DL-1 Night Ride Rig

Here's a look at my 'night rig' for the DL-1 Export Model. It's basically two light systems: the original Dynohub with headlamp and tail lamp, and a pair of more modern, rechargeable LED lights.

The old-type headlamp has a halogen bulb in it, while the original rear light is a stock bulb.
 
The modern headlamp is a Cree LED with three beam levels and an emergency flash mode.
The rear modern lamp is an Ascher LED with two beam modes and two emergency flash modes. The Ascher recharges with an LED cable while the Cree uses a an AC adapter type head.

The LEDs do the majority of the work, but I do run the original lamp set at the same time.
 

Pleasant Surprises - Warm Days in December

This time of year, you need to take all the warmth and daylight you can get in order to ride. We're into the short days of the year, and coming into the "cold season". It gets cold here, but not truly frigid. Nevertheless, it's still cold enough to make riding a pain sometimes.

So when you get a 60 degree day in December, with lots of sunshine, you take it and ride as much as you can. I took an extended ride today on the 1963 Raleigh DL-1 Export Model.

It's a very smooth-riding, pleasant bike.

The leaves and various debris is really falling now, so you have to be careful of anything that can cause a flat. But the ride is still welcomed, especially considering we could have snow already and, salt on the road could end riding for awhile. I'll take every day like this I can get this time of year.

I even got a chance to put this bike on the work stand outside in the sun and give it a good cleaning and maintenance check.

Whenever you do an in-depth re-build on an old bicycle, about a month or so into riding the bike, you should put the bike back on the stand and check several things:

• Check wheel trueness, both lateral and for hop/drop
• Check spoke tension even if the rim is pretty true
• Check the front and rear hubs for play in the bearings
• Check the internal gear hub oil level
• Check for oil on the rims if you have oil-filled hubs
• Check that the brake pads are "wearing-in" properly; adjust brakes as needed
• Check that the tires are seated correctly still 
• Check the headset for looseness/fork for play
• Check that the saddle, seatpost, and handlebars are still tight
• Check the bottom bracket: for any play in bearings and check crank cotters and arms for play
• Check chain line; chain tension; and check for undue wear to the chainring and cog
• Check for any "rattles" - fenders; chainguard; rack; etc.
• Check dynohub for tightness of wires to terminals; check lights for function
• Check shifter chain for proper adjustment.

Basically, you're "checking" all the places things can begin to "wear-in" wrong. You want to correct any issues now, while you've only got about a month of riding on the bike. This can prevent damage that may occur if you keep going and something is out of whack.

It sounds like a lot, but really you will probably only find one or two things that are off. I did a check on this DL-1 and found all that was needed were: adjust brakes for wear-in and tweaks to the rear hub cone as well as the bottom bracket bearings. Everything else was rock-solid.

The Shorter Days of the Year - Raleigh Twenty

We've had a fairly mild late fall and start of December so far, which is a good thing. I've been able to ride more than usual - often 4-5 nights/days per week. I've been mostly riding Raleighs this fall: a DL-1 Export Model and a Sports.

But today, I took out something a little different - my Raleigh Twenty folder. This little bike is compact, but has the feel of a regular bicycle. It rides a lot like a Raleigh Sports, aside from the somewhat different turning characteristics of the smaller wheels.

But this bike really is a lot of fun. I do recommend the Twenty as a first vintage folder for many people - they have some quirks but generally clean up and re-build a lot like many other old Raleighs. They also can be had at reasonable prices, and parts are still mostly available.

To me, the Twenty is the classic folding bike. Many were made, they ride really nicely, and they combine the cachet of an old folder with a very roadworthy package. The Twenty is a great place to start if you're looking for an old folder, and it's also a great place to expand if you're already a collector of the full-sized vintage Raleighs.

I plan on riding as long as I can into the winter. Once we get snow and salt on the road, that's it, but for now I'll keep going. This Raleigh Twenty will be on the road with my other bikes, as long as I can keep at it.