Hello from bath
 

Hi
I’m completely new to the bike scene, I’m looking at restoring a vintage bike so need all the help I can get

Hi Cath! Welcome aboard our merry go'round! Is that Bath, England perchance?

Any details and we might be able to help you get started (well, smarter people than me), and at ten posts you can receive and send PMs, add pictures to posts so post on other threads or respond in here. Only five per day at first ( I assume to weed out bots and such).

You can upload pics to your gallery but someone can explain that better!

Greetings Cath!
Your mention of Bath brought to mind the youtube channel Global Cycling Network. They happen to be located in Bath, and have done some videos about restoring vintage bikes. While they are probably not a great resource, the videos might be a good introduction to the topic. Here's a video that is a start to a series on the restoration of one bike...


and an older one, from a presenter named Jon, who was quite fond of vintage bikes.


There is another youtuber channel called RJ the Bike Guy who covers all manner of bike repair.

Park Tools does some youtube videos on repair of vintage bikes too. They are usually very well done and helpful.

It might also be helpful to find some bike repair books that date back to the era of your bike. That's how many of us learned how to fix these bikes.

Steve in Peoria

Try watching some bikefarmer videos on youtube. Lots of worked examples of restoring vintage bicycles.

https://www.youtube.com/@bkefrmr/videos

Pic assist - Cath1166's Albums - BikeForums

http://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikeforu...c4a59a7dd.jpeg

Interesting looking Raleigh Sports. I've never seen one with downtube decals with a year.

Getting the shifter working to get it out of 3rd will make it a lot more rideable. Looks like it needs an indicator chain, some cable sheathing, and there's a little plastic (depending on year?) piece that inserts into the bracket on the top tube that keeps the sheathing from sliding through.

There's a youtube channel Velocopedium that you might find helpful.

Hello Cath from Bath, and welcome. Most of us here are in the US and Canada, and I've never seen that model in that color or with that equipment. To me, it looks very special. We can help you get it in good working order.

Fish mouth lugs without windows, braze-on pulley mount, and downtube Raleigh Sports decal all point to an early or mid 1950s bike. Check the rear hub for a date code. The front hub may also have a date code on it, given it is a dynohub. But early to mid 1950s seems right to me. The year graphic and tape stripes look aftermarket to me. The date appears to have been on there for quite awhile, probably worth leaving given how long it has been there. The fluted cranks with swaged heron chain ring are indicative of a mid-range bike.

This looks to me like a Model 21 drop-bar Sports in (now faded) crimson. The Model 21 was a mid-level bike with standard Raleigh tubing and lugs, but fluted cranks and drop bars. The fenders/mudguards stock would have been white-painted steel with wire braces, but an upgrade to celluloid was an option at that time. Decals were the "Raleigh Sports" type. Men's frame came in 21 and 23 inch type, and yours looks to be the 23-inch. Rims are endrick type box. Bars - hard to tell, could have been swapped. The drop bars in the catalogue look different from yours.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6e937326d2.jpg

This will be a fun restoration I think.

Are you going full restoration, Cath, including re-painting? Or just salvaging the paint and shining/replacing what needs replaced?

Welcome to BF! Hope you find all your answers. Fun restorations.

Hi all
THANKS SO MUCH for all the replies! so much great info in here. Im glad the picture posted. Ive tried to researching and i agree, we think its 1950's clubman potentially? The serial number has completely worn off the frame so very hard to find an exact year. I've emailed Raleigh and they have directed me to Nottinghamshire archives for more info on vintage bikes.

I am going for a full restoration hopefully, although i have read that the original paint no matter the condition is very desirable for potential buyers, however it is very chipped in most places.

I've also found a brilliant blog which has an old Raleigh cycling book, so need to make my way through this to find more bits of info. Ill attach once ive reached 10 posts

I'd qualify that to, in some cases original paint is desirable to buyers. It is not an absolute by any means.

Also, if your concern is financial, potential buyers, then you must be warned if you do a complete restoration, there is no chance you will get back what you put in, in terms of money only. It is a money hole. If you are doing a restoration for other reasons, you, or at least I, would then get a great deal of joy in the process. Some frustrations maybe, but all in all a great hobby.

Strictly speaking, the bike is not a Clubman (Model 25). The Clubman would have a Reynolds 531 frame, fancy lugs, and three-arm crank with bolt-on chainring. Your bike is a mid-range club-style bike, likely the Model 21 Sports, which was a couple rungs below the true Clubman Model 25.

It's a Sports. Clean it really well, get it working perfectly, put on a couple coats of good wax, then ride it until you can't anymore. With air, oil, and a bit of maintenance, this bike will outlast us all.
Phil

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0212c5d11f.jpg
Raleigh Colours 1957

I am not saying the Raleigh is from 1957. The colour could be Royal Carmine. I do not know when this colour became available, but I do not think it was available in 1950.

Are you restoring the bicycle for yourself to ride?

You will need to learn how to dis-assemble the parts that need lubrication. This process is interesting, time consuming, and requires the correct tools.
Have fun.

Just a quick tip about older Raleighs - when you take it apart be very careful not to lose the small parts such as nuts or screws. Many of them have a unique thread gauge that you can't get from a hardware store.

I do think it's a 1950 model like the sticker says — though I would agree that was put on later. I would guess, like was said, that it's a Model 21 Sports Tourist with an optional fork lock and dynohub. The Royal Carmine Red, the thin fluted crank arms, and the fork lock all point to that. What a cool bike!

I wonder what date is stamped on the front and rear rear hubs.

I don't think it's from 1957 - lugs look to be an older style.

Hi All
Ill give a bit of an update. Looking at all the info we do agree it could be a model 21. We think it could have been repainted at some point. Ive cleaned the bike and its paint work is very heavily damaged. The chain wheel also has rubbed and damaged the frame so looking at trying to remove this to assess the damage.

Information off the wheels are
Rear Wheel Hub - Sturmey AM 50 7
Front Wheel hub - Sturmey archer R 457

I hope this information can cast a bit more light. Ive also attached some pictures from the clean up process

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6871b250e2.jpg
close up of the handle bars
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...be156161c4.jpg
chain wheel
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...619456e8d9.jpg
front of handle bars
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2f82bae089.jpg
Forks
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...53055e96e7.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0ac29229bb.jpg
Frame

Does it have ea1 rims?

I think given the lug style, your July 1950 hub is correct. That would put the bike in the 1950-51 era.