Dissecting a Raleigh Bicycle Chaincase

My 1952 Raleigh Sport came with the fully enclosed chaincase, as seen in the photo above. It was one of the reasons I wanted the bike. I think it's a really cool look, and it's certainly practical. I do understand why all bikes don't have these. They do make things more difficult when you're dealing with maintenance issues. And they add weight.

I was a bit intimidated by this chaincase. Things I had read on the web led me to believe that these chaincases wildly complicate such everyday jobs as removing the rear wheel. As I read through Sheldon Brown and others, I learned that you would have to remove the pedal and the drive-side crank in order to remove the chaincase.

That is true. But the belief that you have to remove the chaincase to do anything to the bike is wrong, and it's what I inferred from various bike forum comments. Once I cracked into the chaincase myself, I found out that it's really not difficult to deal with. First off, you can remove the wheel quite easily with only minor effort.

Understanding the anatomy of the chaincase is the key, I think. Here's a breakdown of the entire chaincase, as it comes apart into separate pieces:

The part labelled "A - Main Chaincase Body" in the photo is actually bolted onto the bike frame from behind the crank and pedal. So it is true that you have to remove the crank in order to get the chaincase body off. But for most purposes, you never need to take it off. The only reason I did so was to give it a thorough cleaning. Otherwise you could leave it on the bike to remove the wheel, change or maintain the chain, or even remove the pedal and crank for that matter.

To remove the rear wheel, you only need to remove the part called "B - Bottom Piece." It is attached to "A" with two small screws. Only a screwdriver is required to remove it. Once you pull it off, you can easily access the cog, axle nuts and chain area.

Keep in mind that in order to remove the rear wheel, you also must disconnect the gear cable from the end of the axle. But as long as you tighten the small knurled nut on the indicator chain up snug against the gear cable's screw-on when you have the gears properly adjusted, you'll always know just where the screw-on needs to go when you put it back on.

Another tip is to put a wire or something through the chain when you remove the wheel, so that it can't slip out of view. As long as the chain is not unlinked, it won't go far.

I seriously wonder how often the back wheel was removed from my 1952 Sport. I'm guessing only a handful of times. The back tire was not original, and there were patches on the tube. So at some point it had to be accessed. But probably not often.

When I pulled the chain out of mine, it was covered in gunk. But I soaked it in vinegar for a day, then wiped it down with some oily rags. I then used a bit of solvent on it, then cleaned it some more. And it looked like new! So these chaincases really protect that chain, no doubt about it. There is a small oil port at the top of the chaincase, so you drip oil directly on your chain without removing any part of the chaincase.

Restoring and Upgrading the 1961 Raleigh Sport

I had delayed quite a while in doing the restore/rejuvenate/update project to my 23" frame 1961 Raleigh Sport. Once I took the leap of faith and started work, things progressed well and it went fast. Below is a photo of the finished project:

I ordered the cotter pin press and cup removal tool from Mark Stonich of bikesmithdesign.com. I had decided the entire project of overhauling this bike was contingent on being able to get the bottom bracket issues resolved. I am very happy with how easy these tools made the job, and I would recommend them.

The press easily pushed out the old cotter pins, and without any distortion I was able to use them again. The cup removal tool allowed me to remove the drive side cup, so I could thoroughly clean the entire bottom bracket and check the condition and clean both cups.

I was able to get the correct bearings from my LBS. There are eleven .25" loose bearings on each side. The cups cleaned up nicely and everything worked great once reassembled. Therefore I was able to crank the pedals and test the back wheel. The three speed hub went easily from first to second to third. The back wheel was a dirty mess, and I still had to decide what to do with it.

Ultimately I decided to carefully remove the hub from the wheel and lace it into a new rim. This was my first attempt at wheel building. As I built up a list of parts I would need, I researched the spoke length I would need for building this wheel into a new alloy Sun CR-18 rim. Bike forums all seemed to agree that the same size spokes would work as came out of the old wheel. I did, however, decide to use a spoke calculator, and arrived at a different number. I ordered my spokes and rims.

Now this ended up creating a problem when I compared the spokes I removed with the ones I bought. Not the same size. Turns out that I assumed the wheel was built "cross 3" (meaning each spoke crosses over three others). In fact, the original wheel was built "cross 4," so the length was different.

I went ahead and built it Cross 3 and it turned out just fine. Here's a look at the front wheel after it was finished.

So my original goal of preserving the rear hub, which has the date stamp of 1961 in it, worked out. In doing this project I removed every nut and bolt down to its smallest component and cleaned everything, oiled or greased, then reassembled. New bearings were replaced in the front hub, the headset and fork, and the bottom bracket.

Two places I did not tear into were the rear hub and the pedals. I plan to replace the pedals, but I ran into a problem removing them. It took awhile before I was able to find the right size pedal wrench to fit them. As it turns out, the old Raleigh multitools that came with the bikes has the right wrench. My modern Parks pedal wrench did not fit. I have also learned that a 5/8" wrench would fit, but would need to have its face ground down to where it was thin enough to fit in there.

I took the nuts and washers off the rear hub, and removed the 18 tooth gear cog, which was replaced with a 22T to give me a lower first gear for hills and riding in the wind. I then cleaned everything up, but I did not crack into the hub. This is something I plan to do later, because I would like to clean up the pawls and springs and replace the bearings and clean up the cups and cones and get new grease in there. Below is a photo showing how I like to work. I use an old spoke with a loop in the end, then as I disassemble something, I string it onto the spoke in the order it came off. I also take a lot of photos of assemblies so I can go back and refer to them. It's very easy to forget which way a piece was turned, or what order things go.

Toward that goal I found a used 40-hole Sturmey Archer AW hub (the same model) on eBay for $10. I've now practiced taking it all apart and putting it back together, and it's not that difficult. The only thing I'd be a bit concerned about is getting the cones set exactly right.

I also had to replace the original stem.

The chrome had come right off of it, so there was nothing really to clean up. I found one on eBay for $10, and was fortunate that the seller was from my hometown, so I got local pickup and saved shipping charges. Like the original, these stems are only 5.5" long, which may turn out to be too short for me. I may eventually swap out a new longer Nitto stem and perhaps a set of slightly wider handlebars.

Like my previous project, the 1974 Raleigh Tourist DL-1, I used the Schwalbe Delta Cruiser cream tires. I found a used black Prestube rear rack on eBay and added that. It may not be authentic, but it's appropriate to the period, and it hides a few of the dings and dents on the rear fender.

I did not intend to paint the frame. I had hoped I could get a few of the dents out of the fenders, but they are pretty stubborn. I did have to repaint the white part of the rear fender. I also found a replacement rear reflector in great condition, and it really helps distract from noticing that the paint is cleaner than the rest of the fender.

I also replaced the brake cables, and this is always a problem for these older Raleighs. They have a soldered "pear" end, so you have to cut the original cable and create a workaround using a small piece of hardware called a "cable knarp." I'm not very happy with the result. The knarp is not really the right shape for the receiver. The caliper brakes that came on these Raleighs are also very difficult to "center." The springs wear out and they end up with one caliper touching the tire and the other too far away, and no adjusting works. I managed to get the rear brake to work, but I'm not happy about it and have bought a new replacement brake, but haven't installed it yet.

The original seat was missing from this bike when I bought it. To get that classic look I also added a Brooks B67 saddle. The B67 requires a modern seat post, and I bought a two-button micro-adjustable post. This was my plan all along, because it's really important (to me) to be able to get the seat angle adjusted perfectly.

Also missing was the frame pump. Since the brazed bosses were in good shape I bought one that has the traditional look and function. But I have had bad luck using these for the very important function of putting air in the tires! So I moved my Brooks Millbrook saddle bag over to this bike. It has a tiny modern pump in there. So the frame pump is for appearance only.

I also added the Velo Orange leather mudflap to the front fender. It's handy for hiding a bit of damage there, and looks good, I think. Then there are the shellacked cork grips, which match the leather saddle and mudflap nicely.

Since this is a bike that I bought with the intention of fixing up to ride myself, I was not concerned about costs. But they can add up in a hurry! When you consider the cost of new rims, spokes, tires, tubes, rim strips alone, you're getting in pretty deep just doing the wheels. Then there's the cost of the Brooks saddle. I can't complain about anything else really. Those were the biggest costs. And I don't include buying tools, because I will use them on other bikes. 

I'm sure I'll continue to tweak and add new touches to the bike. I think a set of rattrap pedals with steel toe clips and leather straps would look really good, and enhance how it rides. I generally ride bikes with clipless pedals, and enjoy the added efficiency they offer, but I want to be comfortable riding this bike in street clothes.

This was a great project, and I learned a lot doing it.