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1968 Raleigh Sports

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milbicycleman

Finally riding a big boys bike
I picked up this 1968 Raleigh Sports today. It's my first foray into the British lightweights, so I am pretty excited about it. I ended up getting it from a guy off Craigslist. It's in pretty original shape minus the handgrips and new tires and tubes. There is some rust by the front lug. Do you guys think thats something that would affect the structure of the frame? I think I am going to leave the stock rear cog for now to see how I like it. Do you guys have any suggestions for upgrades that are easy to do or things that would make the bike better?




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Hard to improve on that bike if you want to maintain an original look. I'd just clean and detail it and mechanically make it as sound as possible. I don't think you will have any structural issues with the lug corrosion but I would address it as soon as possible.


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Hard to improve on that bike if you want to maintain an original look. I'd just clean and detail it and mechanically make it as sound as possible. I don't think you will have any structural issues with the lug corrosion but I would address it as soon as possible.


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Thanks for letting me know. What would you recommend doing to address the lug corrosion?
 
Try to remove any loose rust carefully without disturbing any original surrounding paint then apply a rust neutralizer of your choice and then find a match or close as you can get and reapply over the area.


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Try to remove any loose rust carefully without disturbing any original surrounding paint then apply a rust neutralizer of your choice and then find a match or close as you can get and reapply over the area.


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Thanks, I'll do that. I have some left over copper wool and oil I can use.
 
If the lug-to-tube joint looks good and there's no gap or opening of it, you're fine. The frames are generally over-built and very durable. Gently remove the rust when you clean up the bike. Looks like the chainstays are crunched by the kickstand. That's fairly normal with those stands - just make sure that there are no cracks or breaks in the tubes down there. Deformation is OK - the frame is very rigid in that area; but cracks or breaks from being crushed are not OK.

Do not attempt to re-build the Dynohub prior to reading the instructions on it - you cannot separate the magnet from its ring without a magnet keeper.

You're missing the frame pump (easily replaced) and the plastic shifter face (difficult to replace because they're always cracked or broken). There are retro, Dare-style grips being produced today as well if you want better grips.

Good bike to start with.
 
If the lug-to-tube joint looks good and there's no gap or opening of it, you're fine. The frames are generally over-built and very durable. Gently remove the rust when you clean up the bike. Looks like the chainstays are crunched by the kickstand. That's fairly normal with those stands - just make sure that there are no cracks or breaks in the tubes down there. Deformation is OK - the frame is very rigid in that area; but cracks or breaks from being crushed are not OK.

Do not attempt to re-build the Dynohub prior to reading the instructions on it - you cannot separate the magnet from its ring without a magnet keeper.

You're missing the frame pump (easily replaced) and the plastic shifter face (difficult to replace because they're always cracked or broken). There are retro, Dare-style grips being produced today as well if you want better grips.

Good bike to start with.
Thanks for all of the helpful info SirMike! I'll address both areas when I give it a good cleaning. The previous owner told me the Dynohub works so I am on the lookout for a lighting set. Do you have any recommendations on where I could buy one and same with the frame pump and grips?
Alexander
 
Forgot to add - be very careful with preserving the brake cables. They're a proprietary design and not being widely produced today. They're special to Raleigh and have not been made in large numbers in years. They're also specific to the frame size. It looks like you can preserve and re-lube them and keep using them. I'm currently playing with a couple methods of reproducing these cables. I have one method that is promising and likely can produce cables looking and functioning very close to the originals.
 
Thanks for all of the helpful info SirMike! I'll address both areas when I give it a good cleaning. The previous owner told me the Dynohub works so I am on the lookout for a lighting set. Do you have any recommendations on where I could buy one and same with the frame pump and grips?
Alexander

Sunlite makes a 16 inch pump that should fit.

I have a set like this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Ral...hash=item4b1e102bbc:m:mjX350PI6kt1AbM23Mi6RKw

on my Raleigh Sprite. They're not exact, but pretty close. They work reasonably well. The Thai-made, barrel style ones with the "R" on them are of dodgy quality.
 
The previous owner told me he re lubricated the cables and I tested out the brakes and seam to work okay. Hopefully I'll be able to keep using them. Thats great you're looking into reproducing the cables.

I'll definitely get those grips and check out the sunlite pump. Thanks again for your help.
 
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