I've been working on a Craigslist Raleigh Sports as a birthday present for my wife. I've had a few threads on it here, most notably bringing back the B72 saddle. I learned a lot from this forum, and I had a lot of fun. I finished it last night, and we went for a ride in the neighborhood today:





i took the bike apart, replacing ball bearings and regreasing the front hub, headset, and bottom bracket. I cleaned the bike, and rubbed it down with gear oil. I was looking for cones, but found it was cheaper to buy a new wheel from Mr. Michael Recycles Bicycles, and I replaced the back wheel as well, due to pitting. They also had aluminum kickstands. I put on the Toto basket, info courtesy of Panther007, and Kool Stop Continental brake pads. I replaced the 18T cog with a SA 22T cog from Bikesmith, chain with a SRAM PC-1, and a Pletscher rack.

My wife likes it better than her Huffy 3-speed (go figure); she says it's a smooth ride. Now we're all set for the Lake Pepin 3-speed tour next year. Unfortunately, she doesn't like the Brooks B-72 much--says it's too narrow. Any suggestions on a comfortable saddle?

Nice Raleigh & a good job. I was selling a bike like that & the girl didn't like the Brooks 72 seat, either. I took it off & put on a " saddle-type " seat that you can find at WW, etc. She lied it & bought the bike. I sold the Brooks for $35.

I just replaced the saddle on my Lady's Sports with a Brooks B66S. This is the most comfortable women's saddle I can imagine, and I have the same one on my Pashley. The best place to buy is Chain Reaction: https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/B...px?BrandID=457

You can also get a B67S there, which is on a super clearance sale in several colours
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=27895
but this will require a special $5 clamp to be compatible with the vintage Raleigh seatpost.

It looks like you did an excellent job with that sports. The B72 looks like a very wide brooks actually, I would play with the angle of the saddle before replacing it. Try tilting it up slightly to push her weight to the back.

I'm with mKeller on the saddle. That one looks like it has sagged enough to not pick up the sit bones more than that it is narrow. If it were my arse, I'd tension and lace it before going for another. But then she has spoken and it is probably more salable as is than modded.

Nice job and sweet bike.
I am nearing the beginning of the process of thinking about rebuilding my wife's 72 Sport.

I have thought it might be easier (of course) and cheaper (maybe) to fine one in nice nick, and jump over a lot of work. It is unbelievably hard to find one in my area, even though we had a Raleigh dealer here for years and years.

Sourcing one on ebay and shipping it in is just nuts anymore.

Now if I could find a willing BF seller...

I had it tilted up slightly, but she didn't like it and asked me to level it. I did, but she still doesn't care for it. She has a mattress saddle with springs on her Huffy, and I think she prefers that.

Ronsonic, how does one tension the saddle? Tighten the nut near the front? I could try that.

Veloria, I suggested the B66S, but she got sticker shock when she saw the price. I was willing to put the B66 from my bike on to see if she liked it, and ride the B72 myself, but she said not to bother.

Gary

That's too bad; maybe it's possible to find a used B66S somewhere. For some reason, I hear that women tend to find the B72 uncomfortable; possibly it is the modest suspension.

Well, they are nice saddles... but not everyone finds them comfortable. No big deal, just find one the misses likes and I would stash the original away. It's more important that she feels great about the saddle so she will ride.

Maybe it's a good thing she does not have a taste for the expensive saddles? It's sure is lighter on the wallet!

As an update, I've tweaked the bike some for my wife. She said it was too easy to pedal, so I replaced the 22T cog with a 20T cog. I tensioned the seat a bit, adjusted the seat height and angle as well as the handlebar height, and put a bell on it.

She's getting more used to the Brooks saddle, but says the rivets are uncomfortable. I have a lead on a B66, so we may try that to see how it works.

Cool, thanks for the update. Your wife must be a tough chick, pushing the low gears on a Raleigh sports.

The Brooks B66s or B67s. They were standard on top-of-the-line Raleigh Superbe. The springs soak up road chatter; the loops on the B72 don't do much. The best upgrade to a Raleigh Sports is to install alloy wheels and better tires. It will make a difference in the ride quality.

^ I believe the wheels have been replaced.... I assume with aluminum

That's awesome, I would love to do that on my bike sometime and make it perfect. As it is, my Lady's Sport is an amazing and versatile ride, but the steel rims make cycling in the rain not what it could be.

No, they're still steel rims. Just better ones than what was on there (no pitting). I looked into the Sun CR-18 rims, which come in 32 and 40 spoke, and it will cost about $70 just for the rims, extra if I change spokes and nipples, and still more if I pay the shop to do it. Maybe someday; need to get the saddle figured out first. Is the B66S just shorter than the B66?
Any other difference?

My wife's not that tough; I had replaced the stock 18T cog with a 22T--the 22T was too easy. I split the difference and put a 20T on for her.

I recently replaced steel rims on a three speed with those Sun rims. I was able to reuse the spokes. It made a lovely difference in both pedaling and braking.

The original spokes fit?@?!!!!!

Hooray, that'll make it easier and cheaper.

All the Brooks saddles mentioned are 210mm wide, the S ones has got a shorter nose. No way this saddle is to narrow, it is the widest Brooks I can find.

I think the problem is the saddle is old and out of shape plus she is not used to it. Thightening the tension in the front a bit and lacing it may do the trick. There is quite a lot of threads about relacing old B72`s so I guess this is something you need to do when the seat is old.

To be properlu rested on the wide part of the saddle you need to tilt the nose up. My friend complained about a similar saddle being to narrow. I tilted the nose up and now she is happy.

My son is struggeling with deciding what changes should be done to the saddle position (alsothat it needs to be rised since he is growing). I no longer try to get opinions from him. I just usemy judgement and do what I think is best (little by little). Then I ask him how the saddle feels (and also judge by how it looks) and then I tell him I made some changes. He can tell if the nose need to go down but not if it needs to go down.

My B72 has got a crazy nose up angel. https://i277.photobucket.com/albums/k...ewDogbike2.jpg

That's not a crazy angle.

Funny that we have a consensus about the best angle for a B72. I had one many years ago, and without having this conventional wisdom, I discovered it by myself, so I definitely agree.

I just acquired a B72 again and am SO happy. I'm going to put it on my commuter bike.

I can't guarantee it will work out for you. I was lucky. This wasn't an English bike. It was a German three speed with rims I didn't recognize. But it's worth a shot.

Some will question the wisdom of reusing 55 year old spokes, but Jobst Brandt has said that if they're not fatigued, there's no reason to be afraid.

According to Mark Stonich, AKA Bikesmith or MNHPVA guy, Raleigh raised center "Westrick" steel rims have the same ERD as Sun CR-18 rims, so you can reuse the spokes if they are in good shape. With flat center "Eastrick" rims you are out of luck. If you do replace the spokes, you'll need spoke washers on the old hubs.

If you really want to modernize the wheelset, go 650B and put on some Panaracer Col De La Vie tires. It will make a difference in standover height for your wife and give an opulent ride!

I've used the CR-18's to replace the steel rims on an old Fuji. The ERD was also close enough to reuse the old spokes. They are strong rims with a good braking surface, and about as close as you can get to the look of the old steel rims these days.