gna

My wife complains that her Raleigh Sports "drags" sometimes. It doesn't do it all the time, which makes it hard to figure out. I can't find anything wrong with the bike. The brakes are adjusted correctly. I suppose it could be the AW hub, but the pedals don't turn when I wheel the bike, so I think the cones are adjusted correctly. I've ridden the bike, and it works flawlessly for me--I've even had her stop when she says it's dragging, and I've gotten on and ridden it.

Any other things to check?

rhm

I wouldn't rule out the possibility that it always drags or, in other words, that the intermittence of the 'drag' is in her mind. Did you up the cog to 22T or something? Whenever I ride a threespeed with its original 18T cog, it drags.

gna

I upped it to a 22T, but she said it was "too easy." I put a 20T cog on for her. She also complains that it doesn't always shift correctly (usually up to a higher gear). Again, works flawlessly for me. I suppose her shift cable could be a bit sticky, so it's not quite in adjustment.

rhm

Does the bike have a pulley wheel, or does the cable housing run all the way to a fulcrum on the stay? If the latter, you can improve shifting by going to a shorter housing and pulley. But then, if it's working for you, that's probably not the problem.

Does it 'drag' in all gears, or just in third? I have my whole family on three speeds, and whenever I look at their bikes, they are in third (H) gear. I ask, why not try the lower gears sometime? Nah.

On second thought, here's my advice. Next time she says it's dragging, switch the cog back to a 22.

gna

It has a pulley. She says when it drags, it drags "no matter what."

She usually tries to push third gear, too, but it was "dragging" when she was in second yesterday. I thought it felt fine. We may have to trade bikes and see what we find.

gbalke

It may be time to check your wife.

Seriously, do you have a Raleigh 3 speed your wife can ride? If so, have her ride it and see if the same drag occurs.

gna

We can change Sportses--I'll have to pull out the seatpost some to ride hers, and she'll have to put me seatpost all the way down...

illwafer

i had a bike that dragged. it turned out the rear axle was broken.

greengage

On at least one of my old Raleighs, sometimes the brake doesn't pop back into place after I've braked and released, so that one side is still hitting the rim. Maybe that's it?

gna

I'll check the brakes again--one shoe could be sticky.