top tube reads made in england in gold cursive like letters, seat tube reads raleight all steel. on the head tube there is a badge with a raleight emblem. locking fork dyno hub and steel rims. it rides but it does not stop as the rods have been damaged so are the clamps. i want to get the brakes first of all and latter repaint it, but firts the brakes. does anybody here knows where to get a complete assemble of rod brakes for this bike. does anybody have an idea of the model? how rare is it? and how would a combo of brown brooks saddle and bar tape will look on this after it gets returned to its original black with gold writing? is a complete restoration worth it based on how rare it is?

oh i forgot to mention the rims are all steel so is the hub.

will these fit.

or these;

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=110430296671

You could also try Flying Pidgeon or Yellow Jersey.

oldroads.com also has a large stock of vintage 3-spd parts, including rod-brake raleigh brake parts.

those ebay rod stirrups and clamps will certainly work on most raleigh roadsters, but the one you have pictures is interesting. i think it is a raleigh that was designed for export to a specific market like holland or denmark. the double top tube was common on the everyday work bikes in holland, and the handlebar style is not the typical english "northroad" bar, but the style that was popular in holland.

based on the pictures, i'm guessing it takes standard raleigh rod brake parts.

I recommend getting alloy rims and having the rod brakes replaced with drum brakes. Drum brakes are reliable, weather-proof and trouble free.

Oh, but that would make it lose it's KOOL factor. Just for me, I like old & original. Even like women without facelifts & boobie-jobs !

That's a very old DL-1 with a double top bar, maybe 1930's. May have originally been made for the Asian, Arab market where they think more top bars equals more masculine virility. As an experiment try using black Kiwi shoe polish all over the frame as a wax, and buff it up good. Be prepared to be amazed! You can still get original brake pads from people in England, as I have. Or try eBay. Don't do too much to the bike since it looks pretty original.

i agree that the bike shouldn't be modified; a bike like this is best appreciated in its original condition. if you wanted a bike to upgrade to more modern components, i would start with a frameset much more amenable to building up.

rod brakes are quirky. they are barely adequate in dry weather, and downright useless in the wet. they are a pain to keep in good adjustment.

it looks like most of your rod hardware is intact. you can get replacement brake pads from oldroads.com for not much money.

i cold have gotten those a long time ago but i am trying to stick to the original.

well i live in so cal so no problem on the weather.

wow 1930. well i still want somebody to retouch the lettering that is almost faded out.

Look for a date code on the rear hub. If it's something like: 46 4, that would be April, 1946. If it only has one digit for the year from 6 through 9, that would be 1930s. (I'm assuming it's a Sturmey Archer AW hub; the hub type should be stamped on there too).

EDIT: What tire size? 28?

Also, just trying cleaning it a bit; you may find that the lettering comes back. I've used Scratch-X on my Schwinn and it cleaned it up pretty good. Be very gentle though.

To clean up chrome, use aluminum foil and lemon juice. It works pretty good and won't remove any chrome.

You made my point about drum brakes. A roadster is a heavy bike and needs strong braking power. Safety comes above everything else. That and alloy rims will really make a difference in the way the bike rides. The only thing I'd keep is the 700B wheelset since that defines the character of a classic bike. Modernization should be only to make the bike safer and better-handling without taking away its timeless beauty.

finding a set of 700B (ISO 635) rims in aluminum is a tall order, and costly if the owner doesn't know how to lace his own wheels. finding drum brake hubs on top of that might drive the cost of the bike pretty high. finding new drum brake hubs is easy, but they are not cheap. finding period-correct rod brake hubs is possible, but tricky. then, there is the challenge of using the existing rod linkage to work with the drum brakes. longer rods will have to be retrofitted to reach the brake drum arms, and the existing rod setup most likely won't provide enough travel to pull the drum brake arm. drum brakes need levers that create a lot of cable travel (V-brake levers work well with drum brakes). the cheaper and more practical solution would be to just install brake levers to the handlebars, rendering the existing chromed rod levers non-functional and thus removing a big chunk of the character of the bike-- much of which is that beautiful mechanical linkage network.

i have both a drum-brake bike (raleigh/sturmey-archer drum brakes on a dutch 3-speed) and a rod-brake bike (raleigh DL1), and IME the rod linkage of the DL1 would be incompatible with sturmey-archer drum brakes.

there have been bikes with rod-actuated drum brakes, but i think the rocker arms in those rod setups have longer fulcrums, and thus are capable of providing more rod travel.

Not true. If you wanted to fix up a Model T, no one would expect you to put in air bags. The point of this bike is that it is an antique; the more original you can keep it, the better.

not to mention that properly adjusted rod brakes can stop the bike as effectively as similar vintage side-pull rim brakes-- not great, but adequate (in the dry, at least). modern drum brakes are more robust, naturally, but vintage ones aren't that great, either. my sturmey-archer drum brakes on my dutch union are not really any better than my DL1 rod brakes in dry weather, but they are much better in the wet.

Good point. One can't find a 635mm (700B) wheelset anywhere, so the old steel wheelset has to be taken to a wheelbuilder to have a custom rebuild done. My LBS mechanic had to relace my Pashley 635mm wheelset as it used an unusual lacing arrangement. It can be done. As for drum brakes, they are cable actuated on my Raleigh Superbe and Pashley Roadster. The rod brake linkage can be removed from the frame for a clean look. Cable is more readily availableand can use modern housing sealed from the weather. If you're dead set on authenticity, then sure keep it museum-quality. If you just want a bike that has easily replaceable parts, then no one will care that it once looked vintage.

Some people prefer a museum quality bike. I prefer to strike a balance between tradition and modern needs. Every one has something different in mind with a C&V bike.

Oldroads.com (Menotomy Vintage) had rod brake parts for a long time on their site. I don't know if they do anymore, but it's worth a look or an email/phone call to the shop. Vin Vullo is a good guy and knows his vintage bike stuff, he might be able to help.

The Eastman parts from yellow jersey are a bit overpriced, but generally seem to fit later Raleigh DL-1 bicycles. I have a '78 and have used some of those parts successfully. Also check out their vintage brake bits page and shoot an email if need be.

What you're basically looking for are "old brake bits", which old shops or shops with vintage bikes may have sitting around in boxes or cans. Just remember to say it need not be new old stock, but just in good, working shape.

Cycles of Yesteryear (https://www.cyclesofyesteryear.com/) also may have some parts for you, though you pay through the nose for shipping from Britain. But they also may have insight in particular into very old rod brake roadsters for you.

The note about this bike being older than your average US-based DL-1 is spot-on. Most DL-1s you see here in the US date to the 60s or 70s. Stuff from before that is less common. Also beware that prior to WWII rod brake roadsters came in a variety of types and different wheel sizes, not just 28 inch. You'll want to be sure of your dimensions, then hit up the shops I mentioned (plus any others out there you can think of). That one looks pretty old compared to what you usually see here in the US. I say fix those rod brakes up and stick with the steel wheels.

from what you guys see on the pic are this raleight type or phillips. if it is the latter pigeon bikes has a set for 27 us $.