Nottingham thread gauges

[Ed no-more-lemons]

It looks like the threading that came from Raleigh's Nottingham factory was all at 26 TPI. Does anyone know of any exceptions to this rule?
Nice to know before committing to a project and whether it may be worthwhile salvaging BB and Heasdset from a low end, late model Hi-Ten wreck.

 

[compo]

Have a read here: http://sheldonbrown.com/raleigh26.html
I had a Raleigh road bike built in Nottingham which had "standard" 24 tpi threads on the BB. The bit about the BB shell size is interesting.
I have a pair of 26tpi which I keep to check Raleigh BB's. It is easier to gently screw them into the BB by hand and see if they go all the way in or jam after a few turns than to count the threads.

 

[Ed no-more-lemons]

A wreck just about sum's things up! Not one of the pretty ones before collapse. I have a sneeky feeling the bottom bracket on this Raleigh Pursuit may well be 24TPI. But short of a guide or thread gauge I have no way of knowing even though I recently regreased the BB. Hence the posting.
Just had a look at an adjustable cup that looks like a Raleigh, judging by one of Sheldons examples. Forgotten where this came from but I am not likely to be able to count the number of turns by eye that eas?
My first auction bike, it was more worthwhile down the tip a few years back. Excuse my rant but not up on forum ettiquet and no wheels.

 

[tyred]

My understanding is that genuine Nottingham built Raleighs (mostly roadsters, older road bikes, later cheap roadbikes, the R20, chopper and grifter, children's bikes) had 26tpi but the higher end lightweights which were usually built in the Carlton factory in later years had the standard 24tpi.

 

[Ed no-more-lemons]

Wasn't the Carlton factory at Worksop? I cant quite remember and I was curious about the threading, from Nottinghams 'Specialist Development Unit' SBDU and what serial numbers came from there.
I have now got round to measuring the inside of the downtube and unsurprisingly it equals one inch. So I suppose the bottombracket cups are worth keeping and are hopefully better quality than the frame. Not so sure about the headset, especially as I am now more convinced than ever that a complete machine is a better/easier bet.

 

[tyred]

Carlton factory was at Worksop (at least that's what it says on my headbadge).

 

[Ed no-more-lemons]

To avoid confusion or perhaps to create more. I think I should clarify my last post on this thread. I mistakenly claimed the internal diameter of the downtube was 1 inch.
Having discovered that this seat post is the only one suitable for my latest outings on Ebay, I realised that I had taken a measurement of 1 inch and 1/16 or 27mm or as nearly as I can make out, using some fairly basic calipers.
Great isn't it two bikes acquired, neither of which had a safe or usable seat post. The one having been packed out with brown wrapping tape and the other being bent and too short!
All in all though, I don't think I've done too badly. Probably have to start a new thread on the non identical twins.
Thanks Tyred, Compo for your responses they have been thought provoking and are appreciated.

BTW just looking again at Compo's link to Sheldon's acticle and thinking 68mm BB shell was present before dumping it, perhaps this bike was threaded to 24 TPI after all and may therefore not have been made in Nottingham, despite the head badges suggestion.

 

[pubrunner]

. . . . . . . Wasn't the Carlton factory at Worksop? I cant quite remember and I was curious about the threading, from Nottinghams 'Specialist Development Unit' SBDU and what serial numbers came from there.

The SBDU was based at Ilkeston, on Derbyshire; when it was moved to Nottingham in 1987/88, it became known as the Special Products Division (SPD).

Regarding SBDU serial numbers, I'm pretty sure that virtually all the bikes had the prefix - 'SB'. My own frame is SB7953. The exceptions to the rule, are bikes which were built for the highest level cyclists - the serial number would usually be the rider's initials.

Interestingly, the frame numbers do not appear to take into account, the material from which the bike was made; SB7953 is a Reynolds 753 frame, but SB7952 & SB7954 could easily be Reynolds 531 tubing.

Almost all SBDU frames have standard threads; however, it is possible that some customers ordered something different. It was worth noting, that the SBDU produced only frames, not entire bikes.

 

[Ed no-more-lemons]

Fantastic, 'chapter and verse', I never thought I would get wrapped up in such trivia. It's all to the good though, a little background to this iconic brand goes a long way, as a child of the 80's Raleigh was 'It', even though we had no idea what we where riding.
It's easy to forget how many pies Raleigh had its fingers in, I mistakenly thought bikes from Ilkeston were numbered with an 'I', could this denote the heritage of more basic models from this location? It is all a bit of a puzzle from memory of various Wiki links.and the talk of so many mergers and takeovers.
I am hoping to get a good read about this sort of thing and was thinking of "Richards bicycle book", which I saw mentioned here. presumably it is not purely a home mechanics guide.
I suppose 753 is the successor to 531 as the tubing of choice for those stuck on Reynolds.
Pubrunner I'm sure your Heron is a fine example of Raleigh craftsmanship, always interested in any pictures

 

[pubrunner]

I suppose 753 is the successor to 531 as the tubing of choice for those stuck on Reynolds.

Not entirely, for time trialing or 'out & out' racing bikes, 753 was a successor to 531. For touring, 753 probably wouldn't be a good choice - 653 would probably be better.

Of course, 753 has since been replaced by Reynolds 853, and latterly, by the uber-light Reynolds 953.

Pubrunner I'm sure your Heron is a fine example of Raleigh craftsmanship, always interested in any pictures

If you follow the 'Open to Offas' thread in the Informal Rides section, I'll be posting some pics of my steed on Saturday.

 

[Ed no-more-lemons]

Have a good trip Pubrunner, hope it shines for you all on 'Funday'!

 

[pubrunner]

Have a good trip Pubrunner, hope it shines for you all on 'Funday'!

Thank's for that !

There's still room on the ride . . . . . . .

80 minutes would get you here . . .

 

[Ed no-more-lemons]

That would have to be a very quick 80 minutes from this 'dirty old London town', obscure reference now changed. I know some of these roads quite well, I particularly remember sprinting into Bala on my old Raleigh as a teenager. Fantastic

 

[pubrunner]

I'm sure your Heron is a fine example of Raleigh craftsmanship, always interested in any pictures

Here's a couple of pics of my Raleigh (I'll be changing the saddle shortly) . . .

 

[Ed no-more-lemons]

That sure is a pretty bike, bet she goes like stink as well.
I've been trying out other manufacturers, so not sure if posting anything that's not a Raleigh on this thread would be appropriate.