Classic & Vintage - Old 3 Speed Ribbed Cable Housing Source?

Excuse me if this has already been covered, but where can I find brake cable housing as found on old English 3 speeds, the kind that is sort of ribbed lengthwise, and sort of creme in color (maybe they were originally white and this is just from age I'm not sure..)

check ebay.

I was looking for the same stuff recently and came up empty handed.

What the world (that is, me and about 100 other people in the entire world) needs is a company like velo-orange whose animating spirit, instead of French touring bikes, is Anglo-American 3 speeds and roadsters.

Velo-Black?
Velo-Anglo?
Velo-Heron (a reference to the Raleigh logo)?

What the world (that is, me and about 100 other people in the entire world) needs is a company like velo-orange whose animating spirit, instead of French touring bikes, is Anglo-American 3 speeds and roadsters.

Velo-Black?
Velo-Anglo?
Velo-Heron (a reference to the Raleigh logo)?

+1

But none of this Velo-merde. Give it a good English name, like The Black Bicycle.

Let's list the products...

Fluted cable housing (I've never seen ribbed housing, don't believe it ever exited)

32 / 40 pairs of rims

Fenders shaped like Bluemels Club Specials, in polished aluminum, white powdercoat, and black powdercoat

Real saddle bags

Lauterwasser handlebars

26 x 1 1/4 tires

What else?

- Black, Raleigh style handlebar grips
- Touch up paint to match the specific, greens and browns used by Raleigh
- rear racks to match the style (and perhaps colours) of three speeds
- Lighting that fits the bike, but uses modern technology
- Cotter presses

lol @ Velo-Merde :lol:

how about some Raleigh 26TPI parts and some "7" length spindles to convert cottered raleighs to Square Taper.

Excuse me if this has already been covered, but where can I find brake cable housing as found on old English 3 speeds, the kind that is sort of ribbed lengthwise, and sort of creme in color (maybe they were originally white and this is just from age I'm not sure..)

Two NOS cables can run you $60 or more on eBay. Better to find an old junk 3 speed parts bike; Hercules, Philips, etc., anything out of Nottingham/1960s will have those ribbed cables. Plus you get whatever other bonus parts are on the bike and a frame to fool with too.

What the world (that is, me and about 100 other people in the entire world) needs is a company like velo-orange whose animating spirit, instead of French touring bikes, is Anglo-American 3 speeds and roadsters.

I get the impression that there are lots of factories making knock-off parts for Chinese roadster clones: http://thebagelchronicles.typepad.com/photos/accessories/img_1634.html Unfortunately, they are in China.

Not exactly what you are looking for but maybe this will work

....snipped from another thread


As for the cabling, don't pay dearly for it. You should be able to find it on Italian eBay. That's where I got mine. Think Vespas. Something along these lines?

http://cgi.ebay.it/Guaina-grigia-cav...-/190509304470

Black Heron inc. (http://www.bikeforums.net/) -makers of reproduction English Nottingham-type bicycle parts including 26tpi headsets and Bottom Brackets. R-nuts, double-ended brake cables, ribbed cable houseings, front axle cones, every whitworth fastener possible reproduced to exacting standards. Also, Brake parts as well as roller-brake linkages, reproduction lights, dry-cell battery boxes, and brackets, 15/16" Steel and alloy Northridge pattern handlbars, 15/16" steel and alloy stems, Original spec Raleigh-pattern rims in both steel and identical look-alike alloy polished to look like Chrome.

Ask about our wide selection of original equipment fenders and chaincases in all sizes and styles with OEM color-matched paint. Replacement forks are also available.


We also are proud to announce our debut of new-production Dunlop-licensed and branded tires made to exact original specs.

Black Heron inc. (http://www.bikeforums.net/) -makers of reproduction English Nottingham-type bicycle parts including 26tpi headsets and Bottom Brackets. R-nuts, double-ended brake cables, ribbed cable houseings, front axle cones, every whitworth fastener possible reproduced to exacting standards. Also, Brake parts as well as roller-brake linkages, reproduction lights, dry-cell battery boxes, and brackets, 15/16" Steel and alloy Northridge pattern handlbars, 15/16" steel and alloy stems, Original spec Raleigh-pattern rims in both steel and identical look-alike alloy polished to look like Chrome.

Ask about our wide selection of original equipment fenders and chaincases in all sizes and styles with OEM color-matched paint. Replacement forks are also available.


We also are proud to announce our debut of new-production Dunlop-licensed and branded tires made to exact original specs.

Man, if we had thought of this for April 1, that would have been a scream.

Can you imagine making a webpage and everything? Talk about how they had bought the rights to the name and show pictures of CNC milling machines and a couple of NOS crankrings rolling out of a computerized parts printer. Have product listings for everything and prices. Of course this would be a new company in China so make fairly stuffy English with a few (but not too many) Engrish mistakes or odd turns of phrase. Maybe a link to Sturmey-Archer and talk about how they had partnered to produce out-of-production parts for older hubs. If one wanted to spend a few hours writing it all up it would make an almost believable hoax.

The crazy thing is with today's micro-machining capabilities it is almost possible if one could only negotiate the rights to do it legally. It almost COULD be true if the E3S craze got any more heated up. Maybe it is time for such a company to sprout up in China and start making reproduction parts like this. It has happened for other products.

Plus I think Black Heron inc. would be an awesome name!

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/2963/blackheron.jpg

Damn! Now all we need are some investors...

how bout making some chaincases?

That's a beautiful logo, I'm in for twenty bucks

...someone should make up t-shirts of that logo

Well, the Lake Pepin Tour guy does sell some neat 3-speed parts:

http://www.3speedtour.com/ (click on Parts)

Here's some white ribbed housing along with a gear cable:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sturmey-Archer-HSJ112-Dual-Control-Cable-White-36-X30-/140420572542?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20b1b7e57e#ht_500wt_884

Here it is in "traditional" fluting:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sturmey-Archer-17-1-2-x-56-White-Cable-NOS-Shift-/320561678262?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa2f707b6#ht_506wt_869

That seller, RetroBicycleSupply, often has lots of various 3-speed stuff: http://myworld.ebay.com/retrobicyclesupply/

Neal

This makes up for the 800 threads in which my whimsical comment was the last one before the thread sank away into the netherpages. :p

Oh-oh. I probably just doomed the thread.

That Lake Pepin Tour parts page was a neat link. I've been thinking of making a ball-ring spanner exactly like that out of pipe. The next time I see the correct-sized pipe I'm going to snatch up a scrap and make some of those up. $40/each will be a tidy profit for what is a simple cut-out! I'll even weld a proper handle on them for that price!

The shifter pulley is a good price -much less expensive than the problem-solvers one. Had to buy one of those for my last build.

A stainless steel fulcrum sleeve, however, is a great bargain at $10! Of all the things on that page that would be the thing I would most likely buy. No more making them out of old wirenuts!

Another link for parts is always YellowJersey (http://www.yellowjersey.org/eastbits.html). I wish someone would import more of the Eastman parts from India.

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/8301/heroncablead.jpg

You are really good W1GFH! I would love to gag some of the guys on my local tweedy forum with these if it is OK?

You are really good W1GFH! I would love to gag some of the guys on my local tweedy forum with these if it is OK?

Sure, go for it.

"$29 a pair"...(sigh) if only....!

Sure, go for it.

"$29 a pair"...(sigh) if only....!

Man...what's with you!? ...you one talented mo-dicker!!! Excellent.

...someone should make up t-shirts of that logo

(Now watch me get sued by the film company for Black Swan)

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/4439/heront.jpg
http://www.cafepress.com/BlackHeron.523419277#

lol @ how about some "7" length spindles to convert cottered raleighs to Square Taper.

Nah. All your favorite cranks in cottered.

This makes up for the 800 threads in which my whimsical comment was the last one before the thread sank away into the netherpages. :p
I thought that was me.

Excuse me if this has already been covered, but where can I find brake cable housing as found on old English 3 speeds, the kind that is sort of ribbed lengthwise, and sort of creme in color (maybe they were originally white and this is just from age I'm not sure..)

I've got a handful of these. Maybe I should sell them.

This is hilarious.

And maybe I should part out the English 3-speeds I have.

Nah. All your favorite cranks in cottered.

One could offer a retrofit service, drilling the appropriate holes into square tapered cranks so they'll use cotters. Now that would be funny.

I suppose we'll need someone who speaks Chinese to communicate with the potential suppliers.

1. Find a person to speak chinese
2. Speak some chinese to the suppliers
3. ?????
4. Profit

I suppose we'll need someone who speaks Chinese to communicate with the potential suppliers.

1. Find a person to speak chinese
2. Speak some chinese to the suppliers
3. ?????
4. Profit

Isn't there supposed to be "steal underwear" in that list somewhere? Maybe "Chinese laundry marks" too...

Time to go to work !
Work all night !
Searh for underpants hey !
We won't stop until we have underpants!
Yum tum yummy tum hey !

I suppose we'll need someone who speaks Chinese to communicate with the potential suppliers.

1. Find a person to speak chinese
2. Speak some chinese to the suppliers
3. ?????
4. Profit

I'm sure a person who speaks both English and Chinese would be very helpful. Even more helpful would be a person with a large stack of cash.

I'm sure a person who speaks both English and Chinese would be very helpful. Even more helpful would be a person with a large stack of cash.

It is too bad that Steve Jobs or Bill Gates isn't into English 3-speeds. Maybe Warren Buffett?

don't they make old raleigh-copies in India still? Perhaps an indian supplier would be able to source many of those parts.

don't they make old raleigh-copies in India still? Perhaps an indian supplier would be able to source many of those parts.

I find pages like these tantalizing....

http://www.kwcycles.com/index1.html

yes me too. I look at those kinds of suppliers all the time and daydream.

yes me too. I look at those kinds of suppliers all the time and daydream.

You know it's really bad when you daydream about being able to travel back through time, walk into a bike shop and buy "new" bikes and accessories.:o

I have no doubt that the money-men in China speak fine English. But money does talk (and something else walks).

Neal

You know it's really bad when you daydream about being able to travel back through time, walk into a bike shop and buy "new" bikes and accessories.:o

Now you're thinking 4th dimensionally, Marty.

Marty, you crack me up!

It's tempting to form the Black Heron. I think I could do it. We could ask Chris and Tom at Velo Orange how they get over the language barrier and other stuff.

But I suspect the problem is the size of the market niche we're talking about. Small!

That KW Cycles page is fun! We can get lots of unobtainable Raleigh parts. I bet they use 26 tpi threading!

You know it's really bad when you daydream about being able to travel back through time, walk into a bike shop and buy "new" bikes and accessories.:o

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_YOGWGO-1Vs0/TaB50pjPocI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/7SLx4JWPGVM/Tardis.jpg

Need a lift?

Time travel is possible, sorta. See this blog about a "new" 1967 Hercules Sports forgotten in the back room of a Singapore bike shop for 44 years. (http://ketchupsbikes.blogspot.com/2010/07/start-of-beautiful-friendship.html)

Time travel is possible, sorta. See this blog about a "new" 1967 Hercules Sports forgotten in the back room of a Singapore bike shop for 44 years. (http://ketchupsbikes.blogspot.com/2010/07/start-of-beautiful-friendship.html)

That's pretty cool. But I am not sure I believe the 1967 date. I'd have said 80's.

I'd love for him to get together with Kurt and come clean with the serial and hub numbers...

Back to ribbed cable housing... I got a roll of gray on ebay a year or so ago.

26 x 1 1/4 tires
Schwalbe 26" x 1.1/4" (32-597) Classic Tyre. (http://www.theoldbicycleshowroom.co.uk/schwalbe-26-x-114-32-597-classic-tyre-2190-p.asp) - PRICE: £16.00


Real saddle bags
http://www.theoldbicycleshowroom.co.uk/baskets--bags-etc-309-c.asp


- Black, Raleigh style handlebar grips
Vintage Roadster Handlebar Grips. (http://www.theoldbicycleshowroom.co.uk/vintage-roadster-handlebar-grips-39-p.asp)

Vintage plastic handlebar grips made by Herrmans of Finland, as fitted to 1950's-1980's English Gentlemens & Ladies roadster bicycles.

PRICE: £10.00 /pair


- rear racks to match the style (and perhaps colours) of three speeds
Steco Original CHROME Rear Carrier for Vintage Bicycles. (http://www.theoldbicycleshowroom.co.uk/steco-original-chrome-rear-carrier-for-vintage-bicycles-1840-p.asp)

These are New Old Stock and made by Steco. Traditional CHROME plated rear carrier rack for your vintage bicycle. Tubular steel with a spring clamp. Fits to any bicycle with the screw clamp fitting supplied. A rare find and limited stocks only. Still in their original paper wrappers.

PRICE: £32.00


- Cotter presses

http://www.bikesmithdesign.com/CotterPress/index.html

don't they make old raleigh-copies in India still? Perhaps an indian supplier would be able to source many of those parts.
Yes, they do, and 26tpi parts are available there. We just need someone to import them:

http://www.sunshineexport.com/blog/?m=201006

how about some Raleigh 26TPI parts and some "7" length spindles to convert cottered raleighs to Square Taper.
I used a Stronglight 122 spindle to convert my daughter's Sports to square-taper:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/frankenbike/122-spindle.jpg

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/frankenbike/lockring.jpg

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/frankenbike/completed.jpg

Some Raleigh-style mudguards and spring-type racks are available here:

http://www.cyclesofyesteryear.com/cycleshop/sparepart.htm