the spots with metal epoxy like JB Weld or Permatex Steel Weld then paint the whole inside with Rustoleum. The crank was replaced at some point. It would have had a 48 tooth Heron chain ring originally. They're not hard to find if you would like it to have one. Same for the pedals. It is tricky to get the most out of rod brakes, but you can get reasonably good performance out of them. Cool bike.

ChickenKev

All finished! I bought a ‘Heron’ chainring but it didn’t quite fit with the chain guard so I’ve kept the one that was on before. The rims eventually came up ok, and the dynohub and light (with LED bulb) are working, along with new brake blocks that just about stop the bike!