Older Raleigh Bicycles
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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.
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.
Raleigh, in its glory years (up into the 1960's) was the absolute opposite. Its 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 connected 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 you are not sure that 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.
In general, quality reached its peak in the 1950s, and 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 |
Chain case | 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 Lady's Sports |
Raleigh soldered Smooth black housing |
Chain case | 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. |
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| 1949 | Raleigh soldered Smooth black housing |
Chain case | 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 |
Chain case | 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, gear case, Dynohub with front and rear lights, AND a Raleigh Industries kickstand! |
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| 1952 Lady's Sports |
Raleigh soldered Smooth black housing |
Chain case | 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 |
Chain case | 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 |
Chain case braze-on | Forged | Raleigh Nottingham |
Brazed-on | 32/40 | ||
| Dull-center rims. Head lugs in simple curve. | ||||||||
| 1956 | Raleigh soldered |
Chain case 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 |
Chain case 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 |
Chain case braze-on | Forged | Raleigh Nottingham |
Metal clamp-on | Brooks B66 | 32/40 | |
| Plastic bullet grips. Front hub oiler spring/ball type. | ||||||||
| 1961 | Raleigh soldered |
Chain case 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. |
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| 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 center bolt | 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 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Adjusting | Hex head center bolt. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chainguard | Full Chain case | "Hockey stick" chainguard, but frames still have chain case 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 | Raleigh-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 |
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| 1949 | 1-piece | Metal | Metal | No window 3 or 4 speed |
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| 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 |
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| 1970 | 2-piece | Stamped | Metal | Plastic | ||
| 1973 | Plastic | Transparent plastic cover | ||||
| 1976 | Black plastic cover, body and trigger |
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| 1980 | 2-piece | White plastic | Black plastic | plastic cover, body and trigger |
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Older Raleigh-made brakes used special cables with moulded ends on both ends of the cables, as shown. These cables are no longer available.
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.
Older models had a braze-on with a tapped hole on the right chainstay, behind the chainwheel, to secure a full chain case. For the U.S. market, the chain case was not fitted after (1953?) to reduce weight, but the braze-on was continued until (?) even though the bikes came with a "hockey-stick" chainguard.
Some later models had simple braze-ons on the seat tube and down tube to secure a "hockey-stick" chainguard.
Older models had forged front fork ends, which are 3-dimensional, and are round where they fit into the end of the fork blade. These fork ends are countersunk on the outer surface, to accommodate the old-style axle nuts which had a shoulder that fit through the washer. The shoulder provided secondary wheel retention.
Later models had flat, stamped fork ends, fitted into domed and slotted fork blades.
Older models had rubber block pedals made in the Raleigh factory in Nottingham. Raleigh was the last bicycle maker to make its own pedals. They were very high quality, and were completely rebuildable. Raleigh used to even offer replacement rubber blocks. They came in two lengths, the longer size coming on gents' bicycles, the shorter on ladys' models.
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.
Older gent's models had a brazed-on fitting for a pulley, for the shift cable, on the underside of the seat lug.
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.
Top line Raleighs generally came with Brooks leather saddles. The standard Sports models came with the B-72. Early Sports models, and the deluxe Superbe models, came with the B-66, which is similar, but has two large coil springs at the rear.
Later models came with mattress saddles.
Older British bicycles in general used 32 spokes on the front wheel, 40 on the rear. The front would be laced cross 3, the rear, cross 4. This generally permitted the same length spokes to be used on both wheels.
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.
Raleigh used Dunlop tyres exclusively until [sometime in the late '60s]. Older models came with all-black tyres with a block tread. Later upper-end models (including the Sports) came with the Dunlop Sprite gum-wall, or, later, with the Nylon White Sprite, a blackwall with double white stripes running along the sidewall. Until the mid-60s, tyres used cotton canvas fabric. These tires were easily damaged by rim cuts if ridden underinflated. If the rubber became damaged so that moisture could get at the cotton carcass, the cotton would rot and the tyre would fail.
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 indispensable 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.
Raleighs of the 50's and 60's came with Dunlop Airseal tubes, a premium grade inner tube with a fully-threaded valve stem and a knurled valve-retaining nut. The original valve caps were metal, and included a two prong valve wrench on the exposed end.
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.
Sturmey-Archer right-side axle nuts have a long, cylindrical projection, with a curved lip for the indicator chain. The cylindrical part had two viewing holes to facilitate visual checking of the cable adjustment. Some time in the 1960's, they changed to a two-piece system, with a plain hex nut (the same as on the left side) and a separate cylindrical nut, knurled on the outer end. Sometime in the 1970's, they went back to the one-piece design.
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.
Older Raleighs, those with forged front drop outs, used a special axle nut with a narrow rounded section toward the hub. This rounded section fit through the axle washer, and into a recess of the forged drop out, to provide positive front wheel retention.
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.
Older Sturmey-Archer hubs used beautifully made forged serrated washers between the axle nut and the fork end. These older washers are easily identified by the knurled edges. These were used in conjunction with separate, stamped anti-rotation washers, which should go on the inside of the fork end.
Intermediate models used cheaper, stamped serrated washers.
Later (and current) models use rather nice forged combination serrated/anti-rotation washers.
Sturmey-Archer's term for the clamp-on cable housing stop usually mounted on the top tube was "fulcrum." The fulcrum clamp held a separate sleeve which served as the socket for the cable. This was a sort of ferrule, with a flange on one end to keep it from sliding through the fulcrum clamp. It was slotted to facilitate cable installation, and had a flat side which rested against the frame tube. Earlier fulcrum sleeves were metal, later versions are plastic. This was one of the first Sturmey-Archer parts where plastic replaced metal.
The metal ones last forever, but the plastic ones are easily crushed and ruined.
Until fairly recently, all Sturmey-Archer hubs were designed for oil lubrication. An oil cap, or, in Sturmey-Archer terminology, a "lubricator" was set into the hub shell. The actual cap assembly screwed into a threaded hole in the shell.
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:
There have been several different shift controls over the years:
There are three common colors for older Raleighs:
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.
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.
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 |
| 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
