I have an old 1958 Raleigh Supreme Dawn Tourist that I was going to restore to use for commuting (restore as in Halfords aerosol spray job)
Now I’m thinking about stripping it down, bunging on some old north road bars and doing the whole thing black. So it looks like a 30’s racing Rudge…..or something.
Cool or just a pants idea.
If so it looks a lot like the Wayfarer, I seem to remember my dad’s being quite a short wheelbase for general roadster requirements but could be wrong. Lovely old things tho – I’d say if it’s beyond professional restoring to original spec then why not have at it, have fun with old bikes!
Here’s something to model it on. My 1932 Sunbeam Road Racer. (These were used in the Olympics)
To my mind the ultimate 1930s road race bike was the Lauterweight by Jack Lauterwasser (ex Olympian)
You’ll need decent brakes. A suitable period brake is the Resilion which can be made to work as well as a modern brake.
The correct size rims to use are 26×1¼” – slightly different size from what will be on the Raleigh, but it’s hardly noticeable and your Raleigh probably has Westrick rims and spokes if it has the original wheels, so it can use calliper as well as rod brakes.
With ref to epicyclo’s Lauterwasser comments…..these photos may help a little. They show my ’34 Lauterweight machine……it was refurbished some years ago and the original transfers came from Jack himself. Plus an original Lauterwasser pump!
thegeographicalnortherner – Member
With ref to epicyclo’s Lauterwasser comments…..these photos may help a little. They show my ’34 Lauterweight machine……it was refurbished some years ago and the original transfers came from Jack himself. Plus an original Lauterwasser pump!
That is beautiful.
When I was a lad working in a bike shop in the 60s, the owner used to tell me I’d never get my bike as light as a Lauterweight. It became my dream bike, but I never have seen one for sale, ever. Let me know if you ever want a new home for it. 🙂
I even bought a late 1930s Rudge because Jack Lauterwasser had a hand in the design – with the intention of building a look-a-like.
In the meantime I make do with the Sunbeam Road Racer. I even have a set of Lauterwasser bars for it, but need the stem.
Your pics have also convinced me to refurbish my Sunbeam. The bikes look better when they are as they were intended to look.
Any chance of some close ups of the cranks? – I believe there was a lot of work went into lightening them, especially redundant metal around the cotter pin.
thegeographicalnortherner – Member
If you send me your direct email (epicyclo) I’ll send you some direct photos….cheers.
Thanks
brian AT brianmacleod.com
Would love to get some as well, I’ve tried to PM you but can’t find the link on your profile – perhaps not able to yet as I have a new account.
I have lauterwasser handlebars on my 1947 Raleigh Lenton clubman and was a top bloke who had a very interesting history in cycling. the moulton bikes being particularly important – can’t find any other pictures of his ‘lauterweight’ bikes on ebay but did once miss out on getting a lauterweight tandem frame – someone got a bargain for £65!
The 'gentleman racer' as coined by my good friend Michal Ransome, now getting dissasembled for a full respray and rebuild!