So a question might be "why?" I already have a mated pair of Raleigh Sports in pristine condition, completely done up. Why this old beater? Well, I have been thinking lately about the fact that most of my bikes are either impractical to ride (Raleigh RSW) or too nice to ride (aforementioned Raleigh Sport) I was honestly looking for a vintage Raleigh Sport in 23" frame size that I could just add to and make it an everyday ride around bike. This one fit the bill. Also, I had a nice set of rebuilt wheels (original refurbished Sturmey Archer hubs laced to Sun CR-18 rims with modern stainless spokes) with new tires and tubes waiting for this frame. Add on the Brooks B-66 and alloy seatpost, Carradice Barley bag and a few odds and ends from the parts bin and, voila, here she is!
Most of the decals are pretty rough (see below) but the head badge is BRILLIANT! I love this head badge. Of all the Raleigh brands, this one takes it.
My plan is to slowly acquire and replace some of the wonky parts. The right crank seems a bit bent, so the pedal twists a little under foot. The plastic roller wheel can be replaced with metal. Brakes are a little rusty. Mostly cosmetic stuff, so I'm not in a real hurry.
Fun ride! Now if I only had the space for it around the house...
Strangely enough, I don't recall ever seeing a Robin Hood branded cycle in the UK. Perhaps they were an export-only brand, and the same model may have been sold in the UK as Triumph or Hercules.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point. I've never seen a Hercules over here in US. I have seen a Triumph. I live pretty close to Vancouver BC and there were a fair number of British imports into Canada that have worked their way down here.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I can tell, they are basically all the same. On the lower priced brands, did they use different steel in the frames? Was it just differences in components? Any insights?
Not sure, but have always assumed the basic frames to be much the same. The main differences being components, paintwork, and other equipment.
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