BigChief 

Glad to hear that cotter pressed out. I was expecting you to have to go to plan B on that one. The rear mudguard had a small clip that attached it to the bridge. The drive side bottom bracket cup is a bear to remove. It's easy to service without taking it off. I just reach in with a stick and rag soaked in solvent to clean it. On a 70s Sports, you will either find 11 1/4" loose bearings on each side or 7 bearings in plastic cages. Personally, I think it makes more sense to use the greater number of bearings since the BB get so much stress on it, so I use loose bearings. When putting it back together, the grease will hold the 11 bearings in place on the spindle as you thread it through the still in place drive side cup. If you want to remove the DS cup, remember that it is a left hand thread. Bikesmith sells a tool that makes the job much easier. edit: another trouble saving tip is to buy new cotters with the proper Raleigh taper cut from Bikesmith. https://www.bikesmithdesign.com/CotterPress/cotters.html

gster

I've never found caged bearings on a Raleigh bike, although I've only had mid 70's and earlier bikes.
I agree on loose, a bit harder to install but well worth the effort.

FBOATSB

+1 That massive press from Bikesmith shoved that cotter right out without hesitation. It came out the bottom straightened out. Here is the crank after cleaning.

OK I see that fender clip now. Looks like it's designed for quick assembly but very easy to lose after the fact. Here's a pic of one on ebay.

I think I'll use one these P clips readily available at the local hardware.

I have that cup tool as well. It fits on both sides on this particular bike. I'll take this fixed cup out so I can get some proper anti-seize in there since it is possible it has never been removed since leaving the factory and who knows what they used on it if anything. First I'll address the stuck screw on the fork eyelet and let the spindle soak. Normally when I get a new/old bike the first thing I do is totally strip the frame and put all the loose parts in a bucket to deal with later. I'm going to take my time with this one as it has to last all winter. Seems it's going to need little in the way of repair/replace.

BigChief 

Oh, that's great. I didn't know you already had all those good tools. Bikesmith has sure made my life with old 3 speeds better. I used to use an awkward clamp on bench vise and wrench socket to press cotters. I also spent hours filing modern cotters trying to get a good fit while getting a proper 180 degree spread of the crank arms at the same time. Even after all that work, I still ended up with cheap, crappy cotters. Now I'm on easy street with Mark's cotters. They press right in, come right out again when I want them to and the crank lines up perfectly every time.

BigChief 

That looks like a perfect clip for the mudguard. There's one other thing about these bottom brackets. At least it's something I've had to deal with mostly on later models and this can even happen on the adjustable cup. Most of the time, the cups will back out smoothly. The last half inch or so will back out by hand. But sometimes they are crabby and stiff backing out right to the very end. I clean up the threads with a brass brush and oil them, but still, they can be very stiff. Just too tight a fit. This makes it really hard to feel when the threads are properly engaging when you reassemble. The threads are fine and you sure don't want to cross thread them, but at some point you just have to trust to fate and start cranking the cup back in. I think it's a quality control issue. Raleigh seemed to have more of those as time went on.

markk900

I usually fill the DS cup with grease and put the loose bearings in, then slide the spindle in place. You can get a lot of grease in from the no DS side and smoosh it around through the spindle hole.

gster

That lower fender bracket does tend to rattle around a bit....
It's annoying.

gster

Smooshing sounds like a highly technical and complicated procedure.
I would leave that to a trained "Smoosher".
Most start off as Apprentice Smooshers and after 4 years (or more) graduate to
Master Smooshers, with all rights and privileges bestowed in a somewhat secret ritual.
I've probably said too much as is.
In Germany they're called "Schmoozers" which is essentially the same position
but the uniform is more ornate.

"My name is Hans, may I schmooz your spindle?"

markk900

Shhhhhh - don’t give away all zee secrets...

FBOATSB

I went ahead and pulled the cups and spindle today without too much trouble, totally dried out inside. While pulling out all the loose balls this little guy fell out with them. Alive and well.

I put it outside. It doesn't need to spend the winter in my basement.

gster

Beetles and bikes.

clubman 

Same 'Beetle', different bike. Raleigh?

bluesteak 

I am working on a ?1939? Elswick 26 inch roadster. It has an undated ab hub with a rod operated drum brake. Anyone have any experience with drum brakes. Can you buy new shoes? How should they be adjusted?

gster

“As a kid I had a dream – I wanted to own my own bicycle. When I got the bike I must have been the happiest boy in Liverpool, maybe the world. I lived for that bike. Most kids left their bike in the backyard at night. Not me. I insisted on taking mine indoors and the first night I even kept it in my bed.”
-John Lennon

gster

John's first bike was a Raleigh Lenton Mark 11

bluesteak 

Not sure I get the whole Beatles sequence, whose in the last two photos.

Awesome bike.

clubman 

Everything after the original Beetle picture was John.
You'll find we need no excuses to post photos that even smell of Brit bikes.
gster, great pics, is that his bike restored?

gster

No...
Similar bike at his childhood home in Liverpool.
Part of the museum.

bluesteak 

I love the poster of John on the roadster.

gster

Post some photos.

BigChief 

Dang, I'd be embarrassed to be out in public with that fake mustache.

bluesteak 

I had it partly apart and resurfaced the cones, new oil and grease, tried the wheel and put it back on the bike

bluesteak 

Trued the wheel

robalong

Hello!

Newbie just found this thread. Glorious! Not sure about the glory of the mustache, but never mind.

I have some posts up about Sturmey 3-speed hubs. I hope to become an expert by the time I've stripped and cleaned and inspected eight or nine of them.

When I was a kid, I hated bikes with Sturmey Archer gearing. The big boys in my area had bikes with Campagnolo deerayllieuers and levers, and I was corrupted. Now, I know better. I can hold Sturmey steel in my hand, and feel it's value.

Merry Christmas!

BigChief 

Merry Christmas and welcome to the club. It's a fun hobby. I can understand the greater interest in the high performance vintage bikes, but people tend to lump these English roadsters in with the painful to ride kid bikes from the 1950s and they really don't belong there. They are well designed, practical and actually fun to ride.