1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

For discussions about bikes and equipment.
Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

I used strips of regular elecrician's tape to mask the holes. This worked well because this tape is made of vinyl and is easily stretched and can easily be formed and worked around anything with your fingers. It also doesn't crease like packaging tape or rip like painters masking tape. Additionally the resin doesn't stick to the adhesive on the paint so it can be peeled off really easily.
Attachments
DSCN0315.JPG
DSCN0314.JPG
Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

That's it for this fender for now. I'm waiting for the new mudflap to turn up so I can mark and drill the new hole. I bought a basic quality one by TinyTech, this one is the version without the branding, just a basic quality plastic piece so we'll see if they're any good:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Unbranded-Bi ... 4911269961

I'll be back when it's primed.
ClappedOut
Posts: 585
Joined: 30 May 2020, 12:43am

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by ClappedOut »

Krashper wrote: 17 Apr 2021, 8:56pm I highly recommend PowerStrip, only downside I have found to it so far is that the plastic neck of the bottle fails after being pulled in and out too many times. If just left pulled out, it'd probably be fine. Mine failed so I had to pour it into another container.
On a side note the original key ring on eBay warns not to ride with it in the lock, could be an exciting experience!
Genuinely curious about this. Can you elaborate? Forgive me if I'm being thick or just missing an obvious joke. They go over my head all the time... :lol:
eBay 143704336356 C.1950s ORIGINAL RALEIGH INDUSTRIES BICYCLE FORK LOCK KEY FOB RING #1265

It would be exciting if it could lock while riding as a Frank Spencer moment
Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

I'm sure there were many funny theft fails involving these bikes in those years :lol:
Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

Yesterday, I removed most of the remaining paint from the rear fender. I didn't want to continue near the rear end of the fender as the bracket is damaged and barely holding on. I took it to work today and sandblasted the area clean of rust and then...... butchered it! :lol:

Just kidding. I asked a friend at work to weld it for me. This was done with a MIG at work, it's a bit too aggressive for thin steel but we managed. The left side has been closed off entirely. Right side got burned out in some spots. I will file off the excess and see if we can try again to close the areas that burned through.

For now I can continue to strip the remaining paint off the back as the bracket is sitting solidly.
Attachments
IMG_20210421_130842744.jpg
DSCN0346.JPG
DSCN0344.JPG
DSCN0341.JPG
DSCN0340.JPG
ClappedOut
Posts: 585
Joined: 30 May 2020, 12:43am

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by ClappedOut »

braise or gas weld
User avatar
willcee
Posts: 1438
Joined: 14 Aug 2008, 11:30pm
Location: castleroe,co.derryUlster

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by willcee »

Those guards are past work and uneconomical repair costs, I suppose we all have to start our first resto blind, and its a steep learning track and can often be a money pit, with my experience and knowledge I would have avoided that machine from the get go. the Raleigh to have is pre war [1st] otherwise they're not worth other than an oil rag resto.. a friend and very handy bike guy did a Raleigh Superb caliper braked Model,rebuilt to a std that Raleigh never matched, some 12/15 years back to the tune of 600 sovs, he eventually settled for 300, my own pre war 1930 sports one with a radial front wheel was rebuilt by yours truly standing me iro 300 no corners cut, and no chrome needed, with genuine Raleigh branded celluloid mudguards and I took 350 for it last summer..I can understand enthusiasm but i rail at the money waste that often haunts and halts a second third or 10th resto where you get the enjoyment and the satisfaction and a return on your outlay...when the cycle jumbles start again have a day at one of them and come away enthused ,more knowledgeable and maybe consider joining the VCC veteran cycle club... will...
ClappedOut
Posts: 585
Joined: 30 May 2020, 12:43am

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by ClappedOut »

willcee wrote: 21 Apr 2021, 10:34pm Those guards are past work and uneconomical repair costs, I suppose we all have to start our first resto blind, and its a steep learning track and can often be a money pit, with my experience and knowledge I would have avoided that machine from the get go. the Raleigh to have is pre war [1st] otherwise they're not worth other than an oil rag resto.. a friend and very handy bike guy did a Raleigh Superb caliper braked Model,rebuilt to a std that Raleigh never matched, some 12/15 years back to the tune of 600 sovs, he eventually settled for 300, my own pre war 1930 sports one with a radial front wheel was rebuilt by yours truly standing me iro 300 no corners cut, and no chrome needed, with genuine Raleigh branded celluloid mudguards and I took 350 for it last summer..I can understand enthusiasm but i rail at the money waste that often haunts and halts a second third or 10th resto where you get the enjoyment and the satisfaction and a return on your outlay...when the cycle jumbles start again have a day at one of them and come away enthused ,more knowledgeable and maybe consider joining the VCC veteran cycle club... will...
Fully understand your financial point, some of us find it a useful diversion, my bike is quite rare and it is nothing to look at, the time effort and energy in returning it from a worn out wreck- most likely I could have bought something better cheaper, however the distraction of refurbishment with my son priceless.
robc02
Posts: 1824
Joined: 23 Apr 2009, 7:12pm
Location: Stafford

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by robc02 »

Re. the cost and effort etc. One's view might be different if the bike is for personal use, rather than as a project for eventual resale.

My own Humber Roadster - 1951 model, was bought from a second hand shop in a pretty shabby but usable state. I used it as my runaround for several years before I decided to properly restore it. I did so via a commercial powdercoater but added pinstriping myself, rebuilt the wheels, and added a new B66 saddle, modern lighting (inside original housing), tyres plus various odds and ends. That must have been ten years ago and it has served me very well as a daily runaround / general slow tourer in the intervening years. I regard it as excellent value for money.

Where it gets expensive is if rechroming is needed - and I think I would draw the line there, preferring to seek decent used parts much as Wilcee suggests. My Humber had stainless rims but most of the other chrome parts were simply treated with rust inhibitor (phosphoric acid based) and left to get on with it - proudly showing their past life!
User avatar
willcee
Posts: 1438
Joined: 14 Aug 2008, 11:30pm
Location: castleroe,co.derryUlster

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by willcee »

Quote.... ''my bike is quite rare and it is nothing to look at'' maybe get hold of the Raleigh guy at VCC usually someone on there will give a newbie a tel contact number then send him pics and the frame number , he'll likely tell you like I did its just an old Raleigh...Totally get the use angle issue. your money your decision, my take is money today isn't as easily replaced as it was some time before last March..the day you buy is the day you sell is an old dealers motto...no disrespect intended .....will
ClappedOut
Posts: 585
Joined: 30 May 2020, 12:43am

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by ClappedOut »

willcee wrote: 22 Apr 2021, 12:38pm Quote.... ''my bike is quite rare and it is nothing to look at'' maybe get hold of the Raleigh guy at VCC usually someone on there will give a newbie a tel contact number then send him pics and the frame number , he'll likely tell you like I did its just an old Raleigh...Totally get the use angle issue. your money your decision, my take is money today isn't as easily replaced as it was some time before last March..the day you buy is the day you sell is an old dealers motto...no disrespect intended .....will
Not sure the Raleigh guy will be much help with my Swiss bicycle, but I too have the urge for an Equire at some point
User avatar
willcee
Posts: 1438
Joined: 14 Aug 2008, 11:30pm
Location: castleroe,co.derryUlster

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by willcee »

Apologies friend, you might have taken over inside the Raleigh Superb guys thread. I thought most of the contris I had read were about a Superb early on hadn't read closely enough in the latter pages when I saw the bird dung weld on a rotten roadster mudguard now belonging to your continental roadster bicycle... will
Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

Some good posts there. I think Will's right about the money pit issue with resto's. Raleigh bikes from the 50's are pretty abundant and the nicer you make them, the harder it is to recover the cost upon sale. Pre-1st-war Raleigh's are really where it starts being worth it, if you're after the money that is...

I'm doing this bike for myself so I just want to have some fun with it. I want to make it serviceable again and conserve what's already there. I don't really care much for making it OEM or re-chroming parts, powder coating, etc... that's where the money pit really starts. This is going to be a bike for riding, not a museum artefact so I'm trying to keep the budget down as much as possible. Any more advanced machinery that I've had access to has been free of charge at work so I've been doing pretty well so far.

Also, bird dung weld... heh, pretty harsh :lol: I think you're wrong about the fenders. They are very much serviceable without a lot of input. They have been very well conserved by the black oxidation that has formed under the paint in low-oxygen, low-moisture conditions. I've read up a bit about black rust and how it forms and it does little damage. Those fender's will clean up very nicely.

Let's see what happens. :wink:
User avatar
warey4life
Posts: 85
Joined: 5 Apr 2021, 8:08am

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by warey4life »

I have restored a few bikes and recovering the cost on sale is never in the forefront of my mind. I just like sitting in the shed working on bikes and enjoying the process of seeing an old wreck transformed into something that I can ride and that is pleasing to the eye 😁
ClappedOut
Posts: 585
Joined: 30 May 2020, 12:43am

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by ClappedOut »

Having a Marine welding qualification :lol: and avoiding it ever since where possible.
Mig will blow holes as you found out.

Braized / gas welding with new peice moulded from behind and used as a heat sink.
You could then mould with linishing disc and a skim of body filler.
Post Reply