Closing Thoughts for 2023

It is hard to believe that the end of 2023 is almost upon us. It seems like the year just began, and now here we are at the end. It is this time of year that I like to take stock of what happened over the past 12 months. I usually do a recap at the end of ride season, and I like to close out the year in the same fashion.

 

Season

• The start of ride season was somewhat delayed by late snow. We had a big snow storm in March after an unusually mild and quiet winter. This pushed back the start of the season a couple of weeks from normal. 

• Summer was damp, cool, and rainy. There were also "smoke days" that prevented some rides. This was one of the worst summers in terms of ride conditions in recent memory.

• Fall was better than usual with mild weather and (finally) a dry spell running from late September into early November. The season finished a couple of days later than usual. I was able to ride right up until the daylight and clock changes made it too difficult to ride after work.

• Winter has been mild so far. I've been working in my indoor work room, though at a pretty slow pace. Projects slow way down in winter.
  

 

This Year's Changes: Bikes In... Bikes Out...

What about bikes? Here is a recap of this year's new projects and bikes moved on to new owners:

• 1953 Raleigh Lenton: bought from a collector in Maryland/DC (I lived in the DC area for 17 years, so it was nice to have a bike from where I used to live). I kept this bike and made a few changes to it. It has chrome fenders now, but I have a beautiful set of white Raleigh fenders for it to go on in the new year.
  

•  1940 Raleigh Model 35: a purchase from a collector in Massachusetts. I cleaned up and serviced this bike, which is in outstanding shape. This one is a fairly early Raleigh in the US (they arrived about 1933, so within 7 or so years of the arrival) and a keeper. 

 

• 1949 Raleigh Clubman: another purchase from a collector in Massachusetts. This beautiful bike is a 22 inch frame on vintage Dunlop alloy wheels. It's a lightweight, lively bike. It is built up with a set of Nitto swept back handlebars. 

• 1941 Schwinn New World: saved this bike, which had been parted out on eBay. I got the bike core and built up a beautiful, period rider bike. It was a standard 21-22 inch frame, so I sold it to another collector.

• 1942 Schwinn New World: this was a mild custom bike based on period 1940s art deco and streamline design. It had a WWII aviation theme overall. I sold this bike as well because it was a standard 21-22 inch frame.
  

• 1968 Raleigh Sports: this was a very generous gift from a neighbor who was the original owner of the bike. It was in beautiful condition and very much original. I donated this bike to a local bike charity for high school students. One of the students really, really liked the bike and I believe he ended up being the final recipient. It's good to get younger people involved in this hobby.

• 1959 Schwinn Traveler: this was a simple frame and fork, but it was a tall 23-24 inch frame, which is a huge plus. It's hard to find tall frame Schwinn 3 speeds from before the late 1960s. I built this bike up as a period 1950s three speed. It's a great rider and a keeper.

 

•  1957 Schwinn Traveler: this was a Craigslist find locally. A local collector gave me a helpful lead and because it was a tall frame, I bought it. It's a very unusual era Schwinn 3-speed. I finished this project late in the season and only had a couple test rides. It still needs some final shakedown rides next season. 
   
  

  
   

• 1951 New Hudson Silver Arrow: this was an online purchase from another collector. The shipping company destroyed the original celluloid fenders. It came with all the original paperwork (which was from England). This project is finished except for shakedown rides and some cosmetic repair to the paint. 

 

• 1963 Raleigh roadster: this was a "export" roadster I owned for several years. I sold it to a collector down south. It's a wonderful bike but a lot of work to schlep up all the hills we have around here.

• 1991 Woudt Zwaluw: this is the "wildcard" of the bunch. It was a $50 Facebook Market find. It's a legit Dutch roadster with drum brakes, chain case, rack, lights, and all the stuff the Dutch love to add to their bikes. I'm looking forward to rebuilding this one in the new year because it's so different from what I usually build. I'm thinking it might make a fun commuter for those nice days when I can ride to the office. 

 

• 1941 Schwinn New World: this was quite a find. It's a pre-war tall frame Schwinn three speed (they seem so rare). It needs a lot of work, and we'll see what the new year brings. Sometimes the ability to see the potential in a bike is a curse because then you end up with yet another project to do...

The other usual suspects in my fleet remain with me. They don't change much and are great bikes.

 

Closing Thoughts

I'm enjoying the "sporting roadster" type of bike. The Lenton, Clubman, and Silver Arrow are in this league. They combine the convenience of a "Sports light roadster" type bike with the reduced weight of a sporting or club bike. They're great on all the hills we have around here.

I'm trying to focus on a specific bike size. I find a 23 inch frame on 26 inch wheels is a good fit. Bikes around that size are all pretty good for me. Not all of my bikes will be exactly this size, but I've gotten pickier about sizes fitting over the years.

I'm still accumulating "bread and butter" parts. These are the parts you always seem to need to complete a project: good brake calipers, brake handles, pedals, leather saddles, bearing sets, wheelsets, hub small parts, etc. I take in so many "saver" bikes - projects that were blown apart and deserve to be put back on the road. These bikes inevitably are missing parts, and I like to keep a stock of high-demand parts so I don't have to cast about for stuff.

I'm still a "hopeless romantic" when it comes to old three speed bikes. Why would I need yet another Schwinn or Raleigh three speed? Because I like the endless variety they offer and I enjoy riding them. I'm sure if I had a modern hybrid bike, it would be more practical. Yet here I am with a shed full of vintage steel bikes. You only live once, as they say...

Merry Christmas

 Merry Christmas to everyone. Hoping for a mild winter and an early start to next riding season!

Paint: Matching Aged White

If you've been working on old bikes, and particularly older British bikes, for awhile now, you probably have run into a case where you want to touch-up white paint (often on a rear fender). You probably tried "white" and found it actually did not match. 

 This is because there is a subtle and gradual fading that goes on with vintage white paint. What may have started out as "white" in 1950 or 60 from the factory may now be closer to an egg shell or even a cream type color. Sometimes there are subtle, mint green tones, or yellow tones, or even some staining. 

Assuming the paint is in workable condition, I suggest starting with a light cleaning and polishing. You want to establish a "baseline" color and degree of gloss. I use NuFinish or similar car polish to bring out what the real color and gloss should be. I try to get the condition consistent across the entire part.

 Next you need to start mixing your paint. I suggest a decent oil-based paint and I use the Testors model paints that come in the small glass bottles. They are inexpensive, easy to mix, and come in manageable quantities. You'll usually start with gloss, semi-gloss, or flat white, depending on how glossy your original paint condition is.

Take a disposable eye dropper and put a few drops (count them out) on mixing surface. Next, closely examine the original surface paint you are trying to match. Is it faded a little yellow? Or is it more of a mint green hue that has begun to come out? Does it have some tobacco type staining compared to your little pool of pure white paint? You'll have to decide.

Lighting here is important. I use two sources of light when trying to match paint: a cold, white colored LED accompanied by a regular incandescent type bulb. I find that LED tends to exaggerate difference in color not visible under a regular light bulb or even under sunlight. If it looks good under the LED, it tends to look even better outdoors.

Begin to mix in very small quantities of your tinting color. I usually have bottles of Testors light ivory (yellow tint), light brown (brown/tobacco type staining), and cream (yellow-pink tint) around. I start with less than a drop of my tint color - I usually take a tiny swipe with a very small brush and work it into the white. I keep tinting very gradually until I have a match of dry new paint to dry original paint.

 Below is how I mix small quantities of paint. I use the clean bottom of a clear glass jar as a mixing surface. I keep a little paint thinner nearby to get the right thickness of paint. I keep my white and my "tinting colors" handy. Testors paints are designed to mix smoothly, and I think they're a great choice for this work.

 

Here's an extreme example: an all-white set of fenders that I'd like to put on a 1950s Raleigh Lenton. Most of the time, you're just touching up the lower part of the rear fender, but here the entire thing is white. They were in good condition to start with and touch-up has made them even better. These are steel fenders with original paint that has been touched up. In this case the tint was a very small amount of cream on the rear fender and a very small amount of brown on the front fender in stained areas. The result is not bad at all.

Birmingham Headset - 1951 New Hudson (BSA Era Production)

Having more or less finished the 1957 Schwinn Traveler, I've moved on to a very nice 1951 New Hudson Silver Arrow bicycle, produced by BSA. The Silver Arrow is a clubman style bike with 531 main tubes in the frame, 26 x 1-1/4 wheels and celluloid fenders.

I've done some preliminary cleaning, as well as cleaned and repacked the bottom bracket. There is nothing special about those jobs. It's a process I have covered many times before. The clean and re-pack process for the bottom bracket is the same as any run-of-the mill Raleigh Sports or similar English bike.

So let's get into something trickier: the BSA-style or "Birmingham" style headset. Whereas the common Raleigh headset takes 25x 5/32 inch loose bearing balls in each race, the Birmingham headset uses 30x 1/8 inch balls. The Birmingham headset also uses an upper race "insert". 

Let's take a closer look:

Above is a top view of the head tube. As you can see, the frame does not include an integral bearing race. Rather, the head tube has  "bowl" in it, which in turn houses a removable top race.

Above you can see the top race components. On the left is the insert that will sit in that "bowl" in the previous picture. At right is the top ring that screws down. 

 

 

Above are, again, the two top components. The insert for the "bowl" has grease and the 1/8 inch bearing balls in it. It will hold 31 balls, but tends to bind if it is completely filled. It will be smoother with 30 balls, which is full minus one ball. The top screw-down ring also has been greased.

Above is an illustration of how the two will go together. The insert will sit in the head tube "bowl" and the screw-down ring will ride on top.

Above is the insert with the balls sitting in the frame "bowl". I tried a full insert of 31 balls initially, but it went much better with 30x 1/8 balls (again, full minus a ball).

 

What about the bottom of the headset? Well, the bottom is conventional - the frame cup is pressed into the head tube as normal. However, keep in mind you're using 30x 1/8 balls,  not the usual "Raleigh" type 5/32. 

 

And above is the fork crown race, also conventional except that it takes the 1/8 inch balls.

 

Above are my crude notes drawn in Sharpie on a paper towel while working. This is as much to remind myself of how to set up this headset as it is any other purpose. I'm very accustomed to the Raleigh system of 25 balls at 5/32 apiece. I needed a note to myself that this Brimingham headset likes to run 30x balls at 1/8 inch apiece.

And a quit shot of the New Hudson head badge. Pretty cool...

1957 Schwinn Traveler Three Speed: An "In-Betweener" Schwinn Light Roadster

 

 

I have finally finished my rather gradually-conducted rebuild of a 1957 Schwinn Traveler tall frame bike. This three speed dates to an unusual period in Schwinn touring bike production. I like to think of this era of Schwinn three speeds as "in-betweener" bikes. They came after the well-known "wing theme" Schwinn and before the equally well-known Schwinns that had the gold lettering and ornate tri-color graphics. These bikes with simpler graphics tend to be less common and less well-known. They're still worth a look though.

For a brief period in the mid-1950s, Schwinn used these rather simple graphics on their bikes. They look like they belong on an 1980s-90s era bike, but are in fact from the mid-1950s. These graphics came after the ornate "wing" theme graphics of the early 1950s but before the ornate gold and tri-color graphics of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Another interesting feature is that this bike comes from the tail end of the period when Schwinn used many fillet brazed joints around the seat mast, and the torpedo tubular fork up front. After this, three speed Schwinn touring bike frames had more welded joints, and had flat "ashtabula" type forks in front. 

 

The brake calipers on this bike are also "in-betweener" parts: they came after Schwinn's use of the 1950s-era "Weinmann" inscribed brakes, but before the more common brakes with "Schwinn Approved" in cursive on them. These have "Schwinn Approved" in a simple block inscription. The brakes are Weinmann 810 models made of aluminum. The brake levers are common 1950s era Weinmann red dots.

 

For the most part though, this is otherwise a nice, straightforward three speed from the 1950s. It has a Sturmey Archer AW rear hub (I replaced the 1957 SW with a 1957 AW alloy model), chrome plated steel Schwinn S6 rims, Torrington double-butted spokes, and a Schwinn script front hub. Fenders are the always eye-catching Schwinn stainless types with a fin on the front fender. I gave the fenders a mirror polish on my polishing wheel, with final finish done by hand.  

 The photo above reminds me I need to wipe all the hand prints off the fenders as the next thing I do. All those smudge spots are finger prints from working on the bike...

It has the classic Schwinn one-piece crank with clover sprocket. Gear ratio is 46 teeth in front and 22 teeth in back, which is a pretty forgiving ratio that I enjoy for general purpose riding. The shifter is a Sturmey window type that I rebuilt a couple of years ago (if you've never used a freshly rebuilt and cleaned shifter with a good spring, it's something worth trying).

This 1957 model is a beautiful green color similar to that on my 1959 Schwinn Traveler. Over time, these two-stage automotive-style colors have grown on me. They probably look kind of gaudy to British or European three speed purists, but I've come to appreciate their mid-century, American look.

My usual choices are present for lighting, saddle, and tires. The rear light is a Soma bullet/torpedo LED, which goes great with any old school American bike up through the mid-1960s. The front is a Kiley LED chrome bullet, which is great for any old style three speed bike.  Tires are Kenda white walls. A classic 1950s American bike deserves white walls. 

 

I even included a little automotive touch - a traditional Chevrolet lapel pin on the saddle bag, which is a reference to the classic 1957 Chevy cars. The bag itself is the reliable, basic Banjo Brothers barrel type.

 

One item remains to be seen, which is whether I put the aftermarket rear rack back on the bike. This bike came with a Joannou-branded West German rack made from aluminum. It's a pretty nice rack. The issue is that the stock clamps that came with the rack were for the larger seat stays of an English three speed. These American three speeds have very thin seat stays with thick tube walls. The original owner made up for this with layers of electrical tape to pad the stay clamps used by the rack. Ideally I would find a smaller set of P-clamps to use with the rack. But then again I generally don't use a rear rack and it's more weight to power up the steep hills around here. We'll see if it stays off the bike...

So the good news is that the bike is basically done and ready for shakedown rides. The bad news is that the season is almost over, so any real riding with it probably won't happen until next spring. Maybe I'll get a shakedown ride or two in before things are done for the year. I'd really like to have this in a "ready to go" state when next season starts.

Thoughts for the End of the Bike Riding Season in New England

 With the arrival of November comes the usual end to the biking season here in western New England. I took my 1940 Raleigh Model 35 out for a ride last evening, which certainly was a chilly one. But with some additional layers, it wasn't a bad ride at all.

This season was a tough one in terms of weather. I lost probably 30% of my usual ride time to rain. There were also a couple nights lost to extreme wild fire smoke, but the big problem certainly was the rain. We had a cool, rainy summer to say the least. This held true into the early fall.

One saving grace was that we had a couple weeks of warm, dry weather in October, which helped redeem the season to some degree. I was able to ride right up through the first week of November. The turning back of the clocks that we have every year in early November usually puts an end to the season. I might be able to slip a ride in on a warm afternoon or two later this month, but we're basically done here for those after-work rides I take 3 times per week.

Road conditions were probably "average" this season. Car traffic was up somewhat, and some of the roads I ride continued to decline in condition. One local road was totally repaved, which improved things there a bit. But the main roads around here certainly need some repair. 

Pedestrian usage seemed about average. I saw a fair number of pedestrians and other bikes on the road. The number of group rides and organized training rides I encounter was down this summer compared to the last two summers. The rainy weather probably had a lot to do with that.

Overall, I would rate the riding season as below average in quality. The rain was a problem, and the main roads need repair. I always enjoy riding season, but some are better than others. This one wasn't the worst, but I'd rate it as slightly below average. It would have been worse, had we not had some better weather by the time October arrived.

A Facebook Market Find - 1991 Dutch Zwaluw Roadster

Here's something different - a Dutch roadster made by Woudt's shop under the Zwaluw brand. The model is a "Nevada" roadster. This bike has 28 inch wheels with Sturmey Archer drum brakes front and rear. The rear hub is also a 3-speed. These Steelite Sturmey hubs date to 1991.

 

A helpful user at BikeForums identified this as a Zwaluw bike made by Woudt in Koog aan de Zaan, Netherlands. 

 He also identified the electro-pen registration number as being a registration out of Wormerveer, Netherlands. 

This bike is newer than my others, but it was traditional in design, inexpensive and relatively local to me.

 

 

 It caught my attention because after some additional looking, it turned out to be a true Made-in-Holland roadster and not a reproduction or knock-off. 

 

It has the typical Dutch accessories: rack, lights, cargo straps, spoke guards, etc. It is a lugged, steel frame. 

 

The pump is missing, and it appears to have been a single-ended type pump (there's only one pump boss and no sign there was ever a second one). 

 

Overall, the condition is pretty good. I really like the subtle, blue-grey color.

 

So for projects, here is what remains:

1. Finish up the 1957 Schwinn Traveler (almost done, just need to do shakedown ride/tweaking)
2. 1951 New Hudson Silver Arrow (need to finish the wheels, clean, and assemble)
3. 1991 Zwaluw Nevada (clean, and fully re-build)

At some point in the near future, my grandfather's 1936 Schwinn Henderson needs a clean and re-grease as well (periodic maintenance, but still needs doing).

 I also need to start the transition from my warm weather shop in the garage to my cold weather shop in the house. There's a fair bit of cleaning and organizing to do when that happens.

 

A Unique Find - 1938 Raleigh USA Catalog

Here's a great, recent find - a Raleigh US market catalog from 1938. This catalog gives us a nice picture of Raleigh's presence in the US market in the early days.

 

This catalog places the arrival of Raleigh in the US to around 1933. Raleigh USA began in Boston, Massachusetts and expanded from there. By 1938, Raleigh had a presence, through dealerships, in 32 states. 

 

The catalog offerings from 1938 were still somewhat limited in the US. The catalog shows:

• cable brake light roadster model, 
• rod brake light roadster, 
• full rod brake roadster
• child's model
• carrier/cargo bike
• and three sporting/road models 

The catalog is certainly more limited and less colorful than its British counterpart.

 

Where the offerings do not fall short are in the parts and accessories area, which includes numerous items to help make cycling easier. The emphasis was on a combination of practical cycling (even a cycling poncho and rain hat are offered), and on sporting (numerous touring bags, pedal toe clips, etc.). I love this little time capsule from the early days of practical cycling and three speed bikes in the US.

 

I have submitted a full scan of the catalog to the Veteran Cycle Club library. If you enjoy British bicycles and are not yet a member of the VCC, I highly recommend joining.

I plan to study this catalog further, and to do a more general entry on early utility bikes in the US prior to WWII in the future.

 

Late Season Rides - 1959 Schwinn Traveler Three Speed

 We've had excellent weather here this week, with temperatures above 70 deg. F (21 deg. C.). So I took a couple of different bikes out for rides this week: 1940 Raleigh Model 35, 1953 Raleigh Lenton, and 1959 Schwinn Traveler. All of these are fun, solid bicycles to ride on a warm autumn day.

 

The 1959 Traveler needed some minor maintenance. I've found there's a break-in period for every rebuilt, vintage bicycle. This usually means minor adjustments to the brakes, touch-ups to paint, and truing to wheels. Sometimes the rear hub needs a little oil, or handle bars or a saddle need adjustment. In this case, I needed to adjust the front brake and true the front wheel. Thankfully, nothing more than that so far.

 

I try to ride every day that I can this time of year because the season is so close to ending. I probably have 10 days or so left to ride in the evening after work. Once the clocks go back to Eastern Standard Time, it's too dark. Sometimes I'll slip a day in on the weekend, if it's suitably warm.

Progress- 1957 Schwinn Traveler Tall Frame

 I've been working gradually on a 1957 Schwinn Traveler tall frame. This one is in pretty good shape, and I really like the color. 

 

The work included 

• general cleaning, 
• straight and polish stainless fenders
  
• clean-up and tighten the fender braces, 
• check all bearings and races, add grease where needed,
  
• verify frame and fork straightness, 
• straighten and re-build brake calipers,
• clean and polish brake levers,
  
• clean and polish all chrome, 
• clean-up and true wheels, 
• new front axle, 
• new tires, 
• cr-mo seat post,
• new SRAM nickel plated chain, 
• remove old electrical tape and tape residue,
• patch-up paint here and there,
  
• and new Brooks leather saddle.

My light set will be a Kiley retro LED front and a Soma torpedo retro LED rear. Brake housing will be grey, similar to the original housings. I'll have all new brake cables. I'll custom fit a fixed-length Sturmey Archer shifter cable in grey housing. Pedals will either be new-old-stock waffle block Unions or new MKS 3000S rubber block pedals. I have a couple sets of original Union bow pedals, but I've always preferred square, beefier rubber blocks over the rounded bows.

This bike came with a 1957 dated Sturmey SW hub. This particule SW actually seems to work with its stock, 18-tooth cog. The issue with the SW is that it stays in gear... until suddenly it does not stay in gear. I've never had much luck with SW hubs staying in gear once the cog is changed up to a 22-tooth. Some of them work OK with the stock cog and in perfect conditions. The minute the floating pawls in the SW want to stick at all, they seem to cam out of gear. It's not a big deal if you're just puttering around the neighborhood, but if you're climbing and putting effort into pedaling, it can mean a trip over the handlebars. We have some pretty challenging hills around here too...

So I decided in the end to replace the SW hub with a 1957 AW alloy hub. It's from the same year, also 36 holes, and a lot more reliable with the 22-tooth rear cog. I also have all the parts I need to keep it tuned-up.

It will make a nice match for the 1959 Traveler tall frame I rebuilt a couple months ago.

Editorial: Beware Dishonesty in Our Hobby

Here are a few thoughts on a rainy, windy October afternoon. 

In the vintage bicycle hobby, I think we should push back against the practice of sellers setting reproduction or knockoff parts alongside originals where no warning is given that some of the parts are reproduction or knock-off.

Let's look at an example. A seller has 10 sets of chrome fenders that appear to be for a Schwinn Black Phantom. Eight of the sets are originals and two are reproductions. The reproductions are not obviously different at first glance from the originals being offered, but they certainly are not as well-made in general. All sets are laid out on a table or seller's mat. There is no obvious difference in the prices and no description offered. The seller simply says he is selling "fenders" and puts a price on each, all within the same range. This kind of behavior is going to mislead a buyer into paying top-dollar original prices for a lesser, reproduction part. The seller comes out way ahead and the buyer gets burned.

I think, as hobbyists, we should collectively push back against this kind of behavior. There is no active statement misrepresenting the items, but there certainly is a level of deception present. This is a sin of omission. The seller tries to mislead the buyer by camouflaging the reproduction parts alongside originals. The buyer is ultimately burned when he gets home with his item and finds it's a reproduction that was placed alongside originals, or when the item shows up in the mail and something turns out to be amiss. It leaves a bitter taste, and if the buyer is a newbie, burns him on the hobby.

I've seen this happen a few times - fenders, handlebars, vintage bicycle advertising signs, etc. It's something that is not necessarily "common" in the hobby, but it happens frequently enough that it is a problem. I think people in our hobby should be better-behaved than that.

I think the right way to do things is if you list several similar items together, and one of the five things you listed is a reproduction, you should call that out rather than using the originals around it as camouflage to pass off a reproduction or knock-off as original.

I sometimes see this kind of behavior utilized along with "shill" bidding. Shill bidding is where a seller or a friend of the seller acts as a straw bidder to artificially raise the price of an item. Sometimes the same guys who "camouflage" knock-offs and reproductions, as described above, use shills to raise the prices of items (which may or may not be the camouflaged items). 

I've seen quite a few auctions for parts, or even whole bikes, where the bike is listed on eBay and "sells" on eBay, but then a week later I see the same original seller pushing the bike for sale on another website or at a swap for a much higher price. This isn't a case of a bidder backing out, but rather the seller being unhappy with the eBay price, and with the failure of the shill to draw higher bids from the real bidders. Evidently, the shill bidder won the no reserve eBay auction, and the seller is still stuck with the item or bike. Again, as hobbyists, we should push back against this kind of behavior. "Times are tough" is never a justification for outright dishonesty.

I'll end my Friday editorial with that.

1953 Raleigh Lenton - And the "Sporting Roadster" Concept

 A focus for me this season was to put together a couple premium, sporty bikes with upright bars and a utility bike type configuration. The goal was to take the basic concept behind the famous Raleigh Sports light roadster, and to increase the performance a bit. My thinking was to do something similar in increasing performance, but also keep the core comforts of a utility bike like a Raleigh Sports would have. This seemed like a good idea for dealing with the hilly terrain around here.

I found three bikes to serve as a basis for this "sporting roadster" type of bike, two of them being Raleighs. One was the 1949 Raleigh Clubman, which I took for a ride last night. The Clubman was a significant increase in performance over the basic Sports model, given the wide variety of alloy parts, in addition to the Reynolds 531 frame. The alloy seat post, bars/stem, and rims make a huge difference. The frame helps some too, but those alloy components really reduce the weight.

The other Raleigh in this concept of a sporty roadster was a 1953 Raleigh Lenton. Like the Clubman, the Lenton would have started life as a road bike. 

 

 The Lenton was a step down from the Clubman but up from the Sports in terms of components. The Lenton has steel components, though some are lighter than typical Sports components. The Lenton especially has a nice set of lighter, Dunlop steel endrick rims. They're not as light as alloy, but they definitely are lighter than Westrick Sports rims as well. The frame is a bit lighter than a Sports, having Reynolds 531 main tubes, and the frame dimensions are a little tighter than a Sports. It falls right in between the Clubman and the basic Sports along a spectrum of sporty roadsters.

 

Overall, I like what this produced. The lighter weights are helpful when handling hills, though the comfort and usability of a light roadster are still present. All these bikes are equipped with saddle bags, light sets, bells, and sprung Brooks saddles. But the Lenton, and especially the Clubman, feel livelier and faster than a basic Sports. That's not to say the Sports is a bad bike - I still have several variations of the Sports in my collection. But these "sporting roadsters" hit a sweet spot that blends comfort, utility, and performance when you want something with a little more life than the usual.

Heading Toward the End of the Season

Over the years, I've developed a late-season routine of sorts for dealing with old bikes. 

Priority, as usual goes to riding bikes as frequently as weather and my time allow. But late in the season, that priority placed on riding is even more emphasized than other times of year. Given the now-limited number of days to ride, I try to get out as much as I can.

Below is a shot of my 1949 Raleigh Clubman, which is in a very comfortable, touring configuration. Those Nicelite/Reflectalite LED bulbs are great.

 

 

Second to riding come the minor projects and maintenance that keep a bike on the road. These are your one-evening type projects, such as fixing burned out light bulbs, repairing flat tires, and truing wheels. This keeps bikes on the road through the end of the season and keeps them safe to ride.

The lowest priority are large projects such as rebuilds. My assumption here is that even if I prioritized these projects, the bikes in question probably would not be on the road in time to make the end of riding season here. These projects can wait until winter in that case, and there's no real loss to me. The other nice thing about keeping these projects near the bottom of the ladder is that it takes all the pressure off to rebuild bikes. Trying to rush through a project is a recipe for stress and mistakes. 

Late season is also a good time to start thinking about what you might need by way of parts over the winter. Vintage parts that come in need to be cleaned and prepared for use. New parts usually are OK, but some parts, like MKS pedals, benefit from some additional grease and fine-tuning. Below is a set of MKS 3000-S 1/2 inch pedals straight from Japan for use on a vintage Schwinn 3-speed bike. The box is from a general "Japan goods" type retailer, who apparently also sells items related to Japanese cartoons. I'm not sure he has any idea how nice those MKS 3000S 1/2 pedals are on an old Schwinn... but it's great to have good pedals either way.