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Dunelt 5 Speed

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It is a Raleigh-made Dunelt with a Trygg type center stand. Looks mid to late 1960s to me. Raleigh called this a Sprite model, with 5 speed derailler instead of the S5 Sturmey internal gear hub. Three places to check for a serial in this era: on the top side of the lug near the seat post, on the back side of the seat tube, and on the rear drops. The 1960s were a transitional time for serial numbers and serial locations at Raleigh. I dont see one on the bottom bracket in these pictures, but that is a possibility too. Raleigh was messing with a lot of its conventions in the 60s.

By top of the seat lug, I mean the upward facing surface- Raleigh started putting them there in about 1970.

http://www.kurtkaminer.com/TH_raleigh_serials.html

Regarding vintage: Dunelt (and Triumph) being the cheaper "B" line bike (that's what my boss at the bike shop I worked at 50 years ago called them) normally got any components a year or so after the parent brand. Raleigh Sprites thru the '69 model year were still using S-A S-5 hubs and 26" wheels, went to Huret Allvit, 5-speed freewheel and 27" wheels starting in 1970. Well, that's at least what was coming thru A.R. Adams Cycle in Erie, PA back in the day. I'm certainly not disputing the catalog pictures, but I've never seen that chain guard on a derailleur equipped 5-speed Sprite. Once they replaced the S-A version, they were coming thru with a regular hockey stick style chainguard, and the 10-speed version were essentially Raleigh Record's with fenders, flat bars and mattress saddle.

One thing I'm finding amusing is that the "5 speed" decal on the downtube is identical to the one on my S-A powered '69 Sprite.

We carried Triumph and Dunelt at the shop, but they were all 3-speed downmarket versions of the Raleigh Sports. Occasionally, we'd get in a 10-speed version of those brands, bikes that the boss would really get pissed off receiving because they used a lot of Raleigh Record components, but were obviously cheaper than the Record so we sure couldn't sell them for the Record's $100.00 . . . . . . . . . . . and we were dying for any Raleigh 10-speeds we could get in. I do remember them having those long Huret levers mounted on the downtube, while the Raleigh derailleur bikes had the more normal length levers.

I often wonder just what Raleigh's distribution channels were like. In the Richmond, VA area, I've owned a number of Raleigh variants that are majorly different from the bikes of the same model names we were getting in northwestern PA.
 
Hello everyone,
The gear block on my ‘69 Sprite is an Atom (the one that takes small dia freewheel tool). Rims are SA but does have Dunlop tires and tubes. Sadly front tire has flat spot ( from sitting over many years?). I tried removing and remounting w/o success. You can see flat spot near bottom where double lines come closer to rim.

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Yeah, this is definitely a version of the Sprite that we never saw at the shop. Now, whether that was due to regional distribution patterns, or just because the owner never bothered ordering any is a good question. I worked for an odd guy who succeeded in running a bicycle shop during the Bike Boom despite himself. He was a firm believer in the Raleigh Sports and had a passionate love for the Raleigh Tourist (that was his personal ride) which he imparted on me. He hated derailleur bikes, thought 10-speeds were incredibly dumb for most riders, and absolutely refused to carry anything higher in the line than a Raleigh Super Course because he couldn't comprehend anyone willingly paying more than $150.00 for a bicycle.

It was a Schwinn/Raleigh/Columbia dealership with lots of other brands added just trying to have 10-speeds in stock to sell. In retrospect, he was actually quite smart in what the average bicycle consumer needed to ride around the neighborhood after dinner every evening, but was incredibly obtuse as to what the average bicycle consumer wanted back then.

We never saw a 5-speed derailleur Sprite at the shop until the 70's when Raleigh had discontinued the S-5 model.
 
Yeah, this is definitely a version of the Sprite that we never saw at the shop. Now, whether that was due to regional distribution patterns, or just because the owner never bothered ordering any is a good question. I worked for an odd guy who succeeded in running a bicycle shop during the Bike Boom despite himself. He was a firm believer in the Raleigh Sports and had a passionate love for the Raleigh Tourist (that was his personal ride) which he imparted on me. He hated derailleur bikes, thought 10-speeds were incredibly dumb for most riders, and absolutely refused to carry anything higher in the line than a Raleigh Super Course because he couldn't comprehend anyone willingly paying more than $150.00 for a bicycle.

It was a Schwinn/Raleigh/Columbia dealership with lots of other brands added just trying to have 10-speeds in stock to sell. In retrospect, he was actually quite smart in what the average bicycle consumer needed to ride around the neighborhood after dinner every evening, but was incredibly obtuse as to what the average bicycle consumer wanted back then.

We never saw a 5-speed derailleur Sprite at the shop until the 70's when Raleigh had discontinued the S-5 model.
I love these kind of stories. They add flavor that you just don't get from reading the catalogs.
 
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