New Fork for the Sports Tourist and Other Stuff

Thanks to Nick at ThreeSpeedHub.com I was able to source a used replacement fork for the 1953 Sports Tourist.  It's a later version of the ubiquitous Sports fork with stamped drop-outs instead of the earlier forged ends, but its straight.  Another benefit is that the front brake pads now can be adjusted to hit the rim.  The original fork was so bent the pads would rub the tire even at their lowest setting.  Here's the bike with the replacement fork, and new Carradice Barley bag from England.  This bike is 99% complete now, still looking for period correct pedals (no reflectors), and a support for the Barley bag.  I'm still undecided about painting the frame and applying new decals.

I also ordered some of Nick's repo Britannia handle bar grips.  These are nice reproductions, made from actual rubber not the vinyl/plastic.  Affordable vintage rubber grips are difficult to find, I hope there are more rubber reproductions of classic three speed grips in the future.

Just finished reading "Raleigh, Past and Presence of an Iconic Bicycle Brand",  a book about the history Raleigh bicycle factory.  This is a very comprehensive history of the management, expansion, consolidation, and products of the factory from the beginning until its closure.
Written by Tony Hadland who is also the author of "The Sturmey-Archer Story", it contains many interesting photographs and drawings of the factory and products.

Soon I will be starting my next project which is the path racer/scorcher build mention in my very first post.