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I finally got The Sun ready for a run and it seems to handle really well, even if it is a little bit on the small side. Now I just need to think about finding her a new home…
I’ve left her as original as possible and any painting I have done was functional rather than purely cosmetic. Flat black rubbed back down to blend in with the original paint as best I could.
The rear wheel was stripped down and rebuilt, replacing the broken spokes and those that snapped on tightening with some 50-year old stainless steel Raleigh spokes. These have the Raliegh “R” at the hub end so can be easily distinguished.
The original Villiers freewheel was beyond repair so has been replaced with a modern part – although I have a vintage Baylis-Wiley freewheel which can be swapped in for “authenticity”. Chain is new and much smoother running than the over-stretched original Coventry.
Hubs, pedals and bottom bracket were all stripped, cleaned and rebuilt using high quality marine grease which is a little bit thicker than modern lithium cycle lubricants but lasts longer and repels moisture more effectively.
Rear brake blocks are original, just cleaned up and the repainted, the front blocks are NOS leather-lined jobs that work better on steel rims in the wet. This is Scotland and wet is a major part of the national costume.
The hide on the Brooks B2 could still do with some TLC and moisturising.
Still, not bad for a lady in her seventies…eh?
r:B
Just read this post on Thom’s Old Bike Blog and had to concur…
“…I don’t believe historically accurate restoration is for me. I don’t have the patience or the money for it. I want to ride, ride, ride. Not collect, restore, and display. I’ll leave that to others better equipped for it.“
Bravo! I think – with the added caveat primum non nocere – this is an admirable attitude to have towards an old or even modern bicycle.
Bicycles are made to be ridden and will never remain pristine if used as intended. The best we can hope for is that they maintain some of their original charm and integrity. Like Theseus’ ship, no matter how many times you replace the tyres, tubes, cables, brake blocks, chain, saddle, rims, pedals…it’ll never become “new” and is still, essentially, the same old bicycle. Isn’t it?
R:B
OK, enough of the teasing. Here are my two new ladies….
1938/9? "The Sun" by the Sun Cycle and Fittings Co., Birmingham
The Sun is a lovely machine in astonishingly good condition. The paintwork has obviously seen better days but there is no real rust and, although the chrome is sadly pitted and flaking in places, she is solid throughout. The tyres actually held air and it only needed the cones in her front axle tightened before she could be ridden around the block. Fortunately I spotted that there were a few very loose spokes before getting carried away and doing any lasting damage.
The Sun was originally to have been for my equally lovely and arty daughter who currently has a full-suspension Raleigh mountain job. However, she had her heart set on a hot pink repaint…so I’ve promised I’ll look out for a nice loop frame in need of new paint instead, preferably one that’ll take 700c rims. But I digress..
The pedals are by Brampton and the single-speed freewheel by Villiers, both reputable names in British cycle manufacturing. I’ve tried to be objective in dating this bicycle and so far can only deduce from the components – such as the snub-nosed Brooks B2 Lady’s Model, which I can only find listed in their 1939 catalogue – combined with the lack of a reflector and the homemade distemper/whitewash patch on the rear mudguard that The Sun probably predates WWII. I’ll follow up with some more photographs as I strip and rebuild her…
And then we have her friend…
1947 Rudge 3-speed Super Safety (Model 111L)
This Rudge – so I’ve been reliably informed – was originally bought by relatively local village blacksmith for his daughter and, as you might expect, was fairly well looked after. It still sports a period pump/inflator and a pair of vintage Dunlop Roadster tyres in spankingly good condition. Being 1947, this is a Nottingham Raleigh-built Rudge so it lacks the ingenious chain-driven brake system of the pre-war Super Safety but it is otherwise well-appointed and should clean up nicely. I only get to enjoy lavishing attention on her until I have her roadworthy…then she falls under the protection of my darling wife!
R:B
Light-coloured lower body clothing and oily bicycles don’t mix; partly the reason I’m restoring a 1951 Raleigh with a fully-enclosed chain. Over the years, I’ve seen many of my most comfortable trousers attract the characteristic scimitar-shaped imprint of a dirty chainwheel. Just ocassionally they were worn proudly, like a badge of honour, a virtual scar with a tale to accompany it. Not quite enough for some people, though…
This gallery of chainwheels and cranksets offers some exquisite examples of the art. I particularly like the Jugendstil-inspired efforts towards the foot of the page…but how can the rest of the bicycle compare, I ask you?
This guy Joel is a complete pedalhead ( I mean that in the nicest possible way) and has built up a fantastic collection of unique chainwheel silouettes. Honestly, many of these things are works of art in their own right. But assembling this gallery of engineering frippery wasn’t enough. Oh no…not by a long chalk! His project is to have a selection of them tattooed onto his arms…
rb
From what I can ascertain, the ratty-looking old Raleigh I picked up last week is most likely a 1951 Superbe Dawn Tourist. This was deduced primarily from the Raleigh/SA DynoFour hub and the fact that the frame is 21″ – the Superbe Tourist is a 24″ machine and the Superbe Sports Tourist has cable-operated caliper brakes. Oh…and the frame serial number seems to fit the 1950/51 period and the hub is most likely date-marked “51″ not “5T” as I previously misread.
I’ve hit one or two snags in my disassembly of the Superbe:
First of all, the handlebar stem seems to be bent and is well and truly jammed into the forks. I’ve given it a good bathe in WD40 but no joy. I’ll have another attempt using a bigger hammer and a wooden plank bracing the bars but I may have to try applying heat instead.
I’ve also uncovered a tiny hole which seems to have rusted through the inside of the drive-side chainstay. This has likely never been cleaned in 50-odd years as the oil-bath chaincase makes access difficult. I don’t think it has caused any structural weakness but I’d like to get it brazed up before I repaint it anyway.
The highlighted area in the photograph above shows a woodscrew (I would reckon a 1″ No. 8 BZP Countersunk, if you really need to know) jammed into the gap between the chainstay and the brake stirrup retaining bracket – presumably to tighten the bracket because the bolts had already rusted solid. I had to cut through them to remove both rear brackets but this one was “soft” and probably corroded beyond repair.
This lack of access is a major flaw in these bicycles. For example, to remove the chaincase, you need to first remove the crank and this can be awkward if the cotter pin is jammed. You can’t get a good swing at it with a hammer without risking the chaincase taking a smack! I used a plank and an old brass electrical conduit bush to support the crank and a long punch/drift and heavy hammer to drive the cotter pin. It finally worked although I may have to replace the cotter pin. The brass bush is soft enough it shouldn’t mark the chromed steel and has a broad hex shoulder that prevents it embedding itself in or splitting the wooden plank. The picture below actually shows the other side of the bottom bracket but you should get the idea.
The rear wheel rim – an original Raleigh stainless steel “Westrick” – has a nasty split along the edge which I only discovered after cleaning the muck off. I seriously doubt this could be welded so I may have to replace it with a chromed steel Westwood…if I can find one. Anyone have a 40-spoke 26″ x 1 3/8″ Westrick or Westwood rim?
Other than that, It seems to be coming apart nicely. Some of the chrome is in incredible condition considering the age of the bicycle and that dodgy paint job is almost falling off all by itself! The best news is that the Sturmey Archer DynoFour components seem to be original and complete!
So, while this looks like being a longer-term project, I’m on the hunt for another old British 3-speed to ride!
rb
