I am trying to find an old vintage bike for my gf to fix up. Very much struggling here. I did find this though bike though. It is as ugly as hell, but I was hoping to fix it up and make it look good. May be a struggle. I am also having problems actually identifying the thing.

The seller says it is a Hercules, but is not sure - he says he matched it with pictures he found, but I can't seem to do the same. It has been completely repainted and there are no decals. The bracket behind the light says Raleigh.

The dyno hub which I assume is a Sturmey Archer has the date 49 3 on it.

Vintage Bicycle | eBay


Thanks for your help in advance.

I am sure the experts here will chime in, but the fork is Raleigh as well. Go to Kurt's site (google "The Headbadge") and you might be able to trace it further.

It's a Raleigh. If the dynohub is correct, it would not be a Hercules, as Raleigh didn't own them until around 1960.

headset and fork crown suggest a member of the Raleigh family of marques.

oil port for chain enclosure is a nice touch.

have fun with it if you elect purchase.

If the head tube has three holes in it, the two being lower, and the one higher, that's further indication it is a Raleigh. I see the bidding has ended, so either you're the lucky owner, or the situation is moot.

In any case, know that roller-lever brakes can be a bit of an adventure (my first bike had roller-lever brakes), and that stopping is only slightly better than optional in the wet. Nice cruising bike!

Thank you all for your very helpful and quick responses. I did in fact buy it. I am just debating whether I should keep it, or sell it and continue my search. I have to say, I was slightly dissapointed with how it looked in person. Maybe a saddle and grip replacement, and some new creme tyres will fix that. But it is going to be an investment of time and money, so wanted to be sure it is worth it.

Good to know that it is at least one of the Raleigh bikes and not some lower quality Asian copy. I will go out there with a torch tonight and see if I can use some of this information to identify it. One thing I am not sure about is whether the hub is actually Sturmey Archer. It does'nt actually seem to have the usual Surmey Archer print on it. It only says Dyno 3 Speed (if I remember correctly). Is that normal for the Sturmeys or have I got something else?

If any Raleigh expert has any idea what I am looking at here, your input is welcome.

PS: Thanks for the heads up about the breaks. Maybe I'll have to replace the front wheel with an alloy one. Last thing I want is for her to end up under a bus cause I bought her a dodgy bike.

For 95AUD you did all right I think. They all look rough when you first get them but at least someone else has made the "keep the patina or not" decision for you so you can feel free to do what you want.

If the hub is original you have a bike that would be worth a bit of investment in to make it run beautifully. I don't know if you can get alloy rims for roller brakes or not, however there are replacement pads that will help braking quite a bit at a much lower investment.

Go read about your bike and its brethern on Sheldon Brown and Headbadge....and enjoy it!

ps. post more detailed pictures....close ups of all of the various bits etc. Its quite helpful and gives those of us in the cold northern climes something to look at....

Please be aware that the rod brakes on that machine will require a Westwood-pattern rim, which has a raised center ridge to keep the brake pads off the spokes.

Superbe Sports (Tourist).

In the pictures provided the rims sure look like they're made of aluminum.

Thanks. Noted.

Yes! That is starting to look more like it.

I think you may be right. Explains the lack of rust, and the surprisingly good breaking ability when I was just testing it when walking next to it.

Was finally home at the same time as the sun, so was able to take some photos. Not sure what parts of bikes people usually take photos of, but I had a shot. You can find them here:

1949 Sport Tourist - Maybe Photos by Boboev83 | Photobucket

Would be very grateful for thoughts on the Hub. Incidentally, I also got two more old Raleighs. Not I got to pick one to fix up. This one seems to be in the best shape out of the 3, but would appreciate your thoughts on which one I should work on. Here are the other two:

This one looks like a prewar with the black paint instead of the chrome:

Vintage Raleigh bicycle 1934 Brooks Sturmey Archer k4 hub Sports Tourist | eBay



And this one said 48 on the Hub. Front and rear Dyno. Not in the best of shape, the mudguard and the chain-guard (would want to get a full case for it anyway - I thought that the earlier version always came with the full case?!) are really badly rusted. And the shifter is having issues. The frame seems to be doing ok though, and the chrome on the handle bars seems to be in very good shame.

Vintage Raleigh Ladies Bicycle with Sturmey Archer gears and hub dynamo lights | eBay

Took some photos of it (not great photos I know):

1948 Raleigh Sport Photos by Boboev83 | Photobucket

Now I just need to get rid of the 1983 Cameo to partly fund the refurb.