Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Classic & Vintage
Reload this Page >

Mismatched Raleigh Sport Rims

Notices
Classic & Vintage This forum is to discuss the many aspects of classic and vintage bicycles, including musclebikes, lightweights, middleweights, hi-wheelers, bone-shakers, safety bikes and much more.

Mismatched Raleigh Sport Rims

Old 09-19-08, 06:17 AM
  #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
jonwvara's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Washington County, Vermont, USA
Posts: 3,786

Bikes: 1966 Dawes Double Blue, 1976 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1975 Raleigh Sprite 27, 1980 Univega Viva Sport, 1971 Gitane Tour de France, 1984 Lotus Classique, 1976 Motobecane Grand Record

Mentioned: 77 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 757 Post(s)
Liked 647 Times in 343 Posts
Mismatched Raleigh Sport Rims

I've got two old Raleigh Sports from 1966. One used to be my dad's, and I ride it often. The other was my mom's, and is basically my spare-parts bike. You'd think I would have noticed this before, but it just came to my attention that my rider has mismatched rims. The rear is the Raleigh pattern rim, if that's what you call it, with the dip in the rim profile to accomodate rod brakes (though like most Sports mine has sidepull calipers.) The front is a plain steel rim, no dip. On my mom's bike, both the front and rear rims are the Raleigh pattern, although again it has sidepulls.
What gives? Doesn't really matter, I'm just curious. I thought that all Sports used the Raleigh pattern rims. I'm pretty sure the non-matching front is original. Maybe the men's (or would you say "gent's?) models used different rims for front and rear while the women's model didn't. Or is this a case where the good folks at Nottingham just threw on a different rim because they were short on parts, or what? Now that I've noticed, I may switch wheels so they match, although I suppose it would be more correct to leave them as-is.
Jon
jonwvara is offline  
Old 09-19-08, 06:33 AM
  #2  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,112
Mentioned: 479 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3780 Post(s)
Liked 6,528 Times in 2,568 Posts
Some of the 60s model Raleigh 3-speeds that were lower in the hierarchy used Dunlop rims with a smooth profile. That your dad's bike ended up with mismatched rims could have happened at the dealer or was a replacement or something along those lines. At any rate, Raleigh certainly did equip bikes with those non-Raleigh pattern rims in that era (and Raleigh-owned and slightly lower end brands used them as well).

Neal
nlerner is offline  
Old 09-19-08, 07:15 AM
  #3  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
jonwvara's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Washington County, Vermont, USA
Posts: 3,786

Bikes: 1966 Dawes Double Blue, 1976 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1975 Raleigh Sprite 27, 1980 Univega Viva Sport, 1971 Gitane Tour de France, 1984 Lotus Classique, 1976 Motobecane Grand Record

Mentioned: 77 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 757 Post(s)
Liked 647 Times in 343 Posts
At any rate, Raleigh certainly did equip bikes with those non-Raleigh pattern rims in that era (and Raleigh-owned and slightly lower end brands used them as well).


Thanks, Neal. I shudder to think that I've been riding on a lower-end front rim all these years. I will switch rims posthaste, before someone else notices.
JV
jonwvara is offline  
Old 09-19-08, 11:26 AM
  #4  
On the road
 
SirMike1983's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: New England
Posts: 2,153

Bikes: Old Schwinns and old Raleighs

Mentioned: 35 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 368 Post(s)
Liked 812 Times in 311 Posts
My '74 Sports had a similar issue-- I think there was a rim swap at the shop when the bicycle was assembled.

The rear rim was a plain Endrick pattern rim, but the front rim was a Raleigh pattern rim (if anyone has a decent quality Raleigh pattern rim for a Sports they'd be willing to part with, let me know!). Both seemed to be from the right vintage, so it's possible the shop mismatched mine. Mine also has a Nottingham serial number, but lacks a "Made In England" sticker on the top tube. Instead it has a block yellow sticker that says "Made in England, Assembled in USA". Odd stuff, but nothing earth shattering.
__________________
Classic American and British Roadsters, Utility Bikes, and Sporting Bikes (1935-1979):
https://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/
SirMike1983 is offline  
Old 09-19-08, 01:09 PM
  #5  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
jonwvara's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Washington County, Vermont, USA
Posts: 3,786

Bikes: 1966 Dawes Double Blue, 1976 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1975 Raleigh Sprite 27, 1980 Univega Viva Sport, 1971 Gitane Tour de France, 1984 Lotus Classique, 1976 Motobecane Grand Record

Mentioned: 77 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 757 Post(s)
Liked 647 Times in 343 Posts
You're probably right about it being a rim swap at the shop when the bike was assembled--seems less likely that the factory would have screwe that up, though you never know. Anyway, I'm pretty sure both rims are original--I was a kid living at home when my dad used to ride the bike and I'd probably remember if he'd damaged the wheel badly enough to need to replace it. That would have been a big expense in those days.
Jon
jonwvara is offline  
Old 09-19-08, 05:45 PM
  #6  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,112
Mentioned: 479 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3780 Post(s)
Liked 6,528 Times in 2,568 Posts
Originally Posted by jonwvara
Thanks, Neal. I shudder to think that I've been riding on a lower-end front rim all these years. I will switch rims posthaste, before someone else notices.
JV
Hah! I wasn't quite sure how to characterize those Dunlop rims--not necessarily lower-end because I've seen both Raleigh Pattern and Dunlop rust like crazy and/or shine up wonderfully, so I'm not sure how different the chroming process was. I guess the Dunlops (or Sturmey Archer-branded w/ similar profile) just don't have the mojo of the Raleigh pattern.

Neal
nlerner is offline  
Old 09-19-08, 07:47 PM
  #7  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Boone NC USA
Posts: 622

Bikes: Bianchi hybrid. Dunelt 3-sp. Raleigh basket case. Wanting a Roadster.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
I thought the dropped center was the dunlop pattern, and that Raleigh started making them themselves after Dunlop and they parted ways. The standard rim, was used on the lower end bicycles. Damaged wheels were often replaced with cheap no-brand wheels from K-Mart, etc. Possibly a dealer put the wrong wheel on, maybe one of the 16 yo mechanics not knowing the difference. My Dunelt had the cheaper rims standard, but I was able to tell the front was not original because it had 36 spokes, factory was 32/40 just like the Raleighs. Also parents can be sneaky, and not tell spouses and kids about little accidents, that they had repaired before coming home. Who knows what might have happened in the mists of time?
graywolf is offline  
Old 09-19-08, 08:51 PM
  #8  
www.theheadbadge.com
 
cudak888's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Southern Florida
Posts: 28,487

Bikes: https://www.theheadbadge.com

Mentioned: 121 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2395 Post(s)
Liked 4,336 Times in 2,070 Posts
A couple things to clarify in case anyone lurking here is confused:

Dropped center rims with deep sides for cable brakes - as found commonly on the Sports - are Westrick-pattern.
Rod-brake only with a dropped center and a round edge (no provisions for side-contact brake pads) are called Westwood.
Endrick is the box-pattern with no center ridge, cable brakes only.

Most off-brand models + the Sports S-22/S-22L spartan models used the Endrick pattern, and I believe the '64 Superbe might have used these as well under the marginal premise of cutting down on weight (this particular model used Bronze Green Bluemels Popular fenders as well).

As for timeline, '50s rims would be marked "RALEIGH" - rims from the '60s, "DUNLOP;" and I believe in 1970 or '71, the stamping changed to "STURMEY-ARCHER." This is the case for the Endricks and Westricks as I know them - wouldn't know for sure about the Westwoods, though I'd assume they were stamped the same.

-Kurt
__________________













Last edited by cudak888; 09-19-08 at 09:29 PM.
cudak888 is offline  
Old 09-19-08, 09:07 PM
  #9  
Procrastinateur supreme
 
CrankyFranky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Franko barada nikto
Posts: 1,220

Bikes: Enough bikes...for today!

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 34 Post(s)
Liked 3 Times in 2 Posts
You da man, Kurt!
CrankyFranky is offline  
Old 09-20-08, 12:15 AM
  #10  
On the road
 
SirMike1983's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: New England
Posts: 2,153

Bikes: Old Schwinns and old Raleighs

Mentioned: 35 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 368 Post(s)
Liked 812 Times in 311 Posts
Originally Posted by cudak888
A couple things to clarify in case anyone lurking here is confused:

Dropped center rims with deep sides for cable brakes - as found commonly on the Sports - are Westrick-pattern.
Rod-brake only with a dropped center and a round edge (no provisions for side-contact brake pads) are called Westwood.
Endrick is the box-pattern with no center ridge, cable brakes only.

Most off-brand models + the Sports S-22/S-22L spartan models used the Endrick pattern, and I believe the '64 Superbe might have used these as well under the marginal premise of cutting down on weight (this particular model used Bronze Green Bluemels Popular fenders as well).

As for timeline, '50s rims would be marked "RALEIGH" - rims from the '60s, "DUNLOP;" and I believe in 1970 or '71, the stamping changed to "STURMEY-ARCHER." This is the case for the Endricks and Westricks as I know them - wouldn't know for sure about the Westwoods, though I'd assume they were stamped the same.

-Kurt

The Westwoods on my '78 DL-1 indeed say Sturmey-Archer on them, like the Westrick on the Sports does.
__________________
Classic American and British Roadsters, Utility Bikes, and Sporting Bikes (1935-1979):
https://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/
SirMike1983 is offline  
Old 09-20-08, 12:34 AM
  #11  
www.theheadbadge.com
 
cudak888's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Southern Florida
Posts: 28,487

Bikes: https://www.theheadbadge.com

Mentioned: 121 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2395 Post(s)
Liked 4,336 Times in 2,070 Posts
Originally Posted by SirMike1983
The Westwoods on my '78 DL-1 indeed say Sturmey-Archer on them, like the Westrick on the Sports does.
Indeed, I am familiar with the later DL-1 rims as having "Sturmey-Archer" markings, but I have yet to see a '50s or '60s DL-1 to confirm whether the rest of the statement holds true. It most likely applies, but I will not venture to guess.

-Kurt
__________________












cudak888 is offline  
Old 09-20-08, 10:08 AM
  #12  
On the road
 
SirMike1983's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: New England
Posts: 2,153

Bikes: Old Schwinns and old Raleighs

Mentioned: 35 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 368 Post(s)
Liked 812 Times in 311 Posts
Originally Posted by cudak888
Indeed, I am familiar with the later DL-1 rims as having "Sturmey-Archer" markings, but I have yet to see a '50s or '60s DL-1 to confirm whether the rest of the statement holds true. It most likely applies, but I will not venture to guess.

-Kurt

A '65 DL-1 I saw awhile back had the "Dunlop" on its Westwood rims as well-- though that one wasn't my bike (wish I had that one though). I think you're probably right about it matching up.
__________________
Classic American and British Roadsters, Utility Bikes, and Sporting Bikes (1935-1979):
https://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/
SirMike1983 is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.