Bought for $20. All I did was spray WD40 on the chain and gear set. Yesterday I had to leave my custom street shredder at a friend's, to drunk to XUK ,so to get to work on time today I decided to break in my FREE SPIRIT BRITTANY. She was a little heavy to lift over the obstacles, put that down to the fenders,rack, plush saddle and old school but solid mechanicals.. This was a comfortable ride!! shifting was smooth, saddle was arm chair, brakes did the job, traffic didn't get in the way and
people just loved the way it looked!!


Is there a comparison?

Nothing like your spirit being free!

Is there a comparison to a heavy entry level mixte? Yes, I do believe a comparison exists.
I dont know what the fallacy is?...

.
...are you still a little tipsy ? How's that Suntour blue line rear derailleur shift with that setup ?

What would Dr. Freud say?

Not as well as yours, I'm sure. If he tells you it shifts fine, it's a fallacy!

This is how it should look, courtesy of 3alarmer: Suntour Blueline groupset.

"Time spent with cats is never wasted."

Guess I am still one over the eight. Meant to post a picture of the Falcon that came with the Spirit. The Suntour I just set up on the

new to me Lotus, not happy with it.But I just can't be happy today no matter how trick my weapon of choice. I guess that's the reason for my Brittany epiphany as Freud would say sometimes a bike is just a cat in a box or is that someone else's dream

Count yourself lucky that you live in SF and have room for a good-sized stable of bikes. But do yourself a favor and lower the stem on that Lotus before something tragic happens. "One over the eight." Ha, that's a new one. Don't take this the wrong way: You've got some things to learn about bike maintenance, but you're on the right path. I raise my glass to you.

Never to proud to take advice and never to old for new tricks.
Growing up in London it wasn't a good night until you had at least seven pints under your belt. Not forgetting to leave room for the Kebab or a curry if you're feeling flush

Never to proud to take advice and never to old for new tricks.
Growing up in London it wasn't a good night until you had at least seven pints under your belt. Not forgetting to leave room for the Kebab or a curry if you're feeling flush

The money feels good
your life you like it well
but surely your time will come
as in heaven, as in hell

I spent a couple of weeks in London every year from 2007-15 for work. Had my share of pints, too.

Begging the question?

The freewheel on the Lotus (shown in photo #1) has visible wear.

Decided to see if the Campagnolo would treat me better

Before doing the swap try to find the max cog and chain wrap. The Campy being a short cage may not be compatible as the long cage being replaced.

Oy, way back when I carried the scars quite a while from my pinball ride through the Broadway St tunnel coming home from Shanghai Kellys

I usually forgot to save room for the food... Thinking ahead.

The singlespeed and three-speed Free Spirit Brittany models may be the best non-Ted Williams products ever to wear that brand name. I realize this is the derailer-equipped model - which I'm less favorable to only as I'm partial to IGHs on city bikes - but as a 3-speed, they're extremely capable.

They're easily on par with any Raleigh Sports - in both the good and the bad - and can be upgraded as such. About the only downsides are the cheap chainguard and the Shimano 333 hubs spec'ed on them, but who hasn't wanted to upgrade those on a Sports either?

I also had this absolute beater of a Brittany at one time. Best will-never-get-stolen-ever bike I've ever had. It's also the bike that taught me that the bastardization of a coasterbrake on drop bars is actually a really ridiculously fun combination, if you don't mind wearing out tires. Little 500 FTW!




-Kurt

It's all a fallacy.

I am not sure that I understand the It's all a fallacy comment. But the Free Spirit reminded me of a sunny day at our Bicycles for Humanity vintage bicycle yard sale that we hold at Lakehead University once or twice a year. The young lady, being held hostage by the young man, took one look at a Simpson Sears Free Spirit bike and announced, "that's me" and she bought the bike. One of the B4H mechanics was doing the fit and final check for her, before road away...

...given my own experience with that Suntour Blue Line derailleur, if it is undamaged and unbent, I would rank it far better in performance than the Campagnolo unit in your photo.
There are a couple of things in your photo that are confusing. I presume you know the cable needs to be connected, but you also have a kink in the cable housing right next to the derailleur that needs to be corrected. That housing is pretty old, and a new section with a plastic liner would probably improve your outcome.

That Blue Line thing is roughly equivalent to Suntour's top end Cyclone of the earlier era. There are no contemporaneous rear derailleurs I'm aware of that do a better job, unless maybe you want to go with something newer.

^ I agree with this. SunTour BL is a very nicely functioning derailleur. The split cage is useful for wheel changes, but I can't tell from the OP's photo if the cage is a bit bent. It's not difficult to remove and straighten, though.

Well, there goes the neighbourhood....

Better a fallacy than a phallus, see?