Vintage Raleigh help needed please

[Murvi Dave]

Hello all,
This is my first post and I’m looking for some assistance to identify the age and model of my recent purchase. I hope some of you can help. I have checked all the sites I can find to no avail. I initially bought it on a whim from a local garage yard sale to use as a garden feature, but upon getting it home and looking more closely at it I think it may have some age to it. To cut a long story short, I don’t want to use it as a garden ornament if it has some serious age to it. To the bike, or what’s left of it!! Most of what’s still on it looks to be later add ons, Hercules chain ring, handlebars, chainguard, hub dates 1975. I think only the front wheel and head set are original to the frame. I have checked sites to date it from the frame number (97940 B) but doesn’t seem to match any number/letter patterns and the heron badge seems it could be 1930s or 1970s. The more angled back steeper sloped head and seat post tube seems to date it 1930s ish. Any help will be very much appreciated.

[Brucey]

the combination of slack angles and no fittings for rod brakes makes it look most like a 1930s 'sports' model design to me. Post-war sports models had the same dropouts and mudguard eyes but steeper angles and more braze-ons; specifically on in the RH chainstay for the chaincase, and one on the seat lug for the gear cable pulley.

This is advertised as a 1939 'sports' model and it is pretty close to both what I'd expect and your machine



I'd probably restore it (but not necessarily be 100% faithful to the original spec); I'd expect it to ride surprisingly well. I also don't think it would be very difficult to do; you already have a headset and BB (both potentially troublesome items on this type of machine) and if they are serviceable the rest of it is just bolt-on stuff really.

cheers

[gaz]

Certainly some similarity.

Image.jpg

[Brucey]

indeed, but the 1935 model has different rear dropouts; the OP's has the later style with the low set mudguard eyelets (which ran until the 1980s in fact). It isn't very clear but the 1939 model I think also has the low set eyelets.

cheers

[peetee]

I hate to sound-off like a parrot again but, are those forks pushed back?

[Brucey]

I hate to sound-off like a parrot again but, are those forks pushed back?

I think in this case it looks worse than it is because of lens distortion; in one of the other pictures the forks look straight(er). Anyway I have found that with these Raleigh forks, they usually bend in the upper half of the fork blade and they bend back straight quite easily too.

cheers

[Murvi Dave]

Thanks all for your replies.
So it seems to be pre war then which is nice to know. It’s not going to be a rusting garden ornament now. It’s going to be saved, rebuilt with period parts to my own taste and added to my ever growing collection of bikes.....and projects!! Nothing is seized up on it which makes life a lot easier to start with. Not a bad purchase then for £5.

[Murvi Dave]

Oh....and to answer the question, yes the forks are pushed back slightly, but should pull back and straighten up with a bit of persuasion.

[Cyril Haearn]

Please to report on the restoration with pictures, thank you

[markjohnobrien]

Yes, updates would be very interesting.

[Murvi Dave]

No problem, I can certainly keep you all updated but it may be a bit of a slow progression.

This morning I have been scraping some of the nasty paint that someone has applied on the frame and chrome bits at some point using a brick by the looks of it!! Sadly, no evidence of any original possible gold scripting anywhere to show what model it is for sure. Luckily the nasty paint comes off fairly easily, although it will be time consuming. No repaint or show winning restoration here, just as much of the original patina frame as possible preserved to then build it up with vintage parts.
Took some better pictures before I start the strip down and all the hard work starts.