Ride to Work Crew
This picture is about 2 years old, but it shows that most of our CITES EdTech crew rides bikes to work. Sadly, my Fuji, the blue bike on the left, was stolen on campus; at least the thief had good taste! Anyway, waiting for spring to get here so the riding is easier.

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Robert    ¶ 6:37 PM 0 comments  

  Update on Robin Hood Restoration













Today I spent the morning taking apart my Robin Hood bike, disassembling everything, including the bottom bracket and fork. I cleaned the wheels, using 00 steel wool and copper polish, after first degreasing. Everything came apart smoothly and I was thinking that I was going to set a new record for bike disassembly, when I ran into trouble getting off the sprocket side crank arm; the bolt would just not come out. After using a hammer too much the bolt bent and I ended up spending about 45 minutes drilling and hammering and hack sawing to nearly obliterate the bolt to get it out. The bolt on the other crank arm came out with a few whacks--go figure. Everything else went fine. I polished all the rest of the chrome parts and did spray the "crystal clear shellac" over the old Robin Hood decals, which looks like a strategy that is going to work great for saving the original decals, while allowing me to sand, primer, and paint the rest of the bike. Tomorrow I'll start on the paint job: fenders fork, chain guard, and body.

Here is my parts list:

2 tubes
2 tires (white walls would go nice with the white rear fender paint, white hand grips)
Sturmey Archer shift lever and cable
1 crank arm bolt (the one that I obliterated taking it out)
a longer seat post so I can ride the bike when it's finished
maybe 2 nice new white hand grips if they have something in the same style--the originals aren't in too bad a shape.

The "free" bike will probably cost me about $75 in parts and paint when it is all done (it will be worth every penny).

best

Robert

+++++++++++++++++++++++
Ok, here is the update on my Robin Hood: I've completed my first restoration project, and you can look at the before and after pictures. Overall I was happy with this restoration as it was pretty cheap and easy, although time consuming. I'm sure if I had to buy expensive parts or rechrome or spend serious money on a paint job, then I might not be so happy.  ¶ 10:02 PM 0 comments  

  Renaissance Cycles
Renaissance Cycles

A great gallery of old, mostly British, bikes. I found this while searching to find something similar to my current refurbish job: a Raleigh Robin Hood--Renaissance Cycles has a ladies Robin Hood. There are some great Raleigh bikes here, including a whole series of folding and small frame bikes, such as the Elswick Hopper, the BSA Twenty, and the Raleigh RSW 16.  ¶ 9:53 PM 0 comments  

  The Classic and Antique Bicycle Exchange The Classic and Antique Bicycle Exchange

Interesting site with an extensive discussion forum.  ¶ 5:15 PM 0 comments  

  My "new" Robin Hood, aka Raleigh, make in Nottingham, England



Riding to work last week I found this by the curb near a home with a for sale sign in front of it. The sign on the bike said "free" so I called Cathy to bring the van to pick this beauty up. I didn't know anything about the bike at the time, but the decals did say Nottingham, England. Come to find out that Robin Hood was a lesser-priced line that Raleigh marketed. The Sturmey Archer hub has "70" on it, which, according to Sheldon Brown's very good web page on Raleigh bikes, would date the bike at 1970, a 36 year old bike. Another good Raleigh web page is Tony Hadland's, from which I quote: "During the Second World War (1939-45), Raleigh concentrated on munitions work. The name of its budget range, launched in 1938 as Gazelle, was changed to Robin Hood, and Raleigh acquired Rudge-Whitworth."

One thing I want to do is to try to save the original decals while repainting to combat the bit of rust on the fenders and elsewhere. I'm thinking that I can give the original decals a protective coat of acrylic, and then paint the rest. I'll have to research this a bit. It looks like all I need to do are cosmetic fixes and then to add tubes and tires and replace the missing control cable for the Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub. The crank and rims all seem in pretty good shape. As Sheldon Brown says, Raleigh Sport, and apparently the lesser priced Robin Hoods, were all built to last and serve as a daily commuter tool for the Brits.

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Robert   ¶ 1:35 PM 1 comments  

  BCA Comet--Mystery Bike!

A Mystery--Has Anyone Heard of this bike or company?

Ok, here's another bike we saw on campus that caught our eye, largely because it isn't Huffy mountain bike or Trek mountain bike or any other moutain bike or an old Schwinn or even a fixed gear, but some kind of made-in-the-USA bike that isn't a mountain bike or a cruiser or--you get the point. This is a pretty unique bike to be (1) made in the US and (2) is a ten-speed setup for commuting and (3) we have no clue to its origins.

Please leave a comment or email me if you have any answers to this mystery.

best

Robert

  ¶ 7:51 AM 0 comments