cudak888 

This beauty (a work in progress) stopped by today. Has a 4-speed FW hub which is being quite cranky at the moment.







The Dynohub was missing it's all-important, 4-tooth cone adjustment washer - a part used only prior to their axle redesign in 1952 - see part LB 121. The armature was dragging on the magnet because of its absence.

I went through every drawer trying to find a replacement to no avail, but found unlikely luck in a "Chair Made," Chinese Sturmey-Archer drum brake ripoff that had been gathering rust and dust in my bin for the last 3 years. It had the same exact washer sitting in it. Five minutes later, it was sitting on this Dynohub:









-Kurt

Chris_in_Miami

Wow, that's a beauty, I love the crankset and pedals!

cudak888 

I'm pretty sure the pedals are garden-variety '70s fare, but the crankset is a Williams 3-pin with a Raleigh ring. Crank cotters are loose too - I advised him to pick up a set from Mark Stonich.

-Kurt

rusty wheels

Looks nice. Good score with the nut on the dynohub! It must be a blast to ride.

Erik

cudak888 

It is. Mind you, despite being 531, the steel rims (the rear Special Lightweight was respoked into a garden-variety Endrick at one time), hubs, Dyno, and everything else easily brings this guy into the 35 pound range. Nevertheless, it doesn't feel that heavy on the road. Quite responsive.

We tried to get the Dyno to light up the bulb. It was, but it kept shorting out when the reflector was installed (and it zapped me a couple of times to boot). In retrospect, I have a feeling that the lens was shorting out on the nuts holding the electrical leads to the circuit board.

-Kurt

SirMike1983 

That's a nice, unique ride. Was this a bicycle that was brought right into the US market, or one that came in already used? In 1948 it would have been a unique ride here it the US considering what usually was available and what most people who rode were on.

cudak888 

It is an import here to the U.S. - didn't end up on this side of the pond until 2010.

-Kurt

auchencrow

Oh wow - That is just too cool!
And orange with white too...
- It's like a cream-sickle !

cudak888 

Indeed. The early post-war Raleigh-produced roadbikes had absolutely jaw-dropping colors. Take the Rudge Aero for instance - also orange (polychromatic, if I recall right), with black transfers. The transfers on this '48 Super Sports used to be blue.

-Kurt

sailorbenjamin

Why are these never my size?

Michael Angelo 

That's a great looking bike, love the orange and white. That headlight looks more like a police spot light, very cool indeed.

Mike

YoKev

I love the orange and white color scheme. Thanks for sharing!

clubman 

Beautiful...the crankset is right out there with fluted arms and 3 pins.

cudak888 

The fun bit is how the light flickers when under power. That look alone is C&V. You can spot a Dynohub-lighted machine from a mile away.

Isn't it though? I wouldn't want to have to find a replacement ring for it...

-Kurt

USAZorro

Kurt,

The thread was not reported, and as far as I can tell, it was an unintentional mistake made when moving a reported thread that may have been directly above, or below this one.

nlerner

Hmm, I wonder what that bike is worth?

Neal

cudak888 

Hmm, that's odd. One of the mods suggested that it was, though - of course - reports are confidential.

Shaddup, Neal - you'll get the newbies descending on the thread.

-Kurt

nlerner

Hah! Just for that, here's a shot of my 1949 Raleigh Clubman. I do wonder what the paint would have looked like originally:



Neal

repechage

Long ago, that Reynolds transfer meant that THAT tube was 531, not the three main tubes, just that TUBE, hey they even used creative marketing back then...

rhm

Oh, I know the answer to that, it's because you're tall!

I wonder about that.

My '58 Lenton Grand Prix has that tube transfer, same location; and that tube takes a 25.4 mm seat post, just like a standard gaspipe Raleigh of the same period. My gaspipe Norman three speed takes a 26.4 mm post, so must be made out of considerably lighter material. One of these days I'll strip the frame down and weigh it... just out of curiosity.

David Newton

When you do that, start a thread, "oddball weight weenies" or something.
My India Hercules, which should be a tank, is my lightest frame.

Andrew F

I recall reading an advert. or something simular a while back that the main tubes of the Super Sport were 531 which seperated it from the #21. The two frames shared the same geometry. It think..if I remembered correctly?

What a cool bike to see! I love the Orange, it weathered well, has such a classic look. Do you know the story of how it got to the States?

cudak888 

I'm sure they'd say it, whether legitimate or not. Heck, the 531 Schwinn Superiors sometimes got a Columbus SL tube installed in them here or there - not that it was relabeled to indicate such.

Yep - in a brown box. He bought it a few months ago off eBay

-Kurt

Andrew F

So there is some good in eBay after all

greengage

Beautiful bike--love the color and the crazy typeface--it looks almost Western-inspired! Re the Dynohubs--I now own three Raleighs with beautiful Dynohub-powered lights and so far none of them is functional. I have to juggle a little bit with new bulbs and so on, but I'm no electrician and a little antsy about getting "zapped." Neal--if you know anyone in our neck of the woods who likes to tinker with these, let me know.