photogravity

Thanks Keith. I am SOOO glad you started this thread! The fact this thread gets bumped as much as it does shows how in tune you were to the need for this topic. "No ordinary man" indeed!

hagen2456

wow!

oldroads

Looks nice.
How many teeth on that rear cog?

photogravity

It's a 24t... We have some BIG hills here.

Jawihan

Are those cogs readily available and if so from where?
Thanks
James

wahoonc

Quasi available. Best source I have found in the US is BikeSmith Design. He even has them in 26t!

Also a great place to get cotters and the best cotter press currently available.

Aaron

LuckyChow99

I second this endorsement. Mark, at Bikesmith, is the go-to-guy!

photogravity

Indeed, Mark is the go to guy and has 24t and 26t cogs available but they are not exactly inexpensive. The 24t is $15 + shipping.

I tend to be adventurous, so I bought a dozen directly out of Germany, six at a time, for about $8 each including shipping.

Don't get me wrong on this: I know Mark from having done business with him. I have bought almost everything he sells and he has a business to run so I'm OK with him making a profit. I am sort of an outlier with regard to this because of the number of cogs I needed. It would have been more expensive than I would have liked if I had purchased a dozen from Mark. If I was just buying one or two, I would have gotten them from Mark, but in my case a dozen was a totally different story .

Super.bee

I recently picked up a 72 or 73 Sports in OK condition, and since it's not pristine in any way am riding it every day and fixing as I go. Make a new fender clip for the chainstay bridge, Repacked the front hub, WD-40'd, drained/dried, and oiled the rear hub, trued, tensioned and polished (so-so job - some rust remains) the wheels, new tires. Old Dunlop tubes still holding air. Still running old brake cables, that changes today.

I put some Kool-Stop Eagle 2 pads on for this morning's rainy commute (improved over 40 year old black rubber!), but as many of you have noted, they don't fit in the front (hit the fork). Other than buying Continentals (special order where I am), what are some options people have tried? Upside-down? Cut them down a little? Are there Kool-Stop shoes that can work in the old Raleigh metal brake shoe holders? I am interested in whether anyone has interesting tricks to share.

Thanks!

Super.bee

On cogs:

I think I read somewhere that there's a theory that a larger than 22t cog could damage the innards of the AW. I guess hubs have an input ratio, can anyone report on actually finding the limit, what the conditions were and what breaks? I am running 22t, but would gladly go to 24 or more. I think it would broaden the appeal of the bikes too, as the climbing ability with 22 is already a surprise to most!

rhm

There definitely are kool-stop shoes/pads that work in the old Raleigh shoes/holders. They look like this:




The description often indicates they are for Campy brakes; but they will work in most old brakes. They work best in holders that are open at the back; if your holders are closed on all four sides, open it up at the back.

That said, I have had trouble finding them lately; could be they have been discontinued.

photogravity

Mark Stonich regularly ignores the minimum input ratio of his hubs and has not had any failures I'm aware of. I would think that as long as you are not mashing or hard shifting you'd be hard pressed to damage one.

LuckyChow99

I believe Mark told me a couple years ago that you'd be fine as long as you aren't standing up on the pedals and pumping it out. The larger the cog, the more torque increases. Also, the direct drive gear can theoretically withstand more torque than the other two.

Sixty Fiver

Check Kool Stop's web page... they are offering replacement pads for many more type of shoes than they ever did and Campy style inserts are available.

Continentals are a good replacement but they lack the classic shoe... one might also seek out NOS Matthauser shoes and pads which are the forerunner to Kool Stops.

rhm

Yes, that is always a good idea. If you see them, grab them.

Super.bee

Thanks a lot, will keep an eye out. I don't think I have ever seen these!

Is there a risk that NOS won't be soft enough to work?

LuckyChow99

Found these pads tonight at Harris Cyclery. Went looking for them, as I have two rod brake Raleigh's. Not cheap I might add. I tried to get my LBS to order them for me. They couldn't get them from J&B even though J&B carries the Kool Stop line. Apparently they never ordered this model.

rhm

They're from the 80's, which isn't terribly old. At any rate, the ones I have are fine. Though I might add, the NOS ones I've seen on ebay were hardly cheaper than new Koolstop ones.

Harlan

Got myself a sports today for a broken arm cruiser. Cream tires eventually. I'm happy since it was free.


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Sixty Fiver

Harlan, what a great find.

silvercreek

Wish I could find me one of those.

photogravity

Harlan, do you know what year it is? It looks like a late 60's model to me.

Harlan

Not sure of the year. Free as in I traded a free mtb for it.

noglider 

I think it's from the early 60's. And it's an incredible specimen.

I had a customer in a bike shop whose hard pedaling damaged the hub, but I was able to fix it. He was very large, and he looked strong. We had not changed the sprocket, but I think his mass made up for it. But I've only seen this once, so yes, I wouldn't worry. I'm about to put a 24T, and I'm going to ignore the advice and stand on the pedals. I'm 175 lbs, I climb fairly steep hills, and I might be towing some big loads, so it should be a good test.

It's fine that direct drive can withstand more torque, but I normally apply the most torque in low gear.

Sixty Fiver

Check the date on the hub shell... you can also reference the serial number to get an exact year as the hub date may precede the bike's age by a year.