Indian Roadster

Page originated Feb. 11, 2004 and updated Feb. 25, 2004, March 16, 2004, and March 28, 2004.

What is an Indian Roadster?

It isn't a Raleigh DL-1, but I knew that when I bid on it on Ebay. It also was only a fraction of what vintage Raleigh DL-1's have been selling for lately and Raleigh hasn't been making new ones for a while.
Image of Indian Roadster

    The box looked to be in about average condition for a cardboard box that had traveled from India to the U. S. A. and then carried to its final destination within the U. S. A. by UPS. The UPS part of the trip was probably the gentlest part of the overall trip that box had made. It was a bit tattered and open on one corner. A bicycle is packed with the small parts in a box within the box, and the larger parts are all tied together to the main section of the bicycle within the box, so even with the outer box not being perfect the contents could still be ok.

    Before I go further I need to tell you about who I am so you know where this review is coming from. I'd rather be talking about bicycles than myself but you need to know a bit about me to put my statements in perspective. I've been getting paid to assemble and repair bicycles in a small bicycle shop since about 1974. I've seen bicycles in boxes from Japan, Taiwan, Poland, England, China, Italy, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Bedford, Pennsylvania, U. S. A. (This was the first one that I had seen from India.)

    This roadster's packing was quite good but part of one corner of the box had come off in transit. Sometimes that is bad news other times the contents are all there and unharmed. This time the only problem was that a nut and washer for the seat post binder bolt were missing, no big deal for someone who works as a bicycle mechanic or has a good bicycle shop nearby. I had a spare for both of those parts in one of my spare parts boxes.

    The headset bearings were adjusted too tight but even though I know that the first ride can set and effectively loosen the bearings I adjusted them to be correct anyway. The chain was too tight also so I corrected that when I put the rear rack and the kickstand on. The kickstand is the type that lifts the bicycle's rear tire completely off the ground.

    I had never before put rod brakes together. I still think that I prefer cable operated brakes. With rod brakes, if you want to remove either wheel or the handlebars you need to take part of the brakes apart. But cable operated brakes aren't the attention getters that rod brakes are.

    I don't know if this bicycle complies with CPSC standards but I don't think it matters to the CPSC as I bought this bicycle from an individual rather than a retail store. It doesn't matter to me because I don't expect a vintage style bicycle to be the safest vehicle on the street. I've ridden enough bicycles over the last 43 years that I have learned to adjust the bicycle until it is as safe as possible for its design and exercise caution regarding any unsafe condition that remains. My standards for bicycles that I repair or assemble for others is much higher than for bicycles that I ride. Of course the bicycles that I ride have to be safe but I am not going to sue myself if I scratch my finger on an uncapped cable end. This bicycle, being a single speed and having rod brakes, had no cables to get a scratch from. But it came with no front reflector and the rear reflector doesn't look like it is a wide angle type and I'm quite happy that it doesn't. But it has the pedal reflectors, the CPSC front wheel retention clips, and wide angle wheel reflectors.
Indian Roadster front view

A decent tool kit and a Miller dynamo (generator) lighting system, and white sidewall tires were pleasant surprises. So what if the Miller dynamo set was made in India instead of England. This whole bicycle didn't cost much more than a real English vintage Miller dynamo lighting set would cost. This Miller set has a plastic headlight bulb holder and the taillight doesn't look as nice as the old ones did but it works just like my 1960 Miller dynamo set.
Indian Roadster rear wheel view

The box striping that is on the frame, fork, fenders, and chainguard is in gold and red. While it may not meet Raleigh standards it looks very nice. Both front and rear hubs have oil ports with plastic flip caps.
Indian Roadster front wheel view

Although this bicycle arrived as a single speed it was destined to be fitted with a Sturmey Archer three speed hub. That has been done. A test ride has not yet been taken because the streets here all have snow, ice, and far too much salt to subject a new bicycle to. This page will be added to when this bicycle has been more fully tested and evaluated.

Update Feb. 25, 2004 A Sturmey Archer AW 3 speed hub has been fitted to the bicycle and it is ready. The review follows below on not a daily basis but by milestone.

Sunday February 21, 2004 - first ride for testing. Not a Raleigh but OK.

Monday February 22, 2004 - flat tire. The cause was a very small amount of cotton-like batting stuck in valve. Probably something left over from manufacture of tube as there was no other way for it to get under the valve core.

Wednesday February 24, 2004 - The SA shift lever that I used was a used one that had not been used for years. It did not shift well at first but loosened a bit when I loosened the mounting screw and put a few drops of SA oil on its internal parts.

Thursday February 25, 2004 - Sensed looseness in crank and re-adjusted. Sign of grease at crank axle on both sides combined with a smooth feel when turning indicates greasing of bottom bracket (crank) bearings ok for now. The factory hadn't forget to grease there while assembling this bicycle. The left hand crank cup lockring fits a bit weird and will probably be replaced on first overhaul of bottom bracket.

Sunday February 29, 2004 - Bicycle ridden less than 20 miles and brake shoes are almost half worn out. They were never right as it wasn't possible to adjust them properly on rim as the alignment and size of the shoes was wrong.

Monday March 1 - Checked on order of brake shoes from the wholesaler. I'm lucky to be the one in charge of placing orders at a bicycle shop. Still waiting for the IRC gumwall 28 x 1 1/2 gumwall roadster tires to get to Miami warehouse where the brake shoes were so I could get enough from one warehouse to make shipping charge reasonable. (Some of you would cringe at the thought of gumwall tires on a roadster but remember this is a copy of a DL-1 made in India. This bicycle really doesn't look bad with them in picture below, does it?)

Monday March 8- Still waiting for order of brake shoes.

Tuesday March 9 - Reordered brake shoes.

Monday March 15 - Brakes shoes arrived and were installed. They fit perfectly and could be properly adjusted unlike the originals. Also changed tires and took pictures. Picture below is from March 16.

Picture of Indian Roadster March 16

Result of changes of brake shoes and tires was a great improvement. The new brake shoes fit better and worked better than the originals. Braking was now a bit stronger and much quieter. The new tires had more of a classic roadster tread replacing the originals' too agressive tread pattern and rolling resistance was reduced. Also, the original tail light bulb was replaced because it had burned out. I checked the crank again and it was staying in adjustment.

The chaincase is still noisy even though no moving parts contact it at any point. The thickness or thinness of the chaincase seem to amplify the motion vibrations of the chain on the crank.

Checked the handlebar stem and it needed to be tightened. It seems to keep needing tightening if forced to move within the fork steerer tube as in test of tightness. This was common in pre CPSC approved bicycles. Solution is make sure it is tight enough to ride and don't test by turning handlebar as hard while holding front wheel. That means the handlebar to steerer tube connection is not as secure as other bicycles, but with caution is tight enough under normal conditions. This problem probably cannot be solved easily as it most likely means the steerer tube is of too light and/or too soft steel. This is not a problem with any of the vintage English bicycles that I have owned or worked on. It was a problem with some of the early inexpensive Taiwanese bicycles.

This review is not finished as I have ridden this bicycle about a dozen times. So far this bicycle is not bad for someone who has experience adjusting and repairing bicycles. Others may need to find a good bicycle mechanic. The most obvious, though simply solved, shortcoming is that the original brake shoes wore out too fast. If you buy one of these bicycles find out where you can get good brake shoes for these rod brakes.

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