Tuesday, October 8, 2013

The Path Racer/Scorcher Project

In my July 2013 post "1953 Raleigh Sports Tourist Model 23" I mentioned the desire to replicate a path racer/scorcher type bicycle.  I was originally going to use the 1953 Sports for this project but decided to refurbish it.  Instead I will be using a 1970 Raleigh Sports, there will be little effort used to maintain its originality, this will be a fun build that will hopefully give the appearance of a vintage racer.  My only requirement was that it will have a Sturmey Archer hub and cotter crank.

I will be using a new (Sun Race) 5-speed Sturmey-Archer hub, X-RC5(W).  This is a wider hub (127mm) then the original 110mm 3-speed AW.



In order to accommodate the wider hub the rear drop-outs had to be spread (cold set) to the wider hub dimension.  This was accomplished by using a long 2x4 between the seat post and rear triangle to leverage drop-outs outward.

In addition, I had a friend braze a shifter boss on the top tube for a Sturmey-Archer 5-speed shifter lever.



  The original color of the Sports was a Bronze Green, I had the frame, fork, alloy rims (Sun CR-18), and handle bar and stem powder coated a Satin Black.


The handle bar used is a shorten and flipped cruiser type alloy bar.  In order to get the bar back to a more reasonable height I'll be using a longer alloy stem with a steep vertical extension.

End of handle bar that I removed.
Next will be setting the chain line and initial assemble.

Please share your comments and experiences.
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5 comments:

  1. MT cyclistNovember 21, 2013 at 9:59 AM

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  2. MT cyclistNovember 21, 2013 at 10:01 AM

    Love the scorcher. I'm doing a similar pathracer-style project using a 1984 Stumpjumper frame. It's powder coated black, with reproduction Stumpjumper decals from Velocals, and flipped Albatross handlebars. Fat Franks, Brooks Honey saddle. The drivetrain will be the original Sugino cranks, with a modern seven-speed cassette. I destroyed the original SunTour 5-speed freewheel while trying to remove it from the hub.
    Your site will be really helpful as I proceed with future projects. I have a Raleigh Twenty with a GH6 dynohub that I got working again. I have period correct lights, but would like to convert them to LED as you have done.

    Hey, I also completed the coffeeneuring challenge. Look for Montana on MG's map.
    Thanks for your excellent blog.
    Tom Howard

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    1. BobNovember 21, 2013 at 10:51 AM

      Hi Tom - Your bike sounds like a fun ride, good luck with it, send me some pixs when your done. I had a good time with the Challenge. Let me know how the LED conversion goes.

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  3. UnknownMarch 28, 2014 at 12:09 PM

    Love the Scorcher project! One question, I live in the DC area also and was wondering where you had the powder coating done? Thanks!!

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    Replies
    1. BobMarch 28, 2014 at 6:33 PM

      Thanks, it was a fun project. The powder coating was done by Figure Finishing, Manassas, VA., FigureEngineering.com They do a lot of bikes.

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