Laphroaig Special Edition

Here is the Laphroaig Special Edition Raleigh Grand Prix. She's a recently restored Steel beauty crafted at the Carlton Works in Worshop, England in 1973. I enjoyed bringing her back to life... almost as much as I did freeing up the bar end corks!

Three Speed for Tweed

Looking for just the right steed for the upcoming Tweed Ride? In my humble opinion the correct mount for any tweed run is a proper English roadster. All steel. Three speeds. Hub gears. Brooks saddle. Made in England by the likes of Raleigh of Nottingham, Robin Hood, Rudge, Humber, BSA or any one of about a dozen reputable firms that spread this bicycle around the Empire and known world from the early 1900’s through the 1980s. These bikes will typically have 28”or 26”steel wheels and slightly knobby tyres. They are the perfect ride for town or country. They cruise city streets with ease, particularly the less than well paved ones, and they shine on gravel paths or trails.

English three-speeds were once commonplace in the U.S. My first new bike was a three-speed Raleigh Sports. Before the mass introduction of the ten-speed and the mountain bike, they were imported to the U.S. by the thousands and they remain plentiful and cheap. Sometimes even free. A quick glance at eBay shows at least a hundred such bikes for sale in various states of repair at any given time, some can be had for less than $100. Few seem to go for more than $400. The better news is that these bikes were designed to age well and to be serviceable. Every part can be replaced, adjusted or repaired relatively easily, so even if you find a real fixer-upper, there is great potential.

About two years ago, I found such a bike, quite literally in the trash. I rescued it from certain death and made a project of restoring it. Being no expert at bike repair, the first thing I did was sign up for the bike repair course at a local bike shop (LBS). With enough wrench-turning knowledge to be dangerous, a little elbow grease and some time I was able to turn the bike on the right into the one above.

The bike in question is a 1967 Raleigh DL-1, sometimes called a “Tourist” model. It’s a roadster with rod-operated roller-lever brakes, which were not common on bikes imported to the U.S. This older type of brake pulls up from the bottom of the rim using metal linkages rather than the cable operated sidepull brakes that are more prevalent in the U.S. The newer sidepull brakes definitely offer an advantage in stopping power. This bike was in rough shape when I found it. There were weeds growing in the tyres and spokes. It was covered in rust. But few of the major parts were broken, and the frame was solid as a rock.

Unbelievably, after years of abuse and idleness, the wheels were still dead true. Most of the rust came off with liberal amounts of bronze wool (don’t use steel wool as it will induce rust), turtle wax and elbow grease.

The mudguards (fenders) and chainguard had to be sanded and repainted, but the frame cleaned up nicely. I was able to clean up and save some of the graphics, but some were lost. Overall it has a nice patina of a well-maintained 40+ year old bike.

This bike has a unique upright handlebar set called a Northroad bar. It has a built in stem and the brake levers are bolted directly to the bars with springs. Rust had pitted the bars and one of the springs was broken so the whole handlebar unit was replaced. I found the part on eBay for $44.00.

The stainless steel cottered cranks are a work of art, with three Raleigh Herons supporting the 48 tooth chainring. The rust came right off; I added new cotters and the cranks now shine like new. The bottom bracket needed some attention. It proved tough to get off, so I enlisted the help of my friendly LBS, and we took it apart. We found grass and seeds inside… but not much grease. You can’t ever have enough grease in your bottom bracket.

We replaced the ball bearings, repacked the bracket and it ran smoothly from the first crank. Wrench, clean, grease, repack, and reassemble. Repeat step with pedals. Repeat step with headset. Every moving part on this bike now runs like a brand new bike.

The most expensive replacement item on the bike was the Brooks Saddle. A properly sprung leather saddle, like this B-67 model in Honey cowhide, is essential to the character of an English roadster. I added leather grips to match as well.

What really sets the English roadster apart is the Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub gear system. Internal-gear hubs offer many advantages over external derailleur gears system common on today’s bikes. They are more reliable than derailleur systems, and require much less maintenance. Unlike derailleur gears, internal hubs shift at a stop, very nice in stop-and-go urban traffic. Since most also have the month and the last two digits of the year of manufacture stamped onto the shell, they make the task of dating older 3-speed bikes easy… providing it has its original rear wheel.

The hub on my DL-1 dated it to 1967. The gearbox worked nearly flawlessly after replacing the cable and a worn nut. All of the parts are housed in a steel shell, and which is bathed in oil. Usually these hubs will work perfectly with simple cable adjustments no matter how old they are. If they don’t, fear not. Any good bike mechanic should be able to work on a Strumey Archer Hub. If you can’t find a shop that will, just turn to the Internet. The great late Sheldon Brown (RIP) scribed just about anything you would ever need to know to repair, or even build an English 3-speed bike from scratch here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/english-3.html The shop he worked for outside Boston also is a great resource for English roadster and Sturmey Archer parts: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/index.html. Another great resource for parts on the Web is Yellow Jersey: http://www.yellowjersey.org/eastbits.html . They also sell brand new copies of English Roadsters, imported from India, where, like in China and much of the Third World, these bikes still provide reliable daily transportation for millions of people. I purchased the pump and Dynamo lights from them.

These are serious bikes, built to last. They are not speedsters, but they do provide stylish and efficient transportation. If your aim is to keep up with the peloton and you make it a habit of counting the grams on your carbon fiber speed machine… this may not be the bike for you. Mine weighs in at about 50 pounds. But with the huge 28” Westwood rims, it cruises surprisingly fast, and over distances of less than 20 miles or so it is without a doubt the most comfortable bike I own.

Ladies versions have a stylish step-through frame that allows for skirts (I’m currently in mid-restoration of one for the Mrs.) Mr. Brooks’ springs obviate the need for padded spandex pants. Platform pedals with rubber blocks allow you to wear footwear you can actually walk in once you get off the bike and when you step off the bike there is not a big black chainring tattoo on your right leg. All in all… the English roadster is the perfect match for your stylish self on the next tweed run.

Fixie on the beach!

Spring meant a Southbound trip to Hilton Head Island where the family did a lot of biking...

The South Carolina beaches are hard-packed enough to allow bikes with road tires to be used on the beach. The tires on my Raleigh fixie conversion are 700c x 26 and did just fine.


Gratuitous beach panda shot... please don't try this at home. The fixie is sporting new bars for the trip left over from the Roadster conversion. These were on the DL-1 as found, covered with rust. They cleaned up pretty nicely, but still have some pitting and rust on the underside.


The North Road bar/stem combo from the DL-1 replaced the Nitto track bars for the trip. I removed the rod brake levers and replaced them with a city bike lever from the good folks at Velo Orange. V/O also had these cool brown brake cable housings to match the Brooks and the leathery bits already on the bike. I left two of the rod supports in and used one as a makeshift cable guide. I also added the B-67 springer seat, bell and kickstand, which made for easy cruising on the islands great system of bike trails.


After the trip the fixie got a nice bath and full chain-off cleaning. Sand is insidious.

The Dog Ate My Blog

This, the first post of the new year, coming in late January, is sent with my apologies. Pick an excuse... It's been an unusually cold and snowy winter for DC, as evidenced in the shot below... I've been working my tail off with a silly little thing like trying to fix health care... The kids are fully into basketball, swimming, indoor soccer. etc season. But the real truth is... The dog ate my blog.

Meet Cisco. He's the latest member of the family, a six month old Wheaten Terrier puppy who demands a lot of attention. Yes, Cisco has, on more than one occasion, kept me off the bike on a fair day that would have otherwise contained a less-than-epic winter ride which would have been fodder for a post.


Well enough already with the excuses. Its' time for a ride. So what if we're in the middle of the second significant snowstorm (ok... third by DC standards) of our still infant winter. This morning before the white stuff piled up too high, I dusted off the trusty rugged-tyred, mudguard-fitted DL-1 Roadster and took a little ride down the Mount Vernon Trail. The bike handled beautifully in the snow. These tyres were made for the stuff. The brakes on the other hand, not so much. Keep it slow on your snowy rod-braked roadster ride. I would guess I had about 25% of normal stopping power. Any of you who have ridden a bicycle with roller lever rod brakes already know that it probably only has 10% of the stopping power of modern disc-braked mountain bike. Good enough if you keep it slow, which is good advice for riding the snow any way. Well that's it for now. Time to have some hot chocolate and cozy up the fire.

May You Have a Happy and Prosperous New Year

Happy New Year. May the wind be at your back in 2010!

Before and After

Before: as found

After

So it's been a while... busy with the holidays and what. I thought I would post some before and after pics of the DL-1 Roadster. This was found just about a year ago and underwent a painstaking renovation... I say renovation because the goal was not to get it to complete "as new" restoration, but to turn the Raleigh into a fully functioning (and beautiful) transport bike. Mission accomplished methinks. Stay tuned for some news on my next project. A ladies loop frame DL-1 for the Mrs.

After

Other fine things from the British Isles...

Choices, choices... Full cask strength 12 year old, or traditional 16 year old.