1978 Raleigh Tourist, Single Speed Project... Just Got It

[HARPO]

From my research (Catalog Pages, lol), I've determined the bike is from 1978. Only year for this chain guard and all black rear fender. A Craigslist find that showed only two photos with VERY rusty wheels. Still, I figured being English steel, they might clean up like ones in the past. But alas, being near the ocean here on Long Island and left outside, that was not to be.

Only about 18 miles or so from my house, I figured it was worth the ride. Very nice gentleman selling it said someone else showed interest, but was looking for a ride to come look at it (and he said you know how that goes!) I said I'd come now and look figuring it was cheap enough and it was a nice sunny day.

I had asked about the missing shifter and cable, but he said it was a Coaster model which I thought was weird. His photos only showed the left side, so I couldn't see if he was right or wrong. Missing then only the original Brooks saddle and pump, it was all there... crusty, rusty wheels and all. I even brought a brass bush to check the chrome for life, but it was pitting on the rims. To bad!
His wife really wanted the bike gone, and though he owned a few including a Raleigh Sports, this one was going. He had listed it at $75 on Craigslist... then relisted at $50. He saw the rims being worse than he originally thought... and $40 later it was in my SUV.

Paint is all original, with a lot of the pin striping still there. Rims will need a good dipping in Evapo-Rust and more, but a winter project to play with.

 

[HARPO]

... and the rest...

 

[SirMike1983]

It was an AW-equipped bike originally - the pulley is still on the lower section of the seat tube where the 1970s era routing was for the cable. I'd guess the coaster brake is a KT budget coaster hub with the three rings per side on the shell and no markings. The wheels are worse than the rest of the bike by a fair margin. Actually, the rest of the bike isn't too bad at all. It would be candidate for a wheel set swap or re-built wheels with better rims and an AW hub.

The other option is to un-lace the rims and go at them with a brass bristle wire brush on a drill press motor or mounted to a hand drill gun.

 

[HARPO]

@SirMike1983 Thank you for the update! I never even noticed the cable ring, even when I took the photos!!!!

The rims are really toast thanks to the salt air and rain. He used it as an around town bike for errands in the small town he lives in. He said he had a small carrier attached to it, which I never saw.

 

[HARPO]

BTW, I've owned a few of these over the years, and this is by far the worst! But still.....

 

[HARPO]

1978 Catalog page...

 

[FICHT 150]

The rear fender not having the white painted end, and the lamp bracket being cut for a reflector, instead of having the bird point to the bike being late 70s, early 80s. Agree with Mike, the rear hub is a replacement, and it was a three speed when it was new. There is a guy who rides a single speed coaster DL-1 on the Lake Pepin Tour, but, that bike is 1950s vintage, going from memory.
28” rims are tough to come up with. If I was going to the effort to lace a set of 28” wheels, it wouldn’t be with those rims.
Should be a good save, if you can come up with better wheels.

Ted

 

[HARPO]

@FICHT 150 Hi Ted. Yes, the rims are shot and what I'd wind up doing is getting another set of wheels. Someone I know might have a pair, so I'll find out soon.
I figured even needing them, the bike for $40 in just come parts was a steal. I haven't had one in a while, so this will be fun to work on.

 

[SirMike1983]

I've gotten replacement rims from a couple different sources in the past, but the shipping cost was fairly high. I've gotten rims from Yellow Jersey in Wisconsin, and a couple different shops in England. The rims themselves were not all that expensive, but they're so large that the shipping made it pretty expensive. Get them locally if you can...

On a late 70s bike, I would not hesitate to use a substitute rim if you can't find a Raleigh rim. Some of the Dutch rims are pretty good. The Indian-made ones are cheaper, but they can work acceptably. I have an Indian-made Eastman front rim on my 1978 22-inch frame DL-1. It works just fine.

 

[FICHT 150]

My newest DL-1 wears French rims. I think they were finished much better than the 28” English wheels that were used in prior years. There was a discussion at one of the monthly English bike club meetings about 28” wheels that were sourced from Spain. If I’m not mistaken you could get alloy rod brake versions of 28” wheels, but, I didn’t need any at the time, and focused more on my beer and sausage.
I’ll keep my eyes open, but, 28” wheels haven’t turned up all that frequently in my world.

Ted