Raleigh Superbe Green vs Raleigh Superbe Green Posing as Black

Certain colors change greatly depending on the type and amount of light present. Raleigh Superbe Green is one of those colors that ranges anywhere from a medium green, to a black-looking color.

Here's a look under a decent amount of sunlight, but not in direct sun:

How about a little farther away?

 It looks like a medium-dark green with some blue tones.

What about in the shade?

It looks more like a grey-blue-black color in the shade here. If you take this latter picture to the paint shop for a match, you'd come back with the wrong color.

When you want to match vintage bicycle paint at a paint shop, or when you want to mix your own paint, always work from a representative part of the bike. Look for a part of the bike that is closest to the majority of your project's color. Avoid working from just a picture of a bike, and avoid working from the more faded areas. Only work from a like-new area if you're re-painting the entire bike. It's better to match your faded original paint for touch-up than it is to throw like-new paint into the chips and have it not match.

And if you really are in doubt, get a black bike...

Nice Weather

Nice weather today - a marked change from the humidity we had earlier. I took a couple rides over the past two days with some nice old Raleigh bikes. I also got a chance to watch the start of the Tour de France this morning

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July - a couple shots of two classic Schwinn 3-speeds: a New World and a Continental.

1940s and 50s: Schwinn and Raleigh Quality

I took a couple of rides this weekend, despite the high heat and humidity here.

Friday evening, I rode this really nice 1958 Raleigh Sports 4-speed. The Raleigh really is a classic, conservative-looking bicycle that displays a high degree of quality. Black is a classic Raleigh color, and both the paint and graphics on this Sports are great.




We're in the long days of the year, though the days are now starting to shorten. We have plenty of daylight, and the slightly cooler air of evening is better than the high heat of the mid-afternoon.






The following evening, I took out this 1947 Schwinn Continental.

The Continental is probably the "coolest" bike that I own, particularly because it was a higher-end bike and is in such great condition. The blue paint is in excellent shape, and the silver, winged graphics are really impressive.



Schwinn went all-out on this bike: Cro-Mo frame, hand-brazed joints, aluminum parts, heavy-duty saddle, stainless fenders and rims, double-butted spokes, and monogram "AS" bolts. This bike was really a high-end piece when it was built in 1947 and it still is quite impressive.

1940s Schwinn New World

I'm a fan of the Schwinn New World bikes, which sometimes are forgotten when people focus on Schwinn Paramounts, Superiors, or Continentals. But the New World is still a great bicycle, and a classic that is not a bank-breaker if you want to buy one.

This 1940s New World has been in my collection for several years, and I enjoy riding it a lot. The New Worlds have more relaxed frames than the Raleigh Sports bikes, and can feature some unique touches, like art deco parts/designs. The winged chainguard is certainly one of them, as is the "razor back" stem with monogram bolts.

I added the French light set to this bike as a period touch, complete with yellow French headlight bulb. Whereas the Raleigh offers a more "straightforward" 3-speed, the Schwinn New World offers something a little "flashier" in terms of artistic parts.