Raleigh Sports / Cable Knarps

Hello and Welcome. First I have to credit harriscyclery.com for the photo of the Knarps.
I have been going nuts looking for these knarps. First let me explain. This old Raleigh has a front brake cable with two end pieces. There is no cable anchor point on the caliper to secure the cable. My biggest problem was I had no idea how to describe what I was looking for. In other words I had never even heard the word knarp and certainly had no bloody idea what a knarp was.

Finally I found them on harriscyclery.com And they are made for something else (certain brake levers). However Harris cyclery stocks them for replacement ends for the "two end" front brake cables on some vintage Raleighs (and others). Also, I would like to thank Steve at rebrit.com for his help with some questions I had about this bike. If you are looking for a professionally restored Vintage British bicycle. Steve is the guy you want to get in touch with. Anyway, trying to find a rare part that you don`t know the proper name for is difficult at best. I don`t think I would have attempted this restoration or any bicycle restoration before the internet came along. What a wonderful tool the internet is. Also today I found a 500 watt light stand for the shop. It was on sale locally at Peter`s True Value Hardware for about 14.00 . Now it will be much easier to see what I`m doing in the shop/garage this winter. I am hoping to get some "bicycle work" done this weekend. But I`m ankle deep in leaves, so weather permitting I should get at it. Meantime RIDE SAFE and remember RESCUE-RESTORE & RECYCLE
Cheers,Hugh

1964 Raleigh Sports 3 Speed

Hello and Welcome.
Today I found this Vintage (1964) RALEIGH SPORTS 3 Speed. I drove 35 miles to AnnArbor Mi to pick it up. I know eventually I could have found a cheaper one at a Thrift Store. But I got tired of waiting for one to turn-up. So there it is in all it`s not yet restored glory. Last week,I almost purchased a Vintage Norman 3 Speed (also English) but it never happened. Probably a good thing as the seller was asking $135.00 Which made this one seem like a bargain at $75.00. I might also mention I spotted a 1969 RALEIGH "Sports" today in very good condition on C.L. (missing saddle) for 400.00 . This thing is a little rough cosmetically, but everything works. The chain-guard is banged up a bit as is the rear fender. But like someone told me once as a young apprentice "If it was easy, everybody would want to do it" Also this means I have something to do while waiting for parts for the SPORTEX project. Like the 10 or so bikes waiting for restoration was not enough. Oh well what can I say "It`s a disease" I`m so stoked about this project I almost hope I get rained out tomorrow, so I can spend the whole day putt sing around in the shop/garage. Till next time, Ride Safe & Remember to Always... RESCUE, RESTORE & RECYCLE!
Cheers,Hugh
UPDATE: March 30th 2013
I had no idea at the time of purchase I would not restore this bike until late in the summer of 2012 . When I got the bike home and had some time to really think about it, I knew I was not ready for this restoration. Three years latter, after another really intensive Raleigh restoration. I knew I was as ready as I would ever be.
Above: The 1964 Raleigh Sports restoration. Shortly after this photograph was taken I purchased a set of NOS mid 60's Raleigh Replacement pedals. And also rewired the Dynohub & headlamp.

NEXT Mountain Bike Refurbish

Hello and Welcome.
I found this entry level NEXT Mountain Bike last week at one of my favorite Thrift Stores. It had a flat tire on the rear. Also a slight wobble in the rear wheel. And the Saddle was ripped. And the linear pull brakes, were set-up improperly. The kick-stand was loose. After getting it home I noticed a wobble in the front wheel as well (also slight) But! (and there is always a but)the bike appeared to be barely ridden. The finish although dirty looked great. Also the tires had all the little nubs, that always gets my attention. Then I noticed the derailleurs were Shimano and the "like new" tires were KENDA. No kinks in any of the cables (that`s always nice). The crank was not loose or tight, No play or grind in the threaded headset. The handlebars and brake levers were not scraped up. Although the bar-ends were a little scraped up. I replaced them with a pair I had scavenged off a parts bike. I had recently picked up a good saddle at one of my Thrift Stores that would be a nice fit for this bike. So not a lot of money spent there.($6.00 for a $25.00 saddle) I knew I had some good inner-tubes laying around. And the wheels trued-up easily (on the bike). Sometimes I will let the air out of the tires and true them on the bike,using the brake shoes as a guide. I only do this if the wobble is slight, and only on mountain and cruiser type bikes. Also both derailleurs needed to be adjusted. That went real well as they were in really nice condition. Afterwards I took it for a ride and everything was fine except the saddle which was pitched up a little. This is a good thing to mention. When I mounted the bike on the repair stand I did not level it up. And when I mounted the saddle I did not compensate for that. And so it was pitched upward. So I guess is the lesson here is. When you put a bike on the old Park Tool PCS 9 Stand for repairs, level it up. Especially if you are going to be mounting a new WTB Saddle. ooops! I think I have maybe three or four hours into this bike. And not a lot of out-of-pocket money. I think it came out pretty good and will make someone a good inexpensive bike. Until next tine, Please ride safely and remember to always...RESCUE, RESTORE & RECYCLE
Cheers,Hugh

Blue Schwinn Sting Ray 1967

Hello and welcome. I will get back to the Sportex-12 build on my next post. But for now I want to talk about my 1967 Schwinn StingRay. It was identical to the one in the photograph. As far as I know there are no photographs of me with my beloved StingRay. So I have to give credit to bygonebikes.com for the photograph.
I tuurned 11 years old that May of 67 and I received the StingRay for my birthday. A few years latter my friend Mike and myself chopped it. I found a set of very rare short rams horn handle-bars. They were actually slightly bent. I traded for them anyway as they were near impossible to find. Mike helped me straighten them and they looked really cool. I taped the bars with blue (Schwinn) plastic semi transparent handle-bar tape. For a while I had a high "chopper style" sissy-bar on it. But it made it difficult to dismount the bike so I removed it. I loved to ride wheelies on my StingRay and I was forever replacing front axles/bearings/cups. When I saw "Captain America" (Pete Fonda`s bike in Easy Rider) I had to get a long fork. One day while "garbage picking" I found a Huffy fork. It was hollow. Mike cut the steerer tube off for me leaving just the top brace and fork legs. Then with Mike`s help, We drove the Schwinn fork legs into the hollow Huffy fork. And We drove the solid Schwinn fork blades in there real tight. I switched the front wheel to a 16 inch to get the front end back down. That put an end to my wheelie riding days for a while. Latter I found an iron decorative point on the end of a curtain rod (also in the garbage). We cut it off and mounted it to the hole on the brace of the Huffy fork.It looked Bitch`n! Along with Mike on his bike we rode the aprox 5 miles to the DETROIT RENEGADES M/C on 8 Mile. I found a space among the row of Choppers, Dressers and Bobbers parked in front. We sat there for a while, At some point a woman walked out of the clubhouse buttoning up her blouse. We thought that was really cool!(Hey I was 13) We sat there dreaming of the day we would ride our choppers to California. Eventually this huge biker walked out of the clubhouse and as he passed he said something like "Nice bike kid." Well I got what I came for, so we rode home. My folks never found out about our little trip, Thank God!
When I was a kid Bikers were the coolest people on the planet. Nobody messed with them unless they were incredibly stupid. They did what they wanted to do and went where they wanted to go. I could hardly wait to get my first motorcycle. But that`s another story. I did eventually make the trip to California in 1976. I did not make the trip on a motorcycle. I was Bringing my friend Don his 1973 Mach 1 Mustang. That was almost as cool as riding a chopper! Until next time, Please Ride Safe and Remember to Always... RESCUE, RESTORE & RECYCLE
Cheers, Hugh

Sportex Project Continues 2

Hello and Welcome, I was not feeling well this past week. So I did not do any work on the Sportex 12. Today I am feeling somewhat better, so I spent a little time working on the bike.

Turns out the Sugino Crank off the Fuji has a triple chain ring. Not enough clearance for the smallest chain ring.(on the Sportex) That was an easy fix, I just removed the smallest chain-ring. It was insanely small anyway and I would have never used it. Besides 12 speeds is more than enough for me.


Also the rear derailleur that I was going to use off the Fuji is a frame mount type. And there is no hole in the Sportex frame for it. And no corresponding spot to drill one either. So in the spirit of "keeping it simple" I have decided to go with the Shimano derailleurs off the Nishiki.(for now anyway)

I have not cleaned up the crank arms or chain-rings yet. I want to make sure everything is going to work before I start polishing everything up. I did however clean-up the derailleurs. Being the front derailleur has no plastic parts,I went ahead and placed it in the de greaser bucket. I think it cleaned up nicely. As for the rear derailleur I took off the jockey wheels and cleaned those up with White Lightning Clean Streak. I also used it on the main body of the derailleur. Then I put a multi speed chain on to see how everything works, and so far no problems. I have to go look at a small stone job this evening, so I had to cut it short. I am hoping to be back at it tomorrow. In the mean time Please Ride Safe and Remember to Always.... RESCUE, RESTORE & RECYCLE
Cheers,Hugh