When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

More Raleigh's! A pair of 1970 TWENTY's!

-

HARPO

Cruisin' on my Bluebird
I feel like I should be living in London! These things are coming out of the woodwork in the last week, finding me whether I want them to or not, lol.

OK...so I keep typing in "Raleigh" and "Rudge" on ebay and Craigslist, seeing if there's any type of bargains to be found. And apparently there have been. (My wife has been fine with all of this, happily). So here they are, in all their splendid rust, grime and dirt eagerly awaiting to be brought back to life.

And so another project begins, times two. Hail To The Queen! :D

IMG_3364.JPG
IMG_3367.JPG
IMG_3369.JPG
IMG_3376.JPG
IMG_3379.JPG
IMG_3380.JPG
IMG_3381.JPG
IMG_3382.JPG
IMG_3387.JPG
 
So far all I can see that's missing is the seat lever on one of the bikes. Still...I only paid $130 FOR BOTH bikes.
 
Cleanup is coming along quite nicely. Here's are " Before And After" photos taken at the same time...which you can only do with identical bikes in the same terrible condition.
More detailing needed on the work in progress bike, but I like to see the comparisons as I continue. The other bike might actually be a bit worse...but time will tell. I still want to finish the '55 Rudge girls bike and do the Raleigh Sports I bought over the weekend.

IMG_3407.jpg
IMG_3406.jpg
IMG_3405.jpg
IMG_3403.jpg
IMG_3402.jpg
IMG_3401.jpg
 
@juvela Hi Tad

Thanks for the compliment. I try! And yes, I'm thoroughly enjoying bringing them back to life.

The one red circle line tire is the only one that's original to the bike. How it lasted this long I don't know. Oh, and I also had to reattach the 3-speed cable into the shifter on the bike I'm working on. For whatever reason it had popped out, so the previous owner attached duct tape to hold it on and then attached a clamp to it, doing virtually nothing. All I did was remove the plastic shell, place it back into position where it belonged, and reattach the plastic housing.

As of right now, I have over 20 bikes in my 3rd floor "Batcave" (I have photos attached to other links on here of it), along with others in my basement and some carcasses in a shed. I sold off quite a few over the last few months, but like the tide, some go out and some come it. Never ending "cycle" I guess...:rolleyes:. I had a high of over 50 some years back (used my garage for quite a lot but wanted one of my cars back in there), but I'm a little more particular now. Unless, of course, it's to cheap to pass up!!;)
 
Very nice cleaning - so neat you have the pair for contrast!

Trying to remember how these ride - what do you think about it? Were they geared well? Catalog year?

Thanks for posting the pics!
 
Very nice cleaning - so neat you have the pair for contrast!

Trying to remember how these ride - what do you think about it? Were they geared well? Catalog year?

Thanks for posting the pics!
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/twenty.html
1976 was the last year this model was listed in the catalog.

Dahon and Bike Friday still build their derailleur touring versions of these. My nephew and his family have traversed the east coast of Australia and the North Sea coast on theirs. I've heard the small wheels make them a little unstable, but they carry their load down low, which helps.

as far as gearing, all you need is the chainring tooth count, and you can plug them into Sheldon's gear calculator
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gear-calc.html
 
Last edited:
Back
Top