# Vint. Raleigh Weekender Info ?



## Willobea (Jun 11, 2018)

*Hello! My first post here.*

* I have this Raleigh Weekender and looking for some input on the value?*
*I typed just a list of what it has. I don't know much about Raleigh bikes and hopefully someone will be able to tell me a little about it. It's in pretty good shape, a few scrapes to the labels, the paint isn't perfect, some light rust on the pedals. The shifting needs to be adjusted, might need a new tube in the rear.*

*Thank you!*
*Sue*

*VINTAGE RALEIGH BICYCLE Weekender LADIES 
15 SPEED  Made in England
The number is NN 4111588 and the date I think was  found to be October 1974. I could be wrong on this.
Sturmey Archer toe clips (leather belt straps are different brands.)
Wheels are 24” and tires 26”. 
Frame 20” seat tube and then across top is 21”.
Curved drop handlebars. Cushions say: Grab On
Seat is unmarked, has foam with rubber edges and covered with black material, (coming loose one side)
Front Rim - Araya 27 x 1-1/4 w/o JAPAN
Front Tire - National Tire Co. LTD.
Rear Rim - Weinmann 16 x 622 - 700C Belgium
Rear Tire - Raleigh FOREION
Brake levers - Dia Compe
Handlebar Bell - Reich
Rear bike rack/carrier w/ dual elastic clip -  ESEG West Germany
Tire pump - Raleigh 3
Brakes - Weinmann Type 730
Duo Par ECO - Rear Derailleur
Sachs Huret - Front Derailleur
Crank Set - Custom A
Pedals - West Germany - K10491
Gear shifters  - Cyclone Sun Tour




 



 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 *


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## bulldog1935 (Jun 11, 2018)

It's a nice bike
http://www.kurtkaminer.com/TH_raleigh_serials.html
(See below why the Raleigh USA s/n convention won't apply)
There are discrepancies between the availability of the components and 1974

it's nothing like a 70s Raleigh, and everything like an 80s Raleigh.

It is definitely 1984, here's the catalog page



http://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/Raleigh84/



It's cool you have a Nottingham bike there - built for the European market -  because they were few in the US then - your bike was not imported for sale in the US.
(doubled up by the Paris sticker, in French)
Raleigh USA was a different company then, selling bikes built in USA, Canada, and Malaysia, and even a different head badge.



You could get $175 from someone who really wants the bike.
Otherwise, it's a great bike to tune up, rebuild bearings, clean, and ride - replace what's needed (saddle, cables, bar wrap, tires).
Note that this is the lowest-grade Raleigh frame, straight-gauge, "high tensile" tubing, and something that Raleigh did quite well - Raleigh's bottom-end bikes were great.
I rode and upgraded my '77 Grand Prix 40 years (s/n May '76, and bought in fall '76, and would still be riding it if a wreck didn't bend the frame)

There were higher-grade mixtes available then, and I like to use the example of the almost-never-ridden and well-stored Miyata-built Univega mixte my buddy bought on craigslist for $125 - it was a jewel, and a great buy.
Shown here after rebuild


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## juvela (Jun 11, 2018)

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Hello Sue and welcome to the forum  

Thank you for sharing this bicycle.

Fine job with the pictures. 

With respect to dating -

Its fittings tell us it must be somewhat later than 1974.

There are several spots on the cycle where you should be able to discover date markings.

Its two Huret components will have a four digit number stamped on a surface facing the bike.  The first two digits are the week of the year  and the second two are the year.

There may be a date at the right end of the bike's handlebar.

The handlebar stem will have a marking indicating a minimum insertion point.  Just below this mark there will probably be a date.

The hubs of the wheels appear to be Normandy brand.  There should be some markings on the barrel indicating a date of manufacture.

The Weinmann 730 brake calipers should have a clockface type symbol on the backside of the caliper arms.  In the centre of this there is a two digit number.  This is the year of manufacture.  The Weinmann brake levers will also have a mark but it is up inside and difficult to see without taking things apart.

The chainset is manufactured by a company called Sakae Ringyo (SR).  They mark a code on the back side of the crank arms indicating a date.  Here is the code key to the markings you will see there: http://www.vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm#SR

Hope this helps a bit.


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## juvela (Jun 11, 2018)

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Usual outstanding job bulldog1935!

Appears we pressed "send" within a few second of each other.  

The machine's mismatched wheels when paired with the Paris bike shop transfer give a bit of history.

There are two possibilities which come to mind -

a) it is an export model produced for the continent and so came with 700C wheels.  then, after coming to the english speaking world it lost a wheel or one was damaged and got replaced with a 27".

b) alternately, it could be a machine produced for the domestic british market which was taken to France where it experienced a lost or damaged wheel which was replaced by a shop in Paris with a 700c.

Either way Sue, it would be best if the two round things were of the same size.  

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## bulldog1935 (Jun 12, 2018)

Roger, I know we're on Sue's dime here, but it's what I call a Living Bicycle.
A bike that's lived a life, parts swapped because they wore out (wheel bent?) or improved to make the bike better fit into its owner's lifestyle.  The opposite of a living bicycle is a catalog-perfect underutilized specimen, which I prefer to call Idles (sounds like idols).
(Is there anything sadder than a bike never ridden? - a collector's dream, but a history forlorn)

When my '77 Grand Prix left Cumberland Transit in Nashville, the only change was the metal-pan saddle with a suede-covered Unicanitor.



Within 2 years, the swaged SR crank stripped on me in Austin hills (in the last block climbing home), and the 40-year rebuild process began.  Life with bicycle.
Everyone who worked in the UT Co-op bike shop raced, won parts, and sold them cheap behind the counter.
The '78 projects included new Mighty Comp (Strada clone) crank, Zeus/Rigida 27" wheelset, which changed the nature of the bike; narrow freewheel, Shimano 600 derailleurs, odd Zeus jewelry (shifters and later brake levers), KKT pedals (all bought at hungry-racer prices).
Shown here with the '90s saddle



By the turn of the new century, I couldn't stretch over the long stem and Maes bend, anymore, changed cockpit, wider freewheel, and half-step rings so I could better match pace with friends on newer bikes.



If you happen to run across a 35-y-o bicycle with touched-up original paint and gold-tipping,
and maybe even a new decal motif, you know it was loved, ridden, and stored indoors.


 


The last rebuild was around a great purchase on a Phil/Synergy 700c wheelset, someone else had built for a project never started - they sold off still in parts for a new project.
Cyclotouriste triple to get me up the 400' climb home after long rides, back to SunTour RD for the needed chain wrap - a complete and total utility bike that made many runs to Sweet's corner store and back up that 400' climb.



The only original parts were headset and brake calipers.  But when the frame was bent, I found a '74 International frame and moved my silk purse parts collection over.

My beautiful Strada crank from '78 also didn't go to waste - my daughter used it when she built up her '86 Team Fuji frame project with Ultegra 9sp.




And a note to Sue.
Raleigh made a special effort on the drivetrain they designed for your bike.
I like they reported the gear-inches in the spec sheet, 31" to 98".
A wide range with reasonably narrow steps.
This makes a very versatile bike for someone living in hills.
Still versatile today, amid the next generation of techno-hype marketing. 

For comparison, here's the drivetrain I designed in my Cyclotouriste triple.


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## Willobea (Jun 12, 2018)

Thank you all for the information! It was more to read than I have time right now -- But I really appreciate you taking the time to enlighten me on the year and thank you all for your photos too! Sue


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## bulldog1935 (Jun 12, 2018)

Sue, I plugged your gears into Mike's gear calculator, and here's the result
The 80-96 inches is a big step, but we mostly live below 80 inches, and the gears are nicely spaced.
If you were pacing with a fast group, you'd want something between there, but for most utility cycling, and with hills, you'll find the gears to be very useful.
You can find just about everything you need on the middle and small rings.


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