1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

[Krashper]

I finished blasting the remaining areas and primed the chaincase last week. This week I have been painting it progressively, one side at a time, two coats on each. It still needs one more coat on the facing side, that'll be done tomorrow. The pictures aren't the best but the colour will really pop in the sunlight. Hopefully I'll have it mounted soon.

[jb]

Nice job, looking forward to seeing it fitted.

[warey4life]

Sorry but you may have already said, but what spray paint did you use?

[Krashper]

I'm using Zinc182 primer by Isopon, that's an aerosol. The paint is Rustoleum Combicolor from the hammertone range. That's applied with a brush and roller.

[warey4life]

I'm using Zinc182 primer by Isopon, that's an aerosol. The paint is Rustoleum Combicolor from the hammertone range. That's applied with a brush and roller.

[Krashper]

It was a terrible faff to install but here we are. I slathered it with bitumen on the inside as far as I could reach. The chain wasn't rusty, just grimy so I scrubbed it with a wire brush and then shook it in a can with white spirit. I was going to boil it in oil but it wasn't rusty so I just covered it in gear oil.

As the handle bars are still in the works and I don't have a gear shifter I pulled the toggle chain as far as I could and put a steel wire through one of the links to keep it in the lowest gear. I then fitted some random bars I had about and took the bike for a test ride. I'll drop a post about it tomorrow.

[Krashper]

Apologies for the late post, I had a go on it and honestly, idk how I'll manage to ride it in Wales, lol, the thing's a tank! I ask myself what sort of sort of people lived and used these contraptions in the 50's, those guy's were monsters. As I said in the last post, I put a pin in the toggle chain to keep the gearing low, while you don't get the same tension as with a proper shifter the hub was definitely in the second gear, if not the first. And it's just hard work. I've gotten used to zooming around on SS, fast spinning.

As for the overall performance, not too shabby, I regret not giving the chaincase a look over before I disassembled the bike. I could have remedied any rubbing and rattling before I laid the paint. Now the chain rubs the sides on the inside and sometimes catches the edges of where the case opens up. The crank has also rubbed some paint off in one area where it came into contact, but other than that, it rides fine, just heavy....

I suppose it doesn't help that the frame, fenders and chain case are filled with bitumen and the tyres with sealant.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[jb]

For those bikes you need to ride like an old lady, slowly, no sweat and climb up the side of Ben Nevis without loosing a hat pin.

[RobC]

And change the sprocket to a 21 or even 22 tooth.
That way you get top gear for the flat, middle gear for headwinds or slight inclines, bottom gear for hills.
Honking was much more fashionable in the old days before the damage to knees was better known, (plus when it got too much, walking up hills wasn’t considered the faux pas it is now) hence the overgeared feeling of old three speeds.

[Krashper]

For those bikes you need to ride like an old lady, slowly, no sweat and climb up the side of Ben Nevis without loosing a hat pin.

Ha ha yeah...

Sometimes the winning move is not to play

[Krashper]

[Krashper]

And change the sprocket to a 21 or even 22 tooth.
That way you get top gear for the flat, middle gear for headwinds or slight inclines, bottom gear for hills.
Honking was much more fashionable in the old days before the damage to knees was better known, (plus when it got too much, walking up hills wasn’t considered the faux pas it is now) hence the overgeared feeling of old three speeds.

I've considered this but it would require a chain change as it would need to be longer to accommodate the bigger gear and I really want to use the original chain. They don't make chains like this anymore. The Renolds chain that comes originally with English 3-speeds is much thicker and bulkier than any chain made today. It's a chain that will probably last a lifetime. There's a photo there to show the difference.

I've got another one from a previous project that I could use to add length but no modern chain breaker will break it open. I've tried and I'll snap the tool if I try. Renolds actually made a tool to split their chains with (photo attached) but it's rare and expensive on ebay. Not to mention the case that was a massive pain to install, I don't think I want to go through that again...

So there! That should be enough reasons justify my laziness...

Jokes aside, I've taken it for a ride to work today (brakes are on now, more photos coming) and the gearing isn't too bad, I just hope when I put the shifter non, that the hub will jump into the first gear, that should be the end of my problems.

[Krashper]

I have been busy these past two weeks, no I did not die...

I've cleaned up the handle bars, painted the brake arches and some other bits and mounted the rod brakes yesterday. Having ridden it now, I can confirm that rod brakes are as bad as I have heard. They work but I have to use them in hindsight coming up to any potential stops and blind corners. They would be completely useless if speed got involved thus this bike will be spared from speedy riding. Also the rust pitting and scars have made the rims into cheese graters, so brake pad changes will be more frequent than usual.

[jb]

On the plus side, there's no cable stretch to worry about

[rjb]

The Renolds chain is a bushed chain, the other is a bushless chain. You can still buy bushed chains. Some swear by the KMC B1
https://www.kmcchain.com/en/product/bic ... ngle-speed