Smashingly gorgeous under the grime in proper maroon. I even have a leather saddle for it. Tempted to keep it as a utility bike, but Ill probably restore and sell for $200. Pictures and exact date to come as I clean the rear hub off.

I cant bring myself to harvest the hub for the Redline. Gah! Tho I could switch hubs and make a fixed gear Raleigh Sports.

Upon cleanup, its a candy apple red one from 76. 27" rims Big honkers. Fits me. I may ride it round town for a while. Gears are perfect. Sturmey Archer= :wub:

Ya big girly! its a womans bike!!! give it to a saucy female, and have her mate with you.  

this takes us back to a time when Raleighs were built by men with beer guts and comb overs in Nottingham....

Used it for a couple beer runs and erstwhile utility purposes already. Needs front hub overhaul, bb service, and a real polishing, but 90 minutes of grime removal was promising. Brakes suck ass just like they should with steel rims. Might replace the front with a Mavic Ive got. Front brake is now a Shimano 600 caliper after a bit of drilling and tooling.

Now I just need one more bike, as Im having a few folks visit in the spring, and one must always have guest bikes. This one is now christened "Irene" and Helga is her one speed German sister, in flaking orange and black rim paint.

heh guest bikes

Hell, when you find an alley bike or something decent at the thrifty barn for $20, and have a garage, why the hell not? I find nothing more zen than a can of lager and doing mindless work on an ancient bike. Ill post piccies when I get some fresh AA batteries.

Quote from: M3ta7h3adYa big girly! its a womans bike!!! give it to a saucy female, and have her mate with you.  

even better he should cross it with his normal bike and become a bycycle breeder, just think of all the profit to be made when the little ones grow up a bit and he can sell them  :-)

Sounds like a velo version of Pink Flamingoes:

QuoteThe Marbles kidnap hitchhiking women, have them impregnated by their servant Channing (Channing Wilroy), and then sell the babies to lesbian couples. As Raymond explains, they use the dykes? money to finance their porno shops and "a network of dealers selling heroin in the inner-city elementary schools."

Update: finally found appropriate tires, some thick gumwalls with tan sides. Had to go to the K-mart supersaver center in little Mexico, as the bike shops dont slum this bad. Look just like the originals.

Took 2 1/2 hours to mount. Kid you not. The most insane set of tires Ive ever tried. Got ten pinch flats. :shock: A mere mortal wouldnt have gotten one on, I did a total of ten tire changes. :fuming: Finally got them on with dish soap and four levers, two being worked with a knee and a windowsill. Took 18X what it usually takes me: 5 minutes per end.

Anyhoo, loobed up the front hub. Remember kids: with Raleighs, fixed cup is on the right or your bearings will pour out onto the pavement.

Rear hub was rough feeling. Didnt have a 16mm cone wrench handy, but I was still able to flush it out  with a few tablespoons of Maxs Magic Elixer, and then adjusted the cone tension with a crescent wrench and some determination. Its spot on now.

Time to pump up those tires, mount the wheels and take her for a test ride.

Ill post a pic of the old tires when I get some batteries: They were literally bubbled up and melted onto the rims. Took a screwdriver to get them off. Texas bike by the address on the dealer decal.

crap pic as it focused on the fireplace, but here it is:

Oooh, would love one like that. Esp with those gears...

Aye, after a second flushing and ride with my Magic Elixer, its shifting as good as any brand new AW-3 hub. Had to tighten the cable adjuster 3 turns to get it spot on. Man, I love hub gears!. :wub: Rides great, now I want me a Real Man version as the womens frame is a bit flexy and ponderous.

Anyway, a basically new bike: $40.

lol Sara, why the hell cant we have a Max here in the UK.

Id buy one of his beater made good bikes any day

Looks good Max, but its still a girly bike lol.

It is essential that any fleet have girly bikes! For what its worth, Ive been riding the living crap out of Helga, who just got a new rear wheel.

The dynamic duo:

original tires from the Raleigh: