I brought this barn fresh JC Higgins home mainly because it had a pretty good Brooks B-66 on it. I added a little air, oiled the hub and shifter, checked the brakes and went for a test ride. The paint and decals are terrible. The tires are shot. It is dirty as sin but, it rides like a dream! If I can make my Raleighs ride this smooth I will be a happy guy!

Congrats! In my experience 3-speeds are the smoothest running bicycles.

Nice! An older one too. Not as familiar with these as the English bikes, but I'll guess late 50s. Austrian I think.

If it's one of those made in Austria by Puch, no surprise that it rides well. Cool bike!

That is nice. I love the shifter, and it appears to have a braze-on for the pulley. What is stamped on the rear hub?

Nice! Interesting design on the shifter too. Puch?

Austrian it is! I had planned to change the saddle and the Raleigh grips and send it on. Now it is a keeper. BC, I now understand why you like the B-66. I may have been converted!

Thanks! I like it too and the JCH on the fender plates. Can't tell you about the hub yet. Too much gunk on it. I will report back when it is clean. The chain ring is lettered as well. I love the old school details.

The hub is probably also marked JC Higgins, and has ribs, but is an AW clone. All parts are AW interchangeable. I've worked on a couple of these. Almost every part was stamped JCH or Styria, and the chrome was excellent. Really nicely made bikes.

I love that moment when I realize I want to keep a bike that I didn't intend to.

Yes, I was overcome by a slight smile and a wonderful feeling of contentment. Nice!

From the day's when Sear's cared.

enjoy the fun

As mentioned before I am amazed at the ride of the JCH. I do not want to lose that ride but, the gumwall tires are very old and dry and the side walls are peeling so I know it won't be long. I would like to tap the minds and experience of the forum for the right tires to keep this bike riding like a luxury car. One of my Raleighs has Delta Cruisers and the other has the original Daytons and they both ride very well. With that said the Higgins is better on dry cracked peeling tires. Here is the situation. I am 63. I ride upright. Usually 10 miles or less at 9-12 mph on good surface. What do I want for smooth? Thanks!

I use schwalbe road cruisers on most of my 3 speeds. I find them smoother than the delta cruiser.

I upgraded my Raleigh to alloy 650b rims and a set of 38mm Panaracer Gravelkings. They are my favorite tires, quiet, fast, and smooth. The brakes work far better with the alloy rims too.

I love the patina on your J.C. Higgins. My first 3-speed was an Austrian made Sears.

The tire size is alternately known as 26 x 1 3/8, EA3, or 650a. The bead seat diameter is 590 mm. Panaracer Col-de-la-Vie tires are available in this size, and they are very nice. Lightweight and supple. Some people say they are not tough; and that may be true, I did have one fail one time. Even so, I recommend them.


Do not buy tires labeled "Schwinn" even if they say 26 x 1 3/8 on them; they are probably 26 x 1 1/4 tires, properly known as EA1. They have a bead seat of 597 mm and will not fit your rims.

650b is a slightly smaller rim, bead seat diameter 584 mm, and though you could replace your rims and use that tire size, this would be a major expense for minor benefit.

People here on BF have said that they have had quality problems with Kenda 590s. Maybe I'm just lucky, but all 4 pairs I'm using on my 3 speeds now have been fine. Very good in fact. They seem happy at 50psi. I like that you can get them in plain black. No white lettering, colorful dodads or reflective strips.

Polling the forum gets me options I did not know before I will start researching them. I am grateful for all the suggestions! I live in a rural area and LBS options are limited so, I will likely have to order via internet. Like BC I have had no problems with Kenda and I have them on my Lotus. I did not know Schwalbe made Road Cruisers. That is good information. Panaracer I had no knowledge of so that is new to me as well.

Thanks for the kind words Arrowana! This bike is the King of Patina.

I have had good luck with Kendas as well. I can get them from my LBS for under $12.

That's great! I wish your LBS had a branch in my area! Its hard to get a tire of any kind in my locale for under 23-25 unless you go to Wally World. Usually I can order tires online and get them for 20 delivered but, cost slows the projects down. Of course, every bike I have bought but one this year could use new tires. ''If you're gonna play ya gotta pay"

Congratulations! Just take a look at CL NYC to see what bikes like that fetch up here. You will feel great about yourself.

I've probably bought and ridden 10 pairs of Delta Cruisers. In the past month I've put 2 pairs of Kendas on. I really like the feel of the Kendas. They seem to roll much further and steer/lean harder. My LBS tells me the Kendas are a copy of a Dunlop tire. The Schwalbes probably have better puncture protection and I really like their reflecting stripe (reflex model).

Austrian bikes are great, even though my two (see signature) came from Vienna, rather than Graz.

They are cool bikes, I picked up a womens model that is the match to yours last summer. My frame paint & decals are in pretty good shape as is the chrome, the chain guard decal is in poor shape and flaking badly. My spokes are pretty rusty so rather then just replace them I bought some new Aluminum hoops to replace the steel ones, which I will lace to the original hubs, got to be able to stop lol. I picked up a set of White wall 26x1 3/8" tires for it also, I am building it as a rider, it was either a late fifty's or very early sixty's model if I remember.

Glenn

Thanks for all the kind words and tire suggestions! Since I last posted one of the pedals decided to de-bearing itself on the outside so it is out of commission for the moment. Looking forward to the next ride.