julius rensch

Love mine, I've done over 60,000 miles on her....my wife and I had a pair (Gents & Ladies) from back in the early 70's
just did a few miles yesterday
Julius in Ohio

thorstein

Oh, it does! I don't think I've ever wished I'd taken a different bike when I'm out on it. Although I have wished I'd taken it instead of the bike I was on.

julius rensch

I only have the 1972 Tourist these days (my Superbe was stolen) and as I pushing 80 years, I find the gearing could be a bit lower, especially on windy days,...do you have any info on changing the rear chain wheel to a 20 or 21 tooth? What would I order and from whom?
Would the chain need to be repaced?
Are the pedals on these 9/16 or something else?
Can I improve the brakes by replacing with Kool Stop Continental Salmon, without doing any extensive modification? Where can I buy them?
Sorry for all the questions...there is no one in my area that knows anything about these old bikes.

thanks, ever so much, Julius in N.W. Ohio

gster

Swapping out the rear cog is fairly easy and recommended by me (60) I like 20 and 21T cogs.
I wouldn't pay more that $15.00 for one and most bike shops should have a selection.
Most likely you would need to replace the chain as well.

julius rensch

Thanx gester....helpful info indeed..

Julius in N. W. Ohio

thorstein

Mine had a 22T cog on the rear when I got it, & I'm pretty happy with it.

I posted instructions on how to replace the brake shoes a bit ago.
Rod brake pad/shoe remove/install
Kool Stop makes replacement shoes, but I had to order through Amazon because my favorite local bike shop (LBS) wasn't able to order them.

gster

There's a youtube video that shows how to remove the cog.
It's held on with a snap ring that you pry off and re install.
It's also a good opportunity to give the hub a good cleaning.
You may prefer a 22T cog as a Tourist is quite heavy.

BigChief 

+1 on the 22 tooth cog. The 72 DL-1 will have a 46T chain ring and came standard with a 16T cog on the hub. Way too tall for me. Gearing it down made all the difference for me.
What I used was one of these 1/8" x 22 tooth dished chromed cogs and a nice new 1/8" chain. As I recall, the 112 link chain I bought fit perfectly with the 46Tx22T setup without having to remove any links..
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sturmey-Arc...0AAOSwnoldUgf0

BigChief 

That is a nice one. A lot of work, but very well worth the effort.

gster

The brakes look to be complete which is very good.
Some of those individual parts are very hard to find.
Looks like a 22' frame, also good.
You've got a nice project ahead of you.....
please post photos as you do the work.
A great deal of advice and help is available here.

Iron Horse

Thank you for the picture! It puts into perspective what you and Bigchief put into words!

avecReynolds531

Thanks to BigChief and gster for encouragement and the evaluation of the Elswick.
I was kindly sent this scan of the 1960 catalogue which shows the spec of the Light Roadster. From what I can see, the bike is missing the rear reflector from the mudguard/ fender, the pump/ inflator and the toolbag from the saddle. Maybe the Miller bottle dynamo and lights were fitted later or as extras.

gster

Looks like yours was the Maroon colour.

gster

Seriously....?
Posted on Kijiji in Toronto
A Triumph bicycle frame @ $250.00

BigChief 

The reflector in the catalog picture appears to be similar to the Lucas rubber case reflectors used on Raleighs. For a 1960 bike, you would want one 2 inches across. That's including the case. They can be found on eBay. Most will have the Raleigh "RI" logo, but plain ones are not too hard to find. One of the biggest challenges one faces with rod brake bikes with rust issues are the Westwood rims. Hopefully yours are still sound enough to be usable. You can use a wire brush in a drill to clean out rust from the inside of the rims and give the insides a coat of paint to protect the exposed steel. The other chrome parts may come out nicely, but they won't be as rust resistant than they were originally. Wax does a good job of protecting cleaned up chrome.

julius rensch

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So great to see the ELSWICK CATALOGUE..what was the city of manufacture?

Julius in Ohio

clubman 

Elswick, in the north near Newcastle upon Tyne.

avecReynolds531

Thank you Bigchief, appreciate this - very informative and interesting.

gster

Raleigh Superbe
here's another one for sale in Toronto..
They must have sold these by the truckload!

A fairly clean example but with an asking price of $300 I would expect to see an original front fender and pedals.
A key is also a welcome bonus.

oldveloman

Hi all,
A few months ago, while searching for parts and stuff on a local motorcycle swap meet, I found a nice little tool in a box of junk…
We all know that BB-cups can be a real challenge to get out when they have been sitting in a frame for ages…

There’ s some tools available - as mentioned in this thread before - but mostly only suitable for the right hand cup.
The one I picked up ( for some pocket change ) can do both sides perfectly well…
I do have to admit that I had to reshape it a bit to take standard Raleigh cups and also had to add a threaded bar to make it usuable for the right hand side (fixed) cup as well, but, anyway, I now could - finally - dismantle all those frames with rusted-solid BB-cups…

Top picture: as bought. Below: reshaped to fit standard Raleigh cups



Below: using the tool on left hand side cup



Below: using only the inner bush on the right hand side cup ( fixed cup - left hand thread )



I also had to use my hot air gun, as all these cups had been sitting there for decades...

Peter

dweenk

Peter, would you give more detail on the modification you made to the tool; and could a similar tool be built from hardware available now?

Ged117 

I started work on the '56 Sports step-through I am bringing up to snuff for my fiance. I have a donor '72 Sports, and I'm using the AW-equipped wheel from it for this '56 until next winter. The bike came with an SW three-speed from early in SW production - October 1956. The hub shifts poorly (I suspect that is why the cycle is in such nice shape) and after reading Sheldon's pieces on that SW's design faults I've decided not to bother with it for this application. The '72 AW looked pretty good inside after I cracked it open despite an obviously rough and neglected life for the rest of the donor bike. Waiting in the wings is an AW dated July 1956. If she likes the bike - and I think she will - I plan to build an alloy wheelset to lighten things up. I'll use the '56 hub for that to keep things period correct and keep the '72 as spare. Anyway, I always enjoy opening up these hubs, cleaning them, and packing in new bearings and grease. Tick, tick, tick...

gster

A Reasonable price
Raleigh Glider in Hamilton offered at $50.00..
That's some saddle...

gster

Big Chief was ahead of the curve...

oldveloman

Hi dweenk, the tool was only suitable for use on the left hand side cup, as there was no means of screwing a bar into the inner bush to clamp it onto the frame,
so I bored a hole and cut M8 thread in it. Now it can be used on both sides.

Here' s a quick drawing:



Enjoy,

Peter