Older Raleigh Bicycles
I am happy to answer technical questions by email or phone but please:Do not write or phone me to ask the age or value of an old Raleigh.
All of the information I have on that is on this Web page or RetroRaleighs.com/dating.html
For many years, in many parts of the world, the Raleigh "Sports" three-speed bicycle was considered the ultimate in human-powered transportation. These bicycles were not toys, and, despite the model name, they were not sporting equipment...they were serious vehicles. The men and women who built them, by and large, also rode them, as their primary means of transportation.Most modern bicycles are designed with the primary intent to catch your eye on the sales floor, and persuade you to buy. That is not what a Raleigh Sports was about...these were designed to provide solid, dependable transportation for the British public, at a time when only the upper classes had motorcars. These bikes were built to last 100 years, with reasonable care.
Contemporary bicycles have many parts made of aluminum (or "aluminium," if you prefer) for lightness, strength and corrosion resistance. Contemporary bicycles that have steel rims, or cranks, or handlebars, or brakes do so as a way of cutting corners and saving a little bit of money, for a low-end bicycle. Modern steel rims, cranks, etc are of low quality, because they are aimed at the cheapest possible price point.From the mid 19th century, well into the 20th, the word "steel" was magic in Britain. Britain's rise to an industrial superpower on the crest of the Industrial Revolution was based, as much as anything else, on the steel industry and the new technologies it made possible: steel ships, steel bridges, steel buildings...and steel bicycles. Raleigh originally introduced the slogan "The All Steel Bicycle" to differentiate Raleighs from competitors who used cast iron for some critical parts, a heavier and cruder technology.
The mystique of steel caused the British cycle industry to be slow to adopt newfangled materials such as aluminum, and many British cyclists believed, even well into the 1960's, that steel rims, for instance, were superior to aluminum ones. These days, this seems laughable...but if you look at an older Dunlop steel rim, you'll find a very respectable, well-made product.
The fact that Raleigh 3-speeds are made of steel shouldn't fool you into thinking that these bikes were cheap or inferior in any way...they were not...they were the finest utility bicycles money could buy.
Raleigh 3-speed bicycles were introduced around the turn of the century, and kept improving in technology over the years, reaching a peak in quality probably in the mid-to-late 1950s. They continued to be built in Nottingham until the mid-1970's, when the glamour of the 10-speed fad pushed them out of favor with the rising baby boom generation.
When a modern company sets out to build a bicycle, what they really build is the frame (if that.) They buy sets of tubing from a tubing company, cut and weld them together into a frame, paint it and install parts which they buy different specialized parts companies. Actually, many well-known brands don't even do that; they order bicycle frames to be built to their specifications, with their name painted on, and equipped with parts from a variety of vendors. These companies are actually trading companies, even though their image is that of a manufacturer.Raleigh, in its glory hears (up into the 1960's) was the absolute opposite. In their enormous Nottingham factory covered 40 acres and employed nearly 7000 workers. A Raleigh bicycle of this era would have a Raleigh frame, made of Raleigh Tubing conected with Raleigh lugs, with a Raleigh bottom bracket, Raleigh cranks, Raleigh pedals, Raleigh headset, Raleigh handlebars, Raleigh stem, Raleigh seatpost, Raleigh hubs (Sturmey-Archer was a Raleigh subsidiary) and even Raleigh spokes. All of these parts would have been made in the same factory.
The saddles would be from Brooks, another Raleigh division, and the rims and tyres would be from Dunlop, a company closely related to Raleigh.
This level of integration has never been surpassed in the bicycle industry, though Schwinn came close in the same era.
If your bicycle has a Sturmey-Archer hub (c1903-1990s), it should have on the hub a date of manufacture, which would normally also be the cycle's date of manufacture. In the 1930s, they only used a single digit, i.e. "6" for "1936." After that, they started using two-digit date stamps.If you are not sure the rear wheel on your bike is original, the charts below should help you determine the approximate date of manufacture.
It may also be possible to date your frame by its serial number. Note that the serial number information below is fragmentary and incomplete, and many bikes have proven to be much newer than the serial numbers would suggest.
I am happy to answer technical questions by email or phone but please:
Do not write or phone me to ask the age or value of an old Raleigh.
All of the information I have on that is on this Web page or RetroRaleighs.com/dating.html
The tables below are being compiled by examining bicycles that come in for service, and appear to be in original condition. It is possible that some of the equipment listed is anachronistic, but I believe this information is good.In general, the quality reached its peak in the 1950s, and quality started to go down around the early 1960's, as management kept searching for ways to make the bicycles cheaper.
This table is focussed on the mainline Raleigh/Rudge/Humber "Sports" model. The luxury "Superbe" models were very similar, except for the saddles, the use of a locking front fork, and the inclusion of a Dynohub lighting system. (The Dynohub was also available as an extra-cost option on the Sports.)
Lower end models, such as Dunelt, Phillips, Robin Hood, Triumph etc. usually shared similar technology, though these models tended to have mattress saddles, Endrick rims, no chainguard braze-ons, fender stays bolted (not welded) to the fenders, and anchor-bolt type brake cables.
| Year | Brakes | Chainguard Braze-ons | Fork ends | Pedals | Pulley | Saddle | Spoking | Tyres | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945? Rudge-Whitworth | Raleigh soldered | Chaincase | Raleigh Nottingham | Clamp-on steel | B73-large cutouts | 32/40 | ||||||||||
| This was definitely a war-time bike. The handlebar, cranks, brake levers, fork crown and cable hardware were painted black, not chrome plated (chromium was a strategic material, not available for civilian use.) Stem and brake calipers were chromed. This bicycle has Endrick rims. The lamp bracket attaches to the handlebar binder bolt, rather than to the headset. Threaded oiler on bottom bracket shell. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1949 Ladys Sports | Raleigh soldered Smooth black housing | Chaincase | Squashed & slotted | Raleigh Nottingham | Clamp-on steel | B66 | 32/40 | |||||||||
 Down tube "The All Steel Bicycle" (small); Seat tube" "Raleigh"; Dull-center rims; BB oiler left side, spring/ball cap. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1949 | Raleigh soldered Smooth black housing | Chaincase | Forged | Raleigh Nottingham | Clamp-on steel | B66 w/long holes. | 32/40 | Dunlop Sports Tyres | ||||||||
| Seat tube, vertical: RALEIGH The All-Steel Bicycle. Top tube: Made in England (italic script) Down Tube: no markings. Dull-center rims; BB oiler left side, spring/ball cap. Lamp bracket on stem binder bolt. Dynohub w/black nuts, black cable clips. Black hex-head fender bolts. Black painted aluminium pump. Closed-top steel seatpost. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1952 | Raleigh soldered | Chaincase | Forged | Raleigh Nottingham | Brazed-on | Brooks B66 | 32/40 | Dunlop Sports | ||||||||
 Although this bike is a sports model, it certainly seems deluxe with the B66 saddle, gearcase, Dynohub with front and rear lights, AND a Raleigh Industries kickstand! | ||||||||||||||||
| 1952 Ladys Sports | Raleigh soldered Smooth black housing | Chaincase | Forged | Raleigh Nottingham | Clamp-on steel | 32/40 | ||||||||||
| Dull-center rims; BB oiler left side, spring/ball cap; Grey rubber "bullet" grips. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1953 | Raleigh soldered Smooth grey housing | Chaincase | Forged | Raleigh Nottingham | Brazed-on | B66 | 32/40 | |||||||||
| Dull-center rims; BB oiler left side, spring/ball cap; Alloy AW hub; Red pinstripes on fenders | ||||||||||||||||
| 1954 | Raleigh soldered | Chaincase brazeon | Forged | Raleigh Nottingham | Brazed-on | 32/40 | ||||||||||
| Dull-center rims. Head lugs in simple curve. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1956 | Raleigh soldered | Chaincase braze-on | Forged | Raleigh Nottingham | Brazed-on | 32/40 | ||||||||||
| Dull-center rims; BB oiler right side, metal flip top. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1957 | Raleigh soldered Ribbed white housing | Chaincase braze-on | Forged | Brazed-on | Brooks B66 | 32/40 | ||||||||||
| Sturmey Archer SW hub with date "57 2" and metal oiler, bottom bracket [metal] oiler right side, Brooks B66 saddle, front Dynohub | ||||||||||||||||
| 1960 | Raleigh soldered | Chaincase braze-on | Forged | Raleigh Nottingham | Metal clamp-on | Brooks B66 | 32/40 | |||||||||
| Plastic bullet grips. Front hub oiler spring/ball type. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1961 | Raleigh soldered | Chaincase braze-on | Forged | Raleigh Nottingham | Metal clamp-on | Brooks B72 | 32/40 | |||||||||
| Re-buildable block pedals, don't say "Raleigh." | ||||||||||||||||
| 1962 | Raleigh soldered White ribbed cables | Forged | Plastic one-piece clamp | 32/40 | ||||||||||||
 Large "RALEIGH" on down tube; "SPORTS" on seat tube in red, outlined with white. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1963 | Raleigh soldered White ribbed cables | None | Stamped | Raleigh Nottingham | Plastic one-piece clamp | 32/40 | ||||||||||
| Red bike with white fenders & chainguard. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1965 | Raleigh soldered | None | Stamped | Raleigh Nottingham | Plastic | Brooks B72 | 32/40 | |||||||||
| Shiny rims; old style decals on down tube. | ||||||||||||||||
| Raleigh bolted | 2 | Stamped | Oval, no balls | Plastic | Brooks B72 | 32/40 | Dunlop Nylon Sprite Gumwall Airseal tubes | |||||||||
| No pump pegs; Sturmey-Archer Raleigh pattern rims. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1968 Lady's sports, Green | Raleigh bolted | Tabs for hockey stick | Stamped | Raleigh Nottingham original? | Plastic | Brooks B72 | 32/40 | |||||||||
| "Sports" on down tube, new "Raleigh" on chainguard. Cotter nuts have red "R". No bottom bracket oiler. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1969 | Raleigh bolted | None | Stamped | Oval, no balls | Plastic | Brooks B72 | 32/40 | Dunlop Nylon Sprite Gumwall Airseal tubes | ||||||||
| Old-style type on down tube, new-style on chainguard. Front axle nuts and cotter nuts have red "R". No bottom bracket oiler. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1970 Lady's Rudge | Raleigh bolted Ribbed black housing | 2 | Stamped | Raleigh logo not serviceable
with reflectors | Plastic | 32/40 | Dunlop Nylon Sprite 2 white lines | |||||||||
| Small logo on down tube; gold tape on seat tube. Shiny rims; Rear fender has 4 stays; red "R" nuts on cotters. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1973 | Raleigh Self Adjusting | Stamped | Raleigh logo not serviceable | 36 | ||||||||||||
| Later, modern looking decals. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1976 | Hex head centerbolt | Chainguard tabs Rear brake stops | Stamped | Raleigh logo not serviceable | Clamped on lower seat tube | Brooks mattress | Raleigh gumwall | |||||||||
| 1980 Lady's (Canada) | Weinmann Alloy | 1 on down tube | Stamped | Raleigh logo not serviceable | Clamped on lower seat tube | Brooks B-72 (original?) | 36 | Raleigh "Red Dot" Gum Korea | ||||||||
| Coffee color w/bronze head tube, bronze panel on seat tube. Chainguard encircles chainring, bolted to tapped hole under bottom bracket. Frame features "Pletscher"-type plate bridges, but otherwise is a dead ringer for Nottingham production, including 2030 label. 25.8 mm seatpost. Slotted cable stops for rear brake. No white panel on rear fender. Red "R" front axle nuts & seatpost bolt, but not on the cotters. CPSC front reflector mount instead of lamp bracket. | ||||||||||||||||
| Raleigh 3-speed Timeline | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | ||
| Brakes | Raleigh steel, with soldered cables | Raleigh steel, with anchor bolts | Self Adusting | Hex head centerbolt. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chainguard | Full Chaincase | "Hockey stick" chainguard, but frames still have chaincase braze-ons. | "Hockey stick" no braze-ons. | "Hockey stick" chainguard, with braze-ons tabs on down tube and seat tube. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fork ends | Squashed & slotted | Forged, 3-dimensional design to fit round hole in fork blade. | Stamped, to fit domed/slotted fork blade. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pedals | Raligh-made rubber block pedals, completely rebuildable, with replaceable treads. | Oval, no ball bearings | Non-serviceable (Union?) with Raleigh logo, reflectors. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pulley | Metal clamp-on | Metal brazed on (gent's models) Metal clamp-on (lady's models) | Metal clamp-on | Plastic clamp-on | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rear Hub | Sturmey-Archer AW (optional TCW Tri-coaster brake) | Sturmey-Archer SW | Sturmey-Archer AW (optional TCW or S3C Tri-coaster brake) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spoking | 32 front, 40 rear | 36 spokes front and rear | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sturmey-Archer | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Axle Nuts right | Axle Washers | Fulcrum sleeve | Lubricator | Trigger | |
| 1945? | 1-piece black rectangular window | 3-dimensional no plug black | ||||
| 1949 | 1-piece | Metal | Metal | No window 3 or 4 speed | ||
| 1952 | 1-piece | Forged knurled | Metal | Metal | Window 3 or 4 speed | |
| 1957 SW | 1-piece | Forged knurled | Metal | Metal | ||
| 1960 | 1-piece | Forged knurled | Metal | Plastic | No window No plastic | |
| 1961 | 1-piece | Forged knurled | Plastic | No window No plastic | ||
| 1963 | 2-piece | Metal | Plastic | |||
| Pressed-in LH ball cup. | ||||||
| 1965 | 1-piece | Plastic | Plastic | No window No plastic | ||
| 1968 | 2-piece | Plastic | Plastic | Transparent plastic | ||
| 1969 | 2-piece | Plastic | Plastic | No window No plastic | ||
| 1970 | 2-piece | Stamped | Metal | Plastic | ||
| 1973 | Plastic | Transparent plastic cover | ||||
| 1976 | Black plastic cover, body and trigger | |||||
| 1980 | 2-piece | White plastic | Black plastic | plastic cover, body and trigger | ||
They were supplied in different configurations for front, gent's rear and lady's rear applications. The cable came with the adjusting barrel. To replace the cable assembly, you would unbolt the adjusting barrel from the caliper.
These cables can often be revived by dripping oil into them and working them back and forth.
Later Raleigh-made brakes used standard cables with conventional anchor bolts.
Some later models had simple braze-ons on the seat tube and down tube to secure a "hockey-stick" chainguard.
Later models had flat, stamped fork ends, fitted into domed and slotted fork blades.
In the late 1960s, as a cost-cutting move, Raleigh fitted horrible cheap pedals that had no ball bearings. The version used on 3-speeds had an oval rubber platform. Later models had pedals made by other companies, notably Union. Although these often featured the Raleigh logo, they were not the same quality as the Nottingham models.
Later models had clamp-on pulleys, either metal or plastic, mounted on the seat tube.
Older clamp-on pulleys used a two-piece clamp made of rigid steel. The two halves of the clamp hooked together opposite the clamp bolt. Pulleys (and triggers and fulcrum clamps of this era used special shoulder nuts which had a sleeve that fitted into on end of the clamp, and had a "D" shaped head to prevent the nut from turning as the screw was tightened.
Later pulleys were plastic, and the clamp was a flexible steel band. These generally used a rectangular nut stamped out of sheet steel, a much less elegant (but certainly cheaper) nut.
Latest models did not use pulleys, but ran housing all the way to the right chain stay.
Later models came with mattress saddles.
Later bicycles adopted the international standard 36/36 spoking, which made the front wheels heavier than necessary, and the rear wheels less strong than previously.
In [sometime in the mid '60s] Dunlop switched to using Nylon cord instead of the cotton, and the tires became very much more reliable.
Raleigh was by far Dunlop's largest market for bicycle tyres and tubes. In [sometime in the mid '60s] Raleigh and Dunlop got in a disagreement about pricing for the new model year. Each company thought it was indespensible to the other. Dunlop called Raleigh's bluff, and said, in effect, "We don't really need the bicycle tyre business anymore, there's lots more money in car and motorcycle tyres. If you won't pay the prices we ask, we'll just get out of the cycle tyre business." ...and they did!
This caused a crisis in cycling circles, because Dunlop tyres were, at the time, the absolute pre-eminent brand, and none of their competitors was able to make a product that was nearly as good. Cyclists got very good at installing "boots" to prolong the life of their damaged Dunlops, since even a damaged Dunlop was better than anything else you could buy.
This situation continued for several years, until the Japanese learned to make tyres that were even better than the old Dunlops.
The valve caps often had a short length of rubber tubing covering the valve wrench. This was to protect the inner tube from being punctured by the cap while it was rolled up, before it was installed on a bicycle.
Hubs with 2-piece indicator spindles, such as the AM, AC, ASC, FC, FM, FW and SW used a one-piece right nut, but without the viewing holes. These hubs used a special left nut that resembled the conventional right nut, but which lacked the rounded interior lip for the chain. These nuts were designed to protect the left end of the two-piece indicator spindle, and to allow visual adjustment by observing the position of the left end of the spindle against the end of the axle. A common cause of malfunction of these hubs is that people get the left and right nuts reversed, so the indicator chain hangs up on the sharp edge of the nut that belongs on the left.
Later Raleighs used conventional nuts, and provided a shoulder on the outer face of the cone for wheel retention. The stamped dropouts had a keyhole shaped axle opening, and the shoulder on the cone fit into the round part of the opening. Some years used plain hex nuts with separate flat washers, other years used track nuts, domed and decorated with a red "R" on the end.
Intermediate models used cheaper, stamped serrated washers.
Later (and current) models use rather nice forged combination serrated/anti-rotation washers.
The metal ones last forever, but the plastic ones are easily crushed and ruined.
Earlier versions uses a hinged metal cap, but this was replaced in the late '50s or '60s by a plastic cap with a captive plug. This was one case where the plastic part was an improvement over the metal one, because they made a better seal, preventing the oil from dripping out.
Tip:
Installing a plastic lubricator into a hub can be quite tricky if you don't have the special tool. The special tool is a dull pencil, poked into the open lubricator. This will let you turn the lubricator to get it started into the threads.
It may also be possible to date your bicycle from its frame number which on early models is usually located underneath the seat lug, under the saddle. This only applies to a genuine Raleigh, not to other makes. The list below will help with dating your Raleigh bicycle from the frame numbers, but is not a definitive list, it simply notes occasional frame numbers that coincide with certain years of manufacture.
I do not vouch for the accuracy of this information.
Note that the serial number information below is fragmentary and incomplete, and many bikes have proven to be much newer than the serial numbers would suggest. It appears that Raleigh recycled many of the older serial numbers in later years, so there are lots of bikes from the 60s and 70s that have serial numbers that would suggest much greater age.I am happy to answer technical questions by email or phone but please:
Do not write or phone me to ask the age or value of an old Raleigh.
All of the information I have on that is on this Web page or RetroRaleighs.com/dating.html
Prior to 1925, genuine Raleighs (not necessarily brand names made by Raleigh) had a straightforward numerical frame number. Early years have been estimated by the Company.
| 1888 | 1500 | 1900 | 69868 | 1913 | 427829 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1889 | 3200 | 1901 | 77342 | 1914 | 482851 | ||
| 1890 | 5200 | 1902 | 89622 | 1915 | 517198 | ||
| 1891 | 7600 | 1903 | 102954 | 1916 | 545198 | ||
| 1892 | 10500 | 1904 | 112673 | 1917 | 569737 | ||
| 1893 | 13900 | 1905 | 129228 | 1918 | 592473 | ||
| 1894 | 19100 | 1906 | 154917 | 1919 | 621678 | ||
| 1895 | 25300 | 1907 | 183073 | 1920 | 654502 | ||
| 1896 | 32100 | 1908 | 215650 | 1921 | 688291 | ||
| 1897 | 39913 | 1909 | 249081 | 1922 | 738447 | ||
| 1898 | 45981 | 1910 | 285669 | 1923 | 809184 | ||
| 1899 | 54032 | 1911 | 328748 | 1924 | 899465 | ||
| 1900 | 65152 | 1912 | 375693 | 1925 | 998077 |
Between 1925 and the cessation of cycle production during the Second World War, letters prefixed or suffixed the running frame number although no indication is given of the starting point of the numbers. They seem to reflect only the number of machines produced whilst each letter was in use. All dating would therefore be approximate.
| 1925 | A1 | 1930 | G94785 | 1935 | W71147 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | B34181 | 1933 | L84682 | 1936 | W93161 | ||
| 1926/27 | B56536 | 1934 | T93945 | 1937 | Y184552 | ||
| 1929 | E15693 | 1934 | U14540 |
After the war, Raleigh began adding letters after the running number series which restarted when a new letter was used.
| 1947 | 437689 P | 1953 | 367369 T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 556894 P | 1954 | 566722 T | |
| 1949 | 695051 P | 1955 | 747951 T | |
| 1951 | 151179 T | 1956 | 852312 T | |
| 1952 | 236530 T | 1957 | 872584 T |
A new numbering system was introduced in 1955, though this ran concurrently with the old one for two years. The new system involved a second running letter, added to the first, which began at the start of the alphabet.
| 1956 | 23839 A | 1961 | 13126 AF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 27227 AB | 1965/6 | 40814 FD | |
| 1958 | 17910 AD | 1966 | 64521 FE | |
| 1960 | 27273 AE |
The material above was gathered from the Nottinghamshire Archives by Jim Burton
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