Raleigh Cameo
 

As of last night we are a two bike family. Now I've started cycling my wife thought she fancied getting a bike so that we could go on weekend rides (I won't get her commuting), but she only wanted a bike if she could have a step through frame (or 'a Miss Marple style bike with a wicker basket' was how she put it). After much searching (I also had the problem of getting a frame small enough for her (5 ft)) I finally found a secondhand Raleigh Cameo in near as new condition - it's a sturmey - archer three speed with dynamo lights front & rear, step through frame, chain guard, skirt guards, original frame pump, rack etc.

The frame is lugged steel. The paintwork is near perfect and there's no rust as such although there is the slightest hint of pitting on the chrome handlebars - Any recommendations for treating it/stopping it getting worse?

The tyres seem to be original and appear to be in good condition still (no splitting or cracks and tread shows barely any wear). The tyres are the white walled Raleigh Record tyres, which I'm guessing to be old 26 1 3/8. Am I right in thinking I could use any 26" tube of small enough diameter but would need to buy 'special' tyres? Any ideas for sources?

The rearlight/reflector is fixed to the rear guard and is in fine condition but looks in a vunerable spot for getting knocked. Any ideas where I should try for spares if i needed one?

I'm guessing the bike is mid - late 1980's but it's purely a guess based on the burgundy colour and the style of the gold decals.
Any ideas where I could get more information on it? I've tried Sheldon Brown's site which has some useful bits on maintenance of the 3 speed hub but not a lot more.

My wife was delighted :o

Thanks

Richard

If it is 1980's vintage, then it is a model that was never imported here. In those days, "Raleigh America" was selling cheap Chinese-made bikes with the Raleigh name badge on them. Sheldon Brown's site wouldn't have info on them.
I do know that Raleigh 26" rims used to be different from American 26" rims, Schwinn 26" rims, road bike 26" rims, and MTB 26" rims.
There should be an ERTRO number on either the tyres, or the rims. There will be a 3-digit #, which will begin with a 5. This will tell you the rim diameter. Only tyres made for that rim diameter will work.

For the tyres try http://greentyre.com/english/

My brother used a 700c version of these solid tyres with minimal change to comfort levels. He used them to commute into Liverpool - which is renowned UKwide for it's awful road conditions.

Raleigh still make - unless they change their range this year - a 3spd SA based bike. In my 10 years in the cycle industry they have kept the basic design of this style of bike the same.

Raleigh three-speeds on 26'' wheels were usually sized 26 x 1 3/8. I would think that size tire would be easy to come by at a bike shop. Too bad about the chrome. You can't reverse the pitting, but you can clean it up nicely with chrome cleaner and a sponge. It should shine so brightly that you'll overlook the cosmetic personality marks.

It sounds like a nice bike. One of my favorite street bikes is a 26 incher with a Sturmey-Archer three speed hub. Sometimes three speeds is all you need.

It's pretty shiny as it is and the small amount of pitting is only visiblle from a few inches. I was wondering about using some kind of wax just to prevent any further deterioration (although as my wife has it parked in the sitting room it should be okay :D , my bike has to reside in the hall with one wheel off :()

Thanks for the advice.

Richard

Seems to be lots of information here on vintage bikes. Even has a section on restoration that may help your chrome woes. http://oldroads.com/ Good luck!

I'm reviving this old thread in the hope that more information about this bike has emerged in the last few years.

I have just rescued a Raleigh Cameo Series from the local recycling centre, it seems to be in reasonably good condition. I'll learn more when I get a chance to clean her up.

Obvious differences to the one previously described are that it is a 10 speed W/Suntour Derailer and has 27" wheels. I am completely confused as to the age of the bike however. It has the classic Raleigh mudguard(fender) design of the 1940/50 era, with typically 70's gearing, steel rims and frame with 80's eqipment such as alloy headset, levers and callipers, all topped by what I consider could only be a man's saddle, which appears cheap and completely out of character on what is certainly a truly elegant and well finished lady's cycle. A conundrum indeed.

[IMG]http://images5.pictiger.com/thumbs/b...ed8b7b5.th.jpg[/IMG]

Cheers. Ozylynx

p.s. The bike looks black in the photo but is a deep burgundy with gold pinstriping and trim.

I think it might be okay to start a new thread instead of resurrecting one 6 years old. :D

But, more seriously, your best bet at dating the bike is through component codes. A good source for learning the meanings of the codes is at vintage-trek.com

Also, the Classic and Vintage forum here at bikeforums.net is full of helpful people that know old bikes...

The old Raleigh fenders didn't change much (to my eyes) from the 40's through at least the mid 70's. I have a 1974ish Raleigh Sports that looks the same to my untrained eye as a 1954 model, but a person in C&V pinned the date within a year before I even picked it up based on the picture in the eBay listing.

Raleigh Cameo update...
 

Hi,

Dont know whether you still have your Cameo, but I've just resurrected mine out of storage after 20 years. You were asking about how to date the bike? If you look at the back wheel spindle where the sturmey gears are, there should be 2 lots of 2 numbers (or on some years 2 number then 1 number). This relates to the year and month of the bike, eg 03 06 would be March 1986 or 3 06 also for March 1986. I find ebay a good source of parts but I managed to source a cheap second Cameo which I use for parts instead.

There's not really another good place to put that rear light, mine used to get bashed to bits so I replaced it and fixed a 'new' light to the back of the bike where you would fit your panniers, where (if your bike had one) the elastic strapping was, behind the seat. Any other questions, give me a shoult and ill try and have a look on mine. Cheers! :)

Thank you for your interest.
I found the serial code stamped into the frame and it was an August 1984 build.
Unfortunately after a total restoration to near 'as new' condition the bike was recently stolen and vandalised by being repeatedly run over with a vehicle. The only part undamaged being the bell.
Also this was one of the rarer 10 speed versions of this bike, so an even greater loss I'm affraid. I should think that it is irreplaceable. That's life.