Interesting that it still has the white fender blaze, my 1979 does not. US market versus domestic? FWIW the head light bracket on my 1979 is not a standard Heron design it is a cut out designed for mounting a reflector. The rear reflector was clamped onto the seat stay. Curiouser and curiouser...

Aaron :)

Beautiful Rudge. Great shot, and a great bicycle. Does the headlamp/dyno still work?

She is sooo purdy:D

Anybody got an easy fix for a Raleigh pump? Picked up a 69 Sports last weekend. Has the pump but the rubber plunger is stiff and cruddy and no longer even touches the inside of the pump barrel. I would love to get it working. I'll post some pics when I get a camera. I need to share because to me it's a thing of beauty. It's in the basement and I'm up and down the stairs all day to clean or gawk. Right now I'm trying to flush out the freewheel with ATF, when I got it it didn't click at all but it's coming around now. Thanks to Sixty Fiver on the ATF thing.

Fiona--you must be the same one who posted on oldroads? I just replied earlier to you today saying to check here! :^)

LOL Yep that was me and I'll have to check your reply :) Actually the bike Sixty-fiver pictured will be mine in two weeks....I think I can safely say I have a Vintage Raleigh obsession now and i hope i have the room for at least five more bikes ...LOL

You Go Girl! no such thing as too many vintage Raleighs...even if the kids have to sleep in the back of the station wagon!:eek::D (BTW mine are grown and gone:thumb:)

Aaron:)

Well the son is grown and on his own but I do have a empty second bedroom that could be utilized LOL and if that fills up our apt bldg has secure bike parking too lol Not sure if hubby is amused that I traded in knitting for bikes haha

oh my--if my daughter read this she would laugh--she just recently accused me of trading in knitting for bikes! To which I replied "I can do both, just not at the same time!" Terra--we seem to be on parallel paths! And yes--I have a big dry basement and well...five Raleighs and a Rudge! How did that happen?

Wow!! I need to catch up to you in terms of bikes...I only have three now ..lol...next on my wishlist I suppose with either be a Roadster or Sport oh dear..wait until I tell hubby...I may be sleeping in the second bedroom with the bikes:D

well, technically some of them are for the use of other family members but they are mostly mine :^). And I can see letting one or two go at some point, but it's funny--sometimes you want to ride this one, another time you say "I think I'll take ---" It's pretty much my childhood fantasy of having a stable full of horses, but it's bikes...

hubby wants horses so maybe I'll have to compromise someday:) we can have a farm with bikes and horses

Never thought of it that way...but you are right. When I was growing up I mostly had "curb" specials (my dad found them on the curb and fixed them up for me) I didn't get my first brand new bike until I was in the 6th grade and them some low life stole it off the rack at school and it was back to the beaters. I guess I am making up for it now.

Aaron :)

wahoonc--growing up, we had neighbors, two brothers--one worked at the town dump and the other dealt in scrap metal, so most of our bikes came over the fence! I wish I had a few of those today...

My 1970 (according to the S/A hub) Raleigh Sports I picked up over the weekend...I had been wanting one of these in the larger frame size for a long time, and found it over the weekend...seller said he fished him out of a barn. It has plenty of patina, but also has it's Brooks B-72 in very nice shape and it's frame pump. I got it home, adjusted the seat, washed it down...and here it sits. I took it for a ride around the neighborhood and it was a delight....after a couple of tries, the S/A is shifting flawlessly.

I have been thinning my herd a bit...and had fleetingly thought to flip this one...but...I'm keeping it...:)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/...aa4916a9_b.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/...71119524_b.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/...a960090d_b.jpg

That's a lovely bike, johnnybegood, but why do you have a taillight on your fork?

very handsome! And that looks like a cool little light--generator?

I was wondering the same thing, but it looks as if only the rim is red and the light itself is actually white?

lol...interesting, huh...that's how he came from the seller...as greengage noted, the light rim is red, but the lens itself it white...so I'm guessing it's for the front? I dunno...it is a Raleigh branded light...but...I think I'm going to take it off...:)

I'd love to find a proper saddle bag and perhaps a rear rack for him...and the period-correct dynohub and headlight. All in due time I suppose...:)

I just picked this up:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...o/HPIM1058.jpg

Craigslist special, in very good shape. Oil in the hub, air in the tires, and on the road--rode it to work today. It's super fun--very quick, nimble, and surprisingly fast. My wife wants one now, too!

The seeming quickness comes from low gears. Try to keep up with other cyclists. But it's really OK. It's a heck of a cargo hauling bike.

Yes, I'm sure you're right. It's funny, though--I passed several riders today on my commute home (a rarity), and they seemed very surprised a middle-aged man riding a clown bike passed them. I got a couple of double-takes on the Intercampus Transitway.

One of our participants from St Paul (gna, I think) posted a Craigslist add for inexpensive rear bags in the style of the bags that came with the Sports. My 79 Spots has an original but all four leather closing straps are fubar. The vinyl is ok on mine , I'm trying to determine a method to make it useable, THe Pletcher racks are still available but I don't know about sizing and attachment. I opted for a modern rack and am happy but had to fab a couple parts to make it work I also have a front dynohub lacet to a 27 wheel that I,m not sure what todo with. New generator hubs aren't that expensive and I'm not sure sure how desirable and expensive the SA dynohub is.

Comparing your 1970 Sports to my 1979 Sports show the methods that Raleigh was going through during the 70s to reduce costs. You have a nice seat and a pump and pump pegs. I think the earlier finish with the white on the rear fender was change to save a tad, Simpler design on the headlamp bracket (where a reflector was mounted).

Found something that was made the same year and in the same country as me with a nice SA AWG hub... gonna have to wait for daylight to see the good pics but here is a teaser.

http://ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/1965ccmcontihub.JPG

http://ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/1965ccmconti2.JPG

Haven't wired up the dynahub yet but hope it runs as smoothly as the hub does.

:D

The seller still has a few left:

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hn...817437255.html

I put one on the Triumph I gave to my sister-in-law.

Thanks for the info! And...I have an old Pletscher rack to go with it....this will work out nicely!!

Can anyone in Minneapolis facilitate?

Here are some pics of the 79 Sports with the "Eco Rack" attached:

http://fatollie.com/f/1rsr.jpg

This is the front bracket attachment:
http://fatollie.com/f/2rsr.jpg

Also had to fashion short offset brackets for the bottom:
http://fatollie.com/f/3rsr.jpg[IMG]

A little bit of boosterism for the 4th:
http://fatollie.com/f/4rsr.jpg


Here's a Pletscher on a Sprite we acquired recently:

http://fatollie.com/f/3oldspM.jpg

Cool baskets, huh?
http://fatollie.com/f/4oldspM.jpg

Here's the Sprite cleaned up a little:

http://fatollie.com/f/1sp.jpg

The Pletscher:

http://fatollie.com/f/2sp.jpg

Not the original wheels or rear derailleur, but it is Huret

Tried to get rid of the ring on the chain wheel, but someone pulled it from the trash and polished it, so there it is:
http://fatollie.com/f/4sp.jpg

Was able to sneak off the stem shifters and put on some Huret downtube shifters ("just like your old Suburban -- they're great")


Overall, looking pretty good, considering where it was:
http://fatollie.com/f/7sp.jpg

I just emailed the seller about those bags and to see if he'd ship up to Canada...I really like the look of the bags and more affordable at the moment then a carradice saddlebag

I posted elsewhere--someone on eBay is selling some vintage Swiss ammunition bags for use as panniers that would look beautiful on a vintage 3-speed--a little rich for my blood at $112 but they are gorgeous.

The Sprite is adorable--love that red! And yes--I need some Wald baskets...

So--while I have you all here--what the heck is this bike? A '78 Sport--with a full chain case and a loop frame? Maybe this is a Canadian thing, but I've never seen this before. http://montreal.en.craigslist.ca/bik/1813730214.html Fiona--maybe you need a trip to Montreal? :^)