My new old Raleigh Sports

[RWright]

I just bought this last night. The man told me it is a 1976 and he is the original owner. Everything seems ok so far. There are some paint drops on from where it looks like someone was doing some painting and didn't cover it with a drop cloth and the rims have some rust and pitting. The cranks have a little as well but they might clean up fine. The wheels I am not so sure. The paint looks good but with a few chips here and there. It has brand new Kenda K 40's on it, he told me the bike shop charged him $80 including installation. Online those are about $10 per tire.

I think he may have been wanting to get back into riding his old bike but the bike shop's pricing tactics spooked him. This bike is really tight and would have made him a great bike to get some exercise on. I had driven 2 hours to pick it up (farther than I anticipated) so I wasn't going to try talking him into keeping his own bike but I did feel a little sympathy for him. After the sob story about how he was letting his bike go for 20 dollars after considering the tire charge I actually gave him 20 dollars more than the price he had placed in the ad to sell it. I know, I am getting soft with age but if it makes me sleep a little better that is ok too. BTW, this guy wasn't poor, he was retired but had a very nice house, truck, cars, boat, big black lab that came running out at me barking and raising hell.

So far I have just sprayed a little WD 40 on a few things and adjusted the seat. The pictures are from his ad, I have not taken any yet but I will get some before shots before I start doing anything to it. I may make this a project but for now I am just going to ride it like I stole it.

 

[biggs682]

looks nice

 

[GarryG]

very nice

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Very nice! Hope the saddle isn't squeaky

 

[Cycleops]

Lovely old bike. I am sure it will give you lots of enjoyment.

 

[Cavalol]

Looks great, and the history behind it makes it even better. There's nothing better than a nice story behind a bike when you buy it. To be honest I often think price is irrelevant, if you like the bike enough then it doesn't matter too much if you paid a bit over the odds.

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

The wonderful Raleigh spanner! Skinned a few knuckles using one of them over the years.

 

[RWright]

The wonderful Raleigh spanner! Skinned a few knuckles using one of them over the years.

The man that had it mentioned the spanner. He said the guys in the bike shop he took it to for tires went nuts over the tool. Much more so than the bike.

 

[Spokesmann]

Rather nice that. I do remember those ill-fitting spanners, the number of times one of those slipped in my hand attempting to undo cotter pin nuts and wheel axel nuts

 

[tyred]

Those spanners have their uses, especially when adjusting rod brakes.

Where possible, you should always use a ring spanner rather than any open ended spanner as the chances of slipping are less, as are the chances of rounding the nut.

Anyone wanting to work on vintage British bikes should invest in a set of Whitworth spanners and have the correct tools for the job.