I placed a bid on this last week and forgot about it.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEBI:IT&ih=016

needless to say, I won.

As far as I can tell its a 1950's Raleigh Roadster. Maybe a Suprebe?

Not really sure. It was 50 bucks which may or may not have been a deal.



any thoughts on it? Like what the heck I should do with it? Did I get ripped off? ANyone have any info on it?

It's local and I'll probably be picking it up soon.

Ripped off? No, but more than I would have paid. I'm sure with a couple of dozens of hours labor, you should have a nice English bike. It does look like a spoke or two is missing from the front wheel. Since you are picking it up in person, I assume you are paying in person. That is leverage I would use.

Good score.The dyno-hub and light(or chaincase) are worth the $50 you're paying.NO WORRIES!!You got a good deal.You could easily double your money(without doing any work to it.).Looks to be original and complete.

I had the model under yours (without the dyno hub)that I got for 15... It had lived by the shore for a long time and was covered in what I would have thought heavy/impossible rust. I bought it because I remember sheldon talking about how well built they were and that they were not to be compared with similar looking but much cheaper bikes (the leather brooks didnt hurt either). It turned out the chrome was VERY thick.. and just with my fingernail I could bring the chrome back to almost new! I bet the molasses soaking method would have worked wonders.

Despite the bike being way way too small for me I really really enjoyed cruising around with it as I rode around to buy replacement cables etc..

If its your size I would clean it up, buy the appropriate wide brooks saddle (they are incredibly comfortable in an upright position) and enjoy it! If its not your size (and only if its not your size), you should be able to get 150 for it easily if you clean/fix it up.

Are those 28" wheels or 26"?
And don't the "roadsters" have the rod brakes?

i dont know the answer to your questions, but I was wondering the same things. I couldnt tell from the pics if it had rob brakes, but I thought only the roadsters had the crank case cover.
guess i'll find out when i pick it up.

If it's from the 1950s and has 26" wheels (which it looks like it does), caliper brakes, and a chaincase, it's probably a Sports "C" Tourist. From the 1951 catalog:

https://retroraleighs.com/catalogs/19...-sports-c.html

Neal

no generator on that bike though. Was that an option maybe?

EDIT: Actually I see something that could be it in the 58 catalogue, a Superbe Sports Tourist:

https://retroraleighs.com/catalogs/1958/pages/8d.htm

or the Superbe Dawn Tourist:

https://retroraleighs.com/catalogs/19...perbe-dawn.htm

Sports, perhaps, but Dawn, no, as that model has rod brakes in that drawing. I do have to say that the saddle on the on yours looks like an old Terry saddle from the 1930s. Those 50s bikes were outfitted with Brooks B66 saddles. Here's my 1937 Sports "C" Tourist. Note that it has the shifter on the top tube, and yours, I think, has one on the bars. That might not mean its younger--I picked up a 1939 "Popular" lady's model, which at some point in the 50s someone had replaced to quadrant shifter with a handlebar variant. You'll have a clearer idea once you can check that rear hub.

Neal

Well, I brought this bike home today. Here's some pics:














now i just need someone to tell me how the heck i figure out what year it is. I'm thinking it might be older than the 50's.

There is some weird material under the brooks saddle, actually looks like horsehair.

more pics:

and even more pics:

after reading on retro raleighs about dating english 3 speeds it seems its a 1936 model. There is only a number 6 listed on the rear hub. Not sure if that is right or not though. it looks a lot like the 1932 model someone posted above though.

I don't think the decals look right for it to be a 30s model. Below you can see the seat tube and down tube decals on my '37 Sports. The chaincase "Raeigh" decal from that era is in cursive, not block print. And the rear hub is marked "AW-6"? Sometimes the date codes do get rubbed out after awhile. The front dynohub will also have a similar type date code on it (two digit year and month).

Neal

Does anyone else recall the term "English racer" being applied to 26" tired 3-speeds?

the tires, which could be original say on them:
"Lands End, John Bull, Keep Inflated Hard, Made in England, Liscense Strictly Limited"

when i do a google search on that i find a random post of someone with a 1936 philips with tires that say that.

i also checked the front dynohub and there doesnt seem to be any date on it.

It quite likely is horsehair on the underside of that Mattress saddle. The bike has cleaned up nicely and it has a nice lucas odometer on it as well. Very nice score. Does the dynohub still work? What does the Dynohub say on it.

According to my book "The Sturmey Archer Story", the earliest known AWs date from 1937 and was not readily available until 1938. Also according to the aformentioned book the GH6 dynohub was introduced in 1946. So if your rear hub has a just a 6 visible and the front hub is a GH6 dynohub, your bike would date from 1946 at the earliest and more likely to be 1956.

The writing on the bike is of a very similar style and type to that on my 1956 humber.

Crikey that's a lovely old Raleigh, it should clean-up beautifully too