clubman 

That looks like a typical Raleigh re-brand except someone swapped in the Weinman brakes, probably when they couldn't find the double ended ladies cable set. The cables don't match at the gear housing is more weathered.

edit. Of course the 26 tpi thread will be the final judge

desconhecido 

The world is a funny place. The red British bike just above your post looks to have the same fenders as the MN and KC Populars. The brake levers on the KC bike look to be replacements -- perhaps the calipers are as well. It's odd that both the bikes would have replacement brakes, but it's not impossible.

You're right about the chain gaurd on the KC bike, looks exactly like a Raleigh.

Anyway, after seeing the Riviera, I'm more inclined to think the Populars are Raleighs.

desconhecido 

Every photo or reference to a Raleigh Riviera that I can find is from the UK or the Continent.Other than the chain guard and fenders it looks like a Raleigh Sports and my guess is that they are very similar bikes. Yours has neat details like the branded set stay caps.

I saw a photo of a Raleigh imported to America the other day with that same chain guard style -- Space Rider. I think the Space Rider might have been a smaller bike than the Sports (and similar bikes) with the 650A wheels. Some Space Riders had curved top tubes, but not all. I may have seen a photo of one of the Raleigh Sports imported to the US by AMF that also had that guard but can't recall. That may have been in this thread, but how can you tell? This thread is like the top of my desk (yes, I have a desk). There's a lot there and you can't find anything when you want it.

I think you will be amazed at how well the bike cleans up. From what I can tell, the paint and frame decals/paint lettering all look pretty good. The chrome will clean up really well, too, though some of it will probably always show some freckles where it looks like the chrome is gone and you can see down to the copper. The color looks like what Raleigh called Carmine Red. We have a Super Course MK II and a Sprite in that color and it's a very nice red when cleaned and polished. Hard to touch up, though. Some raspberry nail polishes are close. I think the color is actually a translucent red over a gold or bronze base layer.

gna

No, I got the frame for $5. No wheelset. I'm cobbling it together from parts I have laying around here.

I took a few more crappy cell pics.



No "Nottingham England", no Sir Walter that I could see. Lastillluce's has a 60 date on the hub, and mine has a bottom bracket oiler, so 1960 seems about right. As a guess, and only that, wasn't 1960 when Raleigh finally consolidated most of the British cycle makes under their roof? I suppose they could have tossed these bikes together from fenders, brakes, and other parts from other makes that they were consolidating. Just a guess.

I suppose we could check the threading on the bottom bracket or the fork and see if standard Raleigh 26 tpi parts fit. That would settle the debate for me.

Narhay

Pretty cool. I think if you take some time to disassemble, clean up and get to the bearings it will turn out quite nicely.

Fidbloke

There's a company in the UK selling new bikes that are based on 650c wheels & tyres. I think the bikes are called 'Tokyobike' or something like that. They have normal sized frames, so the wheels tend to look a little bit 'dinky' as the frame size inreases.

desconhecido 

When I was six I weighed about 45 pounds and was probably about three feet tall. I had a bicycle with 20" wheels till a neighbor ran it over in the driveway. I guess I was about 8 when I got what we called a 24" Schwinn. Of course, it was not a 24" bike, but about a 15" bike with 24" wheels, which, of course, didn't measure 24". It was way too big for me but the way I learned to ride on that bike, with the seat probably too high and my legs extended farther than proper at the bottom of the stroke is still the way I ride a bicycle. Nobody knew about standover height back then so it never bothered me that if one foot was on the ground the other was about six inches in the air. Never had a need to put two feet on the ground at once, one was always on a pedal or above a pedal with my leg resting on the top bar. They didn't size by fit back then, they sized by age.

Anyway, you must have been a big six-year-old if you were riding a Sports. Raleigh did make small bikes -- the Space Rider and the Colt, but I don't know if they were 3-speed bikes or not. The town I grew up in in central Wisconsin was pretty much a Schwinn town. Almost every kid had one and the ones who didn't had other American made bike that we would call cruisers today.

Cascades T700

Well, I don't rightly remember to model name of the Raleigh bike I had as a child. That was over 50 years ago! We called it an "English Racer". I described it accurately as to being 3 speed internal hub gearing with a trigger shifter, red in color with white lettering outlined in gold, rear dynamo to run stock chrome silver bullet style head light and tail light with cone shaped red lens. I think it had 24" wheels but couldn't swear to it. I do not remember the frame size but yes I always was the biggest and tallest kid in my Dallas, Texas school class from first grade on. At nine years old I wore a men's size 9 shoe and was close to 100 lbs., At 16, I was six foot two inches tall with size 12 shoe and weighed 160 lbs and was skinny as a rail. I hit six five by age 18 with size 13 shoe and weighed 175 lbs. At age 62, I remain six foot five inches tall, wear a size 15 EE shoe and ride a 62 centimeter frame bike. So I guess I did qualify as a "big kid" and a big adult too. :-P

desconhecido 

I'm 64 but sometimes lie and say I'm 63. I think there may have been a day or two back in the 70 s when i was 5'7", but most of the time I've been 5'6". I don't think I've shrunk much, but always look the other way when they weigh me at the doctor's. The 21"Sports are really a bit too big for me, but I'm used to it.

looks like Raleigh had at least three models in the American market designed for youngsters: Colt, Space rider, and Mountie. Colt (26") and Space Rider (24") could have gears (a lot of them with coaster brake). The Mountie was 20" wheels and probably ss only. Don't remember any of these from back then. Only images on the interwebs today.

We were a small town full of short people. Don't know why. There were only a couple kids in my high school taller than 6', and not by much. We had a bad basketball team. Our town was populated mostly by Polish and German immigrants. A neighboring town with a large population of Dutch immigrants, don't know why, had bigger kids and won all the basketball games.

thumpism 

This appeared on the local CL this morning. Seems to fit better in this thread than in the dedicated CL thread in C&V, more three-speed-specific interest here:

triumph classic bicycle

triumph classic bicycle - $120 (Richmond) < >










make / manufacturer: triumph
I have had this 3 speed triumph for about 5 years, it has brand-new tires and rides great. the fenders could use some adjusting for rattling but outgrew than that they are fine. It is a great shirt ride, around the neighborhood cruising bike.

I am moving and no longer have slave for allot of stuff. So, I have decided to sell it. Let me know what ya think!

thumpism 

I also know of a brand new Raleigh Space Rider (red with the curved top tube, 24x 1 3/8 wheel, CB) still at the dealer, if anyone is interested.

gster

Toronto Vintage Bicycle Show 2015!
We have a date. The last Sunday in July.

dweenk

I don't need another Raleigh or another 3 speed, but they seem to follow me home. My wife and I were taking a drive past a couple of places where we used to live. As we were headed home, we passed a yard sale and my wife exclaimed "He's got two bikes for sale".

Well I went back and ended up with a ladies Raleigh Sports for $50. I started to negotiate, but he looked like he needed the $50. Anyway here it is. It has the 3 speed coaster brake hub that no one likes. Everything works, and it is in pretty decent shape. The only problem I notice is that the freewheel ticks while I am pedaling in 2nd and 3rd. After riding a bit more the freewheel ticks in 1st as well - maybe i didn't notice that earlier.



The hub is dated March 1976 - I haven't found the serial number yet.

arex

Nice bike for $50.

michaelz28

by the top of the seat tube on my 74

Narhay

I may have asked before but my browser is going on the fritz. Has anyone used these as a direct replacement for the stock brakes with fenders...particularly on a 1972 Superbe?

Sunlite - Steel Bicycle Brakeset W/ Levers, Front & Rear

noglider 

I haven't, and the design is close to the original, but if I were replacing brakes on a Raleigh, I would use dual-pivots. Those brakes are super cheap and may work badly. And while you're at it, you might as well take advantage of modern advances.

Narhay

This would be for a low budget flip. I borrowed the brakes from the superbe to rebuild a sports with rusted out brake hardware.

noglider 

OK, that would justify the cost savings, but in my experience, cheap single pivots are some of the worst brakes I've ever used. Caliper arms need to be stiff to be effective.

Track10

Hi Guys

I have a question and I am hoping you would like to play along ...

What would your 'perfect' Raleigh 3 Speed be like ?

Using only parts from the Raleigh Parts bin from say 1950 to 1975 how would you build your perfect 3 Speed ( or 4 speed for that matter )

Would you use an early frame or a late 60's 70's frame. Would you use Rod brakes or rim brakes - what hubs would you use, would you have a dymo - would you pop a 4 speed in ? What chainguard - what handlebars - I think there are only 3 choices ? North Road - the much flatter / lower type and the type that are used with the rod brakes ( is that curve only ever used on rod braked bikes ? - oh is there also the type like the one used on the 20's ? - What saddle would you fit, what pedals - and last of all - what colour would you paint it ?

I think I have an idea what my bike would look like ( I will tell you later ) but would love to know what yours would be like - oh and it would be great to know why you made those choices ?

Sixty Fiver

See the first three posts in this thread.

desconhecido 

Dual pivots is probably the smart thing to do. Looks like the Tektro 800A are pretty inexpensive, nut mounted, and adaptable to the rear on step through models.

That said, the Weinmann sidepulls that they put on the 79 Sports are pretty decent for standard sidepull brakes. I like them much better than the steel Raleigh brakes used in 51, 56, 72, and 74. I'm not sure that the Weinmanns have the same reach as the Raleigh steel calipers and that may be a factor for the rear on older Sports bikes. They changed some stuff with the rear brake /rack bridge about the same time that they went to the Winmann brakes and I have not measured to be sure that they didn't move the rear brake mount a tad closer to the axle. What I think is that the Weinmann brakes may be slightly shorter reach than the steel Raleighs, but I haven't actually measured.

bwilli88 

I would start with a rootbeer colored 74 Grand Prix and take off all of the derailleur bits, the crankarms, and the bottom bracket. I would replace the rear hub with a S-A 3 speed, ideally a S-A S3x with a 16t freewheel. I would find a nice Suguino crankarm set and put a 44t or a 46t chainring on it. For the gear lever I would choose one of two options, 1. Run the cable up the seatstay to a pulley and mount the gear changing lever on the top tube near the stem or 2. Purchase a single gear changer for the down tube and run the cable like the rear derailleur cable. I would also change the rims to 27 x 1 3/8 aluminum rims and run the fattest 27" tires I could find.

bertinjim 

bwilli88-

I did a similar conversion for my son. I took a black Sprite, removed the 5 speed derailleur bits, built alloy rims onto a 3 speed rear and QR front wheel with high pressure tires. It was one of the nicest handling and riding bikes I ever rode. The first time he rode it, it was stolen from a friend's house. Sigh.

BigChief

If you take into account rugged reliability, I think any of the Sports or DL-1 type Raleighs in stock trim are the perfect 3 speed
bikes. It's only if you want to sacrifice some strength for light weight do you move into the Clubman 531 framed style 3 speeds.
As cool as they are, they were eclipsed by 10 speed light weight touring bikes for good reason. To me, for getting around town or
light touring in flat country, a Raleigh Sports or any of the re-badged models from the 50s and 60s are just about perfect as is.
That's not stopping me from building my own 3 speed Clubman though. I even have some parts set aside for my project.