Raleigh Sports Visual ID: Amendments

US-spec Raleigh Sports (Light Roadster) Identification - Frame Attributes

Note: This page is under construction. Photographs will be switched out as better ones are taken to better illustrate the differences.

Raleigh Cottered Crank/Bottom Bracket Service

When I got my first bike that had cottered cranks, a 1958 Raleigh Sports, I didn't know anything and thought "Oh, how convenient! I can probably just undo the nut, use some WD-40, and slide it out! And nope ...

Note: Sheldon Brown and John Allen have already written an excellent article on dealing with cotter pins and they do a better job explaining, so look at that first. As with the article on SW hub service, this one is meant to be a one-stop guide that hopefully supplies enough information to bring someone from start to finish on a compete rebuild of the bottom bracket, covering more than just pin removal.

Rod Brake Service

Rod brakes are an ancient, finicky system. Tuned well, they can provide decades of maintenance-free service in dry weather. However, there are many ways by which their operation can be compromised and the seemingly innocent adjustment of handlebars, stem, and chain tension are a few things that demand extra attention with rod brake roadsters. Also, if you are like me and happen to live in an area without a significant following for vintage or utility cycling, it is likely that no shops in your vicinity will service rod brakes. Rod brake roadsters may seem intimidating to work on at first but I will attempt to dispel any self-doubt that may exist due to the smattering of poorly-given advice on the internet. If you have patience, some basic tools, and can turn a wrench, you can give your own rod brakes a full service. 

This post will cover several different things you can do with rod brakes to make them perform better than new. The order in which these tasks are completed will vary with the condition of the mechanism. If your brakes need a full overhaul, don't hesitate to tear them apart and do all the steps at the same time. With rod brake roadsters, basic maintenance, even a simple wheel removal can take much longer than expected. Take this as motivation to get everything dialed in correctly the first time. First, let's go over the names of some parts just to clarify what I will be talking about:

Overhauling a Sturmey-Archer SW 3-speed Hub

In my experience, bits of information on the Sturmey-Archer SW hub are few and far between. While Brian Hayes provides a wealth of valuable information on Sheldon Brown's website as does Tony Hadland, I still had to dive into this operation unsure of what to expect the first time. That being said, if you plan to work on this hub and/or put many miles on it, I suggest that you thoroughly read Hayes' article before doing anything else. This post is the first of a few "tutorials" I plan to write and with it, I hope to bring together all of the information I have found useful and provide straightforward, basic instructions to tear down one of these hubs and get it running without modification.

Image from en.wikimedia.org