The 1971 Raleigh Sports

In late May of 2023 I was cycling the Cape Ann Loop, which is a mainly coastal ride through Gloucester and Rockport Massachusetts. Here's an example of that ride, taken on the Raleigh, from one of my recent Strava entries,:

It was trash day in East Gloucester, and I noticed a furlong bicycle at the curb with other items for trash pickup. I stopped and investigated. It was a brown (now I know the color is "Coffee") three speed Raleigh Sports in pretty rough shape. Rust, flat and brittle tires, frozen cables, but it was complete. The wheels seemed true enough, the frame had no structural issues, it had full mudguards (fenders) and the size looked right for me. I always wanted a 3 speed bike, and here was my chance.

I put my cable lock on the Raleigh, and finished my Cape Ann Loop. Once home, I put my bike rack on the car, drove back, and rescued the Sports.

While I consider myself a decent bike mechanic for derailleur geared bicycles, I knew nothing about internal hub gears for repair or adjustment. Luckily, I knew about the best resource available on-line, Sheldon Brown's website. Sheldon knew and documented all about these bikes, along with pointers to many other experts. Within a month (after securing new parts), I had "my" Raleigh Sports running as well as the day it was shipped from the factory in Nottingham, England. I removed as much  of the rust as possible with Naval Jelly. The paint is still original, with a bit of surface rust in spots that now just adds a nice patina.

Over the course of the last two years and 6800 miles I've made the following changes:

• A new rear wheel fitted with a Shimano Nexus 3 Speed Hub, (I disabled the coaster brake)
  
  I can still revert to the original rear wheel / Sturmey Archer AW hub, but the Nexus is very nice and has no false "freewheeling" between second and third gear if the AW is out of adjustment
  
  (The date code on the Sturmey Archer AW hub is dated 1971)
  
  
• A 22T rear cog and new chain for a better gear inch ratio than the 18T for climbing hills
  
  
• A Brooks B67 sprung leather saddle and new, longer seat post 
  
  
• new tires / tubes
  
  
• new rat trap pedals with toe clips / straps
  
  
• new handlebar grips
  
  
• A rear rack for use with a very old, early 1980's Frostline Kit pannier
  
  
• removable LED lights (front / rear) 
  
  
• A simple wired Planet Bike odometer
  
  
• A few UK flag decals, and a 1972 Mass RMV registration sticker
  
  
• all new cables
  
  
• A new, (much) lighter kick stand
  
  
• New "Continental" Kool Stop brake pads.
  
  
• A new 9.5mm cotter pin on the left crank arm
  
  
• A bell 

The bike is now very reliable and rides quietly and smoothly. Along with my toolkit, which I'll detail in a later post, it weighs in at 45 lbs. This is not a carbon fiber bike!

Here's a recent photo the Raleigh taken with the  SSV Ernestina-Morrissey in Gloucester's inner harbor at the State Pier.

I'll be boxing this bike up for its transport as regular luggage between BOS and GLA.