Very nice survivor you have there. It shows its age in a patina that resulted from use, not neglect. And I love that shift quadrant on the top tube. The newer ones are easier to use, but those old things look so cool. :thumb:

Thanks for help! :)

What oil should I use in the hub? Preferably one that would stay liquid even in the fairly cold -32 Celsius (-25 F) that is fairly common here? Should I use different oils for winter and summer, as the temperature can go up to 30 Celsius (~85 F) in the summer?

I think sixty-fiver uses a synthetic lubricant in the hub which stays flowing even in the cold. Not sure which one. Hopefully he will chime in.

Very well done! This is the kind of bike that inspires me to keep getting great old bikes back on the road.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=507015Old Faithful #2
Had this one out today. 1971 Hercules. It now has a black Brooks saddle on it.

Today I moved my studded tire MTB from the front porch to the basement, and moved my '69 Raleigh Superbe out of the basement and to the front porch. Of course, that might make it snow in what's left of winter, but I figure I'd take my chances.

Actually they should, with the exception of water on the rims. My '58 BSA stops quite readily. There are some tricks to setting up the brakes right and of course the alignment of the rims is crucial as any out-of-round really affects braking, unlike regular calipers. One often overlooked spot is the brake lever on the handlebars. They are softer metal and so can bend over time, reducing the brake travel before the lever engages the handlebar itself. They can be bent further down, but the supports on the handlebars must be supported themselves during this process to prevent them being damaged or snapped off (if that happens, its game over till you can sort out how to repair them). If set up right they do a pretty respectable job, less so in the rain but still manageable.

@bicyclez, that's a nice Pashley. I suspect we don't have that in our market here.

I don't think I've ever seen a diamond frame with three pairs of stays. Do you know what function that extra pair serves, ostensibly or in reality?

Super Newbe Raleigh Superbe Questions

I picked up a cute 5-68 hubbed Superbe and have some questions even after scouring this thread and Sheldon's site. Please help if you can.

1) Pronounced "Superb" or Super bee" (wouldn't mind knowing the Suntour pronounciation while I'm at it, hmm. )

2) No dynahub, light, or frame pump braze on. Was it normal to lack these? It does have fork lock.

3) What's the consensus on preserving this crusty paint as it (rusty but pretty solid and cool looking)? Super thick Wax? Motor oil? Linseed oil?

4) How much oil in hub? Coupla squirts a week?

5) Was a vinyl Brooks "mattress" seat standard in 68? 69? Or a B66? What color B66s on bikes that had them?



Thanks!

The Dynohub and lights were probably scavanged for another bike. My '72 Superbe has the pump braze-ons, as does my daughter's mid-60s Sports. Not sure why they'd be missing on yours, but specs can change from year to year or even more often with parts availability.

Wax or an occasional light oil wipe-down ought to suffice.

A few drops every couple weeks. I usually add some when the ratchet sound starts getting loud.

My '72 Superbe has a brown B66. My daughter's Sports has a Brooks vinyl mattress saddle.

I have a 1969 Sprite that has no mounting lugs for a pump, so it is something Raleigh did do sometimes.
I use a liquid wax on my bikes, easier to apply than paste and seems to work well.

@artclone, maybe the ideal lubrication interval is every couple of weeks as @JohnDThompson says, but the old hub is extremely forgiving. If you skip a year or several years, it will probably continue to work for decades. I'm not recommending that practice. My point is that doing something less than ideal to these hubs often yields satisfactory results, unlike lots of other mechanisms which really need service at the proper intervals.

I always pronounce it "superb".

As stated above, it's possible that the removable stuff was...removed. The 1968 catalog shows Dynohub and light as stock.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroral...talog-1968.pdf
As for pump pegs, it's also possible that they broke off. My '53 Rudge Sports only had one of the pump pegs intact.

Looking at that same catalog, looks like a Brooks B72 was standard for the Superbe and Sports. Listed in the catalog as "Brooks Butt Leather Saddle."

Also worth noting that the price of a Superbe in 1968 was $79.95. Adjusted for inflation, that would be $544.29 in 2016 dollars! (Prices US dollar.)

And since it's come up recently, there is a new source in the US for Fibrax "Raincheater" brake pads. It's Curious Velo in the Boston area. At about $10 a pair plus shipping, not a bad price:
Products ? {I am** Curious Velo
The do carry the rod brake version, too.

And before I forget, the first Three Speed Ride here in Portland is on Sunday March 20th!
Full details here:
https://societyofthreespeeds.wordpre...rday-20-march/

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1502/2...428a27d2_z.jpg

@adventurepdx @BigChief

Great info, thanks! The front rim, spokes and hub matches the rear, has R nuts, and the original reflectors like the rear. So if it wasn't an option to skip the lighting you're probably right -- a Sport front wheel or similar got swapped in. I imagine dealers would do the reverse when needed too.

Maybe broken peg got snapped off or maybe some just came without. But there isn't a whiff of anything showing it was there on the downtube -- but it may have been touched up. No big deal.

And I'd love to join that ride if I were up that way. Cool idea!

@noglider @JohnDThompson
Thanks. That puts my mind to rest how much to fret about not knowing when the last time it was oiled. I'll give it a couple squirts and let me ears do the rest.

Had occasion to return to the local antique place I mentioned a few pages back where I found a truly battered ladies' Phillips for a mere $40. No use asking prices at this place, because even the junk you cannot reasonably afford. Guy likes his stuff too much.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...p;d=1457142852

I took a pic of the drive side showing the only two unbent parts on the bike, the RH crankarm with PHILLIPS cutouts and the chainguard. Bike used to be red but has faded to silver mostly. Rear wheel is 40H Sturmey AW.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...p;d=1457142853

Seat tube had a great tubing decal that I'd never seen before, British Tube Mills Limited.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...p;d=1457142853

Also saw a nice Huffy Sportsman that is obviously made in England and has a 3SC.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...p;d=1457142854

I'd tweak this. . Soo-pare-b...not soo-purb.
The spelling suggests "en francais, s'il vous plait."

Bien sûr.

You know, it is a BRITISH bike. ;)

Yes but the English and French have the longest-running and likely most passionate love-hate relationship in Western history. They can't keep their hands off each other and their bikes.:eek:

To be honest we English hate pretty much everyone who isn't English and even then if you live down south you hate northerners and vice versa. But we do like moaning about the weather which today is freezing cold and snowing!

syu-PAIRB.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=507945http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=507946Here's an overpriced Raleigh Twenty in Toronto. Owner is asking $750.00....