Originally Posted by ironchefchris

New-ish to the forum...I just got a brown 70s Raleigh Sports 3 spd (trying to pin point the year) from my dad who grabbed it from Goodwill when he was driving by and saw a guy unloading it. He doesn't ride anymore, but used to race in his younger days and also gave me his old racing bike a few years ago, a green Gitane TdF that had been in the garage for 30 years w/o being ridden (he sort of retired it after his jaw was wired shut from a nasty wreck on the bike during a race). A bit rusty and needs an overhaul for sure but the paint is great and the bike is a real looker. Brakes are a loud mess and the gears are shot though..so while I'm fixing that one up, the Raleigh will be my bike of choice for riding around since it is a functioning bike now. Hopefully I can use this forum to work on both bikes and get them back to top shape for the spring.

Anything of note on the Sports? I like the look of the Gitane with the drop down bars and having ridden that bike more, it feels a bit more comfortable to me than sitting totally upright. However, the Raleigh is a more reliable, comfortable over-all, and a fun bike for tooling around the neighborhood. Does anyone ever put drop down bars on Sports or 3 spd or is that odd? I'm having some trouble finding a good place to source new parts that look age appropriate as well, any tips?