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Withdrawn 1963 Raleigh Rod Brake Roadster

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For sale: 1963 Raleigh road brake roadster. Desirable 21-22 inch frame on 28 inch wheels. Three speed rear hub, dynohub front. Looks to be an "export" model based on the frame graphics. Bicycle had tires from West Germany and Austria when I got it, so possibly a model brought over from a continental market. Superbe green. Paint is in above-average shape, with some touch up over the years. Chrome is pretty good. Rims show honest wear from years of use. Saddle has surface crazing but is not broken. Has the classic tri-sprung roadster Brooks B73 saddle. Saddle frame has some light surface rust. Has the old style long crank arms. Chain guard is a period 1960s replacement. I will include a Raleigh re-painted chain guard if you want to swap to a Raleigh guard with export model graphic. Recent kenda 28 x 1 1/2 tires. Recent brake pads. Dynohub system and lights work properly. System has proper Reflectalite LED bulbs and current limiter. Front hub has a little surface rust but will clean up fine. Has working lock fork, comes with a key. Original aluminum pump and matching rear rack. Old, East German pedals. Recent shifter cable and cable housing. Celluloid handlebar grips. Just a nice, unusual old bike that was someone's commuter many years ago.

$350, local pick up in Litchfield, Connecticut

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Super Minx Man said:
Would you ship to CA?
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Yes, but I would like to give it a couple days to see if anyone local has interest in it. It would be fairly expensive to ship even with BikeFlights because of the size and amount of equipment on it. But if nobody local (Litchfield County, CT is the location) turns up after a couple days, I'd be open to disassembling and shipping it.
 
ifitsfreeitsforme said:
pretty bike. I didn't know they still made rod brakes in 63.
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yes. Raleigh sent them to the USA until the Huffy license deal in 1982. Raleigh licensed their name to Huffy for the USA market in what was supposed to be a 10 year deal that only lasted about 5 years. Huffy promptly stopped importing Raleighs from England so that was the end of the "english racers" and the Tourist model. I was working in a Raleigh dealer when we got "the letter" from Raleigh. I realized then there would be no more 3 speeds so I bought the last Tourist we had in stock.

Since both companies went bankrupt was it worth it?

Huffy's end was rather quick. Stock price dropped from $10 to pennies in just a few weeks in 2004. Run out of business by chinese and walmart. Along with most other USA bicycle manufacturers. The name is now owned by Pon, owners of Dorel, owners of Pacific, main supplier to wallyworld and is put on bsos sold at big box stores. As bad as the new Huffys are, they aren't any worse than the majority of Huffy bikes that were made in the USA. There were a few rather unique models but most were just junk.

Raleigh's corporate history is long and complicated. IMO, they put too much effort in to buyouts, take overs, mergers. Once the largest bike company in the world.
 
ifitsfreeitsforme said:
pretty bike. I didn't know they still made rod brakes in 63.
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The US-spec rod brake bikes were sent over through the early 1980s. I think Rick has it correct about 1982 being the last year. I can't recall seeing a 1983 or 84 US-spec rod brake DL-1 model. I have a US-spec 1978 rod brake roadster that is also fun to ride. This 1963 model has some different features and graphics that were common on "export models" that went to Europe from Raleigh, and came with a mixture of worn Austrian and West German tires and tubes (I had to replace them with new Kendas to put the bike back on the road). I suspect this one was in West Germany or Austria and brought back to the US by the owner.
 
When I was a kid I lived on an Air Force Base, and I used to see servicemen bringing those Raleighs home from Europe all the time. I also remember a very rare Peugeot sports car. This is something you would never see in Minnesota except some Colonel brought it back from France.
 
Ulu said:
When I was a kid I lived on an Air Force Base, and I used to see servicemen bringing those Raleighs home from Europe all the time. I also remember a very rare Peugeot sports car. This is something you would never see in Minnesota except some Colonel brought it back from France.
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That's what I figured when I got it - someone in the armed services based in West Germany or West Berlin brought it back to the US. Admittedly that is my speculation - I have no proof. But the markings and equipment all seemed more like a bike Raleigh shipped to continental Europe than the US.
 
My first bicycle was the 20 inch blue and white child’s version of this Raleigh that I received in 1961. It was beautiful and like new and some stupid garbage man picked it up and crushed it in his truck because I left it leaning against a garbage can.

I too would like to own this bicycle, for sentimental reasons, but I am on the West Coast and shipping across the Rockies is ridiculous. Also it’s not a bicycle I would ride nowadays, and it would just hang on the wall forever if I bought it. Too many toys already here.

Anyhow here’s a bump for your thread, and I hope you get a nice price for your Raleigh.
 
Thanks. I will add - the LEDs are the Reflectalite kit. The lamps are original, but the bulbs are LEDs, with a current limiter on the hub terminals. This allows you to use original lamps but LED bulbs. If the buyer wants me to swap back to original bulbs, I can do that. But it's sure nice having the old lamps but the stronger LED light coming from them.
 
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