Sorry for the delayed response.

At the time it really had to have the wheels tried.

now that I have gone over it. Greased the headset, bottom bracket, and worked on the hubs, tried the wheels, it rides fine. It’s a bit small for me. I added a 20 tooth cog and new brake blocks.

unless the wife loves it(unlikely), I’ll donate it to a local charity. Hopefully it won’t end life as a lawn ornament.

I still wonder who built the bike.

I’ll include photos again.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7117ccf50.jpeg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...35dee1b6b.jpeg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...02c080d91.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...47db31722.jpeg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...03d94696e.jpeg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d3c42d7c8.jpeg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8f6ddc686.jpeg

Does anyone know if there is a shop/website that sells the two-piece clamps that mount the headlight to the traditional Raleigh-type lamp bracket?

https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2660...c3e52da60e.jpg

The later the bike the fainter the stamping on the hub. Try angling a flashlight on it from different angles.

I did...found "76" on the side opposite of the S-A logo. Couldn't make out the month code.

That's a start....
I find they start to get weak around '73 or so

A recently re-built WWII era Schwinn New World sold by B.F. Goodrich shops. I gradually reworked this up from a bike core over the summer and fall. I dig the 1930s art deco, wing chain guard.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...021_170621.jpg

I immediately recognized the chain guard. One like it
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...de6b724486.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e9379fd3a1.jpg
was installed on my 1946 Cleveland Welding Company Roadmaster I recently revived. Experts told me it was period but not original to the bike. It was also originally chrome.

Has everyone seen this bunch of 30 British 3 speeds for sale?

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...6&__tn__=!%3AD

This may be the same group of bikes but not sure

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...7-1b73d3ee4c86

I saw those - they're maybe 75 minutes away from me. I suspect it's two listings for the same hoard. Nyack and Congers are both on the Hudson, near the Tappan Zee Bridge/Mario Cuomo Bridge. It's about 75 minutes southwest of me, which is kind of a long way for hoard picking and looking for parts that may or may not be there still. I'd drive 75 minutes if I knew for sure a bike or parts I wanted/needed would be there. But Facebook sales by non-bike people can be tough in that you could drive the 75 minutes and, at the other end, things have been picked over already and it's just stuff you don't want or need.

Three in NJ.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...56540788229440

https://scontent.fric1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...-A&oe=636BAA0D

A neighbor very kindly gave me the 1968 Raleigh Sports he had owned since he received it brand new. It's always nice when people do something like that, and it's a nice change of pace from all the bad stuff we hear today. It was certainly a bright spot of my summer.
So over the course of the summer and fall, I cleaned up the bike and returned it to form. It was basically all there. A few parts needed replacing, but it's in nice shape. I got it back onto the road just in time for a couple rides at the end of the season. I have some temporary LED lights on it now, but I'll do a better set of retro lights over the winter.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...104_172613.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...104_172627.jpg

You would think this part would be common since those British tab style mounts were used for 50 years, but I don't have a single one in all my boxes of parts.

I'm sure I've got a couple of these. I'll PM after I look.

^ I might have one attached to a lamp that I'll never use. I'll check when I have a chance.

Thanks very much for looking. I tried a couple sources where I had gotten those clamps in the past, and they said their own sources for the parts had dried up. The clamps tend to get lost or bent or broken, so they are harder to find than one would think. It seems like a part that could be reproduced by one of the boutique makers here in the US (Bike Smith, Gentleman Cyclist, etc.). Maybe not enough to be made off of selling new ones? Anyway thank you for looking - let me know if you come up with any.

Pm'd

I think I might mention that to Jon the Gentleman Cyclist and see what he says.

FWIW that kind of mount was used for more than 50 years. Carbide lamps will mount on the same stem mount as the electrics do.

Mike, I have a couple of lamps with slightly different versions of that bracket:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5a001b0ef.jpeg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...af9daaa58.jpeg

Glad to bring one or both when we meet up later this month.

I also wonder if this would be a worthwhile item for 3d printing.

Neal, thanks. I sent you a PM so as not to clog up the public thread.

Such fine condition! How did the previous owner keep the B72 saddle so nice?

He had the bike in his garage for many years. It was always stored indoors. The saddle isn't perfect, but can still be used. What sometimes happens with them is they look good, then start to get used again, and break down under resumed use. So far, it has performed pretty well. It's a little tired feeling, but not bad. I've only put maybe 2 hours of ride time on it so far. We'll see how it holds up. They're all a little different.

I have one B-72 that looked outstanding and totally clean (it had minimal use), so I started to use it. The resumed use caused it to split at one of the nose rivets after just a couple of rides. Looking at it, you never would have expected that. Maybe it was stored next to a furnace or space heater where it was preserved on the surface but severely dried out under the surface.

I also have a B-73 triple spring saddle that looks awful - lots of scratches and surface crazing, but which has held up to about 6 years of pretty steady use. Looking at it, you'd never think it would survive more than a ride or two.

I have a B66 on a 1958 Raleigh that is original. It shows wear and has lots of miles, but is solid and rides wonderfully still.

As a natural material, each piece starts, and ages, a little differently.

The original B72 that came on my Rudge looked fine and I rode it short distances a couple of times. Then, I tried to attach a saddle bag and a chunk of the saddle, with the eyelet, fell off. Like you said, it was dried. The cover on a used Competition almost completely fell off after one ride. You never really know by looking at them. When my B72 failed, I played "damage control" and went ahead to buy a new Flyer S.

Two quick questions - I know the answers must be buried in the thread somewhere, but I haven't seen these addressed:

I've been riding my 1952 Raleigh less because I worry about wearing things out. I'm trying to stop worrying and ride it as my usual commuter again, but there are two things I wonder about.

1. Does the chainring come off of the crank arm for replacement? I've seen chainrings on Ebay that are threaded, so it looks like they just screw on. Is that the case with Raleighs from the fifties, or would I have to buy a new crank-arm/chainring combo?
2. I worry a lot - probably far too much - about rusting out the fenders in the winter, when the streets have been salted and spread with pumice after a snow. I've thought about putting silicone in some of the nooks and crannies - up at the top where the fender pinches in to the little silver "hood" ornament. Around the welds where the supports are. Does that seem like it would help? Any other tips for riding an old Raleigh in the winter?

It's not a pristine collectors bike. I bought it to ride. More and more often, though, I look at it and think about how old it is. Should I really be riding it eighty miles a week to work and back, in all kinds of weather? It is, however, by far my most enjoyable commuter bike.

The chainring does not come off the crankarm on most of these (with exception to road/time-trial IGH bikes of the period with Williams or similar chainsets) - you'll have to swap the crank if you want to change the gearing. You're probably better off changing the cog on your hub instead. Cheaper, easier, quicker to adjust if it doesn't turn out to your liking.

These fenders aren't thick steel, so I would be a bit concerned about corrosion on salted roads. Silicone may not be a bad idea, but I'd also look into the possibility of melting beeswax into the stay mounts. I've never done it myself, but it might work - I've heard Volvo did this to help keep water out of butt-welded sheet metal on their cars.

-Kurt

You're doing it right. These high quality '50's bikes are their 'best selves' as daily riders. There's ample new or great condition used parts available, especially on this forum at reasonable cost. Ask and ye shall receive.

Is it a Sports or big wheel DL-1 roadster? Pics?

If it's the same salt used on the roads here, don't ride it in the winter. They use a highly concentrated road brine here, which is sprayed down before snow, and then during the storm dry salt crystals are spread over the road. All of them are corrosive, with the spray brine being particularly bad for steel. I'd save the bike for commuting in good weather. If you absolutely must, I'd try a marine or equipment type spray-on like Fluid Film or Boeshield or something like that inside the fender wells and places that will accumulate salt/brine. Where I live there's a reason the classic cars and trucks disappear in November and don't come back until April - the winter road products are lethal to steel in short order.

I'll second fluid film, it's easy enough to get from the auto parts store. It's sheep oil [lanolin] so it doesn't dry. If you're using it on the bike in dry conditions it will pick up lots of grit and dust until it's not sticky anymore. Clean and reapply as needed.

Thanks for the advice everyone - New Mexico is not as bad as New England with the salt. It's a long story, but what I'm actually doing is a year-long project to see if I can use only one of the items that I tend to, if not quite collect, then accumulate, bicycles being one. With bicycles, I tend to ride one for a while, redo a bunch of stuff on it, which isn't too costly, but money dribbles out, and then I switch to another bike, do the same thing, and then repeat. Since I'm riding the Raleigh right now, for example, I find myself thinking about putting a front basket on, because that's something I really like about my other three speed, and I'm thinking of moving the rear light from the seat stay, which is where I put it in homage to the original design, to the fender, which would require buying another light. $50 here, $50 there, and it all adds up if you are doing that with several things - bikes, film cameras, darkroom equipment, backpacking equipment, daypacks, parkas, etc.

To answer Clubman above, it's a 1952 Raleigh Superbe Sports Tourist. I posted a bunch of posts, (and questions), about the rebuild as I did it a few years ago. I've ridden it in the Santa Fe Century, (about 120 miles if you add in the ride from and to my house), and have done some nice 50 to 70 mile rides, some on dirt roads. I ride, and love, it quite a bit.

There are pictures back in other posts, but here's a recent black and white one from last May's bike to work day celebration. I think you can tell that's my bike in front.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c194aa7f77.jpg

If you really plan to do this in the winter in the salt, be forewarned that the steel rims don't take it kindly. Unless you are diligent cleaning them after every ride, they will rust. The salt can also mess with the spokes and spoke nipples. This can lead to breakage but more importantly make the spokes difficult to adjust, which is important on steel rims, which tend to go out of alignment easier than alloy rims.

I had to rebuild the wheels after I bought the bike. They were completely rusted out, so it has alloy rims now.