Sixty Fiver

Some years ago I built up a 1980 Raleigh Criterium into a 3 speed road bike and really enjoyed that... used to enjoy some insanely good sprint power and had it up to 55 kmh before the hub started to protest as it would not take any more load that i was putting into it.

Conversely, running to large a cog in the rear with a too small chain ring can exceed the hubs design parameters... they are really best suited for moderate use and won't limit most people in the speed department.

I also ran a Shimano 3 speed in an mtb frame to use it as a winter bike and this worked famously in some of the worst conditions I have ever ridden in.

The Sports will get a Cyclo Benelux 3 speed kit added when I rebuild the stock '54 hub into a new or vintage wheel... it requires a longer axle but then the 3 speed will become a 9 speed with a very nice gear range.

Will also look to lace a Dynahub into a 700c for the front so I can be self powered.

I have built dual drives for SA hubs and they work really well to expand the capabilities of the SA AW as if you gear for speed you lose at the bottom and vice versa.

Gotta stay as vintage as possible on this one... the new brakes and old Dia Comple levers are very impressive in how well they work.

I figure one of this bikes first good rides will be to ride the 50 miles from here to my mom's.

noglider 

What was a Raleigh Criterium? I don't think we had that model in the US.

Sixty Fiver

The Raleigh Criterium came in several versions... the Carlton made versions were mad in England and had Reynolds 501 frames while latter models were straight gauge frames that were fitted out with a full Shimano 600 Arabesque group.

Pedestrian frame and awesome bits here... most Straight gauge Criterium frames I see are just that as they get snapped up for their Shimano 600.

Mine was a latter model and was probably an '83... I laid down some stupid mileage on that bike as a three speed and fitted some of Raleigh's 650 B wheels that they were offering during this period to allow the bike to handle some rougher roads and trails.

bbattle

Nice build, Sixty Fiver. I'm guessing the 700c wheels make the ride what it is.

I had a Raleigh Ltd.-3 that I cleaned up, repainted, and added new alloy wheels and brand new SA hub. It was still quite heavy and sluggish compared to my other bikes. I sold it to a coworker at a big loss but he rode it a lot and enjoyed it. When he left town, he sold it to a local so the bike is still around. Perhaps I'll see it again.

There's a local man who has been riding his Superbe ever since he bought it new way back. We were relaxing after a fixed gear alley cat race and when he came by we made him stop so we could check out the cool bike. (cell phone pic, sorry)



headlight still worked, dynamos still on the bike.

Sixty Fiver

The old Superbe is such a nicely equipped bike and am thinking that if Raleigh had re-introduced the bike as it was (instead of the new hybrid like model) with a few nice upgrades to the brakes and rims it would still be a great seller and would be a competitor to the Pashley roadster.

I have never had a problem selling these bikes through the co-op or through my shop as they are still very popular and everyone seems to know someone that had one and since we have regular tweed rides I now have a vintage geared Raleigh to ride.

My best friend rides a 1980 Raleigh Sports (ladies model) that I picked up NOS... she just loves it.

And because the tinkering never stops, I just swapped out the 18 tooth driver for a shiny new 20 tooth( and put on a new chain) to give me a 49/65/87 gearing instead of the 54/73/97... I can't mash a gear this high anymore and sometimes don't have the full use of my left leg so have to spin like a gerbil on crack.

Increasing the wheel and tyre size requires one to adjust the drive as a bigger wheel equals a taller gearing... the stock gearing on these old bikes was designed for low rpm efforts which are easier when you are sitting upright as you utilize your glutes more.

Most can benefit from the installation of a bigger driver to reduce the overall gearing and allow for easier pedalling and a better hill climbing gear.

It is almost obligatory to take pictures of old English bikes here.

old's'cool

tell me about it. I just got my project bike into ridable state yesterday, a FrankenVega Viva Touring "OK to get it dirty" bike intended for wet surface commuting (so I can restart my commuting season earlier), not directly pertinent to this thread, except that now that I'm ready for the wet, we've been accumulating snow again for the past week and a half, with more to come through the weekend, and it is not a snow bike (nor have I any intention of commuting 28 miles round trip in snow, on any bike).
Not that we get a lot of rain here, but I'm anticipating several weeks of intermittently wet roads & trails as the winter snow accumulation melts.
Anyway, beautiful build & story, Sixty Fiver. I am reminded of my best boyhood friend's bike, not a Raleigh I think but an equivalent CCM if there was such a thing, double diamond 23" frame, not sure what size wheels (probably 26"), drop bars and Sturmey Archer 3-speed. It was pretty non-descript at the time with many years and miles on it, but he maintained it in good working order and always ran with the rest of us on our new 10 speeds.

Sixty Fiver

The last time I built a dedicated rain bike we had a drought that lasted two and a half months...

This is a Kuwahara Cascade mtb with a Shimano 3 speed (the last rain bike) that I built up a few years ago... sold it to a young lady after a few seasons of riding and she still uses this bike on a daily basis and I see it fairly often.

bikamper

Very nice build, sixty fiver. All it takes is one Raleigh and the next thing you know, you got a garage full. I think I have 5 or 6 variants of the Sports/Superbe plus a Super Course.

I'll be at Lake Pepin on my 68 Superbe and my daughter will be on her 77 Sports, if I ever get it finished. I won't be riding the 3 speed fixed gear this year, once was enough.

4Rings6Stars

I recently joined the club. I found this 68 at the town dump last month (well actually my dad found it). Someday I want to buy or build a drop bar clubman...

Added a brand new B72 but it doesn't look quite right on the bike so I picked up a $20 B66 with a nice matching patina. Whatever saddle I end up using will get cork grips died and shellacced to match.

buck mulligan

Not to be argumentative, but that's not a Superbe - it's a Sports, kind of. It's one of the "All-Gold Edition" bikes, model number S-22 (the standard Sports is model number DL-22). I know, because I've got one stripped down to bare frame and loose parts in my basement right now, waiting for me to finish the rebuild. The funky chainguard and the twist grip shifters are the giveaway (well, that and the gold paint job).

Esteban32696

I love those old 3 speeds , too. Great utilitarian transportation.

mkeller234

Very nice, nice story too. It's too bad that the Rudge didn't work out for you, that is one fine bicycle.

Sixty Fiver

*cough*

These are both fixed gear conversions... the Twenty was a 3 speed originally and will be a 3 speed again albeit with an SA SX3 fixed gear hub.


1973 Raleigh Gran Sport


1973 Phillip's Twenty

Harvey2

Thank you Aaron, I will.

This thread is aMAZingly fun! Sixty Fiver, I have to say, You're one of the key people
who inspire the rest of us to search these great machines out. It's supposed to get
near ten below zero here overnight and all I can think about is a Raleigh Twenty now.
I'm sunk.

Harv

twoducks

The paint has seen better days, especially on the fork and chain fender, but she rides like a dream. This is the bicycle that got me into working on old bikes. I got tired of paying people to make repairs for me and just started figuring out how to take it all apart and put it back together. These are old photos, I've added a 30+ year old brooks b72, lights for the dynohub, a nicer looking bell, and taken off the ugly lock clamp. I'll get some new pictures in the spring.

Sixty Fiver

twoducks - That is a beautiful Superbe... I see very few red Sports or Superbes with Raleigh badges on them while Phillip's variants tend to be a little brighter and stand out more.

twoducks

Thanks, Sixty Fiver. I've seen one other red one around town (Toronto) that is in much better shape than mine. It still has the original lights, pump, and saddle. A blue one in this style recently popped up on our Craigslist too, it took all of my strength not to buy it.

clubman 

Hey two ducks...do you have an original hub date and maybe serial number for that Superbe? I've only seen a few few with that unusual decal scheme. I have a similar one with a right fork lamp bracket. Nice tyres!

cudak888 

The only Superbe I know of in the U.S. market that came in that two-tone scheme was the '64 Superbe Sports Deluxe. The SSD was Bronze Green with black darts and headtube though, and had matching Bronze Green metallic Bluemels fenders (you have to see them to believe 'em).

Your location is a dead giveaway that it's most likely a Canadian variant though. The Canadian models throughout the 1960's and 1970's notably differ from those sold in the U.S.; white fenders are common on the '60s Sports (forgot what year this started and ended), and the post-1973 examples were produced in an eye-splitting lime green that wasn't available across the border. I believe they did a bright orange variant during this time frame as well. Quite unusual, and possibly the most outlandish colors ever put on the Sports; 10 times more so then the two variants of bright yellow applied to the U.S.-market machines.

Take care,

-Kurt

twoducks

Kurt, that makes sense. The hubdate on the SA hub is 64.

Clubman, I guess that answers your question. I will take a look for the serial number for you soon, the bike is 'in storage' at my parents' place for the winter.

There are a couple guys trying to sell old Raleighs with similar paint schemes on our Craigs these days. One Orangey/gold Lenton Sports has been going up once a week for about 3 months now:
https://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/bik/1615380897.html

There is another one in purple/white that I can't find the link for. Maybe he finally sold it.

jamesj

wow that bike is super clean...
i love the chrome fenders against the Gold.

cudak888 

Definitely another Canadian variant.

-Kurt

clubman 

Here's the oddball Superbe...likely not a Canadian bike with the lamp mount unless someone was asleep at the switch. It had EA1 rims and a 58 AW hub. No indication of there ever being a chainguard or mudguards mounted. The other two blue Superbes are from Halifax. Absolutely mint. Mattress saddles though.

Sixty Fiver

This guy has an enviable collection of bikes...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/37002899@N08/

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

wow i love the white Fork Tips.