Thought you hardcore collectors might be interested in these bikes
Happy collecting

https://sacramento.craigslist.org/bik/101180444.html

I think he's got an extra zero in the price.

You'd think so, wouldn't you? But any one of those bikes nicely restored would go for $500 and up -- at least out here. I understand it's a nostalgia thing -- like it is with Sting Rays, but it doesn't add up for me; at least when I finish redoing an old lightweight it's practical to use. Balloons or Sting Rays? No way; I owned that 1940 Schwinn Spitfire for a whole day and a half then decided to pass it along to some true believer.

They do look great, though.

$2500 buys a lot of crack.

Hell -- I can buy West Oakland for $2500. Plus a little extra to build a wall around it.

The wall doesn't impress me. Now, a moat, on the other hand..

(but then why not just buy alameda?)

Hahah.. why isnt it practical? I'd ride everyone of those bikes 365 days a year, you're just spoiling yourself!

If you lived in my body, in my neighborhood, you wouldn't even ask.

Thank god I live on the East Coast...

-Kurt

The guy in San Francisco I sold the Spitfire to lives up on Nob Hill. He was telling me about bring an old balloon-tire bike home on BART; It wouldn't roll, and it was about a mile straight up the hill from the BART station -- plus four flights of stairs from the Powell Street station up to street level. You could tell from his expression he wasn't reliving a pleasant memory.

I'm thankful for hills, trees and English.

I'm thankful for small hills, trees, and English cycles.

-Kurt

P.S.: On the first day, he created Sturmey-Archer internal-gear hubs. Derailers were an afterthought!

True, but I can get my derailleurs to to hit all the gears. Sadly, my Superbe shifts perfectly between 2nd and 3rd, but I can't get it to find 1st. Must be something inside. The Alvit on the Dunelt, and the Cyclone on the Super Course each hit all ten.

Read up on Sheldon's Sturmey-Archer hub adjustment then: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-...tml#adjustment. Sometimes, a bit more back-and-forth adjustment/fiddling of the cable end then Sheldon suggests is necessary. While it's crucial to get the indicator in the right place (a millimeter off and you might end up with your pedals spinning around as we all know too well), sometimes, a good few twists one way or another will get some of the crankier hubs to work.

Either that, or some idiot over-oiled it until the oil in the hub reached the height of the bearings and washed all the grease onto the internal parts, causing the hub to slip when shifting from second to first in most cases.

Once had a Schwinn GT 100 derailer - just about the same as an Allvet, you know - and that bugger refused to go into second and first 90 percent of the time. Cage wasn't bent, but it still persisted. Who knows why. All the Allivets I have (1971 Schwinn Continental, 1973 Raleigh Sprite Mk III) work very nicely.

I simply like the idea of shifting when stopped. I can't stand it when I have to circle around like an idiot, in high gear, to get it into low for whatever reason...

-Kurt

That was my primary reference. It is either something internal to the hub (doubt very seriously it was over-oiling, as the bike was my uncle's, and Raleigh's were the bread and butter of his shop), a glitch with the trigger, or I just haven't found the proper adjustment yet. I'll either get it eventually, or settle for riding it as is. If I lived in Miami, lacking 1st gear would be no problem whatsoever. Then again, I'd need to be sure to remove the saddle whenever I locked it up outside.

Probably a simple cable adjustment. If it is an internal problem, chances are there's some grime caught up in the slot between the axle, the axle key, and the sliding clutch & spring.

Here in Miami, our bike thieves are too stupid to steal Brooks saddles Place a cheap dual-suspension Target-brand MTB and a Raleigh Super Tourer on a bike rack, unlocked, and our local thieves will take the MTB. Then again, there are some times when they'll simply try to walk off with anything.

I've yet to take that useless '71 Varsity frame in my shed down, and build it as a fixie. No brakes, and sharp BMX pedals (sharpened a bit more with a file!). Can't wait to plant that one in a rack just to watch the bike theft antics roll. It's a pity that a single-speed fixed-gear can't have a suicide shifter on the top tube!

Take care,

-Kurt

I like the idea, and who says they can't have that? Just because it doesn't function as a shifter, doesn't mean it can't have them. Maybe you could leave on brake levers that have cables that go nowhere, and set up stem shifters operating the brakes. That would really mess them up.

ROTFLMAO! I'll do it!

...one very dangerous (to bike theves that approach it) Schwinn Varsity...comin' up...

-Kurt

We need photos and video streams!

I'd love for the police in some bigger cities where bike thieft is a problem to do something simular with a Trek Madone. Leave all of the equipment on it, but fixie the rear hub, lock the derailleurs in place and put rubberbands in for brake cables! lol. Put a camera on the bike and a couple plain clothed officiers near by.

You know, I don't get it why larger cities don't do this either. After all, what better way to catch a bike thief then lay an ambush with a nice bike as bait? They do it with car thieves, why not the bike thieves?

By the way, I have a great idea. I'm going to put on an aftermarket hybrid/road fork with cantilver bosses on the Varsity, and hook up some V brakes to the front, adjusted extremely tight...we all know what happens when someone jams on the front brake on anything sporting MTB V brakes...

-Kurt

Make sure to wire the brakes with derailleur housing. The downhill braking will become much more interesting in a hurry for the bike thief.

Kurt - that's brilliant on the brake idea. Friend of mine learned that little lesson during his first 30 yards of single track mtb riding experience. Wheel went up, he gripped the brake... over he went. Luckily he wasn't badly scraped up and got up and kept on going. Some bike thief isn't going to be expecting instant wheel stop when taking off with a bike.

Ooooh. Just thinking about it is painful. Rig it to the stem shifter on the right side.

you guys are simply cruel. I'm gonna take my $2500 and buy New Orleans!

I've seen an episode of COPS where they used a bike as bait. And they used an expensive one so they could charge they perp with a felony, rather than a misdemeanor.

Now, about rigging brakes. Rear one should be disconnected, front one needs to have something that multiplies the leverage. Maybe a Travel Agent? Then the bad guy can grab the back brake, get a big handful of nothing, and grab the front one in a panic. I'd pay to see that.