cudak888 

Only if some come out of the downtube. Even then, I found a factory-installed brass shim in the bottom bracket to shield against anything falling into the bearings. Pretty spiffy for the late-1940s/50s.

Ooh. I think I've seen yours with the Cyclo (?) RD on it. Jealous of that green, I tell you!

Can't say that my Plymouth comes from the Engel days though.

Meguiars #7 followed by #26 . 3M microfinishing compound in spots where it is stubborn.

First run was tonight, in addition to getting the kink out of the rear triangle. Pretty sure this thing isn't straight though - it needs a going over with the frame alignment gauge and the Park yanky-yanky cold-setting tool.

Before...



...after:



Before:



After:





It looks fantastic here, but the edges around every lug edge and the headbadge are still fairly dull. Also have to knock the headset cups out.

A few more:





-Kurt

Ged117 

Looking good, Kurt. The black enamel they used is tough. It shows up in rougher spots on my Superbe where the green has worn off. Speaking of the Cyclo derailer, I'm thinking of removing it and the lever and finding a driver to replace it that'll fit along with a 22t sprocket. The derailer is finicky, and using it often results in a dropped chain and so I never shift it. The cables also make the bike look messy. I like the clean lines of your bikes. Does the full case add a fair amount of weight?

cudak888 

At most, the full chaincase probably weighs the same as three standard chainguards. You'll probably lighten the bike with the chaincase, given that you'd be jettisoning the Cyclo.

That said...I have an orphaned green 1950's Raleigh Superbe case in search of a green 1950's Raleigh Superbe. Match made in heaven? PM me.




-Kurt

Ged117 

PM sent.

noglider 

Does the presence of a full chain case on a Sports mean it's not a US market model?

cudak888 

I highly doubt it. I believe this applied to DL-1s only - but even then, the weight of a chaincase is so minimal in comparison to the bulk of the bike that I find it hard to believe that it was the case that caused them to tip the tariff scale.

EDIT: Pretty sure this is a "no." The US catalog lists "...Tourist" models (e.g. Sports Tourist, Superbe Sports Tourist, etc.) back in the 1950's, when "Tourist" used to mean "chaincase added," not "28 inch rod brake model."

-Kurt

sykerocker 

That paintwork is in nicer shape than my '72 Tourist. Absolutely beautiful bike.

cudak888 

Took a five minute break from work-at-home to do a little something that didn't involve sitting on my butt waiting for motion blurs to render on a CAD program.

Some say you can't straighten steerer tubes.

Phooey.





How? A Reynolds 531 downtube slid over the Raleigh's 1" steerer.



It took a carefully coordinated and weighty tug - but it bent right back into place.

Perfection? Probably not. It can't make the bearing races any less square than they already were.

Ill-advised? Doubt it, at least for this bike. This is thick, soft steel that isn't heat treated. Anyway, I don't give a possum's poop what anyone thinks. Yours truly is the only one going to eat asphalt if there is any sort of "terrible steerer tube failure." Still waiting for empirical evidence of that on one of these pre-TI Raleighs.



Next steps...fix this.





-Kurt

cudak888 

All done.






-Kurt

noglider 

You straightened the steerer tube? I'm very impressed. Well done. And I agree, it's very probably safe enough. I've straightened a few forks in various ways but would never try a steerer tube.

noglider 

I know what tariff you're speaking of, but I'm not referring to that. I just was thinking that Raleigh decided that Americans aren't interested in chaincases and didn't put them on Sportses for us. But I'm only guessing.

dweenk

A few years ago I bought a DL-1 with full chaincase from a guy in Virginia. It had a Norfolk bike license sticker, it may have been purchased overseas and brought to th US by someone in the Navy. There wasn't a shop sticker on it, so it's origin is unknown.

cudak888 

Yep. Took one very firm tug for it to bend back into place. That was it. Took less than 3 minutes between setup and actually doing it.

That certainly seems to be the case by the late 1950's, but I'm still a bit unclear as to what Raleigh offered from their known catalogs here in the States.

What era DL-1? There's one that branko_76 found in Chicago that was probably brought over from across the pond by its previous owner.

-Kurt

dweenk

Kurt,
It is 1980 according to the hub and has a front dyno-hub. Rod brakes, 28" wheels, Brooks leather saddle, etc.

cudak888 

Import. The US market catalogs from the 1960's through '82 never listed the DL-1/Tourist with the chaincase or Dynohub as options.

Other odd things were afoot at the time. Though Rudge had been dropped in 1972 for both the US (and as far as I know, the UK), Nottingham pushed out this thing in 1979, with a bevy of Sir Walter transfers in place of the Rampar logos (Raleigh America Parts - incongruous with international sales), plus a DynoThree and the good old DBU.

The DBU doesn't have a Dyno-Luxe sticker on it, but an embossed Sturmey-Archer emblem. Can't recall if it is an aluminum badge or an embossed chrome sticker.



I realize these were probably always made available to the export market, but if you put this thing side-by-side with the 1950's equivalent, it definitely falls into the category of "mediocre replica."

-Kurt

BFisher

That's great about the steerer tube success. I've only ever tried to straighten one steerer, and I did not claim victory that day.

I really like that forkend construction. Very handsome.

cudak888 

Did some polishing. It's brutally difficult to photograph this thing well. Looks better in person than the photos.











-Kurt

GP1958

Very nice ......... there is nothing like a classic.

cudak888 

Aligned the rear triangle today and began initial buildup. Chaincase was absolutely filthy inside, so cleaned it out too.




-Kurt

JaccoW

That's a fun looking project you have there Kurt! Should end up to be a beautiful bike again.

Ged117 

Kurt, the Raleigh Sports decals look great. They made these '50s bikes with stern, lasting stuff. The decals on my wife's '56 Sports are in good shape too. Her bike has had new new cork grips installed since the photo to replace the cheesy replacement ones added by somebody in the past. Will you be re-wiring the lights after the dynohub is serviced? Curious to see how you do that. I still have to re-wire my dynoluxe system to get my lamps working for the commute. I'm not sure what to do there as it has the FSU system - I suspect the diode in the cap is kaput. I have the LED lights and voltage regulator from Nicelite, I just need to re-wire.

I really like the mid-century black enamel models. There is something a little more evocative of the period and tradespeople with that colour. I imagine most of the workers riding to and from the Nottingham factory owned black enamel models.



IMG-20200519-WA0004

cudak888 

Should be. Going for the stock look this time though. Basic black. Going to to save the Goodyears too, even though that might be the most idiotic idea I've had in a long time (especially since my ladies '51 has them too, and one finally blew open a few months ago).

The transfers also hold up exceptionally well too, even when polishing. I've seen little that can really beat this effectively kiln-hardened enamel, and the enamels Raleigh would put over these are also pretty strong (e.g., the green on your Superbe).

Pretty sure the dynamo lighting should be good to go without much fiddling. Only problems I've ever really come across are loose connections in the headlamp.

-Kurt

cudak888 

Did the fenders today. Didn't go overboard on the dent removal, for what these fenders don't have in rust, they make up for it in small dings. I'm not eager to scratch up the bottom of the fenders to overwork the top surface. At some point, I've got to let it wear its war wounds gracefully.















-Kurt

cudak888 

Tinkered about with the front wheel. The chrome is gone off the braking surface in quite a few areas, but the rest of the rim cleaned up passably. Didn't really feel like going at the Dynohub today, at least not that much. I'll leave it to the toothbrush later on.



Cleaning up nice though:



Braking surface. Oh well, at least it has a chance of stopping in the rain now.





After a bit of work:








-Kurt

pastorbobnlnh 

Playing catchup on this thread while sitting in the airport. Like ! Like ! Like ! Like ! Like !