# Older Raleigh Maintenance



## wrongway (Mar 9, 2015)

I have worked on other Lightweight three speeds before, but this is my first older Raleigh. I have a '63 and it has an oiler on the bottom bracket. I would assume that I need to grease the ball bearings as usual, but then do I occasionally add a few drops of oil as I would to the rear hub? Do they want the bottom bracket 'filled' with oil? I doubt that it would stay in there.


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## vincev (Mar 9, 2015)

I always lube mine with about 10 drops of light oil.


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## wrongway (Mar 9, 2015)

Here where I work, we sell Bramec Zoomspout Turbine oil. I have been using that. I believe it is fairly close to what they recommend. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. The handy little pull out spout is......oh, so handy! Do you also then coat the bearings with grease?


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## fat tire trader (Mar 10, 2015)

If it was my bike, I would take the cranks off, and the bottom bracket apart. I would clean the spindle cups and bearings. If they all look good, I would put it all back together with marine trailer bearing grease. The Raleigh fixed bearing cups are difficult to remove, so I usually leave them in and clean them from the other side. Bikesmith makes a tool for removing the fixed cups. It looks like it is worth purchasing. http://bikesmithdesign.com/BBTool/index.html After anytime that the bike is out in the rain, you can drip some oil through the oiler.


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## Andrew Gorman (Mar 10, 2015)

The Raleighs were designed for oil, applied every time you thought about it,  but grease has improved a lot over the decades and does not leak.  I wouldn't go as far as using boat trailer grease- Phil's holds up fine and I always seem to find a full tube on the street or at a yard sale.  A little less viscosity is noticeable to me, at least at first.  I will use oil only on Sturmey Archer hubs because they work a lot better with it, and on New Departure washer stacks for the same reason.  Just my idea of what seems to work.


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## fat tire trader (Mar 11, 2015)

I use Phil Wood also, but I don't find it to be much different than the blue marine grease. The marine grease is available in a lot more stores and for a lot less money. I agree to use only oil in the Sturmey hubs.


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## wrongway (Mar 12, 2015)

I did take it all apart and cleaned everything, greased the bearings (used automotive wheel bearing grease-it's what I had) and put it all back together. I did drop a little oil in there as well. Just worry about the chance of the oil somehow diluting the grease.


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## slcurts (Mar 17, 2015)

Those bikes were made to last a hundred years using oil in the bearings, so I don't think you could possibly do much wrong to it. I'd put grease in it after an overhaul and then someday, or some year, when the grease starts drying out, add some oil to moisten it up a bit.


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 20, 2015)

I can understand Phil Tenacious oil, especially in the hubs, but I would be hesitant to put light oil on top of bearing grease you already applied - you're just going to dissolve and wash away the bearing grease


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## SirMike1983 (Mar 21, 2015)

There are two ways of addressing a Raleigh bottom bracket- with a single, good coating of modern grease, or constant addition of medium weight oil. 

In method #1, get a good quality grease. It could be Phil Wood Grease, could be a good lithium grease from the hardware store. The key is that it is a modern, medium viscosity grease with good life. My preference is a decent quality, brown lithium grease from the hardware store. Do not use traditional, thick axle grease. It doesn't last as long and it gums up easily.

In method #2, you oil lubricate with a medium-weight oil. Something like SAE 30 would work in a bottom bracket. In this method, you start by inundating both halves of the bottom bracket with oil. Let it drain out the sides as needed. Every few weeks, add a few drops of oil to keep a certain critical mass of oil in the bottom bracket. 

I have used both, and if you can get the bottom bracket apart and cleaned, I prefer #1 because it is much less messy. There should be no need to add oil for quite a long time if you use a decent, modern grease in the bottom bracket. If you add oil, as others have said, eventually the grease thins and washes out and you end up running method #2 by default. Make sure you put cardboard under the bike if you run #2. It will make a mess of your garage floor if you use the oil only method.


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## bikejunk (Mar 26, 2015)

Post # 10 says it all . In the day you had 2 sets of wheels racing wheels and training wheels   race wheels got oil on the bearings training got the grease .100 years ago grease would harden over time and oil was added to soften it up


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## thebikeman (Mar 27, 2015)

Just like everyone says. Clean and grease. I would not replace bearings. They do not make bearings like the old ones that are there. I always replace with clean old ones from another bike, If mine are shot. In my book Old Stuff is made better.


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