Raleigh super sport

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

@jim haseltine



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/37539904...9Qc9XGfTyO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[pwebb]

Lol, if you give him £500 he is likely to spend it on more scalextric sets, star wars stuff and ancient bikes that weigh 2 tons each

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Expensive but. It's a very rare bike. Only made for 18 months if memory serves. I've only ever seen three and this is one of those.

 

[grantoury]

Beautiful. Put pics on the British bike thread.

 

[pwebb]

I admit I am a luddite on this topic, but £500 is top money for a project that hasn't even started and will burn cash. I reckon £60 on a 50's lenton frame is more like it and there are lots on eBay all the time and scope to recover some of the outlay needed for full resto.
I don't doubt for a minute that this is a rare one though, the same seller has a bunch of vintage raleighs. Sadly when I see this I can't look past the cotter pins and funny sized wheels , crappy brakes and comical fork crowns and cruddy sturmey archer so could never take one of these on. I would always have to do a restomod on a bare frame and use parts that are more desirable and serviceable from later decades at least. So I am a luddite and can't properly appreciate the history here.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

I admit I am a luddite on this topic, but £500 is top money for a project that hasn't even started and will burn cash. I reckon £60 on a 50's lenton frame is more like it and there are lots on eBay all the time and scope to recover some of the outlay needed for full resto.
I don't doubt for a minute that this is a rare one though, the same seller has a bunch of vintage raleighs. Sadly when I see this I can't look past the cotter pins and funny sized wheels , crappy brakes and comical fork crowns and cruddy sturmey archer so could never take one of these on. I would always have to do a restomod on a bare frame and use parts that are more desirable and serviceable from later decades at least. So I am a luddite and can't properly appreciate the history here.

You forgot 26TPI, Stepped cones, drop outs that take the flattened SA spindle, weird OLN dimensions. They were designed to take multiple wheel sizes up to 27". The Sturmey hub will still work when all others have stopped. The brakes work very well if adjusted correctly, they came with GB calipers as well. Comical fork crown? Nope doesn't make me laugh. Cotter pins are fine if fitted correctly, not once have I had a problem in use or removing them. If you get a chance ride one they ride well, your correct about the price though. To each their own mate

 

[jim haseltine]

@jim haseltine



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/37539904...9Qc9XGfTyO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Yep, that's the model that my dad had - except his had a Williams chainset and a FW hub and I only saw it after he'd changed to flat bars. I'm pretty certain that the only bits which still exist are the Dynohub, the FW and the SA gear cable pulley.

 

[pwebb]

I only disagree on cotter pins, all my formative years riding to school were spent on bikes with lamentably awful chainsets that came loose despite frequent maintenance ( weekly, sometimes daily by me) and having to frequently stop at the side of the road to find a rock to bash the cotter pins back in with. When cotterless cranksets came onto the market, there was a rush to convert all the hideous junk that went before and cotterless was the main selling point of low end bikes that were rubbish in every other respect but at least didn't have the dreaded cotter pins. Sturmey archer hubs also needed constant adjustments of the tension chain to avoid the dreaded slip that could leave you with nasty injuries to the groin. I can remember helping myriad other kids at school adjust theirs all the time too. There were 600 boys in my grammar school and about 400 bikes in the bike sheds. I reckon 75% had sturmey archer 3 or 4 speed hubs and the rest mostly had huret 5 or 10 speed.
Sadly only one or two boys had anything better at the time. Campag existed but was unheard of. When suntour components became mainstream in the next decade it was a revelation in comparison to what we put up with before. At least in the 80s I was able to buy my own bikes for the first time and spend my money on decent kit.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Cotter pins fail because of poor fitting. SA hubs rarely need adjustments once set. I've done many miles on both. We will agree to differ.