1940s Raleigh rescue - Should I or shouldn't I?

[robsa]

Ive got the red/brown one off fleabay for the rudge. The one that was on was a hideous 1970s plastic and foam rubber replacement that looked like a burnt loaf.
Paid £7 for the red/ brown saddle. Quality of finish is nasty to say the least , its top is made out of what looks like compressed cardboard/fibre a bit like old suitcases used to be made from. Got a coating on that's not quite thick enough to hide the graininess. But like Chris said, when I priced a brooks one up I thought yeah rightoh!
I think with a bit of ninja finger contortion the front spring is removable.
Think I'm going to rub it down smooth and try some dylon shoe dye gloop on it. Cant really grumble for something that cost about the same price as 20 cigs

 

[ChrisEyles]

Thanks for the heads up! I've just ordered the black version - hopefully with a bit of shoe polish it will come up looking presentable enough!

 

[robsa]

They do look the part and had a ride round on it and not uncomfortable . Just a case of how long till it falls to bits, had to go round it and tighten all the nuts up when I got it.

 

[mjr]

Mine has a period-correct-ish sprung gel saddle on it, rather than the horrible original 1991 PVC mattress... sme things are not worth sacrificing for historical accuracy and my backside is one of them!

 

[ChrisEyles]

Bah, we're moving house in a couple of weeks and packing has just commenced, so I guess I won't be getting much time to work on the bikes for a while (unless I can sneak in the odd hour ). Hopefully the next time I put up some photos, they will be of the finished bike!

 

[paddypete]

another way , using a vice and an old socket like this , voila.... a home made cotter press
View attachment 60377

if all els fails heats a treat

 

[paddypete]

pull out the seat post and see if the rust is bad inside the tube?

 

[paddypete]

pull out the seat post and see if the rust is bad inside the tube?

ps,for getting old bb's off,google paddypete1

 

[mjr]

I waited a full week after painting before any heavy contact on the frame - but then again I am making quite slow progress due to lack of free time, so it hasn't held me back.

I've just painted the newer set of wheels in Cardinal Red, and they look pretty good (piccies to come after a second coat). Hope you're happy with the finish on your frame, would love to see a pic when you're done

Life intervened so I also waited a full week before heavy contact with the frame but now it's done. I've still got to get the bars and controls back into comfortable positions and I've already muckied the paintwork by riding in today's slush (I did rinse the bike afterwards!) but here's a phone pic from before the ride

(I did move the back wheel back before riding because the chain was far too slack but I only noticed when I looked at the photo )

 

[ChrisEyles]

I like the paint job above! It's come out looking very nice indeed. Did you add the decals yourself afterwards?

Progress has been slow for me recently - we're moving on Saturday:



In between the box packing, I've got the bike nearly ready to go. Apologies for the picture quality, I'll do some proper ones when the dust has settled from moving.

I managed to get the front rod brake working nicely with the new stirrup/caliper I ordered a while ago. Still waiting for brake blocks for the back brake, but may live dangerously and ride the bike over to our new house without anyway (it's all along quiet coutry roads with no real hills on the way).

The new saddle is excellent for the price, and certainly feels a little different to my preferred B17 - BOOOOIIINNGGGG!

Mjray, now you've got me wondering about chain slackness/tension... I've never owned a single speed or hub geared bike, so I've not much idea what I should be aiming for. When I set up the back wheel, I quickly found that the freewheel bound up if the chain was under much tension (possibly compounded by chain ring eccentricity?), but now I'm wondering if I went too far the other way.... is there an easy way to guage this?

Promise to put up some proper pics when the dust has settled from the move and I'm tootling around the countryside in my flat cap

 

[robsa]

Chris, if you go on fleabay there's a guy sells fibrax pads for rod brakes think they are £3.50 a pair, I'd sooner buy fibrax than cheap chinese/indian ones that other sellers are trying to hawk for them

 

[ChrisEyles]

I've already ordered a set from cycles of yesteryear... they didn't specify the material, so fingers crossed. In the end they weren't as hard to set up as I feared, so can always replace if necessary down the line. I'll see how effective they are on a few test runs first!

 

[mjr]

I like the paint job above! It's come out looking very nice indeed. Did you add the decals yourself afterwards?

Yes. The downtube and seatpost ones are reproductions for a different bike from the same maker (Universal Super Tracker) and I've put clear tape over the seatpost one because it seems awfully fragile. The top tube ones are cheap name stickers in roughly the same font as the original but without the sun behind them. I've stuck the removed originals to paper and will scan and file them in case I want to get more accurate reproductions made in future but they are very 1980s.

Mjray, now you've got me wondering about chain slackness/tension... I've never owned a single speed or hub geared bike, so I've not much idea what I should be aiming for. When I set up the back wheel, I quickly found that the freewheel bound up if the chain was under much tension (possibly compounded by chain ring eccentricity?), but now I'm wondering if I went too far the other way.... is there an easy way to guage this?

Not sure if it's easy but http://sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html#tension says "adjust the position of the rear axle to make the chain as nearly tight as possible without binding. Notice how freely the drive train turns when the chain is too loose. That is how freely it should turn when you are done, but with as little chain droop as possible" although I simply try to pull the chain down by about half an inch and no more. And yes, chainrings are rarely round. The following section describes roughly how I move the rear axle (waaah, the paint job under the axle nuts is scuffed. Almost no-one will ever spot it but I know I did it ) I'm no great authority on this because this is my first HG/FG/SS bike for about 25 years!

Promise to put up some proper pics when the dust has settled from the move and I'm tootling around the countryside in my flat cap

Looking forward to it! It's still very much beanie weather rather than flat cap here

 

[ChrisEyles]

Yep, your bike definitely looks like it has arrived fresh from the 80s - I like it! When I'm done with these two, I'm planning on a 1980s FG conversion next, and will definitely have to dig out some appropriate decals. Haha, and I feel your pain over the scuffed drop-outs!

Thanks for the tips and article on the chain tension, I'll have a play with that and see if I can tighten things up a smidge.

 

[mjr]

Yep, your bike definitely looks like it has arrived fresh from the 80s - I like it!

Oh the originals were far far more tastelessly 1980s! Pastel grey and yellow triangles (honestly, how many people look at a bike and thinks "this needs more grey"?), as seen on http://bicyclerecycling.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/universal-riviera-sport-mens-bicycle.html (actually they don't look so bad there in a sunny picture... I disliked them more in reality!)