I have bought a hole! It came with a free bike..... The battery thingamybob has a hole in it and I will have to try and source another. It is the original saddle bag as pictured on the 1957 cigarette cards.... The chrome is really bad! But I have been for a ride and those ancient tyres still hold air and the brakes work (kind of) and three out of the four gears! First doesn't but it may be all gummed up, the toggle chain is pretty stiff. Couldn't resist trying it out after a quick oiling.

I have put some more pics here.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/3300581...in/photostream

It's stuff like this that just makes my day (and burning with envy too). Hope springs eternal!

That is one beautiful bike.

You can almost always find those gray grips on eBay--can't remember whether they're repro or someone is selling NOS, but they're always on there.

A year ago I probably would have argued with you on this, having refurbished several Schwinns from the 50's to the 70's.

Last summer I cleaned up what was originally intended to be a parts bike, a 1951 Raleigh DL-1. It was a crusty rusty barn bike and wasn't nearly as nice as the OP's bikes. The chrome came back to life and after polishing the thick black paint on the frame, it's so shiny that it looks like it's wet. The fenders and chain case didn't come out as well but the bike looks quite nice overall. You can tell that this bike was made to last 100 years.

Paint and chrome on 70's Raleighs is another story though...

This is the shiny shiny chrome on a 79 year old Raleigh



It's a bit pitted (and the rods even worse) but at 4/5 of the way to 100 years it's not too shabby

I bought a pair of those repo grips for the DL-1 that are always on eBay. The seller is usually in Singapore or someplace like that.



They feel more like plastic instead of rubber but they're not terrible. The seam was still on them from the mold. I shaved that off after I took the picture.

That is a beautiful machine!

Betty--do we have bikes from the same year? The chrome on mine is pitted but yes--pretty good for an old lady!

Arrgh--one day I'll figure out how to post pics from a Mac...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/5162700...7625636119015/

Certainly look very similar. Mine is a 3-speed tourist, serial number J24450 which according to Sheldon's chart would put it between 1930 and 33 https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroral...ting.html#1925 It's not all original though - my back wheel, hub and changer are late 70s

From what I can see on your photos we have the same decals. - I'll post some better photos tomorrow on a new thread