Why do you think 3 speeds never caught on in the U.S.A?
03-22-18, 10:08 PM
#51
Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Myrtle Point, Oregon
Posts: 49
Bikes: 2013 Specialized Crossroads Sport, 2018 Specialized Women's Rockhopper Pro
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 24 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
This isn’t right, Schwinn made the Suburban, which was steel 27” frame with Sturmey Archer 3, 5, or 5 spd non Sturmey derailleur. I think Raleigh did nearly the same. And I recall Raleigh Sports in stores in different sizes
I think the main marketing issues were lack of 10 speeds, perceived excess weight, and the mystique of the racing bike.
I think the main marketing issues were lack of 10 speeds, perceived excess weight, and the mystique of the racing bike.
The Schwinn Mom gave me 20 or more years ago is a Suburban 5 speed derailleur. If I lived in town and needed a "town bike" I would spend $$$$ to refurbish it. As is, it is still a joy to ride, just not pretty to look at. However is it parked in a shed since it's not for the type of biking we do.
03-22-18, 10:11 PM
#52
Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Myrtle Point, Oregon
Posts: 49
Bikes: 2013 Specialized Crossroads Sport, 2018 Specialized Women's Rockhopper Pro
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 24 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
This relaunched thread really brings back memories. I grew up with the usual, balloon tired cruiser. For Christmas when I was in the 8th grade I got an Evans Lightweight English three speed. Boy, was I the envy of the neighborhood. By the end of school year, almost every kid in the age group had a three speed. These were our main mode of transportation until we got our driver's licenses two years later. Then, they were passed on to younger siblings.
Bikes didn't reappear in my world until midway through college when I got a Schwinn Continental. This was used periodically until my mid 20s when I started doing centuries. For the next several years it was all 10+ speeds for me and the family.
In the mid 80s I ventured back into the IGH world by building a winter commuter using an old, cheap Bianchi frame. I used the OEM 700c front wheel, the large chain wheel on the crankset, Universal brakes, as equipped bars & seat. The rear wheel was a 700c rim laced to a Sturmey-Archer three speed hub with two sprockets and cheap derailleur which gave me a wide range six speed. By-the-way, these type bikes were quite popular in Europe until reliable gear changers were readily available.
Those who don't remember the time of popularity of three speeds are just too young. 🤓
Thanks for the memories.
Cheers,
Van
Bikes didn't reappear in my world until midway through college when I got a Schwinn Continental. This was used periodically until my mid 20s when I started doing centuries. For the next several years it was all 10+ speeds for me and the family.
In the mid 80s I ventured back into the IGH world by building a winter commuter using an old, cheap Bianchi frame. I used the OEM 700c front wheel, the large chain wheel on the crankset, Universal brakes, as equipped bars & seat. The rear wheel was a 700c rim laced to a Sturmey-Archer three speed hub with two sprockets and cheap derailleur which gave me a wide range six speed. By-the-way, these type bikes were quite popular in Europe until reliable gear changers were readily available.
Those who don't remember the time of popularity of three speeds are just too young. 🤓
Thanks for the memories.
Cheers,
Van
Was your Continental yellow?? My friends called mine Buttercup
Kind of a sissy name for a great bike!
03-23-18, 03:05 PM
#53
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: St. Paul, MN
Posts: 1,597
Bikes: Too many 3-speeds, Jones Plus LWB
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 359 Post(s)
Liked 265 Times
in
119 Posts
When the 3-speed hub was introduced in about 1903, the gears made touring a lot easier. Some pretty impressive rides were made:
https://www.ridemedia.com.au/feature...ike-from-1914/
During the 1920s and 30s, the Sturmey Archer type K hub was king- if you wanted reliable wide range shifting, it was the only game in town. During this period, the club ride concept was born in England and continued into the early 1960s.
When Campy introduced the first parallelogram dérailleurs in the early 1950s that was when the writing was on the wall for the Sturmey ARcher 3 speeds (SA had already patented 5 and 7 speed units by 1950 but Raleigh blocked them from production purely to save a dime) as finally dérailleurs were becoming practical.
The SA hub was pretty reliable. The record for the most miles ridden in a year was in the 1940s using the same SA hub (about 88,000 miles). That record stood until last year.
I got my first 3 speed (Schwinn Racer) in 1965. By that time the three speeds were being marketed more to kids like myself but I rode it all over town. My introduction to the Lake Pepin 3-speed tour a few years back showed me that the 3-speed still has some life and the bike that I restored for the ride initially has become the bike I ride the most as it has a locking fork, carrier and lighting. I can park it without a chain to lock it up (just lock the fork) and it stays put, so it goes to work, the bank, the grocery store... Kinda funny that such a lowly bike gets so much use, but the English 3-speeds were very utilitarian and were designed to go for decades with proper service and they do that in spades.
03-23-18, 03:30 PM
#55
aka Tom Reingold
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,503
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
Mentioned: 511 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7348 Post(s)
Liked 2,471 Times
in
1,435 Posts
@Salubrious, thank you for that.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
03-23-18, 04:21 PM
#56
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Point Reyes Station, California
Posts: 4,528
Bikes: Indeed!
Mentioned: 92 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1507 Post(s)
Liked 3,478 Times
in
1,132 Posts
In 1972 I went to work at a bike shop in Palo Alto California that refurbished and sold hundreds of 3-speeds!
In fact I beat out the other applicants for the job because I was the only one who passed the Sturmey Archer test: We were each given a completely disassembled Sturmey Archer hub in a paper bag and asked to re-assemble it.
Used English 3-speeds were abundant and perhaps attending Stanford didn't require quite the deep pockets that it does now. We sold those 3-speeds for between $35 and $60, almost exclusively to Stanford students, with the agreement that if they kept the bike in good working order we would buy it back at the end of the school year for half of what they paid for it. I guess we were way ahead of the "reduce, re-use, recycle" curve.
Brent
In fact I beat out the other applicants for the job because I was the only one who passed the Sturmey Archer test: We were each given a completely disassembled Sturmey Archer hub in a paper bag and asked to re-assemble it.
Used English 3-speeds were abundant and perhaps attending Stanford didn't require quite the deep pockets that it does now. We sold those 3-speeds for between $35 and $60, almost exclusively to Stanford students, with the agreement that if they kept the bike in good working order we would buy it back at the end of the school year for half of what they paid for it. I guess we were way ahead of the "reduce, re-use, recycle" curve.
Brent
03-24-18, 11:10 AM
#57
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: south kansas america
Posts: 1,910
Bikes: too many
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 411 Post(s)
Liked 234 Times
in
140 Posts
Original poster here... thanks everyone who has commented and filled in the missing knowledge of my ignorance. I've enjoyed learning about the history of 3-speeds, and the recollections of everyone. Keep them coming.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
elmore leonard
General Cycling Discussion
5
11-13-15 07:14 AM
Buffalo Buff
General Cycling Discussion
30
04-23-15 07:04 AM
