It has a large "R" moulded into the reflective surface and "Raleigh Industries" on the surround. The total diameter (black rubber surround included) is 48.5mm.

With the original wheel in, does the bike track straight (none of the three Raleigh's I've had did)? If not, you might consider spreading the fork to accommodate the new wheel while simultaneously correcting the alignment. This guide worked well for me:

http://sheldonbrown.com/brandt/pull-side.html

Okay Reflector size report....

Apparently Raleigh used several different sizes and brands of reflectors over the years. The 3 I have on hand measure out to: 3.8cm/4.4cm that is the black one from Yellow Jersey, it has a plastic base rather than rubber. I believe that is the same size as what Raleigh was using back in the 50's. 4.0cm/5.0cm this is a white rubber housing and is on a 1972 Raleigh Superbe, it is the same as the ones on 1971 Colt and 1970 Sports Standard. 6.0cm/6.8cm white rubber housing, this one is on my bride's 1973 Colt. I will try and get pictures eventually.

Aaron :)

Today... :)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7...2b7ec5c6_c.jpg

Portland Three Speed Ride

See mine back to wahoonc below, and thanks!

Thanks for checking those.

IMO, the only way someone will be able to tell that they are repops is to get right up to them and scrutinize the lens and housing. To add a little more mystery to this - ha-ha - the white reflector on my wife's almost mint '72 Sports has these showing diameters: 55mm lens, 63mm housing. [obviously, if the unit were taken apart the lens itself would have a slightly greater diameter because it fits into a groove in the housing]

Manufacturer markings: LUCAS ENGLAND for the lens; STURMEY ARCHER ENGLAND for the white housing.

Hello 3-speeders,

Not much to report since work is very busy, but that doesn't mean I can't dream... What do people think of this condition and price?

http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/bik/3182245295.html

I always find out about the UAL rides late.....:(


BTW

Three Raleigh 3 speeds hit the cl today and yesterday in Portland. There haven't been many of them this summer...

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/3205154709.html
http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/bik/3205095778.html
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/3203645361.html

This one is live on the Lexington, KY Craigslist right now.

Is it a Canadian made bike? U.S. made? [see the headbadge closeup]
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=267427http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=267428http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=267429

this is a repainted 60s? Raleigh sports that had been rat-rodded with circa 1962 cyclo club racer setup.
the paintjob is really bad and the left hand pedal has been brased onto the crank-arm.
I have an Armstrong with more appropriate club-racing geometry and will be the recipient of the wheels & funky benelux toys.

So here's the question:
Tires? The only 37-597 (26 x 1 1/4) tires I've been able to find so far are by Kenda, CST, ect. which I personally find to be cheap garbage.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=267533

I've not found anything but Kenda S-6 tires. (597 is the Schwinn-size rim, right?). Nothing I've tried so far has allowed me to get one of them to seat properly, so I wind up with that lumpetta-lumpetta ride "quality". Dallas told me they run a touch small and recommended I try a little dish soap or talc to get them to seat more easily. Something I haven't done yet.

Among all the CST tires I found, I didn't find anything which was obviously 597 or S-6. Do you have a reference?

This topic is quite pertinent to me as my wife came home with yet another Schwinn Speedster a few days ago. If I can't find some tires which will seat properly, I'm just going to give up on Schwinn 26s.

S

Not that it really matters, what you have there is probably a 1962 or 1963 Raleigh Lenton Sports 'Convertible.' It actually came from the factory with the Benelux derailleur on the AW hub. It had drop bars and chrome fenders (gone) and this unusual crank, rattrap pedals, and these unusual 26 x 1 1/4" wheels that you still have.

I say that doesn't matter because the frame is, as you say, a garden variety Sports frame (earlier versions of the Lenton Sports were 531).

The Raleigh UK site offers these tires, uh, tyres:

http://www.shopraleigh.co.uk/Product...&pt=164&pg=688

I don't know any more about them than that.

haha! I wish my wife would bring home bikes. The shoe would be on the other foot.
The rims are Dunlop 26 1 x 1 1/4 marked, I'm pretty sure that's 37-597 or schwinn S-6 size.

I think the rescue bike I was riding around in London this spring had 597 rims and assuming they were 590s, I muscled a set of Michelin World Tours on them & then had to massage them into place to eliminate the wobbly ride.
I'll have to make a call/email to double check if they were in fact 597s.

If that's the case, I have a set of Conti Cityrides that should do quite well once the wrestling match is over; although it would be great if I could find the right tire for the right rim

the guy I got it from said it originally had drop bars, and it is a garden variety heavy 2030 sports frame. It will likely get a rat-rod treatment of spare mismatched colored mudguards & chaincase then go out with the back-to-school budget bikes on the CL.

The Armstrong is also a heavy 2030 frame but has much more relaxed geometry and a very extreme foreward fork rake, a neat long reach steel swan stem & oilport in the BB.

The Raleigh "tyres" might work, but this project is not going to happen for at least a month so time is on my side in this case.


btw: diggin the fiddle pegpox on your avitar

Man, this whole "26-inch" thing continues to confuse me, and it's not helped by people who really, really ought to know. From the biketiresdirect.com description of said Continental City Ride tires:

According to Sheldon Brown's article on tire sizes 597 is the old "Schwinn style" 26" wheel/tire. 590 is for most English three-speeds.

Should I tell them???

S

If you feel you need a good deed for the day, yes, I suppose you should. Good luck with that, though. You will probably just confuse them.

correct me if I'm wrong, but I think one can pull a 590 over a 597, but not the other way around.

I have little enough luck getting Kenda S-6 (that is, supposedly ISO-597) tires to seat properly on Schwinn S-6 rims. I can't imagine it would work with a tire whose diameter is 7mm less... You should be able to use a 590 tube on a 597 wheel.

I'd wager dimes to doughnuts that you couldn't...not that you shouldn't give it a try. :)
The bead circumference around the rim of the larger EA1 tires is 7/8" larger and tires just don't stretch like that. Tubes are, of course, no problem.

Here's their reply:



Oh well...

well, I didn't think it would be easy:)
I might give it a try for giggles anyway - I have Schwalbe Detacruisers on a pair of raleigh westrick rims that blow off the bead if I pump them up beyond 55/60psi; theoretically assuming they have a micron of extra room to go.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk have a Schwalbe tyre in that elusive 26 x 1 1/4 (ERTO 597). It's a step up from the CST tyres. I haven't riden them much because my only bike that has that size wheel, my Norman Invader, has a bent chainring and threatens to derail the chain if I ride it.

Edit: oops. they had. I'm going to count my lucky stars I managed to get a pair when they had them.

Thanks for the reference though. That helped me search more intelligently. Here are some other places which advertise tires in that size which are not Kenda:

• Schwalbe at The Old Bicycle Showroom
• CST on eBay UK
• Schwalbe at Spa Cycles
• Schwalbe at Tiller Cycles
• Cheng Shin on eBay
• Golden Boy on eBay

Interestingly enough, the last two are from CyclArt, known more for their frame restoration/painting expertise I suspect than their Schwinn-compatible tires. :D

This link is worth clicking as well : http://emptybits.com/650a

I wish the Panaracers werent gumwall. My LTD came with blackwalls and I'd like to keep it that way. If anyone has a random Raleigh Red Dot EA3 in good shape I'd love to have one to match my rear! (Front has some random aftermarket blackwall asian brand)

Holy mis-intalled cotters batman. Either they are really mismatched or they are both put in from the same side. I bet that bike pedals with a bit of a lilt ​to the cadence!

yep, they were installed from the same side. It was one of the first things I noticed, I didn't even ride it. I took that pic right before I started taking it apart.


oh & thanks for the leads on the tires!

I was out on a ride on the Hercules, and felt inspired to take a couple photos for this thread ...

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u...r_06-03-12.jpg

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u...s_06-03-12.jpg

Good-looking ride! What kind of grips are those?

Hi everybody,
Here are some pictures from my 1974 Raleigh Sports. I found it on our local classifieds website last year and it has been my errand and Sunday ride bike ever since. I love it to bits and my other bikes now feel neglected! I just got around rebuilding the front hub and the bottom bracket this past week end, and I have to say that now a cog change from 18T to 22T seems much less of an emergency...

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268204

Serial number on the seat tube :p
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268205

Raleigh Industries bell
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268207

Fork lock, key included
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268208

Raleigh plastic pump
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268209

Did the last of the Raleigh Sports imported to the USA have the curved top tube like on a Raleigh Colt?

This bike is on Craigslist now. http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268308http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268309http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268310http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268311http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268312