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Roadsters Only: Let's See Them!

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Roadsters Only: Let's See Them!

Old 09-26-20, 04:44 PM
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BFisher
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Roadsters Only: Let's See Them!

Raleigh, Gazelle, Flying Pigeon, CWS, English, Dutch, Italian, Chinese...Let's hear it for the humble roadster. Not your light, "Sports" types - I'm talking about the full Monty.
I just picked up this Raleigh Tourist and have been cleaning it up. What a fantastic beast!


Who else is rollin' the big iron?
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Old 09-26-20, 05:33 PM
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I have this Forever roadster from the mid-70’s that was one of the first things that came over from China after Nixon’s visit opened the doors. It’s better made than more modern ones, and rides pretty good, although it’s really a bit small for me.
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Old 09-26-20, 09:31 PM
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I've had several Tourists pass through my hands but, while I like the idea of the bikes, I've never felt the love.
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Old 09-26-20, 09:40 PM
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I really ought to take a new picture of this one. '79 Rudge. I think it qualifies as the "full Monty."



-Kurt
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Old 09-26-20, 09:55 PM
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You cannot get much more full monty than this 83 Gazelle opafiets. Brooks B72 with a Brooks leather saddle bag, Wald folding baskets on the rear. Sturmey-Archer drum hubs front and rear, Dyno front, 5 speed rear laced to 28x1 1/2 635mm stainless rims with Schwalbe Delta cruiser tires. Double leg kick stand and fork centering springs. Rides like a Cadillac from the 50s. It even has the Wald bags for the folding baskets.

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Old 09-26-20, 09:59 PM
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Had this janky old DL1 for some time. I sold it to a better home. It looks a lot better in this picture than it did in real life! The rims were a little rusty so they ate brake pads, the paint was pretty flaky, and the headlight kept popping open and dumping its batteries on the ground! But the ride sure was smooth.

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Old 09-27-20, 08:17 AM
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Great additions so far! Mine has a '75 AW hub, and a '77 serial #. It was missing its Brooks saddle, so I put the B66 on it.

Keep 'em coming.
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Old 09-27-20, 08:39 AM
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My 1980 Tourist

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Old 09-27-20, 10:33 AM
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1942 CCM with an AB rear hub, iirc. Over 40 lbs as is.

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Old 10-09-20, 10:41 AM
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First ride on the Tourist today - 15 miles.
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Old 10-09-20, 11:33 AM
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I keep watching for one locally to show up at a decent price. Want to replace my too small AMF Hercules with a properly sized roadster for my around town errand cruiser.
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Old 10-09-20, 12:11 PM
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Originally Posted by jamesdak
I keep watching for one locally to show up at a decent price. Want to replace my too small AMF Hercules with a properly sized roadster for my around town errand cruiser.
Hope you snag one. No doubt these are land yachts, but talk about stable and smooth. It was a really nice ride! I'm glad I found this one, and at a great price, too.

I passed on a much older one years ago, also very reasonably priced, and it bugged me just a tiny bit later on.
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Old 10-09-20, 05:35 PM
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They are indeed a lovely ride.....


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Old 10-09-20, 05:52 PM
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@markk900, That is quite nice, a great color too. But, I would call that a Sports model. A light roadster, if you will.

What I'm looking for here are the full-on roadsters. Characteristics usually (but perhaps not always) include slacker frame angles, rod brakes, 635 wheels.

I don't want to take away from the glorious and world famous English 3 speed thread. I thought it strange that there wasn't a dedicated thread just to showcase the true behemoths, so I fired one up.
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Old 10-09-20, 06:39 PM
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Here's my 1986 Gazelle, imported back to Canada by the original owner after she rode it there for the summer when she bought it new. All I did was put Schwalbes on it, a newer seat and saddlebags.
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Old 10-09-20, 07:32 PM
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Originally Posted by BFisher
@markk900, That is quite nice, a great color too. But, I would call that a Sports model. A light roadster, if you will.

What I'm looking for here are the full-on roadsters. Characteristics usually (but perhaps not always) include slacker frame angles, rod brakes, 635 wheels.

I don't want to take away from the glorious and world famous English 3 speed thread. I thought it strange that there wasn't a dedicated thread just to showcase the true behemoths, so I fired one up.
My apologies - you are right - it certainly is a “Light Roadster”.....
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Old 10-09-20, 07:37 PM
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Originally Posted by markk900
My apologies - you are right - it certainly is a “Light Roadster”.....
No harm done. I don't think I've ever seen that make in that color in that size.
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Old 10-10-20, 10:22 AM
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I've got two, had a third, and I absolutely love them. The first is a 1972 Raleigh Tourist that is one of my two daily commuters:




The second is a virtually new Flying Pigeon with a problem: You can't get it to ride more than ten miles without puncturing the rear tube on the inside. Which is why I was able to buy it for $50.00 (the seller pointedly did not mention the problem, and I didn't think much about the bike having a flat rear at the time). Having repeatedly changed, added and modified rim strips, I've figured that the wheel rim will not let the tire seat properly, ensuring the tube rubs against the rim and eventually wears thru. Rather than find a new rim and rebuild the wheel, I'm looking for a nice condition used DL-1 Tourist (or equivalent) rear wheel to replace it with.




Finally, the sad one: 1935 Armstrong, which was in restoration for use by a WWII reenactment British Women's Land Army group. The picture shown here was taken two days before my garage/shop burned to the ground, destroying the bike.




I was very fortunate during my professional mechanic days to work for a shop where the owner was absolutely passionate about roadsters (and hated 10-speeds, not exactly the best business attitude during the Bike Boom) where I learned to work on them, as well as appreciate them - and British 3-speeds in general.
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Old 10-10-20, 11:08 AM
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halb

Why are we quoting Argus Hamilton's bit of bigotry?
Have you seen Arnaud De'mare in the Giro? 3 sprint wins so far.
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Old 10-10-20, 12:57 PM
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My '80 DL-1 Export model, with 26" ballon tires:



A friend had those 2 in a garage for many years and brought them to me to make them rideable again:
'80 DL-1


Ladies '48 1L Popular
This was identified with the help of BF member cudak888 who knows a lot about old Raleighs


Wasn't able to post them in the 3 speeds thread, as all 3 are SS...

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Old 10-10-20, 03:20 PM
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@halb, please stay on topic. Take any issue you have up with the member and/or mods.

This thread is about roadsters. Do you have one?
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Old 10-10-20, 05:08 PM
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halb

Do I have a roadster? I was going to say, "No," but remembered my '62 Schwinn Traveler.
3 speed SA, steel fenders, rims, chain guard, upright, spring saddle, heavy...maybe I do.
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Old 10-12-20, 06:42 AM
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Originally Posted by halb
Do I have a roadster? I was going to say, "No," but remembered my '62 Schwinn Traveler.
3 speed SA, steel fenders, rims, chain guard, upright, spring saddle, heavy...maybe I do.
Ironic how a Schwinn Traveler is technically a "light" Roadster. I wonder if a US DL-1 and a Schwinn 3-speed of the era would weigh in about the same.

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Old 10-12-20, 10:26 AM
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Traveler weight

Using a bathroom scale, 41.4 for the Traveler.
Includes an empty Schwinn Approved saddle bag, and Stewart Warner speedo. Generator and lamp missing.
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Old 10-12-20, 11:36 AM
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Here is my former Raleigh DL1.



I have since sold it. I picked it up at a garage sale. I wasn't looking for a Roadster, however, I thought that at least I would get to experience what this old relic was like. It came with an aftermarket mattress saddle. I added the B72 saddle, the rack, the kickstand and the light after I bought it. I became kind of enamored with it. I like it's laid back smooth ride. I did not like the slowing power of the brakes or the fact that it was just a bit big for me. I ended up selling but not without some lessons learned.

This bike made me think "wouldn't be great to have a bike with the DL1 frame geometry and more modern brakes?". I have seen some people online that did exactly that and it makes sense if I ever come across a DL1 frame that has been hacked. My Schwinn Continental has laid back geometry and Bowden cable brakes. It has some similarities to the DL1. In fact, it makes me wonder how Schwinn developed their frame geometries. They surely were looking at other successful bikes.

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