My July 4th Tribute; Sears 3 Speed
 

I worked very hard on this one; It's all down to some minor degreasing now...

Granted, everything on this bike is Austria/Germany/Italy but hey, Sears Roebuck & Co is an American classic.... This is the first time that I've not been able to I.D. the year from the beautiful/beefy 3 speed hub, strange. If one of you guys knows the era/timeline of the Weinmann "Type 810" brakes please let me know.....That should zero in on the year.

Now, for your viewing pleasure......

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5543.jpg

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5544.jpg

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5545.jpg

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5546.jpg

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5547.jpg

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5548.jpg

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5549.jpg

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5550.jpg

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5551.jpg

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5552.jpg

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5553.jpg

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5557.jpg

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5559.jpg

http://http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2/CIMG5554.jpg

Nice! Yes, a good day to take a USA-made bike for a ride. Hmm, the Schwinn Super Sport or the Ron Blanton?

Neal

Thanks Neal,
It's 95* and sunny here in Denver... I'm gonna hop on and listen to that sweet 3 speed "Tick Tick Tick..." now...

Lookin' good. All you need now is a Pletscher mousetrap rack over the back wheel. (I just might have one to spare. :) )

I think our Austrian 3spd bikes are cousins.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b4...0/DSC01697.jpg

I took my Waterford Paramount this morning. Tomorrow, maybe one of the Chicago Paramounts.

Yours is just like this Craigs List His & Hers pair I flipped last Summer. Made for Sears by Steyr in Austria with a licensed version of the Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub. They rode nice but would be much improved with a Brooks or Wrights saddle.

Bigwoo,

I have Weinmann 810 calipers on my '66 Collegiate. The '64 has "Schwinn" scripted calipers. I believe by '69 or '70 they were using "Schwinn Approved." Hope this helps. Very nice looking bike.

I've been busy with "Honey Dos" and have not riden since Wednesday. Hopefully this will change this afternoon and Sporty will take me to the roads!

Nicely restored, beautiful. I like the fork reflectors on these, and I've got just such a fork left over from a rustfest I held two years ago. It's waiting to go on a pretty black custom 3 speed.

Thanks for the tip on the brakes Pastor Bob, and thanks for all of the nice compliments you guys. :)

Flat Top, if you ever find a source for those neat fork reflectors please let me know as I'm still looking for one for my '69 Crescent. They have been nearly impossible for me to find in CO.

Ollo, that was a gorgeous pair!!

I actually owe most of this to toomanybikes (Has those great Corgi's in the Schwinn Town & Country basket, do I have the right user name?) for giving us all the great tip on gently applying rubbing compound to old paint...

I love everything about these 3 speeds except for the San Marco saddle; After 5 miles it feels like somebody gave you a huge bruise/Charlie Horse on both sit bones.....No biggie to change it out though....

Bigwoo, I bought one of these exact same bikes last year, but mine is in worse shape.

I want to restore/fix it up, but do not really care too much about keeping it original. I like the way the frame fits me, and the handlebars seem totally comfortable. Out side of that I am considering turning it into a single speed.

The parts of mine that seem to be in the worst shape are the tires and wheels. The tires are totally shot and said 1 3/8" made in Austria. The wheels are pretty rough - rusted a bit, and the spokes look like they all should be replaced.

So I guessing I need to replace both of those...I have read up a bit on Sheldon Browns site, but have no idea whether these are the 590mm size?

Or is it possible to fit another size wheel/tire on these while using the same fenders and brakes?

Lastly does anyone know how hard it would be to switch this to a single speed flywheel?

Thank you!

I just pick up this exact bike and have a womans bike to match it. I love three speeds

Since this is the current 3 speed thread, I have a question for you all. Does anyone have experience with the 26x1 3/8 tires that Walmart sells? I just bought 2 for a Ross 3 speed that I am fixing up. They are boxed and branded as Bell, but they are folding bead and have a Kevlar belt. They cost a bit more than the cheap Kenda's that I have used in the past ($14 vs sub $10) but the closest Kevlar belted tire in this size I could find on line was about $30.

So are they any good? I will get mine mounted sometime in the next week, but wondering if I am going to be :D or :(

In an expensive market, what are these Austrian sears bikes worth? I really dig the style of and functionality these bikes. Ideally I would like to make a 3 speed road bike.