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forum
Help identify this vintage Raleigh.
Pictures in comments below.
Bought a nice pair of Weinmann brake levers from a local house clearance shop. They had this Raleigh frame attached.
I'm guessing it's 1970s or possibly earlier. Any clues?
BTW The brake levers are going towards a Peugeot rebuild.
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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29 comments
Nice job, looks great!
I really love restoring bikes!
I must resist the temptation, my loft already has a gaggle of bikes that I've finished and now sit up there doing nothing!
I want to mount the Gazelle with full 9 speed Campy Record on the lounge wall, but then why does that take precedence over the fully restored custom 70's track frame with full NJS kit, or even the Pace RC200 (although, it's not a looker like the track bike).
Just so you know, the loft is fully insulated and the bikes all hang up there nicely, not just chucked in!
UPDATE WITH PIC:
Meet Walter (Raleigh)... and breakdown of spend
House clearance shop (£15)
Fleabay (£20)
LBS #1 (£17)
LBS #2 (£20)
My Parts Bin (FREE)
Total build cost (so far!) = £77 excluding lubes, grease, cleaning/polishing products
Still to do
20181121_201737.jpg
Something along these lines perhaps...
https://singlespeedcomponents.co.uk/blogs/single-speed-bike-gallery/1638...
Good luck with it. Be interesting to know whether you managed to get the 700c wheels to line up with the brake calipers.
Thanks, HoarseMan.
Only just.
I had assumed, based on the distance between the drop-outs and the fork crown, that it used to have 27" (ISO 630) wheels, so a 700c (ISO 622) would mean the brake blocks only need to move approx. 4mm higher to align with the rim (subtract the BSDs -> 630 - 622 = 8, then divide by 2 for difference in radius -> 4).
However when I put the calipers back on the slots for brake shoes were mostly below the rim, so it looked like they were to align with old(est)*** 26" rims (ISO 590 or 584 depending on cross section), and referring back to the specs in the 1956 catalogue this was confirmed.
So actually the blocks needed to sit about 19 mm higher ((584 - 622)/2). Fortunately there was just enough travel provided in the caliper slots. Otherwise I might have had to resort to Plan 650B (ISO 584).
Anyway, I now know far more about wheel/tyre sizes than I ever wanted to, thanks to Sheldon Brown and this handy page on the Cycling UK website:
https://www.cyclinguk.org/cyclists-library/components/wheels-tyres/tyre-...
***as opposed to 'old' 26" wheels found on 'old' MTBs (ISO 559).
That's useful to know, thanks. The old steel rims are shot to bits and the braking surface very poor on mine. Plus tyres in the old 26inch size are hard to find and a bit naff. Maybe one day I'll put some new hoops on it...
... and after a little bit of elbow grease and polish...
20181109_205746.jpg
Sidepull brake - partially disassembled:
20181109_204442.jpg
Little cover on the bottom bracket for oiling the the crank:
20181111_153104.jpg
Pin on fork for sporsts headlamp:
20181111_152745.jpg
Braze-on by the bottom bracket (for chain guard?):
20181111_152648.jpg
Pedal close-up:
20181111_153736.jpg
Looks almost identical to my 1950's Triumph Palm Beach.
I think you are right about the pedals being replaced at a later date. I spotted the same style of pedals on a bike in this 70's brochure. Check out the ‘Grand Prix’ on page 4...
http://vue.usc.edu/images/Raleigh-Catalog-1969.pdf
What year is your Triumph? Raleigh bought Triumph cycles in 1954 and moved production from Coventry to Nottingham so its possible they share a lot of common DNA.
Yes, those look like the pedals I have.
I think it’s 1954 (from the stamp on the sturmey hub), so that would explain the similarities. It’s even got the same grease port on the bottom bracket. Mine was a skip find, paintwork was awful but bike was complete. Got someone to blast & respray it and he’s like, are you sure? It'll be £70 and it’s nowt special. Bike served me well for years and was invisible to bike thieves at the time as all they wanted were mountain bikes.
Probably not worth restoring unless you are looking for a project. Getting the right size rims will be the tricky bit. But could make a good singlespeed hack bike.
That's my current plan - single/fixie using stuff in the garage.
I've a Mavic Open Pro rim built onto a Project EX flip/flop hub which dropped in with a little bit of persuasion. I also have an unbranded front wheel that I can use, but it's 100mm OLN wheras the front fork spacing is 90mm so I will have to gently force them open a little bit more (using a threaded bar and a couple of nuts).
I have a set of Raleigh branded Weinmann centre pull (Vainquer 999) calipers from the 70s knocking around, plus some Weinmann levers suitable for straight/riser bars. Not sure If I will go straight or drops yet.
The challenge will be whether the brakes and rims line up - the frame was built for an imperial wheel size, not 700c.
Great thread!
So...you gonna restore it?
I think it will cost more than I would likely get in resale value.
Plus (including this frame and the Pug rebuild) I am currently at N= M + 3. Where N is number of bikes owned, and M is the number the Mrs knows about.
Cracking thread - nice progress. Looking good.
Thanks davel.
By the way the formula is now at N == M. And I am in the dog-house!
Abridged version...
FINAL VERDICT: 1956 Raleigh Trent Tourist.
model-29_trent-tourist_gents_2268073361_o.jpg
Update:
So I've now found the frame number on the seat lug (silly me looking at the BB and rear drop-outs) it's 85647A - which based on Sheldon's page suggests it is from 1956.
Looking at the catalogue for that year ( http://veterancycleclublibrary.org.uk/library/dl.php?doc=Raleigh%20catalogue%201956%20(V-CC%20Library).pdf ) the frame could be almost any of the 'mens' bikes - or the three speed ones anyway.
We can rule out the Super Lenton (doesn't have chrome fork ends) and we can exclude the Superbes (since the bike does not have the "Raleigh Patent Front Fork Lock" - see page 4 of the linked catalogue).
The frame had the remains of chrome side pull brakes attached, so assuming these are contemporary, and not later additions we can probably also exclude the the rod brake models.
On the chainstay, just next to the BB is a braze on lug which I assume was for fitting a chain guard,so that probably rules out the "Sports" models.
The chainring has the decorative three heron head cut-outs - I suspect they would use either a solid chainring or simpler (cheaper) cutouts if using the full chain guard - why make it decorative if it will never be seen?
Okay, so I think that leaves the "Trent Tourist" (model 29, page 9), or maybe the "Trent Sports" (model 21, pages 12/13). Both were available in "Flamboyant Electric Blue" so the paint may be original (its darker than what I would call electric blue, but that could be ageing or just what was possible in the paints of the time).
I'm guessing the frame/forks were identical only the fittings differed between the Trent Tourist/Sport...
My bike has contemporary looking quill pedals but not the same design as shown for the Sport - and pedals can be swapped.The tourist came with rubber pedals which probably got mashed or disintegrated with time, so either Raleigh changed the Sport pedal design or a previous owner upgraded the Tourist pedals.
It has a pin brazed on the forks to secure the clamp for the Sports headlamp, but also has the lamp bracket above the crown race as shown in the Tourist illustration - so this nudges me towards the Tourist.
Handlebars - drop bars on the Sport, "all rounder" straight-ish bars on the Tourist but you could get the straight bars as an option on the sport models (no mention of the other way round). I've got drop bars, nicely chromed, same shape as in the Sports picture and about a 6 inch drop so look like they may be Raleigh orignals (no markings on them). But like pedals, bars are an item that is frequently changed after purchase.
The brake levers** offer no clue - they were alloy, and clearly a later addition - In 1956, Raleigh was very much the manucturer of the "all steel bicycle" and made pretty much everything in-house.
** Weinmann 144 red dot -- what I actually wanted, cost me a tenner, and came with a free frame detective story!
FINAL VERDICT: 1956 Raleigh Trent Tourist.
Thanks all.
I think you're right Hoarseman, all the little features appear to match up.
Looks like a Raleigh Superbe. It’s got the little wheel by the seat post for the sturmey 3 speed cable, which makes me think it could be a bit earlier than the 70's, maybe 1950's?
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=raleigh+superbe&safe=active&client=saf...
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/dating.html
http://www.kurtkaminer.com/TH_raleigh_serials.html
That'll tell you the exact year - you should then be able to hunt down an online copy of the brochure/catalogue for that year and find out the frame.
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