Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle - After

Today I started work on Jose's Raleigh 3 speed step through.  I like 3 speed bicycles a lot, they represent a bicycle to get things done, to get to the market for dinner supplies, to run earns around town, to meet at the coffee shop.  For decades people living in England the Raleigh 3 speed was the main source of transportation.  These Raleigh 3 speeds where built for a purpose.

The Raleigh is missing a few parts for the shifting but those are all available.  The paint is rough in a few spots but the deep dark blue will polish out beautifully.  And of course all that chrome will sparkle against the dark blue.  New replacement parts will be a 3 speed shift lever, a rear hub spindle, a cable stop and a rear axle nut the rest should work out very nice.

The Raleigh 3 speed will receive a total restoration with new bearings, handlebar grips, tires and tubes, new cables and cable housings and the shift components.  I am looking very forward to the results and can't wait to test ride it.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle - Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Before
Handlebars

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Before
Stem

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Before
Brake Lever

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Before
Head Badge

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Before
Front Brake

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Before
Front Fender

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Before
Front Wheel Hub

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Before
Front Wheel Rim

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Before
Down Tube

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Before
Seat Lug

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Bicycle Before - Seat Tube

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Bicycle Before - Crank

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Before
Rear Wheel Hub

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Before
Rear Wheel Fender

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Before
Rear Reflector

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle before
Rear Wheel Rim

I broke down he Raleigh to the frame.  The frame is in okay starting shape, there are a good deal of chips and scratches but it will polish very nice.  I will do my best to match the paint to touch up the scratches and scuffs.

I cleaned the frame and then got to polishing, I had to start with a  very course polish and work my way to a very fine.  The paint turned out fantastic, a very deep shine, it will look even better when the chips have been touched up.  Raleigh paint from this era is very soft so it polishes to a very nice shine.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Frame - Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Frame Before - Head Tube

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Frame Before - Down Tube Decal

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Frame Before - Seat Tube

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Frame Before
Bottom Bracket

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Frame Before
Bottom Bracket

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Frame Before - Drop Outs

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Frame Before - Fork

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Frame Before - Fork

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Frame Polished

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Frame Polished
Down Tube Decal

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Frame Polished
Seat lug

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Frame Polished - Seat Tube

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Frame Polished
Bottom Bracket

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Frame Polished
Drop Outs

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Frame Polished - Fork

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Frame Polished
Fork

As always, while I was polishing the frame the Headset was in the crock pot soaking.  The headset and bottom bracket i think I pretty nice under the grease and grime and should polish nice.

The headset and bottom bracket polished very nicely.  I packed new bearings in new grease and installed the headset and bottom bracket.  The polished chrome looks fantastic against the dark blue paint.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket
Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket
Polished

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Headset Cups - Pressed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Headset Cups - Pressed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Headset Bearings - Packed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Headset Bearings Packed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bottom Bracket Bearings
Packed

The stem and handlebars are in good starting condition, they will polish very nice and really stand out against the blue of the frame.  One curiosity is a gauge worn into the handlebars, it looks like it was created from friction and rubbing, I wonder what it is from.

The stem and handlebars polished beautifully, I am very pleased with them.  The chrome of the headset, stem and handlebars all together looks great.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Stem & Handlebars - Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Stem & Handlebars
Polished

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Handlebars & Stem
Installed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Handlebars & Stem - Installed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Handlebars & Stem - Installed

The front brake is a standard side pull caliper with a city type lever, the rear brake is a coaster brake so that will be taken care of during the work on the rear wheel.

I polished the brake lever and caliper, they turned out very nice.  I installed new brake pads at this time and the new 3 speed shift lever.  I am very happy with the brake lever and caliper, it is staking chrome and polished alloy on top of polished chrome and alloy, a nice effect!

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Front Brake Caliper &
Lever - Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Brake Caliper
Exploded

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Brake Caliper
Polished

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Brake caliper - Complete

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Brake Caliper
Installed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Brake Lever Polished
New Shift Lever

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Brake Lever & Shift Lever
Installed

 I like the old Raleigh Cranks with the Raleigh Crane cut into it.  They have a lot of character that you don't see anymore.  I love this stuff, bringing stuff like this back to life.  The old stuff has so much character and was built so well and then there is that whole thing about reusing or re-purposing versus the amount of environmental damage from making new.

The crank polished very nice, I am very happy with it.  I installed the new cotter crank bolts at this time.  The crank looks fantastic installed!

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Crank - before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Crank - Polished

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - New Crank Cotter Bolts

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Crank - Installed

The seat is actually a Schwinn seat, I think that is against the law, a Schwinn part on a Raleigh bicycle but I will not tell anyone.  Actually I think the whole Schwinn springer saddle is a good look for the Raleigh.

I polished the seat post and seat bolt, they turned out nice, i am saving the saddle for later.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Saddle & Seat Tube - Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Seat Post & Binder Bolt
Installed

The wheels are in okay starting shape, the rims have some rust but i think the rear hub was overhauled or at least had an attempt at it not to long ago by the amount of grease that is caked at the edges, the grease is fairly fresh.

I started with the front wheel, the old grease took a lot to remove but now is clean, I polished the wheel hub and it is perfect.  The front wheel rim had some rust in areas, I removed the rust and polished the rim, there is a few spots of pitting on the rim but over all it looks good.  I installed new bearings and grease and trued the wheel, it spins perfect and looks great installed.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Rear Wheel - Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Rear Wheel Coaster Brake
Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Rear Wheel Rim - Before

I spent all morning and a good part of the afternoon on the rear hub today.  Someone recently had a go at overhauling the 3 speed hub and filled the hub with a tone of heavy duty industrial grease, the smell of the grease was very potent and very sticky and thick.  The rear hub was not working before and this is why.  All the moving parts and spring loaded clips where so packed with this grease that none of them could work.  The coaster brake was also heavy caked with grease and was not working.

I spent what seemed like hours cleaning the grease out, went through a can of and a half of WD-40 and half a can of PB Blaster.  Eventually I got all the grease off and out.

A three speed hub is not meant to be caked full of grease like this.  A three speed hub has an oil port to add oil to the hub and keep it lubricated, the rotating of the hub splashes the oil around on the moving parts.

Eventually the hub was overhauled and now works good but I think it will need a little more fine tuning later.  I installed a new spindle and axle nut at this time.  In the end the hub looks great and functions descent now and probably a lot better later.

I did not take many photos of the rebuild, I had the industrial grease all over everything and my gloves and did not want to expose my camera to it.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Internals of the Three Speed Hub
Some Bad Grease Still Caked On.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Nasty Grease In Hub

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Internal Parts Almost Clean

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bearings - Greased

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - New Spindle & Axle Nut

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Rear Three Speed Hub
Complete

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Rear Three Speed Hub
Complete

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Rear Three Speed Hub
Complete

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Rear Three Speed Hub
Complete

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Front Wheel - Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Front Wheel Rim
Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Front Wheel - Old Grease

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Front Wheel Hub
Polished

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Front Wheel Rim
Polished

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Front Wheel
New Bearings & Grease

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Front Wheel - Complete

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Front Wheel - Installed

I forgot to take photos of the new Kenda Tires with all the grease but I did installed them, they look fantastic installed.  That is the way a Raleigh should look with gum wall tires!

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Wheels - Compelte

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Tires Installed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - New Spindle & Axle Nut
Installed

With the Raleigh 3 speed coming along I got to work on the fenders.  The fenders are a little rough, actually they are a lot rough.  I straightened the fender struts as they where bent.  I also polished the fender hardware and replaced a few nuts.

I used a very course polishing compound to remove scuffs and scratches and to bring the shine back.  I then went on to a very fine compound and a wax.  The fenders turned out great considering where they started, I am very happy with the results.   When I can get a good touch up paint mixed the fenders will be even better.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Fenders - Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Rear Fender - Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Rear Fender - Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration
Front Fender - Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Front Fender - Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Rear Fender - Complete

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Rear Fender - Complete

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Front Fender - Complete

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Front Fender - Complete

At the same time as working on the fenders I started work on wiring the bike.  I ran the new shift cables and brake cable and installed the new shift lever and cork handlebar grips.  The cork handlebar grips area great classic look and are perfect for the Raleigh 3 Speed.  I still need to shellac the cork grips.

I also installed the new down tube cable stop and installed the restored shift cable pulley.  These look great polished and really make a restoration look good.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - New Shift Hardware

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Brake Cable - Installed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Brake Cable - Installed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Shift Cable - Installed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Down Tube Cable
Stop - Installed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Shift Cable - Installed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Shift Pulley - Installed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Shift Cable - Installed

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - New Cork Grips

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - New Cork Grips

The Raleigh 3 Speed pedals turned out very nice, I have always like the Raleigh stamp in the rubber pads.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Pedals - Complete

I got to ride the Raleigh 3 Speed this morning.  It took me a long time to get the 3 speed hub working well, it took a few overhauls and a lot of tweaking but it works great now.  The Raleigh road great but a problem came up.  The Schwinn saddle bracket that holds the saddle tot he seat post is worn out and does not fit.  The saddle keeps tilting back and fourth and makes it impossible to ride.  I think a new saddle and binder bracket are going to be needed.

I am also working on how to attach the chain guard, the chain guard has no mounting brackets, I will need to figure out a way to do that.

Below is a photo of the Raleigh almost complete.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Almost Complete

It has taken a bit of time but the Raleigh 3 Speed is complete minus a chain guard.  I installed the cork handlebar grips before but have now applied the shellac.  The handlebar grips look fantastic and very classy and classic, a perfect addition.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Handlebars Grips
Before

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Handlebar Grips
Shellac Applied

I had to rebuild the 3 speed hub about four times since the first time.  I had to replace a few springs and a piece here and there but now it shifts perfectly.

I have many miles in test riding the Raleigh 3 Speed or in fine tuning.  The Raleigh now shifts perfectly and rides fantastic.  I am very pleased with it.  I have also done the paint touch up, I came up with a pretty good match and am happy with it.

I love three speed bicycles, they have such a classic look and this Raleigh  has it all, the handlebar grips bring out a lot of that look and the new gum wall tires bring it all together.

The final photos are below and turned out great, I took that late this evening so a few are blurry from the fading light, sorry for that.

I have tried to modify a few chrome chain guards, the attempts did not work out too well so we will need to find a Raleigh chain guard in the future.

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Handlebars

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Brake

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Wheel

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Rim

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Handlebars

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Stem

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Half - Blurry

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Drive Train

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Raleigh Stamped Crank

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Wheel

Jose's Raleigh 3 Speed Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Raleigh Decal