Raleigh Tourist
#2
Not an expert, but:
A Sports has 26-inch (590) wheels. See the explanation here:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/sports.html
The DL-1 has giant 635 wheels and often rod-actuated brakes.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retrora.../roadster.html
Variations of either model can have caliper, hub, or rod brakes. I believe there are Superb versions of each, with all the fancy trimmings, however, the common Superb is a Sports.
A Sports has 26-inch (590) wheels. See the explanation here:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/sports.html
The DL-1 has giant 635 wheels and often rod-actuated brakes.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retrora.../roadster.html
Variations of either model can have caliper, hub, or rod brakes. I believe there are Superb versions of each, with all the fancy trimmings, however, the common Superb is a Sports.
#3
Bikes are okay, I guess.
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Every Tourist/DL-1 I've seen had the bolted-on seat stays as well and extremely relaxed-looking frame geometry.
#4
Bikes are okay, I guess.
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I'm not sure if the Tourist name or the DL-1 model number applied to that bike for its entire production run but that sure looks like one of them to me. The Dynohub and light set might have made it a Superbe, if that name applied during that period.
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The "DL-1" model name has become a generic term to refer to any Raleigh 28" roadster in common parlance - whether correct or incorrect.
To be specific though, the Raleigh DL-1 is the most commonly known and last incarnation (excluding the current Raleigh Tourist DeLuxe from Raleigh of Denmark) of the 28" wheel, rod-brake Raleigh roadster with bolt-on stays and relaxed frame geometry.
However, if you go back to the 1938 catalog (at least the one I have on reference), the "Tourist" is listed as the Model 21. The "DL" acronym wasn't used until the 1960's, IIRC.
This gets stranger by 1948 (at least), as Raleigh expanded their 28" rod-brake roadster lineup. A new budget-minded Popular - otherwise identical to the Tourist - came with a hockey stick guard - Dynohub and lighting optional. The Tourist was now the next model up, with chaincase, dry battery unit, and Dyonthree hub. A third model, the Superbe Tourist, also popped up - basically the Tourist with a fork lock and green enamel paint. To make it a bit more confusing,the Popular was the Model 1 while the Tourist was the Model 2. The Superbe Tourist? Model 3.
By 1951, the Tourist gained a fork lock as standard equipment. At this point, the Superbe Tourist seems to be differentiated only by the green enamel and a Dynofour hub (the specifications are given generically in the catalog).
There are probably some other oddities in the middle of it, but a lot of catalogs that I haven't even had time to sift through have popped up in the few years I've been absent from the hobby.
FYI, the "Superbe" moniker was plastered on the Sports and Dawn models too. In the 1950's, it seems to be Raleigh's marketing speak for green enamel, a fork lock, and possibly a Dynofour FG hub upgrade. By the 1960's, the Superbe was spun off as its own model, and was usually a variant of the conventional Raleigh Sports with a Dynohub and lighting (some years also came with the the S5 hub, but that's not exclusive to the Superbe).
Also, by the 1950s, the "Tourist" moniker became tacked onto the names of some of the 26" non-bolt-on-stay models, just to give the Enigma decrypters something to do after the war.
I'm still pretty convinced that your machine is a Popular by virtue of the hockey stick chainguard.
-Kurt
To be specific though, the Raleigh DL-1 is the most commonly known and last incarnation (excluding the current Raleigh Tourist DeLuxe from Raleigh of Denmark) of the 28" wheel, rod-brake Raleigh roadster with bolt-on stays and relaxed frame geometry.
However, if you go back to the 1938 catalog (at least the one I have on reference), the "Tourist" is listed as the Model 21. The "DL" acronym wasn't used until the 1960's, IIRC.
This gets stranger by 1948 (at least), as Raleigh expanded their 28" rod-brake roadster lineup. A new budget-minded Popular - otherwise identical to the Tourist - came with a hockey stick guard - Dynohub and lighting optional. The Tourist was now the next model up, with chaincase, dry battery unit, and Dyonthree hub. A third model, the Superbe Tourist, also popped up - basically the Tourist with a fork lock and green enamel paint. To make it a bit more confusing,the Popular was the Model 1 while the Tourist was the Model 2. The Superbe Tourist? Model 3.
By 1951, the Tourist gained a fork lock as standard equipment. At this point, the Superbe Tourist seems to be differentiated only by the green enamel and a Dynofour hub (the specifications are given generically in the catalog).
There are probably some other oddities in the middle of it, but a lot of catalogs that I haven't even had time to sift through have popped up in the few years I've been absent from the hobby.
FYI, the "Superbe" moniker was plastered on the Sports and Dawn models too. In the 1950's, it seems to be Raleigh's marketing speak for green enamel, a fork lock, and possibly a Dynofour FG hub upgrade. By the 1960's, the Superbe was spun off as its own model, and was usually a variant of the conventional Raleigh Sports with a Dynohub and lighting (some years also came with the the S5 hub, but that's not exclusive to the Superbe).
Also, by the 1950s, the "Tourist" moniker became tacked onto the names of some of the 26" non-bolt-on-stay models, just to give the Enigma decrypters something to do after the war.
I'm still pretty convinced that your machine is a Popular by virtue of the hockey stick chainguard.
-Kurt
Last edited by cudak888; 10-31-19 at 05:29 AM.
#6
The DL-1 (Deluxe Model 1) was the last of the old fashioned English 28" wheel roadsters. Super relaxed frame angles, rod brakes, plain unribbed mudguards, simple frame lugs, bolt on seat stays and a rear fork instead of dropouts. Before the war, Raleigh made many different bikes with 26" and 28" wheels with different names and model numbers in this style, but they were all phased out in favor of the newer light roadster (Sports) frame except one 28" wheel model. In 1970, Raleigh started to market the DL-1 in the US as a bike especially for tall people since it was available with a 24" frame even though it was essentially a 1930s bicycle. Deluxe simply meant that it came standard with a Brooks saddle and one of those cheap vinyl saddle bags with straps that always broke. It remained in production all the way to the bitter end in 1980. That's why, while not common, you can find them here in the US.
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There are quite a few US-spec examples with 1968 hub dates (and '67, IIRC) out there - enough that it's a bit of a stretch to say that these are early 1970 production models. (Maybe Raleigh ran a test of the market in the Northeast?)
-Kurt
#8
Quick footnote to that - though it wasn't shown in contemporary US catalogs until 1970, I'm pretty sure it's availability in the US pre-dates 1970.
There are quite a few US-spec examples with 1968 hub dates (and '67, IIRC) out there - enough that it's a bit of a stretch to say that these are early 1970 production models. (Maybe Raleigh ran a test of the market in the Northeast?)
-Kurt
There are quite a few US-spec examples with 1968 hub dates (and '67, IIRC) out there - enough that it's a bit of a stretch to say that these are early 1970 production models. (Maybe Raleigh ran a test of the market in the Northeast?)
-Kurt
#9
Senior Member
Fwiw, the 1947-48 UK Raleigh catalog does not show the DL.1 as an available model:
#10
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#11
I always like to see pictures of projects as they come along. So please don't feel that unfinished pictures would not be interesting to us. There's no catalog reference that I know of for this Model 1 version. Looks to be a 22" frame and the green color is rare on these. Looks like the original Brooks B73 saddle.Cool bike
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#13
Senior Member
Here's the 1947-48 catalog page for the Popular:
In this catalog, at least, anything designated as a "tourist" has a full chain case. Non-tourist-designated bikes have a hockey stick.
In this catalog, at least, anything designated as a "tourist" has a full chain case. Non-tourist-designated bikes have a hockey stick.
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-Kurt
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Alas, 70's DL-1's were badged as Tourists north of the 49th..
Looking for pics...Randy had one.
Looking for pics...Randy had one.
Last edited by clubman; 11-01-19 at 06:36 AM.
#16
Senior Member
Quick footnote to that - though it wasn't shown in contemporary US catalogs until 1970, I'm pretty sure it's availability in the US pre-dates 1970.
There are quite a few US-spec examples with 1968 hub dates (and '67, IIRC) out there - enough that it's a bit of a stretch to say that these are early 1970 production models. (Maybe Raleigh ran a test of the market in the Northeast?)
-Kurt
There are quite a few US-spec examples with 1968 hub dates (and '67, IIRC) out there - enough that it's a bit of a stretch to say that these are early 1970 production models. (Maybe Raleigh ran a test of the market in the Northeast?)
-Kurt
And passed a lot of it on to me. My commuters back there were totally Sports and Twentys, and he gave me an appreciation for the Tourist that lasts thru today. That's my daily rider out of the current stable of 19.
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“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
H.L. Mencken, (1926)
Syke
“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
H.L. Mencken, (1926)
#17
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Here's my DL-1 Tourist from 1975. This is the 24" version and I've heard there are also 22" versions of this model.
Also, the handlebars on your bike look more like north road bars than what I've seen on DL-1s. Is your bike green? That would be an additional difference from DL-1s that, from everything I've seen, are black.