I recently picke up a free Raleigh Superbe. I thought that it was a '69 and was totaly stoaked. As I was cleaning the wheels I noticed that the Archer had 72 stamped into it. Imagine how disaponted I was to find out that it wasn't as ventage as I thought. Is it still worth working on?

Yes, there is NO DOUBT!

Actuall the question was slightly toung in cheek. I have every intention of restoring it. I was suprised by the fact that the head and tail light still worked.

Where are they giving away free Superbes? I want one. Nice bike, not a comfortable ride, though.

Did you get the Brooks, too?

wheels look really clean...are they original?

Quote:

Originally Posted by gna

Where are they giving away free Superbes? I want one. Nice bike, not a comfortable ride, though.

I responded to an ad on Yahoo Free Cycle for “two free bikes”. There was no picture and no description,I called the owner, went and got them before daylight and didn’t get to look at them until 5 that afternoon. One was a ’72 schwinn Girls bike that I gave to a friend, the other was the Superbe.

What makes it an uncomfortable ride?

There was no saddle. I have ordered a cushy cruiser saddle for the time being both for price and for my ample seat cushion to rest on untill I loose enough weight and gain enough money to buy the leather Brook’s.
The wheels are original but slightly rusted and pitted. I have cleaned the front one up but the rear is going to take a bit more work. The gear box is going to have to be disassembled, cleaned and rebuilt (it doesn’t work), I think that it hasn’t been greased in years.

From the modern Raleigh "R" decal decal on the seat tube, and the self-adjusting brakes, it looks like it is a '73 with a 23" frame (nice). That would explain the rear hub being stamped '72. Are those the original Dare hand grips, or Schwinn replacements? The Schwinns aren't bad. Either way, Sheldon Brown claimed those bikes were good for 100 years of use with normal maintenance. Keep an eye out for a Brooks B-66 leather saddle. Not necessary if you are going to use it as transportation, but nice to have...especially if you get a great deal on one. They also came with a "rat trap" style Presta Tube (spelling Ok?) rear rack in a color that matched the frame, which in this case is Bronze Green. In addition to going back and forth to the train station, those bikes are especially nice for early evening rides on flat terrain.

Almost forgot, the frame pumps are usually missing on those bikes, along with the keys to the locking front forks. I don't know if you have the keys to the forks, but that pump is good to have.

They are the schwinn hand grips, I'm thinking of replacing them with brown leather grips to match the saddle that I have on order. I will be using it for transportation to and from the airport. Where i live it's pretty flat. I might try to follow the goatneck rout once I get more comfotable on it (in better shape).

Question and answer.
I was being irreverent, in the spirit of the thread.

I recommend a Brooks B66, though they're not cheap.