AZORCH

I picked this one up on the cheap from CL this afternoon - not exactly something I was looking for, but I could hardly pass it up for twenty bucks. Judging by the Sturmey-Archer hub, the bike is a 1966 model and other than the missing rear fender it seems to be pretty much intact and in good condition under the grime. I haven't found a lot on the internet about the Dunelt marquee. British built. Purchased by Raleigh. Sheldon called it a "second tier" brand. Began by making automobiles and motorcycles, then bikes.

It's a small one, too - way too small for the legs on my 6' 1" frame... but I'm thinking it will fit my wife perfectly for the tweed ride coming up in two weeks.

noglider 

Lovely. You'll eventually find a rear fender to replace the missing one. Get yourself a three-speed. Mine is fast becoming my favorite bike to ride.

And join on us in the 3-speed thread.

brianinc-ville

Nice find! No surprise that it's too small -- it looks like you've got the Dunelt-badged version of the Raleigh Colt, which was sold as a boy's bike (it's in the 1962 catalog on Sheldon's site: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/index.html ). There's a nice 1958 Dunelt catalog here, with a kid's model that looks similar but has 20" wheels and rod brakes -- more like the Raleigh Mountie: https://www.fattiretrading.com/dunelt.html .

AZORCH

I'm just finishing my three-speed build from a 60's era Falcon San Remo frame and fork that I got from nlerner. I've had it out for a couple shake down rides the past few days to iron out things. It's feeling pretty good right now and I'll be posting photos of it tomorrow. In the meantime, the Dunelt is kind of interesting and looks to me like it really just needs a good cleaning, wax and buff - and then replace the cables. Wifey will look terrific astride this bike, dressed in her Irene Dunn look.

rhm

Yup, that's like a Raleigh Colt. I volunteer at a co-op occasionally, and we had one of those for several months in almost exactly the same condition as yours, missing one fender, and it wouldn't sell with a $75 price on it. I took off the other fender and the chain guard and put them on a different bike that needed them; then I flipped the bar upside down, and marked it up to $125. Never saw it again, must have sold within days!

noglider 

rhm:

AZORCH

I pumped up the tires last night and they held air just fine. This morning, while cleaning up the studio, I heard a sudden "ssssssssssssssssssssss!" (Yeah, I know - what a surprise.) I glanced over at the Dunelt, which is hanging on the stand, and the valve stem was about six or seven times normal size. That is to say, the circumference of the stem was simply enormous, and the leak was coming out of a weak spot. I've never seen that before (wish I'd had the presence of mind to take a photo at the time.)

noglider 

Never heard of that. There's still new stuff to experience, even on old bikes!

AZORCH

Just weird. Here, I pumped it back up again and it did the same thing:
[IMG][/IMG]

w1gfh

I had a similar Colt frame. I gave it away to someone who promised not to turn it into a fixie.

wahoonc

I have that occurring on my Tourist DL-1...on the rear wheel of course! Waiting on new tires and tubes to arrive so I can spend a fun filled Saturday swapping out tires and tubes.

Aaron