Thanks folks: sorry if I was not clear - here is a picture of the current rim (looks pretty good in this shot but the braking surfaces are really bad):

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...psf4fbfd9e.jpg

The main centre section of the rim that you can see is a satin grey (almost like alloy rims), while the shoulders and braking surface are bright chrome. The Sun CR18 (and other replacement alloy or steel rims I have found) are either all satin or all chrome. Anyway, I think I am belaboring the point. If I do give up the interesting detail of the original rim I will certainly look at the CR18 polished.

I am a huge fan of stopping.

NICE! Sorry you missed out on the '37 but the "consolation prize" is way cool. That first pic looks like it is conspicuously in front of an Airstream....

It is... I have 3 of them :o That one is the 1975 Sovereign International (31') and is parked in front of the shop waiting on me to do some welding on the rear frames, then I can start reassembling it. :P

Aaron :)

Ha, should'a known an Airstream re-builder too! No doubt you have seen this; Latourneau pulling an Airstream:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=399648

I have... interestingly enough it was just the shell. There is a modern day reincarnation of that photo somewhere, it was done at one of the national rallies a few years back. And IIRC Red was on a Schwinn with a Sturmey hub. ;)

Aaron :)

Meh. Let's see him going downhill...

That rim was originally shiny in the center, looks like it got rusty and someone cleaned it up. I have also seen that rim with knurling in the center too. The rims are still available but not easy to find. Dutch Bike Bits has them listed.

Aaron :)

Spotted by one of my operatives yesterday out in Gloucester, Mass. I have no info other than the pic. Anyone in the area in need of a Raleigh Sports want to give 'em a call?
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3920/...34ec03226a.jpg

Rims: if you plan to ride it Sun CR18s. If you plan to mostly look at it (not that there is anything wrong with that), original chrome.

Aaron: in this thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...s-3-speed.html) Kurt had told a poster with a 1949 Raleigh that the centre of the rim was supposed to be dull chrome (which is why I thought that was the original finish on mine and did not try to polish it at all).....now I am confused. However, I really like the rims you have linked to so thanks muchly!

BTW: I ride all my bikes, but not often in the rain. Even with the rough braking surfaces on the Humber rims I have been talking about, I can still lock the back wheel using grey continental Kool Stops (in the dry)....

Ok... I was thinking of the more modern rims. I only have two bikes from the 50's and both appear to be from around 1954 plus/minus a couple of years, and both are Hercules.

I suppose you could by modern rims and treat the center ridge to dull the chrome down, scuff it up or treat it with a mild acid.



Aaron :)

My 70's ('71-'72?) Malaysian built Raleigh Sports. All original except the tires, tubes, bearings, and grips.

Good looker and a good size, @1000MPH. A veritable garage queen.
(And high time someone bumped this thread! )

Does anyone offhand know the spoke length from a modern Sturmey Archer 3 speed to a Sun CR18 ISO 590mm rim? Pattern is 36 cross 3. I did a calc and it ran 275-ish. Anyone think that sounds right?

Thanks. I just ordered a Brooks B72 for it now that I intend to ride it more often. Gotta love Amazon.

Wise move. That saddle will look terrific on your bike... I recall that my old Sports came with a FUJI branded sprung mattress saddle - even more inappropriate, but I stumbled on a period Wrights saddle for cheap .. It made a BIG difference.

The day I found it: :rolleyes:
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...rts1953005.jpg

That is very close.

I used the original Sturney Archer spokes with length of 10-7/8" (276 mm) for all my CR18 (590 mm) builds. That length is very versatile for these wheels with various holes. I got a lot of 1000 of these and have been using for several years.

Hey guys, a technical AW question for you!

My hub slips occasionally in high gear. After I've been pedaling in high gear for a half minute or so, it will skip forward a little, like one notch. Evidently a pawl has slipped, and it invariably catches again on the next notch. I can prevent it from skipping if I remember to stop pedaling for an instant before it happens, but it's a pain in the neck to do this, and I often forget. So I'd rather just fix it.

The 1956 Sturmey Archer "fault finding chart" mentions four possible problems:
1. Pinion pins or sliding clutch badly worn due to bad adjustment.
2. Very weak or distorted axle spring.
3. Incorrect R. H. cone adjustment.
4. Grit between clutch sleeve and axle.

So, regarding this,
1. I know what the pinion pins and sliding clutch are. I have spares, from other hubs, but they might be equally worn or even worse. Anyone have any advice how to check them for wear?
2. But what's the axle spring? The exploded diagram doesn't have anything by that name. Am I to assume they mean the clutch spring?

K530A is that spring. It does fatigue and a new one is pretty inexpensive.

How tight is your cable? Maybe loosen it up just a tad?

Cool, thanks. It should be easy enough to compare the springs I have on hand and pick the strongest one. I don't think it's the cable adjustment; I've changed that enough times, and this problem has been going on longer.

Thank you, that's the length I ended up getting. 275 was a "specialty" length, so I just rounded up to 276, which sounds like it will be functional.

Does that bike have a hub date? I have one too, but no hub date. Mine is a bit more worn.

Aaron :)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7441/...f7c0982f_c.jpg

It looks like this is a date stamp but it's not in the usual location.
Looks like 71 / 11 to me but I have no idea.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...5&d=1410111095

Dawes Kingpin with a little custom work and powder... built this for a friend's 10 year old daughter.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...pin%20(17).JPG

It has a new AWC rear hub...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...pin%20(23).JPG

She will never need another bike...