My wife and I were out visiting some garage sales this past weekend when we stopped at one house that had a couple of bikes in the corner of their garage. I asked the owner if the bikes were for sale and when she said yes i walked over to take a look. One bike was a cheap women's bike made by Huffy. I quickly ignored that one and looked at the other bike.

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The beautiful bronze/goldish colored frame caught my eye immediately and I got excited when I saw that it was an all original Raliegh Sports model 10-speed lightweight. After taking it for a spin for a few minutes and talking her down to $15 the bike was in the back of my Subaru Forester.Once I got home I started noticing more interesting things such as the original Wright's leather saddle in very good shape (not dried out and very much rideable) and the Sturmey Archer front Dynohub. The wheels are in bad shape with at least one spoke loose and a good amout of rust/pitting. As for the frame, it seems straight and true and has less scratches then I would expect for a bike that the women said her ex-husband commutted on to college.Anyway, now to the important part. I'm trying to find more information about this bike and what I'm finding online is not adding up.

Like I said, this is a goldish colored men's lightweight 10-speed bike. It has Raleigh on the seat tube and 'Sports' on the downtube. It has the Raliegh heron emblem riveted to the headtube and has the wrap around the seat collar seat stays. The cranks are stamped with the heron logo as well as the rear hub which has a lube port in the center covered by a metal loop.

The stem and handlebars are chromed steel and the bike has Huret shifters and deraileurs (Alivit rear I believe). I can't find any markings on the pedals.

The front Dynohub is stamped '1 64' so I believe if that is the original wheel the bike is from 1964, but I can't find any information on a 10-speed 'Sports' model, all I find is info on 3 speed Sports models. I will post pics of the bike later tonight, but I was hoping to get some help from the community here on this particular bike. I believe it was a low end bike as it does not have boutique parts, but the front dynohub (no lights on the bike) and the fact that this is a 10-speed Sports model is confusing. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.-Steve. Ribaldmanikin,I have checked Sheldon's website, and while it is generally extremely helpful, there was not much information that I could relate to this bike.

All of the information he has on Sports are the 3 speeds. I'm sure that some parts are not original, but I can't find anything about this bike online. I've checked Sheldon's serial number guide, but it doesn't apply as this bike's serial number does not have any letters in the frame number. The Sturmey Archer fron dynohub is easy to date, but I'm not sure it is original. I haven't tried contacting Raleigh yet. I guess I have the impression that a lot of corporations these days do not have much information on older products. I will try that though as I'm just interested in the year of manufacture, not a description of the original specs.though that would be excellentSo far the information I'm getting from others is that this bike is from the early 60's.

The date on that front hub might truly be the date of the bike. I won't be satisfied until I learn the exact year it was manufactured. Your $15 vintage Raleigh looks gorgeous - great find! Even the paint job looks great.

I am a bit jealous b/c I just rescued an old bike from someone's basement, and it's a great vintage model but the frame is seriously scratched up. Anyway, for help learning more about your Raleigh Sports, I would suggest you ask Andy Muzi, the owner of the Yellow Jersey bike store in Madison, Wisconsin. Andy is an authority on vintage bikes, as I just learned from sending him a picture of this bike I just got, which he ID'ed instantly as a Sekai 5000, custom-built at his store circa 1975.Looks like Andy has a soft spot for Raleigh Sports: see this page on his store's website,Good luck! On a bike that old, I'd expect that some of the parts aren't original. No reason to think that your 10 speed sports wasn't a 3 speed sports at one time.Actually, the 'flake' brazed to the down tube as a stop for the shift levers indicates that this was never a 3 speed.Raleigh USA isn't likely to be any help either.

Raleigh of Nottingham, England might be worth looking up. They're completely different companies.I think that all the parts on the bike are original - they appear to be the same age. I'm basing my guess (early to mid 1960's) on the brake levers and the paint job.I've not seen anything that fancy on 1950's Raleighs.Your bike is a real beauty. Go back where you got it and see if you can find the aluminum tire pump and the light (it attaches to the right side of the fork).

Happy hunting. Actually, the 'flake' brazed to the down tube as a stop for the shift levers indicates that this was never a 3 speed.Raleigh USA isn't likely to be any help either.

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Raleigh of Nottingham, England might be worth looking up. They're completely different companies.I think that all the parts on the bike are original - they appear to be the same age. I'm basing my guess (early to mid 1960's) on the brake levers and the paint job.I've not seen anything that fancy on 1950's Raleighs.Your bike is a real beauty. Go back where you got it and see if you can find the aluminum tire pump and the light (it attaches to the right side of the fork). Happy hunting.Thank you bicyclerepairman. Your comments agree with a reply I received from Sheldon Brown. He also thinks early to mid 60's and that it was brought into the US at some time as Raleigh only sold 3-speeds under the Sports name in the US.

Possibly an informal import brought back by a traveler or student in England. I've decided that I will clean it up, tune up the shifting and brakes, and keep it as is. I'll keep an eye out for a matching pump and light. I think it will be difficult to find the correct light, as most older Raleighs I come across have the light attached to the steerer tube and it sits above the front fender.

I wonder if I can use such a light, but with a different bracket.hmm. I think it will be nice to ride this bike every once in a while. I would agree with the 1964 date here.

We got a Foremost ten speed given to us that is almost identical and the former owner said he bought it in '65. Foremost was a Sears branded bike built by Raleigh.

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The color, handlebars and stem, crankset and decals are identical. Ours uses a Simplex deraileur that was a contemporay of the Huret Alvit yours has. It has Raleigh hubs and Dunlop rims. I noticed the John Bull brakes right away and the three speed style brake levers.

I've included some pics of ours. You have a very lovely bike.