1952 Raleigh Sports Tourist. A proper piece of British engineering. And a weird old decision, too. After a particular Carrera Subway 2 sent me over its bars, this Raleigh was bought for £95 off eBay, from a lovely little house in Pinner. After watching Dragonheart for the first time with some enthusiasm, I decided to dub it Falkor, after the dragon from the Neverending Story, a film so fond to my childhood that I wore out its VHS. Fitting too, because the 'luck dragon' managed to survive with 8 (yes, 8) bearings in its bottom bracket, out of the 22 it needed. And it was filled with machine oil, not grease. How it survived in this state puzzles me, nevertheless it became more and more apparent that it spent much of its life in a shed somewhere as its saddle bag was full of rot and mould. After rebuilding it with new BB bearings, a new BB spindle, EP80 manual gearbox oil in the chaincase, and chain oil in the hubs, and a nice new saddle to replace the decrepit Terry's one, Falkor now rides exceptionally well and never fails to put a giant smile on my face.
Frame:
1952 'HIGH TENSILE TUBING' lugged steel frame. Sticker still present.
Fork/Headset:
Raleigh steel forks, with the famed Raleigh/Wilmot Breedon fork lock. Key currently missing!
Crankset/Bottom Bracket:
Raleigh 48t with original cranks. Bhogal A16 crank spindle which was hand-finished on a grinding wheel to fit those cranks. 22 bearings, original cups.
Pedals:
Unbranded block pedals with reflectors in them. Fully rebuildable, but unfortunately with an open bearing on the crank side. 9/16 standard thread.
Drivetrain/Cog/Chainring/Chain:
1969 Sturmey Archer AG Dyno-Three, 23t chainring. 3/8" standard chain.
Derailleurs/Shifters:
Sturmey Archer trigger shifter, plastic window type.
Saddle/Seatpost:
Unbranded triple-spring solid leather saddle, brown.
Brakes:
Raleigh cantilever brakes.
Front Wheel/Hub/Tire:
Dunlop 26x1 3/8. Philips hub with oiler. Raleigh Record gumwall tyre.
Rear Wheel/Hub/Tire:
Shumann Super 26x1 3/8. Sturmey Archer hub, looks to have been re-laced. Slightly buckled side-to-side on one spot. Michelin World Tour Zig-Zag tyre.
Accessories:
VP geared bell. Topeak Super Tourist DX Quicktrack MTX rack adapted with some OEM Topeak extension brackets to raise it up.
More Info:
Pretty much a museum piece!
Bike History
Click a link below to see past stages of this bike.
Current Stage Info:
24th and 25th of April 2021. Waxed with Turtle Wax Black Magic car wax, which brought a good shine and restored lots of detail in the paintwork.
Added by ggreen. Last updated about 3 years ago.
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