This was my great aunt’s bicycle, I rescued it from her garage this morning where it has been lying idle for the last 20 years. It was on a sure course to the dump!
I have a bad habit of hording things and I felt terrible at the idea of her bicycle going into the dump so I thought I’d bring it home and see if I could bring it back to life.
It had two flat tires so I had to push it all the way home – it’s a steel frame so it’s pretty heavy!
It’s a single speed Raleigh and I think its about 40/50 years old. It was my aunt’s only mode of transport and as a child I remember her cycling everywhere on it.
The basket is riddled with wood worm, it needs a new saddle, it’s pretty rusty and it needs a good clean but I couldn’t just leave it there! I think its a nice project and I’d like to think my aunt would love to see her old bike back on the road again 
I took it for a quick spin (after eventually finding an old bicycle pump to pump up the tires) and found it pretty comfortable to ride, although it’s pretty heavy! I can’t wait to take it for a proper spin when its fixed up
4 responses so far ↓
1 Matthew // May 12, 2009 at 11:44 am
The crankset is definitely from the 70′s, if that helps in the dating. The pre-70′s “heron” chainwheels had extra triangular bits in the negative space.
Looks like a great project. I’ve restored a couple old Raleighs and they clean up really well. They are very sturdy bikes too — should serve you well for a long time. If you need replacement parts, you can readily find very affordable, period-correct ones on ebay. Also, Sheldon Brown’s page on three speeds has great information for maintaining those peculiarly proprietary Raleigh components.
Love those rod brakes!
2 Meg - Sydney // May 12, 2009 at 11:55 am
Wow! What a find!
3 Joanne - Dublin // May 12, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Thanks for all the info Matthew thats a great help! I’m off in search of a saddle & basket today!
4 Renee-Boston // May 13, 2009 at 1:35 am
I would love to have an old bike to restore like that! What a perfect find!
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