Wow, that cream-coloured step-through is nice. I can't wait to see how the silver step-through I've got on the stand will look like when it is finished. Waiting on 5/32" balls and brake pads so I can put it all together. Nothing like not being able to put the fork on to stall a project.

Nice looking bike! It makes me nostalgic as I used to have a Sports that was a little bit older than yours but had the same decal on the downtube. Unfortunately, even with the seat all the way down, it was still a bit too tall for me, so I sold it to someone taller who will hopefully get more enjoyment out of it. But not before taking it on the 3-speed tour! Hope you enjoy your bike! :)

http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/7...7681014490.jpg

Anyone know of a stock 25" step through? Maybe an older Pashley or R. Tourist?

Never heard of anything like it.

Longer seat post on the biggest frame size you can find. By the time you add a Brooks you add an extra inch or more with the springs anyhow. With a step-through what does it matter if you have a really long seatpost? Almost all the old Raleigh/English 3-speeds have a 25.4mm seatpost which is the same as many/most older BMX bikes if I recall. You can buy them CHEAP on Amazon. They made a lot of good strong long-ash seatposts for BMX bikes. Some even have a curve to them so you can get back further from the bars if that is what you want.

Just a weird, strange question. What should I do if the fork lock got powder coated over and not able turn anymore? Should I just leave it as is or is there any kinds of chemical or solution which I can clean it off and save the fork lock? I apologize for these kind of weird stuff. :)

Recently I picked up a new seatpost for my Superbe and I can confirm its a 25.4mm/1" seatpost.

Gasket remover. Do a google search on it, you'll see a few how-to's on it.

The long seat would require a long stem or some up-swept bars to maintian a proper upright poition. Besides all things into account, sprung saddle and all, I ride a 25" fame. I'm thinking about using the bike for work and errands so a good fit is important and so is a loop or step through frame, IGH and full chaincase. My 23" Sports is a bit small, just thinking maybe some pre-war model might be larger.

I think you are going to have a darn hard time finding any step-through in 25" this side of the Atlantic. In the States most men are esceered of riding a "girls bike" as it will make their nobules schrivel up and fall off or something. There just aren't that many women who would want a stepthrough that large. Most of the tall girls who are seriously into bicycling will just take the path of least resistance and go with a large diamond-frame. They might be out there in some odd brands that you could swap parts out to.

Another idea is throwing 29's on the biggest E3S as an upgrade. That would give you another inch and alloy wheels, better tire choices, and much better braking to boot. Don't forget that there are a ton of options for long stems that fit the E3S's

Glad to know I am not the only one with that problem...

I suspect there may be some Dutch built/market bikes that will work, they are among the tallest people in the world.

Aaron :)

Hmmm...maybe creep around ebay.uk for a bit. Pashley also build special needs bikes and this is my special need, then of course I'd especially need some $$.


Good point but I recall from a trip to the circus and the tall guy had a tiny bike!!

This is a circa 30's "The Planet" with a big 10" head tube but the seat tube is only 20". It's a 22.2 seatpost to boot.

PM if you're interested in the frame and fork, BB and headset. I'll gather better pics and info.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/__...00/Planet1.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/__...00/Planet2.jpg

That looks suspiciously like the Lake Pepin overlook on the Wisconsin side...

I will have a shop to build up two wheels for my Raleigh in the next month or so, and I am just wondering what kind of spokes should I get for them? I am getting the Sun CR-18 alloy rims, 36h.

Finally! I haven't seen a Sports in that color since the one I owned back in 1973. Thank you. I was beginning to think it was a flashback from all the acid, and not grounded in reality.

Get some decent spokes... DT or Wheelsmith double butted will make for a nicer wheel and order up spoke washers (nominal cost) for the rear as the SA steel flange is thinner than a modern alloy flange and this will also make for a better wheel build.

I noted the remarkable similarity when I was there as well. ;)

A grey color one?
 

I see an ad on my local market and it's a grey color Raleigh. I've never seen one in grey and just curious is that a custom paint by someone or it's the original color?

http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/kj/...5256c3_20.jpeg

I have a silver step-through Sports that I'm working on right now. from '78

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=193713

The paint isn't very durable, or at least not this example. Looks like it was poorly done with over-spray on the headtube all over the lugs and the silver-gray is runny and milky-see-through on the rear triangle something horrible. Perhaps the paint quality at the Nottingham factory was really suffering by that later date.

Original...typical Canadian market Sports with mattress saddle and self adjusting levers. You'll see Supercycle branded Raleighs in the same colour.

Are you riding the DL1 this year? My wife and I will be there.
A friend has a grey one. It's a mid '70s model. He'll be at Lake Pepin, too.

I fixed up a late '70s silver Sports for one of my wife's friends. The paint was awful, with several areas peeling. The silver seems to be especially bad, but the paint quality on the late '70s little blue Sports I got from Khatful is pretty bad, too.

The frame isn't very well built either. It's straight and doesn't seem to have been in a crash but the lugs seem to have been beat on pretty bad when it was put together like the guy who was building it was having a very bad day after a rough night out drinking. It looks like he beat on it with a rubber hammer and this is below the paint so I'm pretty sure it happened on assembly. Nothing that your average person would notice unless they were looking for it and I'm sure it'll still be a fine bike for whoever ends up with it -just that the quality control at the end times for Nottingham must have been a bit spotty and stuff like this was more common and was allowed to pass out the door.

It must have been a sad time indeed for a once-proud company which used to be on top of the world building higher-end bikes.

Yes, I think 1975 through 1978 was the worst period of workmanship from Raleigh. Those dates are approximate. Someone else can fine-tune them. Sturmey Archer was also down in those years, though not nearly as bad.

Those 70's Raleighs were still pretty decent bikes... SA hubs started to suffer from a lack of QC in the sixties and when Sun race took them over none of their tooling was up to acceptable standards and pretty much had to be rebuilt from the ground up.

In some respects those 70's Raleighs got better when they started using Suntour drive parts in 76-77.

They worked fine and rode fine. I'm talking about the brazing workmanship, with all the gaps and blobs. My 1971 Super Course is clean, so the bad period seems to have come later. Aaron has a Raleigh International with a fender eyelet on one rear dropout and nothing on the other dropout. D'oh!

And I agree that Japanese parts which came in 1976 were an improvement.

Some of the workmanship on the frames left a little to be desired... something about drunken Welshman working on the assembly line.

:lol:

Seems to have affected the higher end models rather than the lower end ones... and on 20's.

Take a look at the welds on your bottom bracket and you will know what I mean... the British models seem to have been finished a little better than the export models.

Planning on it! Got to get some better brake pads first. I'm holding up my end on the waitlist at this point, so no guarantees yet.

I'll be there with my Superbe. I'm not sure if my wife can make it this year (May is always busy in the public schools), but I may be able to persuade my daughter to come in her stead.

Us too. We melted some today, though.

What did you use for the cranks and spindle? Was it hard to find something that fit?