Retro Raleigh roadster "path racer" project

timbob · 20 Apr 2017 at 16:45

My latest acquisition is an old Raleigh rod-braked roadster (I believe the DL-1 type). An online auction find, picked up last week. The blacked out chainwheel and brakes, together with the lack of date on the rear Sturmey Archer hub I believe means this is likely to be a wartime bike (assuming it still has its original back wheel!) Pictured below after 30 mins in the garage removing the front and rear fenders, and the hockey stick chainguard:

I'm not too bad with the spanners, and am quite happy maintaining and upgrading my current "fleet" of roadbikes, but I've never embarked on a project like this... The plan, as my first "restoration" type project is not for period authentic factory-fresh rebuild, but for a "path racer" style project inspired by those old Edwardian racers with the extremely slack frame angles... Think inverted north road/moustache handlebars, fixed gear, big cream tyres etc etc.

My inspiration has been https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/220415/ this thread over at LFGSS - and it's a similar look I'm going for.

I've deliberately not bought a mint condition bike for such an endeavour - the pictures make it look better than it is. The bike was originally red, it seems, and has been brush painted black with matte emulsion, which is slathered over everything, including the frame bolts and rod brake guides attached to the forks and chainstays. The chain guard was secured to the seat tube with a screw through a cable tie attached to a car engine hose jubilee clip...!

There's a bit of pondering to do... I'd like to keep the rod brakes, but the inverted handlebars which are key to the look I want won't fit with the roller brake levers. If I switch to cable/calliper brakes, I will need to drill the fork and buy some new wheels - losing a massive part of the originality of the bike. My preferred option is to keep my eye out for an old clip on "bobby dodger" style brake as the guy in the LFGSS thread used - that will let me keep the rod braked front, use a fixed gear on the back and keep the wheels.

Step one was the strip down. Luckily the seat tube had been greased, and the saddle came out easily. The handlebars took a bit more persuasion with some hammering on the underneath of the bars with the frame upside down in the workstand.

After a few days of spraying the cotter pins with penetrating oil, they were unexpectedly hassle free to remove - and came out with a few firm whacks on my improvised Sheldon Brown inspired setup above. The locknut on the threaded fork steerer was well and truly stuck, but a good path in some more penetrating oil and a massive 15" adjustable wrench borrowed from my other half's dad's awesome garage got that off. Interestingly, there aren't enough ball bearings in the races... maybe the bearings were caged and the plastic has totally dissolved???

State of play at the moment - everything aside from the bottom bracket is out (awaiting delivery of my special spanners for the adjustable cup and the lockring), and the wire brush attachment is on the drill for paint and surface rust removal. There's a bit of pitting down around the bottom bracket where the paint is flaking off easily, but it's not too bad.

Lots more parts to buy, lots of cleaning and painting to go, 2 wheels to learn to rebuild (3 speed hub > fixed on the back, and dyno hub > standard hub on the front), and I'm sure plenty of swearing and scuffed knuckles to go!

More photos as it progresses!

Vonhelmet · 20 Apr 2017 at 22:16

Interesting! Will keep an eye on this.

That head angle though...

timbob · 21 Apr 2017 at 03:23

I know - it's like steering a canal boat...!

timbob · 28 Apr 2017 at 11:50

Strip down complete, paint is nearly all stripped, and the hunt for components is going well - I've located a clip on 1920s "bobby dodger" brake (in the same style as the Humber previously linked to), obtained a 46 tooth chrome raleigh heron chainset in good condition to replace the original with its 48 shark fins...

My only stumbling block seems to be the wheels. My rims are in ok condition and potentially could be reused (the front moreso) but the rear has 40 holes and I can't find a fixed or flip flop hub with 40 holes.

I'm liaising with a not-so-LBS with regards to having a pair of wheels built up (the only aspect I'm a bit wary of!) The rear may well be built around a new rear sturmey archer flip flop hub (36 hole
Westwood rim and 120mm OLD - my frame currently measures 118mm). I'm awaiting communication however as to whether they can locate a 90mm front hub for the front wheel... any ideas folks?!

Pics to follow!

SDK^ · 28 Apr 2017 at 15:46

that fork bend - wow

merlin · 28 Apr 2017 at 16:03

Lucky they put those comfy soft handlebar grips on these bikes otherwise your hands could really hurt.

touch · 28 Apr 2017 at 16:13

timbob said:
the rear has 40 holes and I can't find a fixed or flip flop hub with 40 holes.

Try searching for tandem hubs. They are often 40 hole. Check that the width of the hub is correct for your frame though.

Vonhelmet · 28 Apr 2017 at 18:34

Old steel frames can sometimes be persuaded a few mm in either direction to accept different width hubs, which might help you.

timbob · 28 Apr 2017 at 18:48

Indeed - it measures 118 at the rear at the mo which will happily accept a 120 OLD rear hub. Unfortunately all the 40 hole tandem hubs I can find are designed to accept a cassette and spaced far too widely - not sure I've ever heard of a fixed gear tandem?

The front isn't going to stretch out to take a 100mm front hub though - it'll need cold setting, and I want to avoid any mad modifications to the frame in case I grow up and decide it's more appropriate to return the bike to a proper restored 3 speed sturmey archer roadster with fenders, a chain guard and the old "sit up and beg" bars at some point...!!

timbob · 28 Apr 2017 at 19:32

Progress over the last week:

Round two of nitromors. At least 3 layers of paint on the frame - the brushed black emulsion on the top, over a tougher red coat, on top of its grey primer, over what I assume is the original black enamel...

Serial number puts the frame pre-1946 as far as all the dating charts I can find online go:

Some of the surface rust around the BB/chainstay area. Not too bad for a neglected 70 year old bike. As far as I can see, the inside of the frame is fine. Plan is to go at the patches with my drill/wire brush to get the worst of it off, then use some Kurust to neutralise the remaining surface rust. Then prime. This will be a home Halfords rattle can spray-job

Frame, fork and detachable seatstay. A little more sanding to do, although what remains is nice and smooth with no proud areas.

New cranks, fresh from the online auction house of choice:

Bottom bracket as it came out. I'm sure there weren't enough ball bearings there...

Vonhelmet · 28 Apr 2017 at 22:58

Ok, so I'm drunk, and trying to parse that frame with no seat stays blew my mind.

timbob · 8 May 2017 at 21:13

A little more progress... Sanded/wire wheeled the majority of the surface rust off, and Kurust applied:

Before:

After:

Hoping I'll get the time on my mornings off this week to prime and paint. I've a can of Plastikote zinc rich primer, followed by some of the new spray.bike stuff for the black overcoat and their clear top coat. It has good reviews, so hopefully will go on well and look ok. I'm tempted by an old school Raleigh headtube transfer/decal from H Lloyds too...

Unfortunately, the cleaned up bottom bracket spindle shows a bit of pitting on the bearing surfaces. I've got a NOS one on the way from the internet.

I think my best bet is going to be to build up a new pair of wheels around a pair of 36 hole hubs. I have acquired a good condition, smooth running 90mm OLN front hub (Sturmey Archer branded) from the (relatively) local Bicycle Ambulance in Cambridge who found one lying around in their parts bin.

Given my rear end spacing is 118mm at the moment, I think a standard, modern 120mm flip flop hub is probably the way to go. They seem to be readily available and well priced. I'm having zero luck finding any fixed rear "vintage" cup/cone hubs online, so unless anything crops up, a modern sealed bearing, retro looking hub it is...

Having tried various places in the UK for a source of Westwood rims, and eventually having a very helpful email from SJS stating they no longer stock them as the quality was so low that the rims sometimes weren't even welded together straight... I've looked abroad. Holland Bike Shop came to the rescue, and I'm now in possession of a pair of brand new, fairly decent quality looking steel/chrome plated Westrick style rims. I'm not sure my skills extend to wheel building and I'd like it done right, so I'll be asking around local bike shops for someone to build them for me once I've got a rear hub sorted. I think Roy Pinks (now Giant) in Newport Pagnell might be the place to go.

I'm currently perusing the bay with a view to locating a good set of Moustache style handlebars, and a suitable quill stem. I'm on the lookout for some non-extortionately priced rat trap style pedals also. And a new old-looking chain (got to be dark in colour I reckon). And possibly some leather style bar grips or tape... Then I'll be good to go, I think!

Everything's starting to add up...!!

GarethSouthgate · 8 May 2017 at 21:25

Nice work.

Bilt Hamber products are quite good for rust removal and priming

Vonhelmet · 9 May 2017 at 17:44

KMC do brown single speed chains for next to nothing which might suit your needs.

timbob · 9 May 2017 at 18:17

Vonhelmet said:
KMC do brown single speed chains for next to nothing which might suit your needs.

Marvellous, good tip! Thank you kindly

timbob · 9 May 2017 at 19:16

Painting time!

Bit of a home-brew special spray booth - one long bit of spare timber cable tied to a rafter joint, then a frame made out of other bits of timber all cable tied together. Old dust sheets taped on, with polythene draped and taped over the top.

Photo taken just before coat number one, made a nice bubble-wrap hat for my bike stand claws to stop them getting painty...

(apologies for the blurriness)

timbob · 23 May 2017 at 18:37

A few more updates...

Priming and painting of the frame and forks is complete, but has taken far longer than initially anticipated due to a succession of annoyingly rainy and humid days coinciding with my days off, and a whole string of lovely sunny/dry days when I was stuck at work...

The spray.bike stuff went on really easily and looks good. It's a sort of powdercoat-in-a-can as far as I can make out. You're supposed to spray with the can nozzle between 5-12cm from the frame - any further away and the powder dries and won't adhere to the frame. It seemed very close, and a little weird to be spraying that close, but there was far less overspray than when priming. After 20 mins, you're supposed to use a bit of kitchen paper to gently polish and flatten and compress the paint down There are couple of rougher areas where the paint has settled as a powder, and I evidently either left too long before the kitchen paper, or wasn't aggressive enough - so the surface is a little rougher. I will sand these back a touch before the clearcoat goes on top and touch up as necessary.

It certainly passes the 3 foot test - and actually looks quite decent even close up. It's certainly not a glossy mirror smooth pro job, but is suits what I wanted perfectly. Hopefully it will look even better still with the clear on top.

I've disassembled, cleaned, and rebuilt the 90mm, 36 hole front hub I picked up from Cambridge. I also found another identical one on ebay going for only a few quid which I picked up as well in order to cannibalise if necessary for parts. The resultant front hub runs very smoothly.

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to re-use the original wheels. Having taken the tyres and rim tape off, the rear was incredibly rusty inside, and has actually rusted through the braking surface in two places. One was a small pin hole, the other was larger, and some investigation with a pointy stick showed the surrounding metal was so thin that it crumbled away like tin foil leaving a 10mm raggedy hole in the rim. I imagine the rest of the braking surface will be similarly paper thin - and I'm not going to ride anywhere on it!! New wheels it will be...

I did manage to obtain a 40 hole flip flop style 1930s BSA hub earlier on in the build, which I have stripped. Annoyingly, this would have fitted the original 40 hole rear rim which is now unuseable. I am hoping to locate a 36 hole hub shell to rebuild around the axle and cones from the BSA hub, as its axle is ready flatted on the sides to fit in the 8mm rear track ends on the Raleigh. I've got a 36 hole rear hub on the way in the post - a cup and cone Formula hub which Spa Cycles had in stock. Hopefully it will accept the axle and cones as its bearings are the same size. If not, I will take a file to the axle either side of the hub to enable it to slip in.

A few more bits... The 1930s style headtube transfer from H Lloyds isn't authentic for the original roadster, but it fits in with the period feel and look of the project. New ball bearings for my headset and bottom bracket also:

I still need a stem and handlebars, a some pedals and a pair of the ubiquitous Schwalbe Delta Cruiser cream tyres to go on my wheels which I need to have built once I've sorted the rear hub conundrum. There are a few little sundries I will need also - some new rod brake guides for the fork, a new pair of chain tensioner/axle holder type fittings for the rear track end. It is nearing the time when the grand reassembly can take place though - which given the weeks it has taken to strip and sort the frame out, should go together relatively quickly over just a day or two...!

timbob · 17 Jun 2017 at 21:33

I've been making steady progress over the last month or so:

Took the plunge and decided to build the wheels myself. Measured up, ordered spokes, nipples and washers from SJS cycles. Front and rear went together over a period of 2 afternoons. Not as difficult as I thought it would be, but I made sure to be methodical and take my time. I trued them up in the frame with a ghetto arrangement with a steel rule and elastic bands, and two pencils attached to the fork or stays with blu-tac. Good and true, tensioned up nicely and stress relieved as I went along - they seem good and solid. Here's the front:

A short reach 1950s GB stem, and cheap as chips new alloy North Road style handlebars for the cockpit:

Rear hub is a standard Formula flip/flop hub. I have up trying to find a retro cup/cone hub and have gone this way for now - I figured I'd rather get it on the road and ride the bike than spend the whole summer browsing ebay and never finishing it. I pick up an old 1930s BSA (40 hole) rear hub which I would have like to have used, but I couldn't locate any 40 hole rims to match it. I will keep an eye out for relevant parts, and may well end up building a second rear wheel at some point to keep the whole build nice and vintage. Given I used a modern hub, I had to file flats on opposing sides of the axle to get the n larger diameter axle to fit the 8mm slots in the rear dropout:

Here's the front brake setup. It's not 100% ideal or historically correct, and I know the brake clamp should be mounted to the stem - but it seems to work in a roundabout sort of way... It looks cool at least!

And this is where I am as of this evening before work. Not much left to do other than file and fit the cotter pins and cranks, then hook the chain up. I have pair of chain tensioners on the way (that clamp over the back of the rear dropout, with two threaded axle holders to stop the rear axle pulling forward under power). I may keep on the lookout for a more lightweight Brooks saddle rather than the fully sprung "butchers bike" style one I have already. The saddle will come down a touch, but I need that amount of seatpost showing to get it in the workstand clamp.

I've some black cotton bar tape to wrap the bars in, and we're busy polishing off some Prosecco for some bar end plugs. I also need to find a clearcoat that won't dissolve my nice retro Raleigh transfer for the headtube before affixing that - and then I think we're on the go!!