Schwinnsta

I bought a new Kalloy 25.4mm X 350mm seat post and a Breeze plate so I could get better angular adjustment on a B72 saddle. The new post won't go in at all. The original Raleigh post goes in and I can set the height but more than moderate force is needed, especially to remove the post. Should I have the seat tube reamed? Or would it be better to sand a little from the alloy post? The new post is much longer than the original but it does not need to be. I could cut it to the same length and chamfer the bottom. The bike is a Raleigh Sports.

auchencrow

Forcing an alloy post into a steel tube is asking for trouble.
There is some variation in post diameters but if it's the correct nominal size you should be able to fit it - and removing material from the post is better than reaming the bike.
The excess length only increases the potential of a stuck post down the line: Cut it to length and chamfer it just as you suggested.

Schwinnsta

Thank you Auchen. I shall proceed that way.

Lenton58 

I just wanted to say that I have been watching this thread and you lords and ladies really have something going. I've been kind of shy to get to interested because these old beauties make me miss my old Raleigh so much. And today I came across my S.A. hub cone spanner.
Underlining mine. Yes! I loved my '58 Reg Harris Lenton Sports, but I cursed that hub. I am virtually certain that I sustained a permanent injury to to its slipping into free-fall when I was standing. I was in my early teens.

In Canada I have a Miyata double butted HiTen frame tucked away in a friend's garage. I'm thinking of turning it into a sit-up 3 speed, lighting, cargo basket, chain guard and Shimano 3 speed hub on 27 inch rims.

slowtostart

This is the Sports I purchased last weekend. I swapped out the brown saddle I had purchased for the Sprite along with the rack and trunk bag. Basket is a new purchase. New tires have arrived and will be replaced as soon as I get a lesson on wheel removal.

oldroads

Most shops can get them in “Pleather*”.
Otherwise you local Tack Shop has straps that work.

• Pleather: Plastic or vinyl which simulates leather

oldroads

The wheels come off easy. 14MM wrench for the front and 15MM for the rear.
Just disconnect the 3-speed gear cable and they are off.

blilrat

Not sure the length of the straps you are looking for, but I've seen some leather straps on the Acorn Bags site.

auchencrow

Go for it Lenton58!
(I would recommend another SA AW hub though. I never owned a Shimano 3spd, but from what I have read, the SA's are by-far the most reliable hubs you can get.)

Schwinnsta

Thanks, those will work.

Velognome 

I used leather collars, much cheaper...I mean economical.

Lenton58 

auchencrow: It may be awhile cuz I have to much on the go right now. But someday ... someday when I visit the hometown and fetch the frame perhaps. I readily accept that Sturmey Archer is the the most reliable, but I would avoid another SA model at all costs. AW? ... OK! Shimano does have an advantage though: I should be able to scrape one up for free. And the ground should be heaving with spares here. OK ... on order. Shimano usually takes about 4-5 working days. All the ancilliary parts are readily available too.

In Japan there are billions of Shimano hubs on mama-charis. These days, my wife and son ride uni-speeds, but we have had a couple of hand-me-down Shimano equipped 3 speeds over the years. But, they only ever came with 2 speeds working. That may support your comment. I'll be on the lookout for a Sturmey Archer to tuck away for the day I build my "black shopping bike".

ecsjr

And don't you have to put the wheels back on the correct way so the hubs don't rotate apart?

https://sheldonbrown.com/raleigh.html is your bible.

Sixty Fiver

I have owned several Shimano three speeds and ran them hard without having any troubles... they were not quite as smooth as my Sturmey Archers and the gearing steps seem to be a little farther apart... that or the older Shimano 3 speeds are just less efficient so you feel like you are working harder.

A hub I liked, that Shimano no longer makes, is the Nexus 4 speed which appears to have been too bombproof for Shimano to keep in production.

After that... the Nexus 7 speeds are crap while the later generation Alfine 8 seems to be pretty rock solid as Shimano has worked out all the earlier bugs and will probably discontinue the 8 speed now that they have an 11 speed which has yet to prove itself.

Will a Shimano 3 speed or any of their IGH hubs run out beyond 30,000 miles ?

We know that an SA AW hub will do that in it's sleep and have a very low operating cost with nothing more than basic upkeep.

The SA AG on my winter bike is a 1964 and was NOS... it will probably take me 10 years to run it up to 30,000 miles but I expect the next decade of use will be trouble free.

Sixty Fiver

The vintage Raleigh front hubs can only be adjusted from one side (non drive) and if they are installed backwards the cones can self tighten which will ruin the hub bearings.

Sixty Fiver

The Wayfarer is running a 1954 rear hub although it is a later production bike... the hub that came with it was one of the few I had to repair as the main gear on the axle had slipped off due to the retaining pin shearing off. I had another 1954 hub at hand and just swapped the internals and the shop I got the hub from took the old guts for parts / rebuilding.

Lenton58 

THANKS! Sixty Fiver!

Fenway

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Raleigh-head...item19cca34282
"NEW custom fabricated metal replacement Raleigh/Sturmey Archer type headlight or head lamp mount interface "bracket" piece. "

If this guy is having new ones made it's kind of a big deal.

Sixty Fiver

Just picked up my new Moulton Mk2... was given the choice of an AW, FW, or 2 speed and had to go with the stock FW 4 speed.

Should be a fun project... this is the bike after I packed it up for the ride home... the front wheel and extra alloy rims are small enough to be tucked into my rear pannier.

photogravity

That really does sound like a fun project. Probably the only thing that could make that project more fun would be for you to have had the choice of a Sturmey FG thrown into the mix!

photogravity

I think I may have posted this in its previous incarnation, but here is my 1956 Hercules Royal Prince after some additional polish and spit-shining. I am really happy to have gotten rid of the Wald fender stays...


1956 Hercules Royal Prince - The Evolution - 13 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


1956 Hercules Royal Prince - The Evolution - 5 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

markk900

Fantastic Herc....I agree - wire stays look more elegant (IMO), though they are hard to keep straight. Is that a 22T sprocket on the back? If so, did you have to add links to the chain to make it work?

Sixty Fiver

My friend has a Mk1 with an FW currently installed but showed me his new back wheel which is an ASC with the aluminium hub shell... should be awesome when it gets installed.

Would not rule out the 3 speed fixed option or a 5 speed IGH at some point either.

Sixty Fiver

Stunning bike pg...

photogravity

Hey Mark, thanks... These stays are the alloy stays from VO and seem to be a little more resistant to bending than the old wire stays. These are 5mm so they're pretty tough. I tightened the radius a bit using my vise to get them inside the fender and they didn't yield too easily.

As far as the cog, that's a 24t. I bought a dozen from an eBay seller in Germany. Where I live we have hills and I'd not be able to get up any of them without pushing were it not for that cog. When I first got the bike I replaced the chain, and put a 22t cog on at that time, so I did not need to add any length to the chain. Typically if you're going from the normally installed cogs (18 or 19 ime), you'd need to replace the chain or add links to the existing chain.