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Permalink Reply by Allen Wrench on June 26, 2015 at 4:40pm

This was a mid-level Raleigh brand according to Sheldon Brown so I imagine any Raleigh made (and threaded) fork ought to fit it perfectly. They used odd threading so other brands like BSA probably wouldn't fit - maybe bring the headset nut with you to see if it fits right (wrong one will screw on but get stuck, I think.) If you find a competing brand with different threading it might fit but you'll need the headset as well. Look at Working Bikes Wed-Sat at Western and 24th place. There's a bin of forks that will certainly have something that fits. Or possibly the Recyclery in Evanston or A Nearly New Shop in Uptown. Black should be easiest to find. Maybe you can even find an entire black parts bike for not-very-much. Raleigh forks have the dimpled chrome cap on both sides of the top part, other Raleigh brands had different decorative designs there.

These bikes are really not bad in the city, made for durability. They are a little more comfortable if you change the 3 speed rear chain sprocket for a slightly larger one, so your gears are a little lower, and replace the black John Bull brake pads with Kool Stop salmon Continental or Mathaeser salmon color pads which stop the chrome steel wheel a bit better in the wet. A new seat can also make a big difference. And I always put an old wheel generator or bottom bracket generator with new LED front and back lights on them to make them the perfect city bike. Ortlieb panniers usually fit on even the Raleigh back racks if you want to carry things too.

If you wanted to turn this into a "road" bike you might wind up with a Raleigh Record or Grand Prix, which is what Raleigh itself did in the 70s. Heavy steel frame, but no mudguards, no chaincase, no internal hub... But I wouldn't take them off - these are the things that make it so perfect for commuting in the city or on rural roads even in winter or rain. But there were a lot of souped up (usually Reynolds 531 tubed) steel Raleighs with 3-speed hubs for 'club' riders (Lenton brand was one) back a long time ago, and the clubs rode long distances touring the countryside and time trialling. So I guess that was road riding. Look at Sheldon Brown for more - you can start at http://sheldonbrown.com/english-3.html but there are pages and pages of information there. Long story short, I'd fix it up as it was originally and change a couple parts out but I wouldn't try to make it into a "road" bike. 

There's a video on the British Council website called "How A Bicycle Is Made" as I recall that shows them building the bigger version of the basic British bike (the Raleigh Tourist DL-1) in the 1950s and is well worth a view.

Good luck with your nearly indestructible multipurpose machine!

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Permalink Reply by John on June 28, 2015 at 5:59am

The forks (and bikes) are a close 2nd to Schwinn as far as being ubiquitous, so generally easy to find.  Be sure to measure the steerer tube on the one you have, and the swap will be easy.  I had to get one in the same situation and painted a green fork with black Rustoleum.  

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