BigChief 

Just checked. funthingsfound is on "away" mode until Sept 4 on eBay. He seems to have a pile of em. These same springs were used for years on the 4 speed shifter. No matter, I've got spares. I can send you one.

BigChief 

If you remove the forward stays on the rear fender, the ones you have would be correct. Yellow Jersey sells repros of the smaller reflectors with black cases that would have been on your bike originally for 5 bucks. I would use a new one for a like new restoration. 60 year old reflectors can get pretty crummy looking. Raleigh pedals without reflectors aren't too hard to find. The fun part would be to reproduce the battery tube that seems to be a standard feature on the Dawn models. I can see myself cutting up an aluminum Maglite. You would need lots of close up pictures of genuine ones to copy details. A fun project for sure. And if you decide to go 3 speed, you'll need a shifter like 3speedslow is rebuilding and a steel guide wheel with bolt to fit in the lug on the top tube. Boy, I wish I was doing this...sorry, I get carried away.

3speedslow

Sending a PM. I think I have worked out how to press the indent out. I will get a stack of pennies or dimes together and build it up inside the case where the indent is.When I soft mallet the case, the high sides should be pressed down. I will see how the set up looks.

plympton

I understand. Too much time looking at bikes and not enough fishing. There is a little voice in my head that keeps saying "go buy another bike."

gster

Raleigh produced specific models for Canada. I believe the white paint on the steering tube is common to these models as well as the name and decals.
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3speedslow

Very stunning! I have seen where Raleigh used those white accents on the tubes in 61, is that the yr of the bike?

gster

This is from a local Kijiji ad, so I don't have a date but early 60's seems right.

3speedslow

This repair was interesting, rewarding, fun and therapeutic. I agree with @BigChief when he said it all makes sense once you have one of these rebuilds done.

Can't wait till the next one!

BigChief 

Good job!!That looks great. Another classy piece of cycling history rescued from the broken parts bin.

markk900

Agree Tom, but be careful - I have found out the hard way that some of the so called brass bristle brushes are some kind of brass plated steel - after some use they essentially becomes steel brushes that DO scratch.

BigChief 

I was wondering lately if maybe the 46x22 gearing on my roadster was too low. Just pedaled the last 3 miles home in a stiff headwind...I'll be keeping the 22Tcog.

3speedslow

Went from the front to the back today. Time to build the 3 speed hub. A bit aggregating but enjoyable overall. Wheel is very straight except for one little sway. Will put it on my friends trying stand to finish it up tomorrow. Rim tape will be Velox.

These rims BTW are the original Dunlop 27 x 1 1/4. The special lightweight rim I was going to use will have to be straightened. That is another project all by itself!

3speedslow

The tooth count for this hub will be 20. I will pick one up from the LBS. I'm lucky to have their dark bins to pick through!

JohnDThompson 

I've seen this as well. When in doubt, test with a magnet. Pure brass is not magnetic.

BigChief 

@3speedslow Thanks for the goo gone tip. Works great and didn't hurt the paint at all. The paper remnants of the bike shop sticker are gone! There's still bits of a 20-30 steel sticker on the seat tube that's quite a bit tougher. Might be easier to buy a new one and put it over the mess. Now that it's cleaned up, I'll get started on the disassembly. Feels good to have a new project. I've run out of shifters to fix.
72 or 73 Sports
72sports by Billy Bones, on Flickr

3speedslow

That's going to be a nice one when finished. Are you going to switch out the 18 for a 22t cog ? You're welcome re goo gone. I used a lot of it when I was a mechanic at CDO and the co-op Changing Gears. Still go through the stuff at the LBS I play at. People and their stickers, reflective tape!

I asked the LBS owner if he wanted me to repair a few of the shifters he had in the junk box so he could have some as back up, he just shrugged, thanked me and said no.

I have located a few more NOS bits to get when the time comes. They can wait. Wanted to get the 20t cog today but had to leave early before the big thunderstorm caught me out on the road.

BigChief 

This bike has the 46T eyeless heron chainwheel, so I'll use a 20T cog. There's some other original features that are going to go. I can't help myself. It's got those self adjusting brake levers. It's getting regular Raleigh levers. And of course...nice 50s shifting gear and a custom cable to get ride of the pinch bolt. Pretty sure it didn't have a pinch bolt originally anyway. The Brooks mattress saddle is actually pretty comfy, but it looks like a brick on a stick. If I end up lovin this bike I may have to buy a nice saddle. That's just like me. A hundred dollar saddle on a 50 dollar bike.

3speedslow

I have those self adjusting brakes on my 73. I want to get rid of them too.

BigChief 

These brake levers do tell a story though. About mismanagement and a disconnect from the customers that seems to have infected management at Nottingham in the 70s. Raleigh had been producing the same brake levers for many years. Simple, elegant and well made. The people who really matter, the retail customers were not clamoring for new levers with big clunky ratchets that took up cable slack as the pads wore. Yet, management decided to invest in all new tooling ( even the levers were formed instead of cast) to fix a nonexsistant problem. The result was a bulky, ugly, expensive and very visible component that nobody was asking for. The fact that foolish ideas like this made it to the shop floor shows that things were going screwy in the offices.

gster

P1190216.jpg

P1190217.jpg
I've been running a 22T rear cog on this bike for the past week or so and quite like the change in gearing. More time is spent in 3rd gear and 1st is only used for the last leg of a hill. I've put a 20T on a similar bike and will give that a road test as well.

thumpism

Dweenk posted this one over in the "Wacky" thread and I suggested he also post it here, a pricy 23" men's Sports that might just be in gorgeous condition. His text accompanies the link and photo.

https://easternshore.craigslist.org/...285483949.html

This ad has been up for several months now on CL. The seller began at $375 as I recall, and has been slowly reducing the price over time. The seller has an antique business, so I can assume he/she must know that merchandise you can't move you own. It appears to be in good shape and complete, but I think it's about a $100 dollar bike in these parts

BigChief 

I've been pretty critical of Raleigh in the 70s, so I figured I'd give em credit where it's due and praise their decision to use Pletscher ESGE side stands on their deluxe models. Raleigh kickstands were never very stable. The aluminum Sir Walter stands were the worst offenders. They are particularly tippy. I suppose I have them to thank for a lot of the bent shifters I've had fun fixing, but I would never want one on my bike. So even for older Sports bikes, I swap them out for ESGEs original or not. The best ones for Sports frames are like this one with the long sides that come down from the top plate. They fit snug in the frame and don't need much torque to stay firm. These won't squash the chain stays and are the most stable single leg kick stands I've found for Raleigh Sports type bikes.

stand.jpg

clubman 

Really BigChief?

I've never had an issue with the Walter stands, they're contoured to fit the stays and never fall over, on my bikes anyway. I've got 5 of them in 26 and 28 inch sizes. The front wheel never flops and it has a proper stance imo. I've seen a number of them crack and break though.
Tire size may have a bearing or maybe there were subtle changes to frame design over the years. My current 3 Sports are all pre-'60 but I've had at least 20 later models pass through my hands.
I'd make an offer for any you come across

gster

I prefer this style of side stand as well.

3speedslow

The new spring has arrived so it's on to the next repair. Thanks @BigChief !