For the love of English 3 speeds...

[Sixty Fiver]

I have one of those drivers (with a cog on it) if you want it. You will need a very long axle indeed.

Would love that... considering you could squeeze a cyclo triple with 1/8 cogs on the splined driver with the longer SA axle, threading on a 5 speed might be doable and believe I have seen where this was done.

I have a Moulton F series in the works and a drive set up like this might just be the bomb for what will be a full on road bike that needs an internal hub to give you any kind of decent road gearing... was thinking a three speed with a dual drive would have been a good way to go with this instead of the stock 4 speed IGH as it would tighten up the gear steps.

Would of course have to swap the internals to a shell for 28 spokes as this is what the Moulton rims use.

[Sixty Fiver]

I also have a good number of AW hubs but all are splined and date back to '54... the '54 is a keeper as it is original to my '54 Raleigh and plan to rebuild the wheel.

[Fenway]

That is a 26" chain-case from Yellow Jersey btw. Fashioned the brackets from copper pipe straps and drilled an extra mounting hole through the case to align with the fender screw at the rear dropout. Though at the bottom bracket I'd recommend creating an over sized L bracket secured to the top of a prop-stand bolt. Do that to avoid lots of frustration getting a pipe strap perfectly bent under your prop-stand to keep the case in the tight non-rubbing chain line. I can take pictures later.

[GordoTrek]

raleigh sports.jpg

in the process of being restored, lots of rust on the chrome , and a few spots on the frame.. first 3 speed can't wait to ride it

[noglider]

Looks great already, GordoTrek. Treat yourself to a proper saddle. I happen to like the B72, but you might like the B66.

[DaytonaMike]

Photogravity,

Thanks for the kind words but the camera may be hiding a few blemishes! She has some rust and scratches but is not bad looking from ten feet. The gent I bought her from is a vendor I know from work and he was very up front with me about the condition before I went to go see the bike. He said there was some rust on the chrome and frame as well as scratches and fading. Far from pristine but not a wreck, he also said the tires held air but were completely dry rotted and not safe. He was asking $75 but said he was flexible.

When I went to go look at the bike I immediately saw it had two brand new tires and tubes. The seller told me he did not feel right selling the bike with bad tires and took it to his lbs for new tires/tubes that morning. I also saw the bike had a Pletscher rack that was in perfect conditionthat he did not mention and this was something I would have been looking for 10 minutes after buying the bike anyway. I asked how much he paid for the tires and said not to worry about it. I did the math in my head and figured that two tires had cost him $15 a piece at least and the tubes had to be $5 each, add in some labor and sales tax and he must have spent $50 on rubber that morning. I told him instead of working him down from $75 that I would give him $100. He said no way, $65. This was the first time I had ever tried to talk a seller up and had a seller try and talk me down! We had a good laugh and settled on $75 but Istill feel a bit bad.

I used some bronze wool and oil on the chrome along with some wax. I used some compound on the frame and fenders and then used an oilyrag. I installed Kool Stop brake pads and they made a big difference. The brakes that were on the bike were some kind of oval replacement pads but they did nothing to slow the bike down. I also had to replace the shifter cable since it was frayed. I also changed the sproket to a 22T and installed a new chain. A few drops of oil in the rear hub and she was good to go.

I plan to put a Brooks B66 on her and some kind of saddlebag. The one that is there is original but the leather straps are ripped.

[Andrew R Stewart]

Andrew, I like that quite a bit, especially with the integrated rack. You should post that in the framebuilders forum for them to see, if you haven't already. What tubing did you use? Also, what is the geometry?

Thanks but been there, done that. Well, not on this forum but another, now defunct. My passion is fabracating not SA equiped bikes. This hub had been calling for a steed for too long. The tubing is mostly True Temper Verus, as most of my builds are. Geometry blended my Mongoose Tomac Signiture and an old Philips 3-spd. Andy.

[photogravity]

Photogravity,

Thanks for the kind words but the camera may be hiding a few blemishes! She has some rust and scratches but is not bad looking from ten feet. The gent I bought her from is a vendor I know from work and he was very up front with me about the condition before I went to go see the bike. He said there was some rust on the chrome and frame as well as scratches and fading. Far from pristine but not a wreck, he also said the tires held air but were completely dry rotted and not safe. He was asking $75 but said he was flexible.

When I went to go look at the bike I immediately saw it had two brand new tires and tubes. The seller told me he did not feel right selling the bike with bad tires and took it to his lbs for new tires/tubes that morning. I also saw the bike had a Pletscher rack that was in perfect condition that he did not mention and this was something I would have been looking for 10 minutes after buying the bike anyway. I asked how much he paid for the tires and said not to worry about it. I did the math in my head and figured that two tires had cost him $15 a piece at least and the tubes had to be $5 each, add in some labor and sales tax and he must have spent $50 on rubber that morning. I told him instead of working him down from $75 that I would give him $100. He said no way, $65. This was the first time I had ever tried to talk a seller up and had a seller try and talk me down! We had a good laugh and settled on $75 but I still feel a bit bad.

I used some bronze wool and oil on the chrome along with some wax. I used some compound on the frame and fenders and then used an oily rag. I installed Kool Stop brake pads and they made a big difference. The brakes that were on the bike were some kind of oval replacement pads but they did nothing to slow the bike down. I also had to replace the shifter cable since it was frayed. I also changed the sproket to a 22T and installed a new chain. A few drops of oil in the rear hub and she was good to go.

I plan to put a Brooks B66 on her and some kind of saddlebag. The one that is there is original but the leather straps are ripped.

DaytonaMike you got a smoking deal on that bike! Wow! It is OK if the camera hides some of the blems. This bike is pushing 40 years old, so what do you expect? It sounds like the guy that sold you the bike is a standup guy, something that is rare these days.

As far as the saddlebag is concerned, it seems a lot of folks use leather toe straps to replace the straps on their old bags, so maybe that will work for you with the existing bag.

[photogravity]

Thanks but been there, done that. Well, not on this forum but another, now defunct. My passion is fabracating not SA equiped bikes. This hub had been calling for a steed for too long. The tubing is mostly True Temper Verus, as most of my builds are. Geometry blended my Mongoose Tomac Signiture and an old Philips 3-spd. Andy.

Andrew thanks for sharing a bit more information on this frame. The old SA hubs are just such classics in their own right and it is really neat to see someone fabricate a frame around one of those old hubs. It appears the tubeset is the spiritual successor to that which was used on the old Hercules and Raleigh bikes. Very nice!

[photogravity]

in the process of being restored, lots of rust on the chrome , and a few spots on the frame.. first 3 speed can't wait to ride it

Nice machine. Ride it like you stole it!

[wahoonc]

Photogravity,

I plan to put a Brooks B66 on her and some kind of saddlebag. The one that is there is original but the leather straps are ripped.

Nice looking Raleigh, I don't own any in the Coffee/Bronze .

Brooks is the only way to go IMHO. Lots of options on the bags. You can buy replacement bag straps from Acorn Bags.

Aaron

[GordoTrek]

trust me thats not the saddle that came with it, i got an original brooks vinyl mattress with it, when its finished i might spring for a nice b66, love working on it, its more challenging then any modern bike ive worked on, although its nice to be able to take most of the parts off with an adjustable wrench and screw driver,

[yellowbarber]

I would love to find one of these and would look at building up and adding a 4-5 speed freewheel and a rear derailleur to give me the mother of all dual drives. Consideration has to be given to the reduction gearing in the AW to make sure the cog selection creates a minimum of gearing overlap and gives the optimal gearing.

One might also need the longer SA axle to provide adequate clearance for a multi speed conversion.

That's what I thought could be done with this. In fact, I have a 63cm Super Course frameset that I was wondering what to do with. Now I'm starting to get some ideas.
27" Dunlop rims? Heron chainwheel? Alloy Bluemels?
hmmm

[smontanaro]

Whether she realizes it or not, my lovely wife is beginning to feed the obsession. She came across an AMF Hercules step-through bike at a thrift store over the weekend. I have a few questions, so I put up a few photos.

• What's with the upside down lettering on the shifter?
• Can someone date this approximately? The seatpost collar is stamped "151 732". The SA hub is stamped "70 5", so early 70s at least. Maybe Feb 73?
• Were there various models? I didn't see anything other than "AMF Hercules" on the chain guard.
• Looks like the rear fender has been replaced. Does anyone recognize that?
• Any idea where to get another of the rather cool looking white sidewall tires?

Thanks,

Skip

[Sixty Fiver]

That's what I thought could be done with this. In fact, I have a 63cm Super Course frameset that I was wondering what to do with. Now I'm starting to get some ideas.
27" Dunlop rims? Heron chainwheel? Alloy Bluemels?
hmmm

Sounds familiar... think I saw something like that in my shop today.

[smontanaro]

Poking around for an alternative source for the little SA oil caps, I came across this simple alternative. FYI...

Skip

[yellowbarber]

Sounds familiar... think I saw something like that in my shop today.

too bad you're so far away, I'd come by to have a look.

I started having a discussion about my frameset with a local upcoming framebuilder who just finished an upright with a rebuilt +70yr old JC Higgins 3 speed hub.
not english...but, helping to gel the idea:
1335716030543.jpg

[wahoonc]

Whether she realizes it or not, my lovely wife is beginning to feed the obsession. She came across an AMF Hercules step-through bike at a thrift store over the weekend. I have a few questions, so I put up a few photos.

• What's with the upside down lettering on the shifter?
• Can someone date this approximately? The seatpost collar is stamped "151 732". The SA hub is stamped "70 5", so early 70s at least. Maybe Feb 73?
• Were there various models? I didn't see anything other than "AMF Hercules" on the chain guard.
• Looks like the rear fender has been replaced. Does anyone recognize that?
• Any idea where to get another of the rather cool looking white sidewall tires?

Thanks,

Skip

Linky to pictures not working

Hub date indicates a 1970 or possibly a 1971 model. The shifters from the era were printed "upside down" for some reason, there is a webpage that shows the various eras of shifters.

Only decent whitewall tires I have seen are Schwalbe Delta Cruisers.

Aaron

[smontanaro]

Linky to pictures not working

Sorry, I'm still new to publishing photo albums and sometimes forget the public part. It should be visible now.

Thanks for the other tips too.

Skip

[hobbes62]

You did a great job on that frame, looks great!

[gna]

[*]Any idea where to get another of the rather cool looking white sidewall tires?[/LIST]

Kenda makes Whitewall K40s. I've only seen them in one place, though.

[photogravity]

Poking around for an alternative source for the little SA oil caps, I came across this simple alternative. FYI...

Skip

That's a great solution. Though not traditional by any means, I like its practicality.

[silvercreek]

Very nice. And speaking of English 3-speeds, is anyone else here planning on riding the Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour in May? My wife and I are signed up. I'll be on my 1973 Superbe, and my wife will be on her 1974 Sport.

What model Brooks saddle is that?

[wahoonc]

What model Brooks saddle is that?

Looks like a B66 to me...

Aaron

[gna]

By the way, who will be riding The Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour this year?