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1968 Raleigh Sports

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Do you guys have any suggestions for upgrades that are easy to do or things that would make the bike better?

Clean and lube; easier said than done on English bikes. You're probably looking at decades old grease that is doing more harm than good and the bike will ride much better with modern lube. I use synthetic marine grease. All the add ons or upgrades will do little to improve the bike without fresh grease/oil.

First, as previously stated, Do not attempt to re-build the Dynohub prior to reading the instructions on it. Nuff said.

Step one, drain the old oil from the SA hub and replace with new. I've found them to be almost indestructible with just a little care. Got one last year that was dry, no oil at all came out. Oiled up it has performed flawlessly for 600 miles to date.

Step two: Your pita cottered cranks. Most(I think) people hate em. Read up on how to get them off and choose your preferred method. I made the tool and it works well......usually. And don't forget to lube/oil the pedals.

Step three: Your circa 50 (26 top 24 bottom or some such arrangement) little loose (uncaged) bearings make lubing the headset another pita. You should make sure to have extras as at least one or two will roll away and end up under the furnace, in the furnace, or in your neighbor's living room! I have Parkinson's and it's a laugh riot watching me try to install those little bastaxxs one at a time.:mad:

To avoid "sanding down" the chrome, make sure the brake pads are not hardened if you intend to ride it. Modern, pliable pads are much easier on the wheel and stop better. And while your bike is apart, clean and wax everything except braking surfaces. Paint touch up as needed or wanted.

I like older Raleighs, have a couple, and had a few others. I like the way they ride and look but absolutely hate working on them. I find no joy in laying a bike on the floor to service a headset which many people do to avoid losing too many bearings. Or proprietary brake cables, or self adjusting brake levers (which it appears you bike thankfully does not have) Sometimes I think the Raleigh engineers sat down, looked at the pre production model, and said, how can we make this harder to service. ;)

Having said all that you may wonder why I do it. Challenge number one. If it was easy it would be no fun? Also pride....pride in being able to do something most bike shops won't even attempt. And finally having an attractive vintage bike that's as good as anything made since that will be providing a lot of riding pleasure to me and someone else long after I'm gone unless some idiot decides to use it as a yard decoration.:fearscream:
 
Clean and lube; easier said than done on English bikes. You're probably looking at decades old grease that is doing more harm than good and the bike will ride much better with modern lube. I use synthetic marine grease. All the add ons or upgrades will do little to improve the bike without fresh grease/oil.

First, as previously stated, Do not attempt to re-build the Dynohub prior to reading the instructions on it. Nuff said.

Step one, drain the old oil from the SA hub and replace with new. I've found them to be almost indestructible with just a little care. Got one last year that was dry, no oil at all came out. Oiled up it has performed flawlessly for 600 miles to date.

Step two: Your pita cottered cranks. Most(I think) people hate em. Read up on how to get them off and choose your preferred method. I made the tool and it works well......usually. And don't forget to lube/oil the pedals.

Step three: Your circa 50 (26 top 24 bottom or some such arrangement) little loose (uncaged) bearings make lubing the headset another pita. You should make sure to have extras as at least one or two will roll away and end up under the furnace, in the furnace, or in your neighbor's living room! I have Parkinson's and it's a laugh riot watching me try to install those little bastaxxs one at a time.:mad:

To avoid "sanding down" the chrome, make sure the brake pads are not hardened if you intend to ride it. Modern, pliable pads are much easier on the wheel and stop better. And while your bike is apart, clean and wax everything except braking surfaces. Paint touch up as needed or wanted.

I like older Raleighs, have a couple, and had a few others. I like the way they ride and look but absolutely hate working on them. I find no joy in laying a bike on the floor to service a headset which many people do to avoid losing too many bearings. Or proprietary brake cables, or self adjusting brake levers (which it appears you bike thankfully does not have) Sometimes I think the Raleigh engineers sat down, looked at the pre production model, and said, how can we make this harder to service. ;)

Having said all that you may wonder why I do it. Challenge number one. If it was easy it would be no fun? Also pride....pride in being able to do something most bike shops won't even attempt. And finally having an attractive vintage bike that's as good as anything made since that will be providing a lot of riding pleasure to me and someone else long after I'm gone unless some idiot decides to use it as a yard decoration.:fearscream:


Thank you for all of the helpful information! I was told my the previous owner that it needs nothing since he said he went through everything. Hopefully he was telling the truth....From the little I've ridden it, it seems very smooth.


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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.

Are you talking about the cable and ends? That would be great. I am also looking for cloth cable reproductions. I don't suppose that is out there yet....?
 
After cleaning up the Raleigh I unfortunately realized that it's in poorer condition than I originally thought. The paint is a blotchy, with clear coat in some places and in others not. I think it must've been exposed to some chemicals from painting or something, as there are white paint specks as well. Also the front wheel is very pitted and rusty. What would you guys recommend? I am thinking sell the bike and look for something nicer.
 
Do you have any pictures of the problem areas? The bike in the pictures above looks like it will clean up reasonably well. It'sa tall frame with a Dynohub and a pretty good number of original parts - I'd hold off on dumping that one. You'll probably pay good money for a really nice tall frame with the working Dyno.
 
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Yes I do. Its kind of hard to see everything in picture form though. I didn't realize a tall frame with the dyno- hub with nice paint would costly. Thank you for letting me know.
 
I second Bulldog. That's in great shape, actually and shouldn't need much. I'm not familiar with the technique, but I think you would be surprised at how well that finish would turn out!
 
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