Raleigh Sport - what have I got?
 

I committed to this for $40. What have I got? Decent for an around town cruiser, grocery getter?

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a61a5dc97d.jpg

Wow -- I was just about to sigh petulantly that it's "Sports," not "Sport," but in this case it really is a "Sport"!

That looks very much like the model in the 1986 Raleigh [Cycle Company of America] catalog. At that point, I think they were being made in Japan. The frame, with that "RALEIGH" stamp on the seatstay, doesn't look like it came out of the Nottingham factory, and the Shimano 333 hub is not as good as a Sturmey Archer, but the fenders look pretty legit. Anyway, the quality might be a little bit lower than you'd get on a classic English Raleigh, but on the whole I can't see how there'd be anything wrong with it from a functional point of view (as long as the Shimano 3-speed is working OK). The Sport(s) was one of the best city bikes ever made. Use it for all your local transportation. Have fun!

Thanks! That link to the 1986 catalog looks exactly like it. I had searched and couldn't find any "Sport" (not Sports) model. Also was confused by the rectangular rear reflector and a few other issues. I'm picking it up tomorrow and will post some pics when I get it home. I plan to take the silver rear rack off my Jamis road bike and put it on this Raleigh. I'll keep the Jamis for my fast bike, and use this one for my utility bike. Thanks everyone for all the help starting my "collection". :)

Looks to be in very good condition. Should be a sticker somewhere stating the country of manufacture. The only issue I see is that this is a short frame and it looks like a taller person was riding it and they raised the stem too high. I'm only familiar with the English Raleighs, but I'll bet this stem is higher than the safe limit. The shifter cable seems to have run out of slack with the stem adjustment. You want to make sure the stem expander is below the threaded section of the fork tube.

Thanks! I noticed the stem was quite high. The seller told me it's a men's size large. I pick it up tomorrow, so I'll find out then.

Yup, nice bike for all that !

I had that exact one. Mine had a sturmey archer hub dated 1988 model made in taiwan sticker if i remember correctly.

That's not a large. Probably a 21" frame, which might have been the largest built that year but 23" was the largest commonly found Sports.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a48c40f00c.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6c804947bb.jpg
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Two more photos from the seller.

Hmm, from the looks of that trigger and what looks like a bell crank on the rear hub, I’d guess it’s a Shimano unit rather than Sturmey-Archer. The British-made Sports shed a small tear.

If you do end up buying this one and it does turn out to be too short to fit you, there is a fix. You replace the stem with a longer one that can be tightened in a safe position in the fork tube while still raising the bars to a comfortable position. I did this to a 21" Rudge of mine and it is one of my favorite riders. It looks like the brake cables are long enough to get by, but the shifter cable is too short for the bars the way they are set now.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/EXTRA-LONG-...MAAOSwikBcSKLL

Okay, I got the bike home last night. It's in really great condition, and I believe it's a 21" frame. The only issue I see is the thumb shifter seems to either be broken or missing a piece where the cable enters. It shifts fine, but the cable can slip out of the shifter easily.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fb45892235.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e3f3bb38ad.jpg