gna

I've gotten many loose with an old screwdriver.

noglider 

It depends on your technique and the screwdriver.

Salubrious

I must be all old or something. What the heck is 'mmrb'?

Utech22

I remember these.
Where could I purchase 1 of them?

Dan Burkhart 

Kid's bikes can be a great platform for 3 speed conversion.
I started with this crappy looking single speed


And made it into this spiffy 3 speed for my grand daughter.

Sixty Fiver

I am not sure where you would find a Fireball save for keeping an eye on CL, local sales, etc.

My daughter is now 14 and has a Raleigh Twenty but we will never part with this bicycle as per our agreement.

Sixty Fiver

My daughter says that she would consider an offer of $ 500,000.

It is the best bike ever.

Utech22

I will try for a Raleigh Mountie.

gna

Mister Michael Recycles Bicycles

Salubrious

Oh yeah- he does!

PedalTraveler

Thank you very much, I spent much time ogling yours before I started mine, a new saddle and I see mine getting alot of use as well.

thunderworks

I have an early 1980's Raleigh Superbe. It's missing the key for the fork lock, but otherwise complete . If it's been ridden 10 miles, I'd be shocked. I bought it used a few years ago as a nostalgia piece. I had a 1970's version exactly like this one (same size, color, everything) that was stolen from me in around 1980. There is a small dent in the chainguard from storage, but it truly appears unridden.

The bike is a 21" frame and has the rear rack, Brooks leather seat, Dyno hub . . .any clue what this is worth if I decide to sell it?

Howard

There's an appraisal subforum. Beyond that, values vary by city and region, and IIRC, some or most 1980's Raleigh 3 speeds sold in the US were made in Malaysia. So no real good idea, and I probably shouldn't say here if I did.

[edit: Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries ]

noglider 

Very nice work on your granddaughter's bike, @Dan Burkhart. I also like the Fireball, @Sixty Fiver.

agmetal

Still need to get my hands on a brass punch to figure out what's up with the noise my hub is making, but I threw a new seatpost and stem on my franken-3-speed last night, to shift my whole riding position forward a bit. Here's roughly what it looks like now:

Number_6

I've been paying a lot more attention to this forum lately. Last weekend I was primed on getting an old Schwinn New World about two hundred and fifty miles west of here. SInce I'd be in that neighborhood, I looked around for other things of interest and found an ad for two Raleigh three speeds. I really should have given more consideration to the fact that in 1948 at 6'5" I'd be remarkable, if not a freak. The New World was way too small- I could tell it on sight. It might have useful to me if I'd been in a Shriner's parade circling the clown car, though. Not a bad example, I just couldn't use it. After that I went to check out the Raleighs. I told the fellow, I'd probably just take his tall one. It was somewhat disassembled and turned out to be a Sprite. So we made a deal at a greatly reduced garage cleanout price as he said he'd lost interest in rejuvenating them. We loaded the parts up The second one was bronze green, I was told it was a smaller framed bike that was the wife's. I supposed it was a Sprite as well. I told him I didn't know what I'd do with it, being smaller and all and passed, but he wanted them out of the way and would let me have it at the same price as the tall bike. You never know what you might need, so I took it as well. Two Raleigh projects for $100.

I got to the middle of southern Illinois and the rattling of the big Sprite frame was getting annoying. I pulled off for a bite and went back to secure things better, and look some things up on these on the smartphone. It looked like the Sprite was 25"- a one year 1977 only model based on the Grand Prix frame. I finally took a more than cursory look at the green one, which I discovered was a Sports, and obviously a 23" one at that. So much for it being "small". I instantly quit worrying if I'd wasted my money. These bikes will need much work of course, especially in the paint area- but both are complete and quite doable for me. Come January I'll be getting on them. I just have to finish up a couple of Schwinns- my 3 speed Speedster and a newer China "bike shop" line mountain job for my niece.

So I look forward to three 3-speeds for the spring (or maybe 5, if I come across a Tourist and a big 3-speed Suburban...)

SirMike1983 

The New Worlds usually appear in the 19 inch and 21 inch frame versions. There was indeed a 23 inch frame version, but they seem to have been quite uncommon compared to the other sizes. Raleigh apparently marketed far more 23 inch frames than Schwinn did for the 1930s/40s New World.

Narhay

What is the consensus to the best quality 26" x 1 3/8" 590 skin wall/tan wall tire? I've got a Kenda tire but the skinwall molding is irregular and the tire itself is lumpy. I am not a fan of my nicely trued wheels looking like they have taken a sledgehammer to the side.

Michelin World Tour 26 x 1-3/8 Tire Black/Tan

I've found these but I'm not sure about the reflective side.

noglider 

Some say the best tire in this size is the Panaracer Col de la Vie. It has a thin sidewall. I haven't tried it.

I have the whitewall Schwalbe Delta Cruisers on my Rudge. They're very handsome but I don't like the way they ride. It's harsh.

I've tried the Kenda Kwest. Is that what you have? It's cheap, and maybe the defect rate is too high, but I like the ride. I generally stay away from Kenda tires, but the tires I tried felt really nice.

Narhay

I've had mixed success with Kenda tires in the past, with some decent 'Kourier' tires on an older hybrid and then these.

These were your average $13/tire yellow wall cheapest-at-the-LBS Kenda tires I purchased when my Superbe was going to be a flip rather than a keeper. I had a look to see if they had any model names or markings but there were none to be found. I also dislike the 55PSI maximum pressure they are rated for as they run quite 'flat'.

I ordered the Michelins as the panaracer was not in stock at Niagara. I'll report back on their quality but I hope they'll be nicer than what I've got, and they go up to 85PSI.

noglider 

Yeah, Kenda is not a name I admire. Even less is Cheng Shin Tire, aka CST. I hope they get their acts together.

55 psi really ought to suffice for such a wide tire. And if you inflate it to 85, I'd bet it won't blow off.

Salubrious

I have Kendas on my Raleigh Superbe. Didn't realize how much they were cramping my style until I set up my Humber Sport with Continental City Rides (26" x 1/3/8" of course, 37mm x 590, inflate to 75 pounds). The Humber not only rides better but is easier to make speed and handles better too.

I was just getting ready to try a set of the Michelins (35mm x 590, inflate to 85 pounds!) which are replacing the Kendas on my Superbe. Then the snow came...

I have a set of 28mm 590s on order but likely won't see those until spring- they go on the Claud Butler clubman.

Howard

I have some Kendas and the Michelins - which I'm running at about 55 psi. I got about 4000 miles out of the last set of Kenda K-40's I had on the Hercules.
Am trying the Michelins on a single speed Raleigh, and so far have no complaints. Have had some good feedback on the reflective sidewalls. Here it is on a commute a week or two ago:


ltd_reflexion


The headlight is a B&M halogen driven by a B&M sidewall generator. I'm happy enough with that arrangement too, FWIW.

adventurepdx

I think the consensus, as far as I know, is the Panaracer Col De La Vies are the best gum/skin/tan wall tire available in the 590 size. I currently have them on my Raleigh Wayfarer, so I speak from experience.

• PROS: They look nice. I like the look of the "blocky" tread, a very vintage look that you don't see in modern tires. And they are the best "riding" tire out there in this size.
• CONS: The max PSI rating seems pretty low, 45 PSI (vs 65 for the Delta Cruisers.) 45 PSI seems fine for something in a 50mm width, but I find it a bit suspect at 38/40 mm. I've been running them a bit higher under the recommendation of someone else around my 200 lb weight. It's fine for around-town, but when I loaded it up (30 lbs) for a tour I did, I got two flats in a row. I think if I'll do another tour I'll switch tires.

The Delta Cruisers seem to have better puncture protection (only a couple when I had them on the bike), but yeah, the ride quality isn't as good. But they do come in gum/skin/tan wall, so it is an option.

Haven't had any experience with the Michelin World Tours, they look OK.

desconhecido 

I last posted in this thread maybe four years or so ago. That was about my $30 Raleigh Sports and how expensive a $30 bicycle can be. It has the same Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires on it that it had four 1/2 years ago when I got it and I like them fine. Keep them gassed to 80 to 90 psi or so. I really don't like squishy tires as I'm always afraid of pinch flats though that may just be my fault from days gone by when I was trying to ride skinny tires with a fat body.

So, I checked and Amazon has the Marathon Plus in the 1 3/8 size and the get $53 each, Yikes! My recollection from 2010 is $38, which was interesting as it exceeded the cost of the bike -- for each tire. Sure am glad we don't have inflatioin anymore or there's no telling how expensive stuff would be.

Somewhere I read that the Marthon is a heavy tire that feels slow. That may be true, I don't know, but as I ride mostly for exercise, a little extra tire weight and rolling resistance doesn't really bother me. Extra calories.

Hope everyone is having a good season and enjoying their old three speeds. I do mine, as I ride around the streets of Houston in the middle of the night.