ascherer 

Replacement cogs - I know I can get them online, but anyone know of a source in NYC? I'd like to gear down a couple of Sports.

Ankheg

Tires: I really like the Michelin World Tour, and have it on most of our three-speeds. (Also, in 27" size, on the front wheel of my Schwinn Suburban.) Durable, looks pretty good, rides well. Has a reflective stripe (in the 26x1-3/8 size), which can be beneficial on a three-speed with comparatively few reflectors.

The black Hercules I posted pictures of a page or two back has some Continental City Ride II tires on it right now (and thornproof tubes), since it's meant to pull a trailer and I *really* wanted puncture protection. They're much larger/looser than the Michelins, and I don't dare run them higher than 45PSI for fear of them blowing off, so they're probably not the tire for you if you want really high PSI. They have a reflective stripe as well, which is nice, and ride well enough, but I don't have enough miles to say how durable they are.

I use thornproof tubes on every bike I own, since I don't really like getting flats. Usually the Kenda-branded ones, as they seem to be substantially better made than some of the others.

arex

I'd think it'd be easier to get them offa eBay than to try and track something somewhat esoteric like that, in a huge city like NYC. Sturmey and Shimano both make goood 3-spline cogs, and there's probably others.

gna

We do seem to have the St. Paul crowd here, don't we? Last week I met a gentleman riding a beautiful '50s DL-1 in my neighborhood. Anyone on here?

I finally decided I'd had enough of the non-existent brakes on my 20. I found some alloy BMX rims at MMRB and transferred the spokes over. Saves quite a bit of weight. I'm just about done--I'm finishing up the rear wheel. They also had some Kenda Kwests 20x1.5 that I picked up. The pressure range says 45-60, so just about right for the 20.

As long as I'm at it, I thought I'd change out the 15T cog for a 17T. I'll report back when I'm finished.

Salubrious

Any shop that has Shimano or Sturmey Archer should have them and can get them. They are not hard to get at all!!

We do seem to have the St. Paul crowd here, don't we? Last week I met a gentleman riding a beautiful '50s DL-1 in my neighborhood. Anyone on here?

I finally decided I'd had enough of the non-existent brakes on my 20. I found some alloy BMX rims at MMRB and transferred the spokes over. Saves quite a bit of weight. I'm just about done--I'm finishing up the rear wheel. They also had some Kenda Kwests 20x1.5 that I picked up. The pressure range says 45-60, so just about right for the 20.

As long as I'm at it, I thought I'd change out the 15T cog for a 17T. I'll report back when I'm finished.[/QUOTE]

Did Mr. Micheal have any more of those rims?

noglider 

And this bears repetition: aluminum rims improve your braking, especially when wet.

gna

I misstated--I bought two wheels, and took the spokes and hubs off. He's got a bunch of wheels in a garage, and some in the shop. I found two labelled "Tallus." One was silver and the other black, but they seemed good. Go on a Sunday afternoon so you can see, and dig until you find a couple of good ones. He charged me $5 a wheel. One on one is supposed to have a basement full of wheels, too.

Ankheg

Might also want to stop in and check with the Lowertown Bike Shop downtown. They have a lot of odd used parts that more sensible shops would never hang onto. (And a nice old DL-1 for sale, the last time I was there. )

Salubrious

There's a 50s Raleigh Superbe with the battery holder at Lowertown right now. Looks really nice- actually had me thinking about selling my Humber Sports to get it, but the Humber is plenty classy on its own....

smontanaro 

Dunno if it's being offered for a good price or not ($225 seems high, but I know nothing), but looks to be in pretty nice shape:

1973 Triumph Women's 26 Turquoise Blue 3 Speed Beach by PastBack

noglider 

For the excellent condition it's in, that's a good price.

auchencrow

Beautiful example there, @smontanaro . The color is amazing.

wahoonc

IMHO a bit steep a price but not outrageous.

Aaron

Salubrious

After a long ride on my 20 last night, its really obvious that even with Cool Stops the brakes are mostly a joke. The arms of the brakes are too long and just don't have any leverage. If I'm going to replace rims, might as well install a drum brake. Is the vintage Sturmey Archer drum brake worthwhile?

Sixty Fiver

New boots and a new centre stand.

Salubrious

I've had an ongoing problem with my Raleigh Superbe (1972). On a very intermittant basis, the fork will freeze up. When this happens I fall off the bike- it can't be steered. The fork lock has not been engaged when this happens but I am a loss at what it could be. I have concluded that its not worth riding the bike until I am dead certain that I have found the smoking *** on this one- so far I have been really lucky that this has not happened in a way to give me serious injury!

The only clue is that it happens when the fork is pointed straight ahead. Could it be something with the headset (the bearings in it are new)? if no, the fork lock is all that's left.

Anyone run into this before??

clubman 

Gotta be the lock but the only other possibility is in the headtube assembly. Chunk 'o'steel wedged in there or something equally bizarre? Take it apart.

JohnDThompson 

If you're going to install a drum brake, the rim material doesn't much matter anymore apart from weight concerns.

michael k

Makes changing boots easier,Eh?

wahoonc

Nothing wrong with vintage SA drum brakes, I think the new ones might be a tad larger. Don't have any old ones for comparison. FWIW I just bought a 2006? Schwinn Signature Classic 3 cruiser, first upgrade is going to be a Sturmey-Archer XL-FDD laced into the OEM rim. It only came with a Nexus 3 coaster on the rear.

Aaron

markk900

I know this is a bit of a mechanic's hijack, but I found something interesting about AW hubs: while it is true parts interchange from old to new hubs, there are some subtle differences, one of which I discovered today. I was trying to solve an irritation with my 1949 Humber (pictures of the completed build to follow - it just started to pour rain!), wherein it would occasionally skip in 1st gear. Suspecting worn 1st gear pawls or springs, I stripped the hub down and checked. The pawls had some minor signs of wear so I went to replace them with some from my spare hub (1980). The low gear pawls in the 1949 hub are symmetrical (or appear to be), but the newer pawls have one longer arm and one shorter. I noticed this allowed the pawl to extend further outwards with the same springs, which effectively cured the occasional skip (I assume - it did not skip under load in my test). I guess the old pawls were designed to be rotated when worn, but the new design allowed them to wear less.....anyway, wanted to share that little factoid.

markk900

Stopped raining so thought I would share pictures of the completed (for now) 1949 Humber model 322: Sports Light Roadster:



View from the cockpit:


That wonderful duplex fork:


"The Aristocrat of All Bicycles":


For now the patina police have won out (the Blue is showing better than ever the more I work on it), though I do have water slide decals from Thailand that look great (albeit about 25% too large). Still to do: source some decent period looking tires, eventually a new headbadge (if I can snag one before the headbadge collectors get them and drive the prices up to $50++!!), period pedals, and perhaps make use of the braze on for the changer pulley rather than the added later clamp on style.

Howard

Beautiful.

I thought that there was a period in the late 40's where Raleigh used clamp on pulleys before going back to brazed on (before going back to clamp on again).

And I agree, as tempting as it must be to make it "like new" it looks really really good as it is. Am thinking you might regret putting new paint and graphics on it.

gna

Ok, I finished up today. New Brake cables, too, as long as I was at it.





It accelerates a bit quicker, and seems a bit lighter, too, though who knows. The front brake is much better, so I'll call it a win. The rear brake still doesn't do much, though it does seem to grab better. On the whole I'm pleased. I'll try riding it to work next week and see how it does.

arex

+1. That's too pretty to paint.