Very nice work, @clasher, especially with the rear brake. Can we have close-ups of that? Maybe @Velocivixen can use your trick.

Did you have to modify the fork to accept the front hub?

Yes, @clasher - could you please give details regarding rear brake mods? My Tektro R559 enter from top & I didn't see any obvious way to do what you did. Thus the cable looks goofy.

Thanks @noglider.

My guess is that the Normandy hub fit fine. The Sprites had 27" wheels and 100 mm old in the front. At last that's the way with ours.

And yes, that's a very nice bike.

I was lucky that the normandy hub I found was narrow enough that it squeezed into the front fork without much problem and it has a tiny axle like the old raleigh hubs did too.

I'm heading to the co-op now and I will grab the parts I used and take a picture.I also have some tektro r559 and it might be possible to do the same thing with them so I will try but they have the quick release which complicates things a bit. Assuming your local co-op is anything like mine you should be able to find all the parts I used there, the second barrel adjuster is just from any old pair of single pivot brakes, even the crappy stamped steel ones use the same parts, and a cable pinch bolt with a couple of serrated washers were what I used. The v-brake noodle is optional but it should help to keep the water out. The pictures should make it clearer.

I biked to work and the park last week.
http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/...pslbduuixq.jpg

And today I rode my Superbe to work, too:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O...0/IMG_2383.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X...0/IMG_2385.JPG

Very nice. Looks like an early 70s? I have one and those gold decals on the seat tube would fall off if you look at them too long.

I'm calling it a '69, which is the date on the rear hub. The front dynohub is dated '71, so maybe I should split the difference and call it a 1970?

Well here's some pictures I took of the parts I used to rig up my alongha brakes. They're nice to use for these older Raleighs 'cos they have the cable entry on the same side as the braze-ons.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7712/...50b2ed7a_b.jpg
So I poached the cable pinch bolt from an old set of brakes as well as the screw-in barrel adjuster that I fit into the new brake's cable-pinch-bolt slot. I put a stainless nyloc on to keep it in place too. Some old screw-in barrel adjusters might need some filing to fit snug in the hole but I lucked out with the bin of adjusters we have at our co-op.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7750/...d80124fd_b.jpg
Here's a side view of the whole thing assembled, I used some serrated aluminum spacers on the pinch bolt to make sure it holds tight. I think they are the same ones that come on most caliper brakes, again our co-op has a whole bin of them but if you're robbing some crappy steel calipers they usually have them as well. The aluminum ones are nice because they seem to bight the cable nicely. I put a v-brake noodle on to help keep water out but left it so you can see clearer. The nice thing is that you get a lot of barrel adjuster length by putting two in the system.

The alongha brakes aren't amazing since they come with terrible pads but they work much better than the old steel ones.

I tried to rig something up with my tektros but the quick-release complicates thing and I think it might be possible if you could live with an acute angle on the brake cable but I would be more inclined to just drill out the rivet that holds the cable adjuster in place and use the hole to secure a screw-in barrel adjuster to the brake. It would probably yield a better angle on the cable.

Hope this is of some use to y'all.

Oh, and the whole thing in use:
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8696/...ebd959ed_b.jpg

Very clever modification.

Which Co op do you go to in Kitchener?

Snow is finally gone I see.

recycle cycles

It's pretty picked over this time of year but over the winter they have a good selection of old 3 speeds.

Thankfully, yes, though flowers, shoots, and leaves have been very slow to develop.

Reversing the adjuster and pinch bolt for the rear brake for stepthroughs is a brilliant idea. Thanks clasher. Makes for a much more elegant cable routing.
As a side note, Tektro does make left side long reach brakes. Model 800A.

Thanks for that, I'll be out that way in the next couple of weeks and will pop in.

http://i60.tinypic.com/e7kuu8.jpg
http://i58.tinypic.com/30nkv2p.jpg

Snapped a pic today of an inherited `76 Raleigh sports. Was all original but I through some down bars on it from an old gitane I have BC it feels more comfortable to me. Also put the gitanes old wrights saddle on it too. Rides great, is super clean and is great for tooling around the neighborhood. I'll probably keep working on it once I decide to fix the gitane up this spring.

I would not have guessed you switched bars, they look so right on that clean Raleigh. Good job !

My boy has been helping out down at the Coop for weeks, he really has taken to helping out with his old man. He's starting to really enjoy riding bikes, and naturally wants to take home every nice one he finds ;) and its hard for his N+1 dad to say no.. well he only has 3 bikes, and i said if you want to see if you can trade bikes then i'm fine with that. so he brings in his nice 20" Trek MT60 that he's ridden and loved for years, he is starting to outgrow it but he probably had at least this year to ride it. he tells me he wants to trade it for a raleigh "like yours dad!" .. he pulled out a 24" Raleigh Space Rider from under a few BSO's he had seen for weeks and would ask about it. I finally got a price on it, and worked out a trade for his Trek. his mother and I both questioned his thoughts on that, but he was adamant. I was secretly cheering him on! but i never pushed him into the decision, after we got it home he cleaned it off a little bit, tightened the fender down and took it for a spin. The front tire on this one was shot when I pulled it out from the pile, luckily I found another 24 x 1 3/8 tire laying around. He seems pretty happy about it, says he wants to do the Tweed ride in the fall with his dad :)



http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=449053

@GordoTrek, that's outstanding. Next, you two will be building a rear wheel with a 3-speed hub. Right? ;)

Nothing to do with Raleigh ( yet ), but here' s my daily ride, while my Triumph Sports 3 speed ( http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...questions.html ) is awaiting restoration.
It' s a 1954 BSA Tourer with BSA- 3 speed hub...

Peter

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=449083http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=449084

ha, that was the first words out of his mouth, is he wanted a shifter like mine, and why doesn't it click like yours when i ride it? off to ebay to check prices on three speed coaster hubs..

An AW hub goes for about $25-30. A coaster brake hub shouldn't cost much more. Maybe you should get an AW and install hand brakes.

Kids grow pretty fast. From the looks of the Space Rider, he'll be ready for a 3 speed Sports in the time it would take to restore a junker...just sayin.

Pedalpalooza is in June, and that means time for another Three Speed Ride in Portland, OR!
S H I F T to bikes!



THREE SPEED RIDE
Sunday June 21
meet at 4, leave just before 4:30
Omaha Parkway, N Omaha Av at Ainsworth St
(same spot as last year, in the parkway strip)

What better way to finish Sunday Parkways than ramble around the northern reaches of Portland on your humble internally geared three speed bicycle? Bring your trusty three speed bicycle from any nation. Three speeds preferred but any bike welcome if you don't have one. Casual paced ramble of approx 10 miles, fairly flat, with a little unpaved "rough stuff" action thrown in. We'll have a picnic and tea brew up on the way, bring all the necessities like food, a teakettle and a camping stove. Ride not a loop, ends near transit and adult beverages.

I'll also be doing another vintage themed ride, the Heavy Duti: Industrial Bike Tour on Sun June 7
S H I F T to bikes!