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I posted about this in the "for trade" thread a few months back, but no response, so figured I'd mention it here. I have a wheelset from a 1975 (or so) Raleigh Sprite 27. Steel rims and hubs, chrome in near perfect condition, has the original 5-speed Maillard freewheel--a 14-30, I think--and tastefully small aluminum dork disk. I'd like to trade them for a set of 700C clincher wheels suitable for a Motobecane Grand Record of similar mid-70s vintage, ideally with someone nearby enough that we can meet to exchange wheels rather than shipping them.

Guilty pleasure
 

I picked up a small 74 ladies Raleigh Sports last summer. It's in "indifferent" condition. Straight frame, and now all the parts are in place and all the bearings have been repacked.

Why the guilt? I'm using it as a bad weather hack for errands up to about 3-4 miles away. Lately in snowy conditions, when I just don't want to get the Hercules icked up.

Given that it's too small, I'm not tempted to go fast on ice and can plant both feet in a hurry. It rides quite well on slick surfaces. And let's face it, when the rims get icy, not many brakes work all that well.

Nothing wrong with that, the Raleigh can take it, just do it a favor once the crappy weather is done and give it some TLC.

I have a 1970 Raleigh Sports Standard that did yeoman's duty in all kinds of weather and spent much of it's life outdoors locked up waiting for me to get out of work or school. Now it is living a semi-retired life as my beer hauler.

Aaron :)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7441/8...f7c0982f_z.jpg

Howard, I'm too scared to ride rim brakes with steel rims when it's wet.

I put aluminum rims and a drum brake front hub on my Raleigh Twenty. I haven't tested it in bad weather yet, though. I expect it will do well. I don't take my Rudge Sports out in bad weather. It's very scary. I'm lucky I have lots of bikes.

There are two brands of bikes that came with good enough finish to use as winter bikes: Schwinn and Raleigh. Of course, this includes (at minimum) weekly cleanup if being ridden in bad weather.

You have good taste in beer.

Done it for years, just have to plan ahead and have a bail out plan. Mine usually involves a nearby hedge, prefer privet or boxwood to pyracantha :eek: :D

Aaron :)

Yeah, just know the limitations of the equipment and ride within those. Pushing the edges of the envelope is fine, but you gotta remember that out at the corner is where the stamp gets canceled.

Steel rims, in my experience, don't actually wear out. I kind of like that, because even though it takes a little longer in rain for the pads to get some grip, they never spray a fine mist of decaying alloy over the tires, brakes, and inside of the mudguards. I do have some CR18 rims I'm getting around to building up, so I'm not a total Luddite.

What a sweet riding bike the Sports is. Even the bad ones are good. :-)

Aaron, Is there a front rack under that basket and if so, what type is it? It appears to fasten to the axle. I presume the basket is a Wald.
I have the same rear baskets on my Sports and I would like to add one on the front similar to yours.
Thanks
James

James,

That is the Wald 139 basket with a cargo net on it. Wald just came out with a Multi-fit front platform.

Aaron :)

Thought you would all appreciate this...

We had a very nice fellow come into the co-op yesterday and he was there to donate the contents of his old bike shop which he closed down more than 20 years ago and ran for decades before that... he said he was 86 and was winding things down and clearing up some stuff.

There was lots of interesting 80's stuff like anodized BMX parts, saddles, and things like cloth tape and other goodies but he had tons of old CCM parts and spokes still in their factory wrappers and boxes and said this was just the tip of the iceberg.

We talked for a good long while and he looked over some of the old CCM's we have been working on and he said, "I don't suppose anyone works on Sturmey Archer hubs anymore"... and our conversation went on and on after that as we both have a deep appreciation for these things. We agreed that the forged CCm one piece cranks are nigh indestructible and he has a bunch of those too.

Will be connecting again to look over other things he has that he could not move himself like parts cabinets and counters... and he said he has all kinds of SA stuff and parts that he did not think anyone would want.

My friend has his own CCM museum and might like a CCM parts cabinet and more documentation.

My guess is that this gentleman is getting his affairs in order. I wish him well.

You are going to have to post an inventory of the S-A parts... lots of stuff is getting scarce, like the FW indicator rods.

Aaron :)

I have been working on an index to this thread for quite a while. Unfortunately, as I parse and winnow the posts for formulating my concise entries my mind always wanders... Oh well, I meant to post said index @ 5K but that will have to be reconfigured...

Trenchant observation; and a tip of the hat to the Late Great Jim Clark! (a Scotsman but still...)

That is some serious beer-retrieval equipment.

As a very, very light consumer of the olde "Celtic Ailment Curer" I have to tell you that if you can get your hands on a six-pak of Lagunitas "Suck" then do so asap.

Despite the indelicate "nom de guerre," --it is astounding.

But don't go there if you are a hop-o-phobe! LOL!

Lovely find indeed and British racing green on a Raleigh is special and a bit romantic but really isn't it more

" Black to a Raleigh is what red is to a Ferrari" ?

I've always felt that discussion forums were bad when it came to this sort of thing. Other than making a thread "sticky" is there some way users can index content that is visible to other people?

Speaking of trying to find specific information...

I've got a 70's Raleigh Superbe with 26x1 3/8 tyres. It's about time I replaced the tubes, they've collected quite a few patches over the last 17 years of riding. I know there's a difference between Schwinn and British 26x1 3/8, and I'm pretty sure a skinny MTB tube won't fit.
So, What's the best fit tubes for these tyres?

Good bike shops should carry the right tubes.

There's a difference between Schwinn's 571mm bead seat diameter and Raleigh's 590mm bead seat diameter (650A) tires but tubes aren't so fussy. Any nominally 26" tube that's reasonably close to the tire width should work.

Always ask for 26" x 1 3/8", rather than 26" x 1.375" and you will be OK. The latter is the Schwinn size, the former is the size for British 3-speeds. I know they look the same but that is one of those things that happens when humans are involved :)

I haven't found a bike shop yet that had 26x1 3/8 on the shelf, so it's always been a bit of a guess what would fit best. Most bike shops around town (Adelaide, Aus) pretty much cater for modern bikes only.

All of the bike shops should be able to order you some, CST does a budget one, Kenda do a pretty good one. I am sure if you ask them to order you 26 x 1 3/8 they should do, look into Co-Ops in your area too.

Time to move somewhere more vintage friendly :D

There are only 2 LBSes in my area, I know the one carries a wide variety of tube sizes, the other one is hit or miss. There is always mail order, which I use pretty regularly to get what I specifically want.

Aaron :)