nlerner

^ Nice pic! Yeah, I like that SRAM auto shifting hub and ride that bike regularly, but I’m open to alternatives.

52telecaster

Seems to be a Gran sport. Got a ways to go on this.

nlerner

Today’s update is that I flipped that chainring and solved the chain hang-up problem, but the shifting on the rear hub still doesn’t seem to work, and the front Shimano dyno hub seems to have died. This project might be cursed!

jonwvara 

Flipping the chainring is a brutally empirical solution. That's probably what's cursing the hubs. It would have been much more elegant to shim the pants guard away from the chain with some 1mm spacers. Try that and I bet everything else will start working.

nlerner

Okay, update to my GS project. I ditched the Bendix hub copy and went for a contemporary Sturmey Archer 3-speed with coaster brake. I’m shifting it with a makeshift top-tube shifter from an S-A bar-end shifter that I originally modded for a Raleigh SuperCourse. Also added a V-O rando rack with a Wald basket and Acorn bag from a previous commuting build. The Shimano dynohub from the previous iteration seems to have died by the end of the first test ride, so this front wheel has an SP dynohub and Sun CR-18 rim. Other changes are MKS touring pedals and an old Brooks B.17 that possibly came to me on a previous Raleigh GS, and a set of SKS fenders that I previously had on a Raleigh Competition city bike build. Fender line is in the English style rather than French!

Prowler 

Very nice. But what does that last statement mean? I did not know there were various fender lines. Well, other than 'right' and various versions of 'wrong'. Thanks.

I've seen various versions of wrong on current production bikes: cruisers, e-bikes, etc

nlerner

Well, Todd, you might want to spend some time perusing the Raleigh catalogs. Contrast, for instance, the fit of this 1950 Raleigh Clubman's fenders (and it's not even a photo but a drawing!):


with Jan Heine's PBP bike (which isn't actually French, but French-inspired):

noglider 

Great job, Neal.

As for English fender lines, I heard about a garden in France that the owner called an English garden. It was barely tended at all. That's what the French think of the English, I guess.

nlerner

Okay, this project has evolved a bit more, this time with a completely different frameset! Thanks to @jimmuller, I now have a Gran Sport that's more my size and in the more unusual blue/white color scheme. Otherwise, components are the same other than changing out the grips for ones that are much more comfortable:

jimmuller 

Ooh, you've been busy. Nice work there!

You have plans for the derailleurs and crank that were on it before?

nlerner

I do not. Glad to return them to you.

bwilli88 

My 72, I have enough geared bikes, this made for a real nice single speed. GB randoneur bars, elcheapo tape, 105 brake levers, Weinmann center pull calipers, stock headset, SR seat post and stem, Brooks professional saddle, Raleigh marked SR crank and chainring, Shimano hubs, SS DT spokes, Araya rims and Swift Sand Canyon 27x 1 3/8 tires. What a nice simple but quick ride.

gugie 

Early 70's Raleigh Gran(d) Sport(s) and Super Course frames are chameleons. They can be damn near anything you want them to be. City bike, gravel bike, tourer. 27", 700c, 650b, fenders or none. OEM kit, modern brifter, or 3-speed.

bwilli88 

My other Grander Sportier that has been thru some gugification, a 72(?) With a stud mounted 8 speed shifter, stud mounted cable guide wheel, stud mounted Mafac Racers, 700c wheel with a Shimano 8 speed Nexus rear hub, Wald wood rack and basket, Vans grips, Brooks B17n and a carridice long flap saddle bag.

Build coming together


Need some good tires and a center stand kickstand





Looking for some nice gum wall tires to go with the Vans grips. Not sure I want to install the Wald folding rear baskets.

geluzj

Picked up what I think is a 1972 Grand Sports. Sounds silly, but I became obsessed with Dura Ace centerpulls, which I found on ebay and refurbished. So, in a search for a new townie/commuter project, I chose the Grand Sports. It fits the character of the DA brakes with its generous tire clearance and brazed-on rear brake hanger. I already had a selection of Shimano in the parts bin, so proceeded with a resto-mod-ish upright build. First step was a Rustoleum enamel overspray (Gloss White, Lagoon blue, and Clear) with the requisite sanding and polishing to achieve a decent smooth shine. Then, hang the components. As with every build project, there were some hitches along the way. The original fork bent oddly forward, with whatever happened causing a ripple in the head tube. I had to factor that when installing the headset. After sourcing three different forks from local co-ops and ebay that didn't fit for various reasons, I ended up buying a new aftermarket option. There was also a burr in the seat tube that mangled the original post, so I needed to smooth that out. I didn't do a good enough job, so ended up scratching my American Classic upgrade, which in turn I sanded, polished, and installed after doing a better job on the seat tube. Build finished, the now Gran Sports (Velocals sent me decals missing the "d") is an incredibly smooth and predictably lively ride. It's making me question riding my other bikes...


Before (seller image)

Frame stripped (almost, before I received the Stronglight crank puller), before painting


Oversprayed and decals applied


Build complete! Velo Orange Porteur bar, Tektro brake levers, Brooks grips, Crane bell

Panaracer Gravel King 32c, Electra rack – stripped and polished

Dura Ace centerpull front brake, 600 shifter, Tange Seiki headset


Dura Ace 7700 front and rear hubs

Dura Ace 7700 cassette 12-27

Dura Ace centerpull rear brake


Dura Ace 7700 rear derailleur, nice look at the Zeus dropouts

geluzj

Requisite drive-side shot

pontius

That's beautiful! My one and only piece of constructive criticism is I do miss seeing the pin striping between the blue and the white.

spike666c

Picked up this one at a yard sale a few years ago for $20. Sold it for a tidy profit.

branko_76 

The negative space of the new single chainwheel crank is a huge aesthetic improvement over the cluttered and clumsy original.

geluzj

Thanks! I was going for a somewhat pared-down vibe, but the pinstripes do add some nice detail. The middle white panel, in particular, feels a little empty. Still not out of the question...

geluzj

Thanks! I considered the original Stronglight with a single chainring, which would streamline the look a bit (I have an all-French build in the works that will get it). Ultimately, I opted for the all-Shimano build. I do like the results.

EddyR

Super nice looking restoration. 1/8 in tape works good for setting off two colors. I made my own cutting it as thin a 1/16 . I clear coated over it and it never came loose.
Ed

daka

I found a lightly-used '73 Raleigh Gran Sport on Craigslist and picked it up. Though I have other Raleighs, this is my first experience with a Gran Sport.



It came with the original Simplex drivetrain but the front changer was cracked (surprise, surprise!) and the rear had that chalky look that makes me not trust old plastic. Trying to keep the cost of the rebuild low, I restricted myself to using parts I already had so the OCD among us will quickly notice that the Huret rear derailleur seen here wasn't introduced until a year after this bike was built. "Period correct" maybe? I took the chainring guard off and put it on my '74 Super Course which is set up as a city bike with upright bars and is ridden almost always in street clothes. It looks more at-home there. The wheelbase on this Gran Sport is nearly 42 inches so I thought this was a good candidate for a rear rack and a load on the back. All of my saddlebags are currently in-use on other bikes.



The decals say "Gran Sport" though there is plenty of room there for a "d". Hard to know if it was removed at manufacture or later - It's the same on both sides so I'm going with deliberate rather than accidental.



I was excited to find that this bike was also sold new at Velo Sport in Berkeley, same as my International. I wish that they had put the sticker on the International as straight as they did this one.

I'm enjoying riding this bike. It is noticeable lighter than my '73 Super Course and has 73 deg. parallel angles instead of the 72 deg. angles of the Capella-lugged SC - a little more lively underway but still tracks like a bike with a 41 3/4" wheelbase. I know people often say that the '70s Raleigh geometry is all the same, but all four of my bikes are different with the exception of having a 22 1/2 inch top tube, which is a constant among them.

jamesj

Found this on the Facebook marketplace.

When I bought this someone had it set up with lots of origin 8 single speed parts a deep v white wheelset, even a blue chain to match the blue panels.
I knew it was a Gran sport by seeing the photos, Ive always wanted one but haven't seen one here in Arizona for years. The paint has seen better days and I think the only original parts were the headset and seatpost everything else was gone.

I think i might just leave the paint as is, I have some parts for it but will need to find some brakes, brake levers, and that little adjuster for the hanger on the rear. Also, I'll need to find a wheelset for it, I want to do 700c if I can.

bikemig 

I've wanted to find a Raleigh Gran Sport for a while. I finally found one in my size that I plan on building up as a kind of gravel grinder as it has space for large volume tires (700 x 35c tires). It has Zeus competition drop outs and I suspect it is an early 70s model. The rear triangle had been spread to 126 OLD and the hanger unfortunately was drewed. The first two show how the bike came to me in the wild. The last three are after I started working on it. The bike came with Mafac racer brakes that I'll swap out for Weinmann centerpulls. There's nothing wrong with the derailleurs that came on the bike so I'll stick with those. The wheels that came on the bike don't match but I have a decent set of wheels with Mavic MA 40 rims that I'll use. The rest of the bike is still in the planning stages.