1980 Raleigh ‘Denim’ Eighteen

[ChrisEyles]

Really enjoying following this restoration, cracking job you're doing! I feel like a right bodger now after seeing this level of attention to detail

 

[Survivor Bikes]

Aw thanks @ChrisEyles you’re a gent. I really enjoy putting these bikes back on the road. There’s plenty more where this came from 😊

 

[ChrisEyles]

There is something enormously satisfying about restoring a quality machine to its former glory and getting it back on the road, isn't there?

 

[Survivor Bikes]

Sure is. These bikes deserve another 40 years plus of use.

 

[Survivor Bikes]

So I took that AW hub apart; and discovered it had been originally fitted to the Titanic...

Then I cleaned up all the bits.

And assembled my instruments.

Replaced all the bearings, and re-sprung the pawls

Got the planets and the sun back in harmony.

Buttoned it all back up.

And had a nice chilled bottle of fizzy water 💦

 

[Cycleops]

That SA must have been a SoB to reconstruct SB. Full respect.

 

[rogerzilla]

They're really easy. The only part that needs a bit of technique is fitting the planet cage "R" springs. Unscrewing the RH ball cup ftom the shell takes a lot of brute effort, too.

 

[Chris S]

View attachment 532390

I didn't know they used 1/4 inch ball bearings, the same as a bottom bracket. If you've got a scrap hub then you can use them from it in an emergency.

 

[rogerzilla]

3/16" for the big ball race (the one that allows the sprocket to turn at a different speed to the shell).

 

[johnnyb47]

What a great thread and amazing attention to detail.. Thanks for taking the time sharing all your hard work on this 👍👍

 

[Survivor Bikes]

That SA must have been a SoB to reconstruct SB. Full respect.

Thanks I love doing these; and it’s not as daunting as you may think. I find servicing all SA hub variants to be very satisfying.

 

[benb]

This is amazing.
It makes me want to get my frame repainted!

 

[Survivor Bikes]

What a great thread and amazing attention to detail.. Thanks for taking the time sharing all your hard work on this 👍👍

It’s a pleasure @johnnyb47, and thanks to everyone for their positivity

 

[johnnyb47]

Years ago back in the 80s when BMX bikes were all the rage i used to watch my mates doing stupid things on them. I was never into the BMX craze and my Peugeot road bike would be parked up out of harms way, whilst i watced the crazy stunts going on. They also used to hold dares of who could jump off the highest wall. The retaining wall was about 200 metres long with the field behind
, dropping away from around 3 ft to around 20ft. One of my mates thought it a great idea to borrow his mums Raleigh Twenty and join in the (as we called them "drop offs")
The kids with the there Raleigh Burners and Ammacos were soon flying off the edge of the wall upto around 5ft high as well as my mate on his mums Raleigh Twenty. With all the egging on going on, only the brave ventured further along going to around 6/7ft in hight.
That also included my mate on his mum's shopping bike, until the poor thing finally gave up with the frame snapping. We didn't see much if him for the rest of the School holidays funnily enough. From all accounts he got a good hiding and was grounded for wrecking his mums bike.😭

 

[Survivor Bikes]

Years ago back in the 80s when BMX bikes were all the rage i used to watch my mates doing stupid things on them. I was never into the BMX craze and my Peugeot road bike would be parked up out of harms way, whilst i watced the crazy stunts going on. They also used to hold dares of who could jump off the highest wall. The retaining wall was about 200 metres long with the field behind
, dropping away from around 3 ft to around 20ft. One of my mates thought it a great idea to borrow his mums Raleigh Twenty and join in the (as we called them "drop offs")
The kids with the there Raleigh Burners and Ammacos were soon flying off the edge of the wall upto around 5ft high as well as my mate on his mums Raleigh Twenty. With all the egging on going on, only the brave ventured further along going to around 6/7ft in hight.
That also included my mate on his mum's shopping bike, until the poor thing finally gave up with the frame snapping. We didn't see much if him for the rest of the School holidays funnily enough. From all accounts he got a good hiding and was grounded for wrecking his mums bike.😭

Love that memory, thanks. It reminds me of all the BMXing and MTBing we used to do in Northumberland in the 1970s; long before any of us had even heard of MTBs or BMX.. We did it on racers! (and occasionally our mums' shopper bikes).