alr

Let's start with some photos:







I have no idea how old this DL-1 is, but the person I bought it from thought it was from the 60s. There is not date stamped on the hub, so that is not helpful. Perhaps someone familiar with the font may be able to help?

It is somewhat ridable as is. However, it won't stay in 3rd gear, and in general I am finding the shifting a bit difficult. Maybe I should try some oil? How does that work? I definitely will have an experienced person look after the brakes. I would also want to swap out the sprocket for something more hill suitable. There is some rust here and there, but nothing too bad. I am totally excited to ride her soon!

I have to get rid of the seat. I hate the way it looks, and it is slightly too high for me even with the seat post all the way down. But that replacement, I know how to handle.

wahoonc

Good deal! It looks like a mid to late 70's model, but that is just a guess on my part. To add oil to the hub you open up the oil port (little cover on the rear hub) then squirt a bit of lightweight oil in. The stiff shifting sounds like the shifter could stand a bit of cleaning an lubrication too.

Aaron

gna

I was going to guess early '70s. My '72-'73 Sports is very similar. Look at Kurt's info at: https://www.jaysmarine.com/TH_ralsport_visID.html
On the hub, look for numbers sideways near the S of Sturmey.

I agree with Aaron; put some oil in the hub, and a drop on the shifter, then ride it.

Oh, I'm glad you don't like the seat--it's godawful.

Doohickie

70s or later, based on the italicized Raleigh script. I think the earliest I've seen that was in a very late 60s catalog, and it was only in some of the pictures (with square block text in the other pics). I would look again at the hub for a date, in a format like 65 12 (like mine has, indicating December, 1965 build date). The date code can be hard to pic up depending on lighting and viewing angle.

First, try adjusting the cable. There is a bit of a dead spot in the AW hub where it can slip out of gear between second and third. If you are slipping into that neutral from third, you cable is not loose enough. If you think it is loose enough, it could be a sticking cable.

When I got my DL-1 it seemed impossible to get it to shift right, then I finally got it dialed in.

As far as oil for the hub goes, I use automatic transmission fluid. Someone recommended it- either here or on Sheldon Brown's site- so that's what I used. (Here's a link to that site.)

To clean up the chrome, I recommend lemon juice and aluminum foil. It does a very good job. The chrome on your bike looks to be in excellent shape and should clean up great.

Here's a link to the thread I started when I was a DL-1 noob. You can learn along with me, a year and a half later.

Coreyk

Welcome to the fold.

Up the Roadsters!

The logo script on your chainguard looks like the version they used from the early 70s up to the end of the run in 1985. The typeface on the frame looks like the late 50s-to 1970s variant. My 1980 DL-1 has the same decal typeface as your chainguard, but on the frame.
Check the left side of your seat clamp lug-you'll likely find the serial number there. Cudak88 has an excellent Raleigh serial number decoder on his web site:
https://www.jaysmarine.com/TH_raleigharchives.html

You ought to be able to find a good Brooks saddle locally in Seattle. It would have had a B-66 or a B-72 for that year.
Recycled Cycles out on Boat Street next to the U might have some parts, or know who to talk to for any bits and bobs you need.

Congratulations!

Corey K

Sixty Fiver

I'd put a little oil in that hub and a drop of oil in that shifter and take the old girl for a ride before you start messing with anything else... if you aren't ready to tear down that bottom bracket (the grease could be pretty gummy) I'd pour a tablespoon of oil into the top of the seat post too. This will find it's way down to the bb, reconstitute the old grease, and flush things out.

I'd be sure to put a few rags under the bb and rear hub to catch any overflow... I use these rags to wipe down the frame and fenders as a little light oil on a cloth does wonders to protect a steel frame, especially in a wet climate like yours.

If that shifter is still causing you grief after a few miles of riding it may need adjustment...

It needs to be set up when the bike is in 3rd gear and the way I find works best is to set the cable tension so that it has the smallest bit of slack when the bike is in 3rd, and that this slack is such that a light touch on the shifter takes it up before actually shifting into second.

There are different indicator spindles for 3 speed hubs and sometimes they get replaced with one of a different length so setting things up visually is not always accurate... I have set up so many 3 speeds that I know when the hub is shifting correctly and can always fine tune things on the test ride.

Check the front hub to ensure that the adjustable cone is on the non drive side... the best advice I can give is to suggest you read Sheldon Brown's "The Care and Feeding of English 3 speeds" as he was my mentor in much of what I now know.

alr

Thanks for the heads up for locating the serial. It is 3063820, which according to the website you directed me to corresponds to 1972 if I am using the System "196X" information.

For the saddle, I will definitely be going with a Brooks. I am thinking though I might try a B18 Lady model.

In any case, I may let the good folks at recycled cycles make it road worthy since we are now heading into the prime sunny, no rain riding season in which I would love to be riding this bicycle, and my time and skills are rather limited. I will focus my efforts more on improving its aesthetics.

Thanks to everyone for suggesting Sheldon's website and oiling advice. I will be adding some even before I take it to the shop to help the situation.

alr

Both sides and their nuts look the same to me. I can't figure out what the adjustable cone should look like. Could you please share a photo?

mkeller234

Edit, I see the serial number confirmed the date

buck mulligan

The adjustable cone has wrench flats; the fixed cone does not. It's easy to tell the difference, if you can see the cones - they're awfully hard to get a good look at. Inside the fork, there's a locknut, then a fairly thick spacer, and then the cone. Probably, no more than a millimeter or two is showing - which makes it hard to spot those wrench flats. Try using a bright flashlight and see if that helps.

Edit: Please ignore the stuff in the silver text - it's completely wrong. I was thinking of the rear hub for some reason; the front hub has no locknuts other than the wheel mounting nuts on the outside of the fork. I woke up this morning and realized that I had typed something completely stupid, and it needed to be corrected.

But still - if you can get a good look at the cones, you ought to be able to see which one has the wrench flats, and a strong light might help. That part, at least, was right.

Maddox

Congrats on the find! That's a relatively rare piece of cycling history, and work keeping up and using.

Very cool. Post photos once you've cleaned it up and got it running.

alr

So I had the shop install a larger rear sprocket, and they went with a 20 tooth, which I hope will be adequate for my hill climbing needs. Also, it is shifting much better after oiling the hub and shifter itself. I have a Brooks saddle on the way to me, so that will happen very soon. Next I will get to the clean up.

I have a couple of questions: one of the pedals is bent where it meets the crank. Would it be unwise to take a hammer to it to straighten it out? I am a little concerned for the fortitude of the cranks themselves-- not sure if they might get bent in turn.

Second: Has anyone found an easy to source rear rack that will fit on the back of this beast? I have an old Steco that came off a 70s Peugot mixte, which I though would work, but it turns out to have arms that are about 2" inches too short. Do these racks come in 2 sizes? this one on this Dutch website I found seemed to indicate that they would fit over a 28" wheel, despite looking identical to my too-small steco rack.

NormanF

A Steco rack with a fold down stand can be obtained from classic-cycles.de in Germany. Its not listed on the site so contact the owner and he will get one and ship it to the States. I have one like it on my Pashley Guvnor Roadster.

wahoonc

Yellow Jersey also has a rack that will the DL-1 for ~$30. I have seen it on a couple of bikes and it looks decent.

Aaron

Coreyk

You can do a lot of damage to the whole drive train that way. If they are rebuildable pedals, see if you can find a good used pedal shaft from Recycled or somewhere. Or if they are not rebuildable, like the later Union pedals that Raleigh switched to later in the 70s, spring for a new set of similar pedals from MKS or the like.

Good luck!

CK

mickey85

Spray a crapload of WD40 into the hub and just let it work for a few miles. It'll leak out and make a mess of things, but it'll clean all the gummed up crap out of it.

brianinc-ville

Re. the rack: extra-tall racks for the DL-1 do exist, but A) they're expensive and B) since the bike doesn't have an extra mounting hole for it, you have to use the bolt that secures the seatstay to the chainstay, which never quite seemed like a good idea to me. I just used an ordinary-sized rack with P-clamps -- highly successful.

alr

Ok, I will put the hammer away-- I rather suspected the hammer idea was not a good one... I have a pair of the MKS rubber pedals on my mixte, and they are a lot clunkier than the unions on the DL-1. I think I actually like the union pedals better. More likely, I will look for some similar on ebay or something.

Maddox

Okay, now I want to know - how much did you get it for???

I think I'm keen on fair market value for that beaut, but I'm just interested what kind of deal you got on it...so tell. What'd it cost ya?

alr

I am quite proud to say that I paid $80, which I am really surprised to find in the Seattle craigslist market (I would have expected to pay more). There is currently a newer men's DL-1 on CL where the owner is collecting offers starting at $200. Perhaps that is too high given the length of time it has been up. Maybe it is also the auction-like format of the ad-- I don't know. I have been looking locally on CL for a ladies DL-1 for awhile, and this is the first ladies version to come up. Around here, the ladies version seems to be relatively more rare. Such as it was, I did not hesitate to pick her up. The former owners wife was kind enough to find me a wrench to lower the seat to test ride, and to help me load it inside my car, which itself is no small task given its length. It would not fit on my thule roof rack, but barely fit in the back of a 1990 honda civic. I love that car for hauling stuff.

Maddox

My thought process at reading your post:

(Shock: "Eighty bu....Wha...? Huh?...")

(Denial: "No, It can't be, surely it can't...")
(Rage: "GAAAH! Why can't my city feature such awesomeness on CL???")

(Acceptance/Sadness. I will probably never be as fortunate.)

Eighty bucks is a flippin' steal. From most CLers in my town, that would get you a Columbia "looks like a Raleigh" three speed frame only, rusted to junk, only suitable for scrap. Congrats on finding a dream bike, in fantastical condition, at a price I don't want to believe.

You found a diamond. Congratulations!

Coreyk

Eighty bux?

<golf clap>

Well done. Mine was a steal at nearly 4 times that price. Also a Craigslist deal.

You might well find some decent Union pedals on E-bay, but check Recycled Cycles first. They might have some around -they weren't rare in the 70s.
Or ask here. Lots of folks have goodie drawers in their workshops.

Corey K

wahoonc

That type of bike doesn't even show up our CL...we get great deals on Magna's and Nexts at 100% of retail and roadies trying to unload last year's carbon fiber wonder at 90% of retail because they want the latest and the greatest buy haven't finished making the credit card payments on the current one.

I managed to snag a DL-1 from CL in Davenport, IA for ~$130 in excellent condition and was very pleased with the price, getting from IA to NC is going to be fun, but I will be heading back out there in a few weeks...nice to have a bike waiting for me.

Aaron

gna

80 DOLLARS? GUH!

You should buy a lottery ticket, too, and see how long this run of luck lasts.

alr

This bicycle just gets more and more fun to play with! I am in love with the ever so smooth way it rides, and like a lot of people have noted, I was not so pleased with the way nearly 40 year old brake pads-on-rod-brakes brake. So, luckily I was able to source some replacement brake pads locally over the weekend, and I just spent 2 hours putting them on and adjusting the brakes to the best of my ability. I had to bend the replacement brake pads since they were not made to the same angle as the originals. Once I figured that out, things became much better. Without test riding, I am pretty happy with the way the front brakes are adjusted, but the rear is a bit of a mess. One of the pads hits the rim before the other does, and I cannot figure out why. I am guessing that the rear stirrup is perhaps bent or not even. Without getting the bicycle on a stand, I don't think I am going to figure it out, so I will ride as is for now. The replacement pads crack me up, as they claim to be "for use in all weather conditions"-- that is certainly most likely not the case on this DL-1.

Yet another question I have is this: I would like to raise the stem up a little bit, and I thought I would be able to do that by loosening the bolt at the top of the stem. But once it was all unscrewed, the stem would not budge. Does this mean it is stuck, or am I not doing it right? I have not tried using chemical means of loosening it yet, as I am not sure I was even going for the right bolt.

I have put on a new Brooks B18 lady saddle, and that is improving appearances quite a lot, but I have not been able to find an unbent pedal as of yet. I am also thinking I might go ahead and order a steco rack (the one without the stand) from the Netherlands, since I am 99% sure it would work. I measured a steco rack I saw on a Dutch bicycle parked at work today against my arm, and the stay on that thing is quite long-- and it was mounted quite level on the 28" wheeled Dutch bicycle. Now I have to assume that is the same one I see in the tiny pictures on the internet store. I also finally discovered a number stamped on the hub, which is either a 6 or a 9, which would predate the 72 date of the frame.