My wife passed this on to me.....I think this crowd can relate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzbvQMWd0es

Happy to report that the 1970 Raleigh Sports did indeed have fully serviceable pedals. The dust cap unscrews and they were easy to disassemble (easier than my Pashley's modern pedals, actually, because there is a handy notch on the top of the cone for a screwdriver, which is easier than trying to unscrew it with needlenose pliers).

Question: how do you deal with 45 years of caked grease? I soaked the metal bits in odorless mineral spirits for at least 15 minutes, but the cups still have rock hard blobs of old grease in them. Do I just chisel it away with a small screwdriver or something and try to wipe it out clean afterwards? I'm sure the cups and cones are a bit pitted and will never be perfect, but I'm betting new balls and grease will get them running pretty smoothly again. The rubber is really in poor shape and one of the reflectors is missing, but I like the idea of keeping the original "made in England" pedals on the bike.

It's funny that pedals are made to be fully serviceable, but when you can buy a new set of MKS rubber block pedals for $30 it makes absolutely no financial sense to overhaul them, unless you are doing it as a hobby for fun.

[MENTION=366320]Chesterton[/MENTION] - I use a very small straight black screwdriver to carefully chip off the old grease. I happen to have a set of screwdrivers for small electronics stuff, so can get very small if I need.

A scratch awl can be helpful in scraping off caked on grease.

Great Root Beer finish, are those tires as dry as they look? Similar situation as my wife's '74. It was ridden total of 3 times and hung up. I have a shot of the underside of the fenders, completely clean...

the ( coffee ? ) paint is strong but slight chips . most of which was going for the dumpster ride .the tires are original and the gum wall is gone but the tread is new . you can see the underside of the fender is like new http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...pskveyr7i8.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...psd2hh0zkz.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...ps1wwfwczs.jpg

I'm STILL having problems with the chain guard and am getting super frustrated. The only way it doesn't seem to rub on the chain is if I have it up so high it's way above it. The marks on the bike show that it was way lower (so low it would have been right up against the crank), so I don't know what's with that either. It doesn't seem THAT bent, so I don't know what the deal is.

Eta: Now I took it off and can't even get it back on. Poked at some old forum posts and I think the solution is just more bending and futzing, but I need coffee before I do anything else.

Do you know for sure that it's the original chainguard?

I missed your earlier posts, but did you also service your cranks before adjusting the chain guard? There is sufficient space on the flat surface of the spindle to allow the crank to be properly seated, but further outboard the bottom bracket than normal, thus causing the chainguard to rub. This happened to me once.

Did someone install a larger than stock chainring somewhere along the way?

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. It's so frustrating to be foiled by such a little piece of metal. I just want it to work!

What exactly do you mean by "service your cranks"? @nelsonmilum ordered a cotter press so we could learn to do our bottom brackets, will that address it when we put them back on? I thought one of the cranks might be bent so I compared them, and they seem to be sitting at about the same angle.

Chainring looks to be the same one I've seen on other Gliders, the chain guard is painted to match the bike with the Glider logo, so I think it must be the original one. Also, i've been riding the bike most days for just about a month and I didn't notice rubbing until after I bashed it with the pedal and found out it had been loose, and now I can't seem to get it aligned properly. Maybe it's just bent too much? Maybe I'll post a photo later.

I did (okay, Nelson did, I was too frustrated) manage to get the chainguard back on and almost perfect, but it's still rubbing about once per rotation. I'll see if I can get it aligned today.

Somebody in Seattle area needs to get this one...
 

Not an English 3 speed but inspired by them...

Vintage 1970 Schwinn 3 speed mens bicycle

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447279

That's a good deal @ $75.00

Yes, extremely!

Back in the day, that was the bike I wanted for my birthday; a black 3 speed Schwinn. I got a red Dunelt.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447294

Don't need another, already have Grandpa'a 1971 Racer.

The ride of the Raleigh 3 speed is superior.

I've got a red Dunelt.
I paid $35.00 for it and spent another $100.00 to fix up. The non original wide bars are good for curb hopping (more leverage).
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447295

Chain guard problem solved! Sometimes you need a patient person to take over when all feels lost. Nelson gave it another try, bent the piece of the guard at the back that attaches to the bracket a good bend outwards so the guard could be more upright (it was kind of tilting back) and it is finally not rubbing! What a pain. Here's a photo I took on the nice bike ride I went on this afternoon for your troubles.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8739/...9398711d0e.jpgUntitled by Lindsay.Joy, on Flickr

A great deal actually, the tall frame is a great bike. The Schwinn frame angles are a little different, and some people actually like them better than the Raleigh in terms of fit.

Agree about the ride experience; the Schwinns are very solid bikes - can't really say whether I like riding them better than the Raleigh Sports and the like and I'm still searching for a DL-1 for myself so I have no basis for comparison there. [I have found and purchased three of the loop frame DL-1 women's models]

Yes, $75 for a tall frame men's Racer is a no-brainer; especially in black.

I admit! Shameless picture posting...

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447451http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447452http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447453http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447454http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447455http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447456http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447457http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447458http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447459http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447460http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447461

After two years, mostly procrastinating, Morley is ready for the road! As you can see original owner etched his name quite deeply in the one pic, plus a couple other locations.

Mostly original. Obviously new tubes & tires, originals had to be cut off from the wheels. New re-pop grips in the original style, thank you Taiwan Trading Co. One new cotter key for the crank, machined down to fit correctly. New brake pads, safety first! A re-died original Brooks saddle, not sure if the color is correct from new. Few miscellaneous nuts & bolts. Frame pump seems to work. I do need to locate the insert in the nipple end of the hose that allows the air into the tube.

Most work was done by yours truly. With hub, BB, headset cleaning & re-packing left to my LBS good guy Mason of Westerville Bike Shop. Shameless local business plug intended. And I just don't have the correct spanners to do this work yet.

Paint was brought back to life with Meguiers's Pro Line auto paint products. Chrome was basic elbow grease, chrome polish, SS pads and brass brushes. All else was scrubbed clean of 30+ years of oily dust. There has been no paint touch up or anything else. Rust and corrosion will be held in check.

Bike has been ridden several times. I have no reference for what she should ride like, but she is a hoot to be on. Needs some fine tuning for the 3 speed shifting. Rear brake cable is stretched beyond use, but I have a hack in place with a fix ready.

Much to my surprise the dynometer lights work! Bulbs look to be original. I did find a replacement lens for the rear light at Memory Lane in Grand Rapids, Ohio. Original lens was bleached a pale pinkish-yellow.

If there is any advice on placement of clamps etc., I welcome the feedback.

Cheers,

What's the difference in frame angles between the English and the Schwinns?

As I've mentioned before, I had a three-speed Scwhinn back in about 68 that I bought for $10 from the guy who lived across the street from us. As he was maybe seven years, or so, older than me, it was probably a mid to late 50s bike. My recollection is that it was heavier than the Raleighs. We always thought of the Raleighs as "light English racers." I'm thinking that we called them racers because they were similar, in many ways, to the Schwinn Racer. Those Schwinns were tough bikes. In my experience, it took a sledge hammer to stop one -- literally and not wielded by me.

Purchased this 1951 Raleigh Lenton Sports earlier this month, and am slowly working on it and cleaning it up. All the mechanicals are in amazing (just highly varnished) shape, and am getting it ready to be a backup commuter. I really cannot wait to start riding it.
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8787/...af368fc5_s.jpg.

I did about 35 miles on my Lenton Sports today. It's an FW hub I've modified to 5-speeds, and it's a bit temperamental. Still, it's a great riding bike.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6...0/IMG_2376.JPG

Those are those Panaracer tires, right? Are those CR18 rims?

Great looking bike -- I like it a lot.

72 Superbe Sports SuperBe finished for now.
 

Bought this bike not too long ago and have been slowly working on it getting it road worthy. We call it the Superbe Sports because the cragslist ad we responded to was for a Raleigh "Sport." The SuperBe is just too funny.

So, here is what it looked like when it followed me home:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447845

The frame paint and decals were in pretty good shape but the chrome was pretty rusty and the sheet metal was really pretty bad. The frame cleaned up well, as expected, but the fenders and rack, and less so the chain guard, were mostly rust colored with the paint not salvageable. About the only way to get the bike not looking like it just crawled out of a dumpster was to replace the fenders. So, we decided to try the VO aluminum alloy fenders designed for 650B, about the same size as 650A. Cleaned up the chrome and mostly it came out ok. Used any of the chrome bits from the 56 Sports that were in better shape and useable -- crank, bars, but not the brakes. As is typical, I guess, for a neglected Raleigh from the 70s, the steel rims are pretty badly rusted and pitted so there are some CR18s on it now. The Dynohub is awaiting spokes and a rim but may not go back on the bike as it will probably be ridden at night only rarely, if at all. Front wheel is 36 spoke instead of the proper 32, but I'm hoping that the nostalgia police can't count that high.

Took it out this morning for about 5 to 10 miles and everything is working great. It has been declared a "roller."http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447848http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447849http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447850http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=447851

Thanks! Yes, Panaracer Col de la vie in 26 x 1 3/8" and Sun CR-18 rims.

[MENTION=188405]desconhecido[/MENTION] - Really nice job returning that bike to the road.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7728/...24c31abb_b.jpg

Here's a Sprite frame that had been kicking around the local co-op for a long while. I had a rebuild AW hub in a 700 rim (they look like cr-18) and I found the rest of the classic parts at the co-op too, even the R nuts for the cotters and seatpost binder bolt. The front hub is a Normandy so it's not all English but I think it might even be a Canadian-made frame. The bars are new zoom aluminum ones with VO city levers and some cork/rubber grips that I find quite comfy. The brakes are Alhonga dual pivots so the bike actually stops. The rear brake was modified with another barrel adjuster to allow bottom cable entry so it looks kind of unorthodox but it works better than having an S curve in the housing. It's a pretty "sprightly" ride with all the aluminum parts on there.