This is a 1974 Raleigh Sports (21 inch size) I bought on Craigslist for $150. It wasn't in bad shape to begin with, but I put a lot of time and effort into revitalizing it so that it would be fun and safe to ride. This is my first English three speed and I'll be riding it in the Washington, DC tweed ride on November 6.
Things I did:
Changed tires and tubes. The tires on the bike when I got it were old and cracking. They'd been replaced sometime in the bike's life but not anytime recently. I decided to splurge on Schwalbe Delta Cruisers because I had read a lot of positive feedback on them from other Raleigh Sports owners, and I wanted something quality that would last me a while. I also thought they would fit under the fenders--I've read comments on some modern tires of the 26 x 1 3/8 size being too big to fit under fenders.
New brake pads. The brake pads were old and just barely acceptable. One of them was rusted on. I tossed them and installed new salmon Kool Stop brake pads.
New brake levers. I could have made do with the old self-adjusting levers but they were creaky and had rust inside. They didn't work that well. I decided to upgrade to Velo Orange city brake levers, which have a nice vintage look to them and more importantly, work well.
New shifter. The original shifter was rusted inside so that it was hard to use and the face plate had fallen off. I might be able to derust it and re-use it on something else but for now I wanted this bike to work. So I replaced it.
New brake cables and housings and a new shifter cable. The brake housings were rusty and the shifter wasn't working terribly well. I installed fresh cables and housings.
Front hub overhaul. I took apart the front hub, cleaned the parts, and put new grease and ball bearings in. The grease was old and crusty so it definitely needed to be changed.
Rear hub cog. I took the 18 tooth cog off of the rear hub and installed a new 22 tooth cog to make it easier to get up hills. I really can't imagine riding it up a hill of any type with the original cog. Maybe people in the 70s had strong legs! Doing this was a bit scary because I've never done it before, but I followed a really good video on YouTube.
I decided not to delve into the ball bearings of the hub. I wanted to get the bike working again first and didn't trust myself to do that yet. I will be pouring a small amount of oil into the oil port.
Bottom bracket overhaul. I used a wonderful and expensive yet worth-it tool, a cotter pin press from BikeSmith, to remove the cotter pins quickly and easily. I removed the cranks and polished them with foil to remove surface rust. I cleaned both sides of the chainring and shined up those beautiful herons with foil and polishing compound. I cleaned out the old grease and grit and put new ball bearings and grease into the bottom bracket.
Rims. The rims were rusty and I cleaned them with water and aluminum foil. I'd like to put alloy rims on it but for now I'm staying with the steel rims. The braking now is acceptable, although not as good as what I'm used to with my Linus mixte.
Saddle. The original Brooks mattress saddle was in good condition. I am working on refurbishing a 1965 Raleigh Colt and I think I'd like to use the mattress saddle on it. I installed on this bike a new Brooks that I bought this year.
General clean and polish, along with cleaning rust. I went over the frame with a little bit of slightly soapy water to clean off dirt, used some gentle polishing compound on it, and then used a car wax on it to shine it up.
The handlebars, seat post, and crank arms had some surface rust and I was able to clean almost all of it off with aluminum foil and water.
Still left to do:
The rear reflector was missing when I bought the bike. I'd like to buy one to replace it. I'd also like to put a rear rack on and hope to do that soon. I need to do some work adjusting the seat position and handlebar angle for comfort.
The heron in the headset lamp bracket is rusty. When I get a crescent wrench large enough to take apart the headset, I'll take that part off and use some Evaporust on it.
Cost (not including tools):
I'm including the cost of this project in case anyone is curious. I did more to the bike than I strictly needed to, and I also think I paid, debatably, on the high side for the condition the bike was in.
Cost of bike $150
Velo Orange city brake levers $13
22T cog $4
KMC Z410 chain $8.95
Kool-Stop Continental brake pads $19
new brake cables and housings (already had)
Two Schwalbe Cream Delta Cruisers, 26 x 1 3/8 $31.38 each
New Sturmey Archer three-speed trigger $18.95
Two Sunlite Schrader valve tubes $12
Brooks saddle $43 (had an REI gift certificate)
Sturmey Archer three speed trigger housing $12.95
$345.81
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