Raleigh Courier Fix/Restore

Hi Guys, I'm very new to this forum but am in need of some help.

Last year I bought this Raleigh Courier

I have a real passion for bicycles but don't really have the know how or the money to buy a really nice old bike or new for that matter. I got this on eBay for about £40. I wanted to restore it and learn the ins and outs of bike building as I went, trial and error really.

I've stripped it completely, cleaned up all of the parts nicely (I think I've gained a steel fetish).
I've a bit of an issue with the gears. THe bike has a Sturmey Archer S52 and a 5 speed shifter with two cables. I can;t find an appropriate gear shifter to replace it anywhere on the net really. I can find 4 speed shifters on eBay, would it be possible to have just a four gear shifter and not use the 1st or 5th gears?

From what I've read the 5 gear sturmey operates with a shifter it seems as though the current shifter changes gears 1-3 on one cable and 4 -5 on the other....

Please help.

I am myself struggling with Sturmey Archer 4 or 5 speed gear hub (from the 30s, on a tandem). Like you I browsed the web but it's not easy to identify what's what. If you have not looked yet (but I am sure you have) check Sheldon Brown, you'll find links to SA litterature / brochure.
A friend of mine has a contact in the UK, a man you send your SA hub to, and he can service it for £30, which I consider doing when my friend has found the little bit of paper where he wrote down the man's email!!! If I ever find more on this mysterious sturmey archer surgeon, I'll let you know!
Good luck with your project.
L

http://www.bicycleworkshop.co.uk/

Are Londons's SA specialists. They'll have all the parts you need.

Thanks, will try them.

LT come to the Hackney Bikeworkshop http://hackneybikeworkshop.com/ Paul one of our volunteers is a walking encyclopedia on Sturmeys' and some of the rest of us are good on them.

The is a session tonight Tuesday then one in the 1st week March