1947 Raleigh Model 35, and Saddle Position Talk

 

I took out the 1947 Raleigh Model 35 for a ride this week. The 1949 Schwinn had a successful, first "real" ride, so I changed it up later in the week and went with the Raleigh. The Model 35 was Raleigh's pre-war and early post-war "budget" version of the popular Raleigh Sports. The Model 35 came with minimal extras but still offered the great performance and handling of the Sports.

 Riding them back-to-back gives an appreciation that the Raleigh and the Schwinn handle differently. The Schwinn has a more relaxed, cruiser-like feel, versus the sportier and crisper handling of the Raleigh. The Raleigh is also lighter, owing to the brazed frame, and lack of chain guard and kickstand. Both are well-made, durable bikes. 

 

The Raleigh Sports family of bikes is probably the most "well-rounded" and versatile of all the vintage utility bikes.  It's stable enough to be comfortable in traffic, durable enough to be a commuter or grocery-getter, low-maintenance enough to be a daily rider, agile enough to handle narrow roads, and light enough to give lively performance when pushed. If you are limited to "just one" vintage bike of this style, the post-war Raleigh Sports and similar would be my suggestion. I know the rod brake roadsters and club bikes are also excellent machines, but nothing serves as the "jack of all trades" like the Sports family of bikes.

 

Some Talk About Saddle Position

I also have put up a new page with my notes on saddle position, including excerpts from an old Raleigh manual for how to set up a saddle. The basic lesson is use the manual as a "starting place" and then adapt the saddle position for what works for you. Don't be wedded to the manual if you need to fiddle with the saddle position to be comfortable. More on that discussion HERE. 

1949 Schwinn New World

 

The opalescent blue Schwinn New World is well along. It performed nicely during its first full-length ride. I added an Origin8 brass bell and did some very small adjustments on the brakes after the ride. But everything worked nicely and smoothly. It should be a good rider.

The paint is opalescent blue, which is a common color on Continentals from the late 1940s, but is very unusual on a New World. It was an added-cost option for the New World. The frame graphics are also in excellent shape. 

 

 

1949 Schwinn New World - Rare Color

 I've finally refurbished the 1949 Schwinn New World that came from Facebook Marketplace back in January. This is a bike that was originally from NYC and moved upstate with a collector, from whom I purchased the bike. 

The bike had a later stem and handlebars, and some later tires, but it was otherwise pretty much original. This made it a good platform to refurbish, add a three speed hub, add brakes, and remedy the stem and handlebar setup. 

This bike has passed its "shakedown" ride and is ready for its first full-length ride. 

Here are the changes made:

• Long "AS" Schwinn razorback stem to give more handlebar adjustment.
• Correct Schwinn tourist bars
• Period Sturmey Archer AW three speed hub.
• Addition of correct "Schwinn" brake levers.
• Addition of correct "Schwinn Built" brake calipers
• New cables and housings.
• Correct (and scarce) 1949 "silver face" Sturmey Archer shifter.
• Addition of correct metal fulcrum clip and shifter pulley.
• Cr-Mo 7/8" top seat post.
• Gyes leather tourist saddle (three spring)
• Acorn Made-in-USA saddlebag.
• Koma fender-mount LED rear light.
• Old stock British-made reflector
• Kiley LED front head light
• MKS 3000S pedals
• Clean and re-grease all mechanical areas.
• Patch paint with matching enamel as needed.  

This bike uses a little different tail light set up than I typically use. I normally mount the reflector in the reflector hole on the fender, then clamp a tail light onto the seat stay. This is typical of old-time lightweights. In this case, I thought I'd try something more streamlined. The loose fender brace rivet is removed and replaced by the reflector. The LED light is then mounted directly to the rear fender in the former reflector mounting hole. It gives the safety of a reflector and LED combo but without the need for any additional clamps on the frame. Everything mounts neatly to the rear fender. 

 

The full-length test ride is next for this bike. After that, I'll pick a nice bell out of my collection and mount it to the handlebars. I'll probably use an Origin8 brass striker bell, which is a simple and effective bell that looks nice on these bikes.