From left to right:

1979 Rudge DL-1 (Rudge Maroon)
1970 Raleigh Twenty (Coffee)
1980 Raleigh Sports (Silver)
1971 Raleigh Sports (Sunset Yellow/All-Gold)
1973 Raleigh Sports (Sunset Yellow/All-Gold)
1974 Raleigh Sports (Coffee)
1973 Raleigh Sports (Refinished in "Forest Green")

Enjoy the photos.








Take care,

-Kurt

That's a beautiful sight. Can I have the '80?

Haha, no you can't!

-Kurt

Eh, it was worth a shot.

Hehe...you have to know where to look!

The deals are out there, and I'll let you in on something: I didn't pay over $42 for any Raleigh you see in that photo, save for the Rudge DL-1. In fact, right now I've got the option to buy a very nice all-gold men's '72 for $20.

Seize those great deals and start up your own Raleigh roadster collection!

Take care,

-Kurt

Nice group there! However if I had to pick, I think that Rudge is the lead dog. It's just a great combo with all the trimmings.

Well it doesn't even have to be a Raleigh, just a quality city bike for around town. I had never searched for old bikes until around February of this year, and so far I've found my Stumpjumper and my Peugeot. Paid $130 for the Stumpy and $100 for the PGN10. Every other bike I've come across was either a '70s department store road bike or a '90s Huffy girl's mountain bike. lol Beautiful bicycles for sure, thanks for posting the pictures!

P.S. The Rudge is my favorite for sure! That's simply gorgeous!

Yep. She is definitely loaded with all the options, that's for sure. It's also the only post-'72 Rudge DL-1 known to exist here in the States - these '79 DL-1s were intended for export to Curacao - how this one was left behind (or brought over) is a mystery.


If you want a quality city bike, the Raleigh Sports is your bike - I'd settle for nothing less. Have you tried Craigslist.org in your quest?

-Kurt

Nice-looking bikes!

Please answer a safety inquiry: how effective are the rod brakes?

Just to be an obnoxious twit:

I have owned three Capos and still have two. My collection represents a much larger percentage of the manufacturer's total output than yours.

Nice Raleighs! I've got a 5 speed Raleigh Sprite 27 and a 12 speed Raleigh Olympian that are pretty nice, but not as nice as that collection. One day, maybe.

I bought the Sprite for $5 Cdn and the Olympian was a gift from my cousin who bought it for $30 Cdn from a guy he works with. It's in almost new condition. Nice, considering it's about 25 years old.

Lamplight,

I have first right of refusal on the '80. I shipped it to Kurt after I hauled it home from the stump dump here in NH over the winter (note the two-tone head tube). Plus he rides it! You can't take his wheels. Doesn't it look better in Kurt's tropical wonderland collection than all alone in my frozen tundra?

Bob

The front rod-brakes are VERY effective, in fact. I believe it has to do with the brake pad extensions facing, to factory spec, rearwards between the fork blades. The majority of DL-1s were assembled with them fowards, limiting their stopping capabilities.


Do you know that it has crossed my mind before? The part about the Capos, that is - a 10 acre lot could not hold 1% of Raleigh Industries production.


I have a 10 speed, Carmine Red '74 Sprite that needs a healthy swap of the chrome components, although the paint is pretty good. I've ridden it twice before I stripped it down. It is a nice rider, but the Huret Allvit drivetrains on them are good for the trash - the chain will skate over the cogs more often then it engages.


Yes, it is my daily rider of the collection...it's the only one that fits me right!

P.S.: I received both your PM and email. Haven't had a chance to reply. Will do so today.

-Kurt

Kurt, Just curious - what became of the older, black Sports frame? Still a project, sent elsewhere, too rough?

Still have it, waiting on a donor bike, preferably a black '61-'63 ladies Sports.

-Kurt

...breathing into a bag to avoid passing out.

There. That's better. Boy, what a schlump of a nag I've got!

Nice fleet, thats one hell of an army you've got going there!
I love the style of seat on the Rudge, ccm had seats kinda like that on their older 40s ish bikes, Didn't expect to see a seat like that coming on a lae 70s ride, I wish i could find a seat like that, looks as comfy as hell!

And it's expanding every week!

That's a Brooks B.73. You can buy them new from Harris:

https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/saddles/brooks-b73.html

I don't care for them though. The fully-sprung design is too bouncy for my tastes, and the structural strength of the whole design is quite lacking. In fact, the B.73 that's on the Rudge now sags about a half inch on one side, for the two-piece frame won't stay straight. The leather on this particular one is also in pretty poor shape. It's the original to the bike though, so I'm not about to change it.

The B.66 is a better choice for a sprung saddle. The B.33 is also appropriate for machines of this size.

Take care,

-Kurt

I browse Cragslist daily, but so far have turned up nothing. A while back I did see a Raleigh that, now that I think about it, looked very much like your '73 Sports. Same color even, and it was $50. I contacted the lady because I was going to buy it for a friend to ride, but she didn't want to meet up because she already had several people interested in it. (I should have offered her $65 for it. ) They are SUPER rare around here. Same goes for vintage road bikes. And GOOD vintage mountain bikes. And cruisers. Grr!! lol

Make a post on C-List as follows:

Title:
"WANTED: 3-SPEED RALEIGH"

Description:
"Looking to purchase a decent Raleigh Sports, Superbe or DL-1 (omit DL-1 if you don't want rod-brakers) in good shape, preferably. Not a problem if it requires some servicing/new tires. Any color.

Preferably bicycles in the [XYZ area] only. No overpriced showroom-cond. examples, thank you."

That should get you something.

Take care,

-Kurt

Thanks Kurt! For some reason I hadn't really thought about making a post on Craigslist like that (I'm new to hunting ). I've just been looking for bikes for sale. One good thing about good vintage bikes being so rare, it makes it that much sweeter when I actually find something!

You'll find it'll usually turn up at least one. I've found three from two sellers this way before. I ended up buying one of those three, my '74 Coffee Raleigh Sports, for $40.

Don't praise the fact that good vintage bikes are hard to find in your area, for once the collecting bug has bit you well enough, you'll start haunting eBay for slightly more expensive deals...until you're snapping up every mint Raleigh that comes your way.

-Kurt

And don't forget those New England Town Dumps. Kind of a Mother Lode of old bikes. I hunt every week. It's a nice distraction from my day job. Anyone interested in Kool Lemon '71 Varsity?

Bob

You know, I try to avoid the vintage forum. It makes me jealous. Very green with envy. I try to avoid this forum at all cost because I cannot afford to buy another bicycle to satisfy my "want", no "need".

D@mn you, cudak. D@mn you and you're nice collection of very nice looking vintage Raleighs.

chicbicylist,

I have the same electric assist front hub setup on my wife's 2005 Women's Specialized Hardrock. I bought her hub/wheel through a guy in Michigan. Funny story; he kept sending me the wrong control or throttle units. I'd call him to tell him the the harnesses didn't match up. He just couldn't understand why. Finally the third unit he sent me worked. I always wondered if he smoked too much weed.

My wife loves hers. Rides it all around town in the summer. The only problem is I can't keep up with her!

Bob