cny-bikeman

Well, egg on my face - I totally missed the left or right issue. Apparently I've been trying to wedge in posts when I don't really have the time. My apologies!

FMB42

I'd too would start by checking the headset. A loose or over-tightened HS can, most definitely, cause the "left - right" pulling you describe.

Also make sure that the both the upper and lower HS bearings have the correct number of ball bearings. Just one missing HS ball bearing can cause exactly what you're experiencing.

ksisler

OP; Well yes! You are attempting to ride a zillion year old barn find without first doing a full servicing and maintenance check...wow, you are a brave one!

Recommendation: Slip over to the C&V forum and sell the bike there. Take the proceeds and buy a new or used modern bike that can be ridden without much knowledge, care or attention. Apologies in advance, but your post is dumbfounding!

tjkwood

That seems a little harsh imho. I understand fully the need to service such an old bike before regular use, but I've only been riding it so as to determine what work I need to do on it - I'm not trying to tour on it! I'm currently living away from home and do not have access to my usual workshop space and tools, and the reason I'm asking for advice is so I can undertake the work when I get home in a week's time.

I've given the bike the best service I can at the moment, and I would rather learn than be told to give up! Everyone has been really helpful here and, after all, we all have to start somewhere. Thanks for the concern, but I'm happy as I am.

Sixty Fiver

If your bike was in front of me I could probably diagnose the problem and address whatever is causing the steering issues as long as the main frame is not twisted... because it is what I do.

What we do know is that the geometry has been altered through accident or intent and references to your bike's model do show that the curve of the forks seems correct for that period although there are difference between models depending on the set up of the bicycle and the desired handling characteristics.

These Raleighs were sold as both uprights and club styled bicycles with the Raleigh "Special" bars and what works for an upright cruiser does not work for a bicycle where you are riding in a more forward position.

This is a Raleigh Sports that was originally sold as a drop bar model, note the different curvature of the forks.



This bike had a little pull to the left which was only noticeable when you tried to ride no handed and not tiring under normal riding and when I investigated it was because the fork was improperly aligned. It looks like it may have been an error at the factory due to the brazing work at the crown not being symmetrical.

Raleighs workmanship is generally quite good but there are many examples where things were not quite as they should be... back in the old days there was a bike shop and frame builders on nearly every block and more people who were competent in making adjustments to frames that did not leave the factory as they should have been.

There are a lot of people out there who can fix your bicycle and do the basic mechanical work, but fewer that have the skills, experience, and tools to address frame issues. Like ksisler their solution is for a person to go and buy a new bicycle which isn't always the right solution as pre-war Raleighs just don't grow on trees.

ksisler

Awesome poke. Nicely done /K

ksisler

OP - Actually I was attempting with some effort to be supportive and kind in providing you the thoughts you asked for. I felt you needed some honest feedback; mostly to help you avoid injuring yourself and to also avoid damaging a relic bike which is not commonly found these days.

If needed, I am sure that someone here will be able to help you source and install a new bottom bracket and probably a new headset if those parts get ruined during your test rides.

/K

randomgear

Umm, just judging by what I see in the photo and nothing else, I wonder about two things:
1 - is the front wheel the same size as the rear? Could the rear be a 28 and the front a 26?
2 - Is there any air in the tyres?

From experience with my own '39er, is the rear wheel firmly attached and not slipping forward? I had a heck of a time with mine, even using the old tugnuts (it didn't help that one of the nuts was stripped).
Replacement axle nuts for old raleighs are easy to find, even today. I've been told that the Raleigh axle nuts were designed to strip rather than damage the threads of the axle.
And is the rear hub bearing play set correctly, without wobble?

Good luck!

dsaul

Just my 2 cents, but is the headset tight? does it move freely from side to side? I had a headset that was binding from sand in the lower bearing and the bike required constant correction because the headset was keeping the front from self centering. You don't realize how the fork turns slightly each way with each pedal stroke until something keeps it from naturally coming back to center and you have to correct it each time. It's not fun to ride a bike in that condition.

tjkwood

Thanks all for the advice. The problem seems to lie either in the headset or the forks. THe former shall be looked at next week when I get home, and hopefully that'll be the end of it. If not, I've found a donor bike from the same period that has forks that may work:



The wheels do seem secure and true, so I'll start investigating from the front backwards! I'll update when progress has been made

gmt13

I looked at the picture again, attempting to scale the wheels on my monitor. It may be the camera angle, but it looks like the front wheel is a bit smaller than the rear. A lot of changes can happen to a bike in all of those years.

-G

tjkwood

The wheels are both the same size - 26 x 1 1/4. But you're right, something is certainly amiss up front. Thanks for replying

pierce

I'm leaning heavily towards someone doing a fork swap a long long time ago. that fork has an extreme rake, and that frame has a fairly steep head tube, the combination likely is giving this bike a negative trail, which makes it inherently unstable. I don't think that handlebar configuration was original, either, someone got 'clever' and flipped the bars over.

of course, thats assuming the headset is free of slop and moves smoothly, if the headset is fubar, all bets are off.

onespeedbiker

While the front does look squashed down, photos can be deceiving, regarding the fork from the photos in this blog it appears to be OEM. https://oldbike.wordpress.com/1936-ra...ecord-ace-rra/ What is different however is the stem. The OEM stem had practically zero forward length while the OP's looks to be 80-90mm; combine that with a loose headset and it could make the front end very unstable..my 2¢..

Andrew R Stewart 

This is not the solution to the OP's question but one example as to how this type of issue can be addressed.

Two weeks ago a customer (at the shop i work for) called about his Craig's List late 1960s Schwinn 3-spd pulling to one side while riding. He brought it in. We did a quick on the spot look at and did note a couple of concerns (very loose TCW rear hub, tight & squeaking headset and ft wheel off center at top of blades). We had the usual discussion about the many factors that contribute to a bike riding straight and how the steps of increasing cost of analyse and possible correction can go. The customer and I agreed to do an initial wheel base lining with a frame alignment check using the "quick in shop" methods. This was quoted at $50. We were to call him with our findings and a rather open ended time line was allowed for. Later that week I had a chance to get into the bike in depth. The wheels were not too far off dish and true but their age and localized dents made the corrections/truing an AGAP one. Ft hub was very tight and the rear was adjusted as tight as the TCW could be without significant binding. So some improvements but no smoking gun as to the steering pull. Pulled off the fenders and the fork was pretty close to vertically in line, no twist but a slight blade length discrepancy. The rear triangle was off to one side by about 1/2". Now we were finding a likely cause of the pull. Here's where some might have done differently then I did. I knew that the rear triangle alignment correction would only be another 10-20 minutes at most, given that everything was off the frame that was needed and that the frame was made of thick but low strength tubing. So i went ahead with the straightening, getting the rear end to be about 1/16" to center. Aligned the drop outs while I had access. Put all back together (had a bit of challenge with the TCW hub , free spinning VS looseness and the shift adjustment is less forgiving then an AW). The frt wheel was tightened in place so that the rim was better centered then the drop out/blade lengths would have had it. Test rode the bike and found no significant pulling while no handed. Added $15 to the estimated bill and called the customer. Today he calls back after riding the bike and said it is much better. Some of this service success is because we had a good understanding with the customer and he had faith in out judgments. Some of the success is that we found the part of the problem that could be easily improved without much extra cost.

So the OP's problem needs an experienced look at and the understanding with that mechanic as to where the lines of judgment and acceptability of added cost are. Andy.

tjkwood

The bars seem to be original - they're Lauterwassers and not flipped North Roads. The headset is a bit loose so I'm going to start there.

tjkwood

You say that, but look at this Golden Arrow catalogue:



The stem has the same forward length. I will try out a different stem to see if that helps, and I also have some period forks on the way (hopefully...) that I'll try out as well. Here's hoping!

onespeedbiker

The downward slope of the fork sounds bad, but any movement "where the forks meet the bottom of the head tube" will cause the front end to be unsteady. Regardless of the cause, your going to want to rebuild the headset anyway; it may not fix the problem but it will most assuredly make it better.

tjkwood

You're right - bearings have been ordered just this minute

aussiemusicman

Did you get to the bottom of the problem?