jimbo53
I live for the CABE
A friend referred me to a local lady that had her late father’s 1949 Raleigh Sports she wanted to find a worthy home for. It is the rarer 23” frame size so better to fit my 6’ frame.
I went over today to see it and fell hard, as I do for all bikes of British heritage.
We talked for quite a while. Her father was a professor at Yale and rode it to his classes. The photograph is dated 1950 on the back, so this is what it looked like new. Fast forward 76 years later and this is what we have. A true barn find, covered with dirt, spider webs, all manner of corrosion and grime, but I’ve refurbed worse, so she gave it to me on the condition when I get it rideable, that we meet so she can take a spin.
She also rode it in its better days so has fond memories with it.
I have a decent pair of Raleigh Record 26x1 3/8” tires and just bought a properly weathered Brooks B66 off eBay so now the work begins for a proper refurb!
Always love to find bikes with family stories!
The first photo is as i saw it in her barn. The second one is the bike as new chained outside her father’s classroom at Yale.
The rest are just some quick snaps I took doing a very a quick assessment.
I’ll try to get better pics later, but wanted to jettison the basket and alloy rack ASAP to see this classic lines. The headlight was a surprise. She found it in a box this morning along with the 1950 snap.
Pretty chuffed, mates! I live in Charlotte NC, so finding a vintage Raleigh like this is pretty rare!
I went over today to see it and fell hard, as I do for all bikes of British heritage.
We talked for quite a while. Her father was a professor at Yale and rode it to his classes. The photograph is dated 1950 on the back, so this is what it looked like new. Fast forward 76 years later and this is what we have. A true barn find, covered with dirt, spider webs, all manner of corrosion and grime, but I’ve refurbed worse, so she gave it to me on the condition when I get it rideable, that we meet so she can take a spin.
She also rode it in its better days so has fond memories with it.
I have a decent pair of Raleigh Record 26x1 3/8” tires and just bought a properly weathered Brooks B66 off eBay so now the work begins for a proper refurb!
Always love to find bikes with family stories!
The first photo is as i saw it in her barn. The second one is the bike as new chained outside her father’s classroom at Yale.
The rest are just some quick snaps I took doing a very a quick assessment.
I’ll try to get better pics later, but wanted to jettison the basket and alloy rack ASAP to see this classic lines. The headlight was a surprise. She found it in a box this morning along with the 1950 snap.
Pretty chuffed, mates! I live in Charlotte NC, so finding a vintage Raleigh like this is pretty rare!
