1948 Raleigh Clubman

I am going to pick one of these up next week, and have it as my next restoration job.
I always wanted a 1940s/50s club bike, so this is the realisation of a long held dream for me!
Just wondering, though - has anyone else got one? Did you keep it all original, or did you build it up with modern bits?
I look forward to seeing what you've got.

I briefly had a Rudge Aero Clubman from '48 or '49 - very much like these:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31231726@N ... 1/sizes/l/

http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/dim ... ewsIndex=1

Mine was original when it came to me, and remained so. Some classic bikes don't look too bad with some modern parts, but an old club bike like that has such a distinctive look that it makes sense to keep it original, or at least period-correct as far as possible. The parts they came with weren't exotic, so don't fetch crazy prices on eBay or at cycle jumbles - you can pick up a decent Sturmey FM or FW for less than the price of a 9-speed cassette, and there are still plenty of decent steel cottered cranks around. Brooks saddles and Carradice bags haven't changed so much in sixty years that the new ones look out of place on older bikes.

If this is a bike you plan to ride, and the wheels aren't in good shape, it might make sense to consider a change of wheel size, as discussed here:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=50367

The wheels were what I was wondering about, mostly. I was thinking if the old ones were no good, I might have a go at building a pair of 700c ones for it until something more correct came up.
Useful thread, though - cheers!

27" to 700c is an appealing idea, BUT then you'll get into all kinds of bother about the brake callipers not reaching far enough....

27 inches is about 685mm so some shallower drop brakes should be ok if you fit 700c's

hamster":i5pr6w3z said:

27" to 700c is an appealing idea, BUT then you'll get into all kinds of bother about the brake callipers not reaching far enough....

Click to expand...

27" to 700c is only 4mm extra brake reach ((630-622)/2), and brake calipers of this period tend to have lots of drop and lots of adjustment - but these bikes tend to come with 26 x 1 1/4" wheels.

fingers":270te8zb said:

27 inches is about 685mm

Click to expand...

But a 27" rim doesn't measure 27"...

so some shallower drop brakes should be ok if you fit 700c's

Click to expand...

and a 700c rim is smaller than a 27"

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

(but bigger than a 26 x 1 1/4" - which is what most of these bikes came with)

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleig ... ohler.html

It's a change in diameter from 630mm to 622. So you'll need to drop by 4mm.

Maybe it'll work, maybe not. Fit some modern wheels and see.

Modernising is not easy as the back will probably be spaced to 120mm, and you'll need to fit 130 for up to date road stuff. That level of bending / cold setting gets quite extreme.

So I'd use a period rear hub. Otherwise it's a bit like fitting alloy wheels and a spoiler onto an Austin 7.

hamster":pbi8staw said:

It's a change in diameter from 630mm to 622. So you'll need to drop by 4mm.

Click to expand...

But in this case it's more likely to be an increase in diameter from 597mm (26 x 1 1/4") to 622mm.

Later, when 27" began to dominate, club bikes were often built to be dual use (tubs for racing; clinchers for training and touring), and tubs were always 700c. My '50s Mercian has an easy stretch to a 700c rim, and would probably take a 40mm tyre if I felt like it!

Modernising is not easy as the back will probably be spaced to 120mm

Click to expand...

Narrower was more common. Older fixed hubs and Sturmey club gears are often in the 110mm ballpark.

Yes, good point, 1948 not 1968!