gster

That's a photo from the interweb, George's has been painted a baby blue colour.

clubman 

George was never a purist. But always kind.

thumpism

Looks like a Sturmey on this unusual Batavus. Can't figure out how the cable is routed at the back from these photos. Looks like a bolt-on cable guide to keep it away from the chainguard hardware. Also, chrome fork might be a replacement. And it looks like a tall ladies' frame.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...67953067221390




Found this:

cudak888 

That's an axle-mounted cable stop. Sturmey still uses a version of this on modern bikes that come with the current AW and SRF-3, just with a plastic cap over the bracket:




-Kurt

thumpism

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...38313800418484

gster

Agreed.

thumpism

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...98182564792727

anotherbike

I've been knocking around the idea of building something a little different, what I think I'd like to have is something somewhere between a classic English three speed and a mountain bike.
Most of the comfortable riding here is on hard packed wooded trails, along farm roads, fields, and a few oil and stone paved roads. Most paved roads have no shoulders and aren't suited for bicycles these days.
Even the trails are dwindling, some being replaced by paved bike 'trails to nowhere' that tend to be dangerous places to be if riding alone these days. Most of those also close after normal 'state park hours'.

What I found is a 22" Raleigh Grand Mesa which although was considered a mountain bike in its day really isn't your common mtb frame. The frame has a very relaxed geometry and currently has Raleigh scripted 26x1 5/8x1 1/2" tires on it (584mm).
With the sudden availability of that size tire, I figured it may be a good choice for the build. What I'm thinking is lacing a 3 speed rear hub to it, and finding a set of Roadster fenders for it, a set of north road bars, and a suitable saddle, a Raleigh heron crankset. and chainguard.
I'd likely go just a bit wider on the tires but nothing too wide. I found a set of higher pressure 2" tires that are on the narrow side of their rating, which may be an option. If the original tires weren't petrified, I'd likely leave them alone but the gum sidewalls have turned dark brown and nearly to the point of flaking off. The tread though still has its original mold flashing on it. I doubt the bike was ever ridden much, it likely just sat and aged in some old shed all its life.
I've been riding a 1975 Raleigh Sports and an 80's Schwinn beach cruiser, and neither are ideal for where I ride. The beach cruiser is too slow and clunky, the Raleigh doesn't like sand or muddy areas, and I don't like seeing my one owner
all original Sports covered in mud or field dust.

arty dave

Sounds great! I regret selling my 80's MTB & I'd love to get another - they have such a nice laid back geometry. Keep us updated on the build
...oh and we need pics

Salubrious

650b is a nice tire size- there is a reason it was the preferred size for Randonneuring.
I built a three speed mountain bike 30 years ago that was a lot of fun until it was stolen.

gster

Nice Bike but Overpriced
A Raleigh built Supercycle


Seller is asking $450 Canadian

thumpism

Thirty buck 23" Robin Hood in Pittsburgh.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...51053775082752

thumpism

How about a nice leetle Fransh Automoto?

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...73231036029582

cudak888 

Not for $600.

Love the fenders and the Trygg stand though.

-Kurt

rich110

I have a raleigh with a 3 speed SA hub that is giving me trouble.

Can I just swap out the entire core/axle without swapping the shell?
Original is a 1984 AW with the curved SA logo, can I just put in an earlier model? I see lots of late '70s - early 80s AW on ebay with the square logo. Will they fit my shell?

clubman 

If I wanted to overspend on a 3 speed, that might be the one, at around $300 cdn. Original mudguards and integrated rack give me a tingle. (tmi?)

Salubrious

You can- its best to do this with a tool especially made for the SA hub.

But before doing all that I'd put a good amount of WD-40 in the hub and take the bike for about a mile ride and see if it starts shifting. Usually they free up and do just fine. Once its shifting drain out the WD-40 and put a proper lube in it. I would also check the bearings- they are supposed to have a slight amount of play (which you can feel by having the bike supported so the rear wheel is freed, and see if there is any slop when you try to move the rim left to right- you should feel a slight bit). If that play isn't there the hub won't roll or shift right and could eventually get damaged. If a bike mechanic doesn't know this fact, he might try to set the bearing cones incorrectly. BTW you can get bearing cone wrenches for the hub on ebay. I usually do the final set of the bearing cones while the wheel is fitted to the bike.

cudak888 

Won't disagree with you there. Tiny frame (for me) though

-Kurt

gster

I know what you mean..

cudak888 

That too, but I was considering the fact that even my 23" Sports feel on the small side. 59cm is fine for me on a road bike, but I wouldn't mind trying a 25" Sprite. A taller top tube suits jacking the North Roads nice and high for a proper upright ride.

-Kurt

thumpism

Looks like a 23" ladies' Sports with a Brooks B72 for maybe cheap.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...48062038684106

anotherbike

Here's what I'm starting with.
To my surprise, its rideable the way it is, the gears all work, the tires hold air, and it rolls nicely down the road.
Just about everything but the seat is original, tires and all.
The tires are Raleigh Scripted 26 x 1 5/8" x 1 1/2" but both are mounted in the wrong direction compared to the arrows on the sidewalls.
The roadster fenders I have likely won't work, or at least won't look right on the frame. They look lost in the wider frame and there's no good way to mount the front fender where it don't look like its sitting too low in the fork,.
The unicrown just don't take to that style fender well. Its going to be a toss up between a set of plastic middleweight fenders or something in chrome steel unless I find something more suited for it.
The plan is to run a 2" wide tire, which I've already found, they're sort of a mix between a road tire and a vintage Mtb tread.
For being only a 22" frame size, it dwarfs my 23" Raleigh Sports in height.

jamesj

Man that's my size but a long way from Arizona. Shipping is probably crazy.

vintagebicycle

I had one of those here a couple of years ago, it was a 23" men's model frame, 26" Endrick rim bike. The forks had a stamped crown, the fenders were flat top like a later Sprite, One oddity that stood out was a one piece bar/stem combo. The bars were similar to those on a later Sprite, more straight then curved back like on a Sports, but the stem was fixed to the bars, brazed in place with no clamp. At a quick glance it looked normal but there was no pinch bolt.
The brakes were non-self adjusting with cheap looking stamped brake levers and steel calipers.
The rear hub was dated 11-80. It was blue metallic in color.
At the same time, I had a Raleigh Wayfarer in a ladies model, it was a very similar bike, but in a very dark blue color and with a hub dated 8-79. It also had the same fenders, rims, bars, and brakes. The Traveler had pump pegs under the top tube. The ladies Wayfarer had none.
Both had Raleigh scripted tires with the white reflector strip in 26x1 3/8".

Both bikes that I had were super clean, but the fenders were very cheap feeling, and both fenders were well rusted underneath. I had to take both sets of fenders off, soak off the rust from the under side, and paint the bottoms of both fenders. If I remember right, I used a self etching primer and then a couple coats of truck bedliner under each fender, with the thought that it would stop some of the rattles in those fenders.
Both frames used the flat plate type brake and chainstay bridges like on a later Sports. Both still had a Nottingham headbadge. I didn't ride the ladies model very far, but took a decent long ride on the men's Traveler model and didn't like how it felt, it didn't ride nor feel anything like a Sports or even an LTD. The forks were straighter or something making it very hard to maintain a straight line, Both saddles were also low end, just cheap molded rubber over a steel pan, much like we saw in the 70's on a cheap department store bike. The men's model had a larger seat post diameter than any former steel Raleigh I'd had before, After not likely the saddle, I was going to borrow one from my '66 Sprite and it was way too loose in the frame of the Traveler. I didn't think much of it at the time but thinking back, it does make me wonder what they based those frames on. I never did check the frame of the ladies model (Wayfarer) to see if it too had a larger post diameter.
I didn't like the bars, I didn't like the fact that they were fixed in place, the forks were too straight, and looked cheap, the paint was thin and cheap looking, and the decals were just that, cheap stick on decals vs. proper decals as on earlier models. The seat tube had a wrap around band type, printed decal, the down tube decals were the same as any same year Raleigh, and the headbadge was a flat stamped, plate not the former ornate 3D Heron on bikes sold here.
The brake levers were the biggest disappointment, they reminded me of the stamped steel levers found on bikes found at Sears and Kmart. Both had some light rust on them which I was able to clean up. I would have expected them to have Weinmann brakes like were found on later Sports models.

The couple that I bought them from told me they had moved here from Scotland in the mid 80's and brought them with them. I think they sold them to me for $40 for the pair. When I had inquired about the model names he told me that they were the two cheapest bikes on the floor when they bought them. around Christmas of 1980.

I sold both to a couple from Toronto who were on vacation that next summer.

I've never run across either of those models since..

cudak888 

I came across the Wayfarer recently and took note of that one piece handlebar.

Given the second-tier fenders and lack of pegs, I wonder if some of these were the last of the leftover Sports S22 frames. Wouldn't be the first time Raleigh released old frames as newer models.

-Kurt