ko57

This was an eBay win, I also added a rear rack. The tires are cracking but that didn't stop me from taking a spin down the lane once I got the SA AW 3speed adjusted and oiled. I used some 10w30 motor oil-something I have in the garage-with a syringe I got from the vet for my cat's medicine. It measures in cc's and teaspoon's so I put 2 tsp and it shifts well so far.

I got new tubes and tires (26 x1 3/8) from Wal Mart for now, I should have changed the tires today but will do that tomorrow. I'm not exactly looking forward to fighting with a tube and tire so I've been combing Sheldon's sight and the web (here, too) for tips but I'll just jump in. I've done that before with a 10 speed I had years ago, it's been a while...read about adding talc. If the tube does not include some type of tape could I improvise with electrical tape to keep the spokes from rubbing against the tube?

I want to try commuting eventually-need to build up to it, just a 4.5 mile ride one way-and want to use this bike now and then for that, besides regular riding. I must say, it is lighter and seems smaller in height being a ladie's bike than I thought it would be. My mtn bike is like an SUV compared to this bike. It has it's share of scratches, the chrome fenders are nice, the rims and the Sturmey Archer hub look new (they are not, they are in nice shape), so a good overall cleaning and maybe a wax job might do.

Any tips on lubing this bike would help, allthough it seems okay. I've never taken my bikes apart as far as checking/lubing the bottom bracket, front or rear hubs and bearings, etc. I have Bicycle Mag's Bicycle Maintanence Repair for road & Mtn Bikes but there is no data on SA 3 speed maintenance. I noticed Chris Sidwell's Bicycle Maintenance mentions the SA in the index (Amazon), and if anyone has this book I'd appreciate your feedback on it. I am mechanically inclinded at a few things but I'm not ready to take the hub apart to clean and relube, just yet...

I'll hopefully post a few pictures tomorrow...any feedback from other Columbia or other SA 3 speed owners is welcome, thanks.

Regards,
K. Eliz. Owen

ko57

Here are some pics. Changing the front tire this am was fine, though it does look slightly off just a tad as far as being seated in the rim goes. Hopefully it is the whitewall thats off...
later this afternoon if possible will change the rear tire & tube and then an early evening ride.

I posted this in the commuter pics thread also.

ko

FlatTop

My Sport III is a men's, turquoise paint. No idea of the year.
I got it as an abandoned bike, with badly bent rear wheel, which I think had a replacement 1-speed hub with a coaster brake, and slightly bent in the chainstay part of the frame. Also the chainring had to be tweaked back into alignment.

I happily set about repairing the damage because the bike just looked so, I don't know...right.

It came out rather well, and although it's nowhere near as attractive as your recent find, I'm really pleased with it. A Shimano 3-speed setup from another (long dead) bike, and a cool twistgrip shifter handlbar with white grips from a dumpster relic were added. I threw on a rear rack and a huge, funky bicycle bell. Then I polished all the chrome, which was tarnished but not too rusted. It is a favorite now for my rides to the library and around town.

Make no mistake;my Columbia III is a heavy bike. It's a supremely comfortable ride, though. Also, I believe that all the shiny chrome on a bike like this is more eyecatchingly visible to other vehicles under a variety of lighting conditions than a brightly-colored modern bike with no brightwork. Moreso if you keep it well polished

ko57

FlatTop,

Compared to my mtn bike, my Columbia is lighter and sleeker. I took it for a spin last night, right at 2 miles around midnight down to the gas station (1/2 mile) and back to my house 4 times. I live in the country so only once in a while a vehicle would pass. Comfortable it is, and I read somewhere that SA 3spd hubs are not actually for speed but with the wind at your back this thing can get going at a nice clip easily enough. I need to adjust the brakes a little tighter... I still didn't change the rear tire yet, it is shifting well, need to hook up a headlight/tailight, will put a cyclometer on her, find a neat bell, possibly a mirror. Still trying to decide on which helmet-not looking forward to "helmet hair"...but safety first.

I bought some extrafine steelwool for the chrome, will clean and polish the bike, then wax it. My photos (and the ones I looked at on eBay) do not show the scratches on the frame-there are a few-rust included, so it needs a good cleaning & polishing/wax job. I would not mind repainting this bike one day but not just yet. I did get some Simple Green, will clean the chain or replace it if necessary. I'm thinking wiping the chain down with some motor oil would be okay for greasing it?

I did get a little carpenter's (nail) apron-.97(?)cents, something to wrap a few tools in (pliers, adjustable wrench, needlenose pliers, screwdrivers, biketool, patch kit) and keep in a handlebar or under-the-seat bag along with a spare tube.

Have you had to change any bearings (like say the front axle) yet? I went to a bike shop about 47 miles away and they say they carry bearings for this and other older bikes. I had kind of wondered about availability of maintenance parts for the older bikes. They were very nice to deal with-I bought some tubes and rim tape. Another shop that's closer, about 35 miles away, has a nice shop but not as personable to deal with-a bit snobbish. They are basically a Raleigh bike dealership, along with skateboards, might have thought because I was a woman that I wasn't sure what I wanted. I wanted to see their racks and bags-their only rack in the store was for a 24" bike, mine is 26", and then he said the magic words-"you can pick that up cheaper at WalMart"...What he didn't realize is that they are not much less than his price and are not sold year round (seasonal), if they sell them at all. I looked a little more and left. Sorry if I went off subject, I guess this should go under a "LBS dealer" thread.

Thanks for your comments, Flat Top, appreciated your feedback.

FlatTop

I'm wondering if a difference in age between your Columbia and mine might explain the discrepancy in weight. Perhaps mine is older, made of heavier and cheaper construction? I'll have to hunt up a date chart for Columbia serial numbers and find out the vintage of my "beater".

Regarding your maintenance questions, there is an opinion for every facet of maintaining these very simple machines. Over in the Mechanic's forum hardly a week goes by without civilized people getting stroppy with one another, over what?...oil and grease.
I keep it very simple: oil for the chain, as in motor oil from the supermarket. The chain gets dirtier with oil than some other choices, so I remove it by seperating the master link, clean it with a solvent, then allow the clean chain to soak in oil a bit, let it drip dry and reinstall it. Soaking allows the inner parts of the chain (where the real wear takes place) to be lubed.Grease for the head, bottom bracket and hubs is general purpose stuff, like auto chassis lube, and not wheel bearing grease, which is too sticky and "fibered" for my liking.
Disassembly and cleaning should be done in a clean area where the bits are unlikely to be disturbed. As you take an assembly down, don't be afraid to jot down a note or two, like, "serrated washer goes against outside of dropout", or "left side pedal UNTHREADS clockwise!" as an aid to memory. If you can sketch part layout and detail, that is even more helpful.

I solve the parts dilemma by keeping a few orange boxes and milk crates full of parts from deceased bikes. I do not have the patience to explain things to my LBS more than absolutely necessary, so I most often get by with what is at hand. I've also got a friend in town who keeps a few things around. It all helps.

When you get around to rebuilding that SA hub, please let me know how to do it. I'm too chicken to take one apart as long as it still functions, and I haven't got a really broken one.

ko57

I doubt cheaper construction in regards to your bike. I like the keep it simple philosophy as far as maintenance goes, and with a not very LBS close by I will attempt my own repairs when necessary. If the SA hub rebuild ever happens I will take photos, but it really looks new at least on the outside...

I thought I read somewhere in the threads that someone sprayed WD40 in their SA (I guess they turned it so the cap was upside down when ready to drain it out, then added oil. I'm not too sure about that. Thanks again for your tips, FlatTop, will let you know if I ever get brave enough for SA rebuild, with shots for the step by step event.

cudak888 

With all this talk about Columbias, I thought I'd drop a photo of my mum's own '73 Columbia Tourist. Essentially identical to the Sports III - I never could figure out Columbia's naming strategy. I also have a 3 speed Sturmey-Archer AW on mine. Handlebars, grips and brake levers are aftermarket replacements on mine. I also set a Brooks B72 on it - never was particularly fond of the original Messenger mattress saddles...it didn't have the original on it anyway (curiously enough, I found a Columbia Roadster yesterday with the correct saddle in mint shape!). I note that yours has the original Columbia North Roads & grips.

P.S.: The '77 Raleigh catelouge suggests 20 weight SAE oil as a substitute to Geunine SA oil. 30 weight might gum the sliding clutch just a tad too much.

You have a mighty fine, right-dandy commuting cycle there. I find they even handle a bit better then Raleigh's Sports models, due to less angle in the fork.

All the best,

-Kurt

FlatTop

This bike more closely resembles mine than the two shown in this thread:

https://oldroads.com/pqdb_img.asp?p=y...I&mak=Columbia

Note the painted fenders and banded decals.

It seems that my Sport III is either younger(very doubtful) or slightly older. The excellent oldroads.com lists serial number series for Columbia from yr.1936 to 1972, but I can't find a number stamped anywhere.

cudak888 

FlatTop: Seen one or two of those - I have a pair of fenders from a black one. I've also seen a men's frame variant with a longer chrome front fenders.

The serial number on your Sports III should be stamped on the outside of the rear dropout (forgot which one), just over the dropout slot.

P.S. to KO57: As for those silver sidewalls, try pumping the tyre up to 70 PSI. Although the sidewall reads 60-65 PSI pressure, they take 70 easily. It should solve the seating problem, and also improve the ride on paved surfaces.

I have a pair of these Bell brightwalls on two of my Raleighs, and they begin to seat correctly after passing 60 PSI or so.

Take care,

-Kurt

Tzigane

Looks like a decent hardworking bike. A good book for learning how to overhaul a SA hub is _Glenn's New Complete Bicycle Manual_. I bought my copy back in the '80's and it's good for everything from one speed coaster brake hubs to quick release hubs. I think the most modern thing in my edition is the section on cantilevered brakes.

Checking at amazon shows it being available used. I found one listed on Ebay with a picture of the cover:
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=4580973455. This is the edition I have (1987) and if you go through half.com (there are many listed there, mostly reasonably priced) you should ask the seller which edition they are selling. An older edition will probably be fine, a newer one I'm not sure about. You could always ask if there's a section on internally geared three-speed hubs.

Good luck with your new bicycle, I'm sure you're going to love it.

Tzigane

Another post to let you know that while researching folding bicycles I found a link that you will definitly be interested in - to the point that you may not need a book at all!

https://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ha...samaintind.htm

Not quite as in depth about the process as the book I mentioned before, if you can work from exploded diagrams, this might just be enough for you.

FlatTop

Cudak888, thanks for the serial number info; I did find the number on the left dropout. The bike is #50680064, with no letter prefix. I think this could be a 1971, although 1967 and 1969 are also possibilities.

Tzigane, that's a great Sturmey Archer link.

KO57, thanks for posting this thread. Nice to have some company in appreciating these Columbias.

ko57

From Cudak888 (Kurt):

"I thought I'd drop a photo of my mum's own '73"

nice looking bike-the handgrips are neat, those Brooks seats are intriguing...

"P.S. to KO57: As for those silver sidewalls..."

I did just that, thanks, it actually mentions it in Bicycle mag's Mtnce book...seems to have worked Hoping I get good mileage from them.


Tzigane posted:
"I found one (Glenn's Repair...) listed on Ebay..."

I'm buying it now as I post this...I did save the SA pdfs earlier, good for reference.

"Good luck with your new bicycle, I'm sure you're going to love it."

I already do...

From FlatTop:
"KO57, thanks for posting this thread. Nice to have some company in appreciating these Columbias."

Your welcome, and I agree, and thanks to you all for all the information, I do appreciate and enjoy reading the advice and feedback.

Kerry

alanbikehouston

This "old" thread had some information that might be interesting to readers of the current thread on Columbia bikes.

cudak888 

I plan to replace those grips with period white ones sometime, for I don't particularly care for the retro-cheezy look of them.

The B.72 was recently swapped for a white Messenger, for the Brooks developed a tear beneath both of the front rivet holes on the side - now it's sagging right onto the seatpost clamp. I'm not about to give up though - I plan to drill two more holes right behind the factory rivets, stick some pop rivets in, and keep this saddle chugging along for another 30 years...

-Kurt