sarahmel.a

thank you Mike, that's really good to know. in your opinion is the hercules worth more? I'm trying to decide what to do with these two bikes.

noglider 

The Hercules is worth more, but keep it. You might love it. I live around the corner from The Hub, so if you'd like me to look at either bike or give you some tips, send me an email at the address below. I'm unemployed for the next week or two, so I have daytimes free.

Whatever they charge is probably too little. They seem to undercharge in general. They're having revenue problems, too. Hmm, fancy that. It's a fine bike. I have one, too.

And certainly I wear a helmet, and I recommend you do, too.

Schwinnsta

I know that Sun CR-19 rims have been written about earlier in this thread but I don't think this issue has come up. I have got tired of the poor braking of my Raleigh Sport in wet weather so I bought two CR-18 590 off Amazon. They arrived today. I am kind of alarmed that the rims are so much narrower than the Raleigh rims on the Sport. My tires are Panaracer Col de la Vie and they are wider than other 590's. They barely clear the fenders on the original rims. Does anyone ride with CR-18 and Col de la Vie(s)? How is the combination? Another concern I have is that the brakes won't work as well on this size rim due to less leverage. Is that an issue?

I am planning to lace them up in a few weeks as time permits but as of now I just opened them and can return them if there are issues. I really like these tires. They transform the ride, IMHO.

sykerocker 

If they're both in running or at least ride-able condition try them both out. See which one feels better to you. The Hercules is most likely the better quality bike, and will probably last over the long term with less maintenance. But . . . . . if you're just looking for a commuter ride rather than a collectable, whichever bike seems to work better for you is the best one to keep. I've saved and sold cheaply a few low end three speeds that gave decent service to their buyers.

SirMike1983 

Not technically an English 3-speed, but rather an American cousin Schwinn.

RaleighBikeGuy

Hi Schwinnsta! I have the Cr-18's and the Schwalbe Delta Cruisers on my Sports (which you've ridden)--it is a tight fit, and I had to take pliers to the peak of the front fender and flare the edges out a little bit. However, I do have the Tektro 800a brakes on it, which slightly decreases the fender clearance--though not by much.

Might be a good time to upgrade the brakes (the Tektro 800a's are the way to go as they have more clearance than the more expensive models) and switch to a more typical 590 tire? I'm rode mine through the Chicago winter last year and really enjoyed the excellent braking with this combination!

Schwinnsta

Well hi there. I have had those brakes on other bikes and they do work a lot better the stock. For some reason though I was not able to mount them on Raleigh due to clearance issues with the stock fenders. I had Delta Cruisers on the Raleigh and they are nice tires but I prefer the Col de la Vie(s).

RaleighBikeGuy

Well let us know how it turns out! My gut feeling is you could make them fit--but may have to modify the fender slightly? With a nearly perfect bike like your Sports though you're probably not too eager to irreversibly modify it . . .

JohnDThompson 

I don't have "Col de la Vie" tires, but I do run 590 x 38mm tires on CR-18s on my Superbe with no problems.

stove panini

I have Col de la Vies on CR-18 rims and they work just fine. However, they look a lil' balloon-like on the narrower rim!

oldroads

One quick/cheap/easy fix we do to improve braking on some of the 3-speeds we sell as commuters in Boston:

a) Clean the wheel's braking surface with soap and then acetone
b) Koolstop brake pads all around
c) Flatbar brake levers like these:

Schwinnsta

Do those brakes have more leverage? I have those on Raleigh Twenty and they help but I put "V" brake upfront, cool stop on the rear and aluminum rim. The braking was dramatically improved but how much was done by what is hard to tell.

oldroads

Yes, the leverage helps a lot, as do the Koolstops.
Koolstops and clean rims are the easiest change, so I'd recommend people try that first.

jon.612

Quite the elegant couple. I have a near carbon copy of these two (a 61 lady's and 63 gent's). The black Sports of the 60s is, in my mind, the true definition of the English three speed.

bwilli88 

Could I fit 27" x 1 3/8 wheels and tires on a Raleigh LTD-3?

Velognome 

27 tire on a 26 rim, no. There might be enough room for a larger wheel set, but you'd need to address brake reach and you'd need appropriate size fenders. I've contemplated a 700c with drum-brake conversion.

gna

I'm about to put my Raleigh away for the winter, so I'm planning on doing maintenance. I regreased and repacked all the bearings in 2010. I redid the front hub last spring, as it felt a little gritty, and I had to snug up the bottom bracket a bit, but it seems smooth. How often should the bottom bracket be repacked? I put about 1200-1500 miles on the bike each year.

I rotated the Schwalbe Delta Cruisers, but I think they're about worn out. How many miles do you expect to get out of a set of tires? I have some Kenda High Pressure tires I could try, but I really like the Delta Cruisers.

SirMike1983 

I'm of the school the tires should not be rotated, the thought being that the rear tends to wear a bit faster, and you want to keep the better tire on the front because failure up there can be worse at speed.

https://sheldonbrown.com/tire-rotation.html

I have a set of Kenda tires on my Raleigh Sports. They've worn quite slowly but are just "ok" as ride quality goes.

PalmettoUpstate 

For the good people gathered here to learn these machines I think you should post a link to your blog where this Schwinn is featured.

I really like the way you've set the old bike up; not too little; not too much... Pretty much just right.

[That is one of the very early "fillet brazed" Schwinns isn't it? - https://www.sheldonbrown.com/schwinn-braze.html]

arex

I just got a hold of a '74 Raleigh Sports frame and fork, with the idea of building a fun ride. I've just finished reading this entire thread...cripes, I got some work ahead of me.

sailorbenjamin

Yeah, actually some of the older Raleigh 10 speeds were Sport frames with 27s and no fenders. I'd assume brakes were different, too.

SirMike1983 

Thanks. It is fillet brazed. I initially wasn't sure if it was electroforged or fillet, but the magnet test and marks around the joints indicate it's fillet brazed. It's a 1947, so sort of early but not pre-war early. It's much lighter than expected though at the moment needs a flat repair on the rear tire, after I ran over a Sweet Gum spike ball. That time of year I guess...

The blog post for it is here:

https://www.bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2...ld-update.html

noglider 

You call it a spike ball, too? The six year old kid next door called them that, and I thought it was the best name, so we adopted it. We had two of those trees in NJ, and have of our property was covered with them.

SirMike1983 

Yes- they can grow very tall and straight and be nice looking trees, but the spike ball seed pods they drop are murder on bike tires and leaf vacs.

noglider 

The trees were next to our back yard, and my dog learned that it was too hazardous to walk there. They got caught in his paws. That must have been painful.