For the old British Bicycle enthusiasts out there, this well ridden, modernized Raleigh "Sports Model" was one of the first to come off the line of the AMF factory here in the states.

It's a 21"(~54cm) lugged steel frame that has totally unique dimensions, which is true to old Raleighs: the wheels are chrome plate steel that are 650 x 35A(26 x 1-3/8), the bottom bracket threads were 26 tpi, the fork spacing is narrower than modern hubs.

As such, I was limited in what I could upgrade. The bottom bracket and headset races were all loose ball bearings. Actually the headset still is. The original cranks were the old cotter pin cranks. I was determined to upgrade them and after a particularly harsh winter was forced to as the bottom bracket cups had seized, so I that could no longer re-pack the bearings. Had to grind and drill out the old bottom bracket and re-thread and machine the bottom tube for a Shimano bottom bracket and Origin-8 crankset.

So, it rides better than it ever did with that old cotter pin crankset.

I would have loved to upgrade the wheels from the chrome-plated steel (which no brakes on earth will stop in the rain) to modern aluminum rims, but the fork and wheel stay spacing are too narrow for new hubs. The fork and frame would literally have to be stretched to accommodate them. So, I left them as is. Original hubs to the original build. That means the front wheel has loose bearings as well as the rear wheel.

To maintain them, there is an oil port with a little cover and you just add a few drops of 3-in-1 household oil every few hundred miles or so. Runs like a dream!

The rear hub is an old Sturmey Archer 3-speed internal gear hub. The cable runs along the top tube and over a nice little pulley down to the hub. I've dismantled and cleaned the internals a few times, so it's ready to go for many years to come.

There's also a guy at Heritage bikes who knows how to work on these old bikes, if you're thinking about where to find a mechanic.

The tires are Schwalbe Plus Performance line that are pretty new. I think they may be one of the only companies that sell this particular size tire. The chain is new as well.

It's got Nitto handlebars with Ergon winged grips that are made from this pretty nice recycled cork/bio-resin material that makes long rides nice and easy on the hands. The quill/stem is a black Origin-8 as well.

The brakes are Tektro and there are specialty brake shoes you can get which have this orange-ish rubber that does a better job at grabbing that chrome-plate when they get wet.

Finally, the saddle is the honey colored Brooks Flyer S with the hammered copper rivets. I actually haven't ridden on this particular saddle that much, so it still has quite a lot of life left in it.

Get yourself a proper tweed outfit and a saddle bag and get to pedallin'!