markk900

oldveloman

Added another Raleigh icon to the stable today...
It' s a 1976 3-speed Twenty in need of a thorough clean-up, but it is mechanically sound.

Peter

Buellster

That sounds like a viable solution. Does that mean one could feasibly have a 2x front gear with a rear internal hub? I dont think I'll go that route but is interesting to know.

Buellster

I think I saw this guy up in my area! Whereabouts did you pick it up?

markk900

Buellster

Wow! I had never even considered that. The bike I'm converting has a claw on derailur mount that causes my tire to slip under tension so I'll probably stick with a single on front and skip the rear derailur but this is giving me some crazy ideas for the future! Haha

Buellster

I know its not a 3 speed but i thought you all may appriciate it nonetheless. I picked up this in original box 1964 4 speed AW hub. I think im going to use this in my new wheel build and fix up the Raleigh Sport for resale. I have not seen many 4 speed hubs around so I was really excited to find this!.

Salubrious

Nice find- the FW is the one to get.

BigChief

+1. FW is a very good hub. Great find.

Buellster

Thanks!
I played 69.99, one penny more than the asking price. I think it was a little pricey but I see so few and it's in the original box!

markk900

oldveloman

Don' t think so. I bought this one 500 metres from my home in Belgium

Peter

Buellster

Haha
yup, I'm a little ways away from Belgium

BigChief

Now I can say that I recommend the Nicelite LED bulbs. They are brighter than I thought they would be. No question these would raise your visibility in traffic. The red tail light especially. I like em.

Ballenxj

desconhecido 

I don't think that's bad at all for a new FW hub. 36h or 40h?

You'll need a proper 4 speed shifter for that fellow. Early 50s Raleighs had a "3 or 4" speed shifter that will work. I believe the shifters labeled as 4 speed are the same and will work also.

Before you build it into a wheel, measure the axle length and see what the OLD will turn out to be and make sure you're happy with the result. There were two axle possibilities 5 3/4" and 6 1/4". The shorter axle will match the spacing on you're Sports which you can measure and probably turns out to be about 110 mm. The longer axle will space out to about 120 mm which is probably ideal for your Harding.

I don't know where to find axles for these guys, maybe on ebay from time to time, maybe from a trashed hub.

Look at the exploded diagram and notice the two piece shift rod/indicator. These are supposed to be fragile and are, so they say, not easy to find and expensive when they turn up.

Buellster

I think it may include the the axel... I think.
Heres a few more of the pics from the sale. My local LBS also has a bucket full of strumey archer hubs so I may find some things I need there too.
my Hardings rear spacing WAS 120mm it was cold pressed to fit a standard 700c wheel 130mm. I can have it cold pressed back to the 120 (I know its horrible and a terrible thing to do but of it can take it one more time I swear I'll never do it again!) but if this a 110 mm axle itll be a big stretch back. May be too dangerous to risk it...

edit: it's a 36 hole to answer your first query

BigChief

The exploded view FW hub I found at SA heritage shows both 5 1/2 and 6 1/4 axles so this could be either. If this is too short to fit this project, it would still be a great hub for a Sports project. A NOS FM hub at a reasonable price is such a good find that I wouldn't be disappointed if it wasn't right for one project since it would be really nice for the next. Tough to find a good deal on a 4 speed trigger though. People seem to ask a lot for them on fleebay. If you want to keep cost down, damaged shifters can be repaired.

Classtime 

BigChief

Three Spires was a Coventry based Bike company absorbed by Raleigh in 1954. So this is a Raleigh built bike from the Nottingham factory. Nice bike. Not always, but usually dulled paint like this will respond nicely to a polishing compound and regain a lot of it's luster although sometimes the oxidation goes to deep for a polish to remove. I'd guess this bike would clean up very well. I'd say it will make a fun and rewarding project.

gster

Nice original bike.
The only drawback is those early Raleigh brake calipers.
The proprietary cables are difficult to find (NOS)
and I don't think anyone has a devised an easy/good looking fix.
A metal wall anchor can be used as a "stop" but is not the cleanest solution.
I generally swap out the calipers for the newer design if I
plan to really ride a bike.
A closer look at your photos shows that there's still plenty of
adjustment available on the cables.

BigChief

I like that this bike is pre plastic parts. Looks like it still has it's embossed brass plate trigger shifter too. Original white, fluted housing, ball end cables are a rare find, but I've had good luck keeping original old cables. I don't have a pressure oiler, but I hang them on a wire and apply light oil to the ends and let it work it's way down the housing. I like that it has it's original cables. Unless they're broken or frayed, I'd keep em. Even then, I would silver solder a ball end on a new inner cable and keep the original housings if they were too damaged.

markk900

BigChief

I have heard that about spoke nipples. I plan on trying that the next time I need to replace one of these inner cables. Also, 3/32" brass tubing works great for shifter cables. They fit both the trigger and the barrel adjuster perfectly. In fact, they are a much better fit than the factory crimped ended cables. These don't need soldering. I've been using JB Weld and a very light crimp on these for years now with no failures. There's really no need for pinch bolt adapters at the indicator chain if you don't like them.

desconhecido 

Probably happened in the garage while being stored. Bumped it with the car or something. Those bars are surprisingly fragile considering the steel construction.