Insane Idea for a 3-Speed
 

Well my Dunelt now has the Sun Rims, Stainless Steel Spokes, and an Alloy front hub. Crude weighing by standing on the bathroom scale with and without he bike indicates it is now about 30lbs as opposed to the 40lbs before the rebuilt wheels. Which leads me to thinking about replace everything reasonly possible with alloy. Most likely only an intellectual exercise but here is what I was thinking:

Dunelt, Parts for full upgrade.


1. Handlebar, alloy $20
2. Grips,pair $10
3. Stem, alloy $15
4. Bottom Bracket $30
5. Seat Tube, alloy $10
6. Brakes, pair, alloy $50
7. Brake handles, pair, alloy $20
8. Brake pads, 2 sets. $12
9. Kick Stand, rear, alloy $20
10. Generator Light Set $40
11. Blinky light. $ 8
12. Mudguards, alloy $50
13. Chaincase, alloy $25
14. Crankset, alloy $50*
15. Rims, alloy $80*
16. Spokes, SS $28*
!7. Front hub, alloy $14*
18. Bike $150*
19. Brooks Saddle $50*

SUBTOTAL $310
*HAVE $372

TOTAL $682

That is insane, it is almost as insane to realize I already have $322 into the bike as it stands. I am not sure but I think all that alloy stuff would bring it down to about 22-23lbs. It looks like it is not the gaspipe that makes these kinds of bikes so heavy. You can blame Velo-Orange for this kind of dreaming, they have so much neat stuff on their site.

A couple of points. I notice that I did not think of alloy pedals. Prices are educated guesses on some of the stuff. The Crank is a triple I bought to use on my commuter long ago, but found the indexed shifting front derailer would not work with a half-step+granny rig, I can not see why I could not use it with only the 44 tooth chainwheel. You are probably wondering why I paid so much for the bike, well the only place I could find one was on the internet and about 1/2 of that $150 was shipping.

Has anyone actually gone this far in upgrading an old 3-speed bicycle?

Have you seen the one DirtDrop did...not really an upgrade but one helluva nice bike! FWIW I am headed down the same slippery slope with a Dawes Galaxy frame and a mid? 70's vintage Motobecane Nomade frame set:eek:

Aaron:)

You can get nice MKS GR-9 alloy platform pedals for about $20.

I found a 1973 Raleigh Sport with perfect paint, but every piece of chrome was corroded beyond salvaging, except the thimbles in the fork crown. So it got the full alloy treatment and an S5 hub. I kept the fenders and chainguard so it's not super light, but I wanted it to look like a new 2006 Raleigh Sport. I have a lot of good used parts and I get new parts at dealer cost, so I have less than $300 in it.

http://www.bikesmithdesign.com/MyBik...h/06sports.jpg

That looks pretty sweet.

Mine's actually a downgrade. It started life as a 10 speed road bike and now it's a 3 speed cruiser.

I did most of that for my 3 speed:

Wheels rebuilt around 700c alloy rims (700x28c barely fits under the rims)
Front brake and hub replaced with Sturmey Archer Dynamo Drum XFDD.
Seatpost, stem, handlebars, brake levers, rear brake replaced with alloy.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2129/...3282af64_b.jpg

Matter of opinion;)....:D Personally I think 10+ speeds are over rated:p

Aaron:)

...or until you move to the mountains. :rolleyes:

But to the OP, graywolf, we do need some pictures of your bike!

I recently bought a Sprite for $20, and commenced swapping parts for alloy. The rims were a flea market set, the FD/RD and seat post are from a Super Grand Prix from the same flea market. The saddle came from a local pickup
ebay Bianchi. Eventually I will swap the crank for the alloy SGP model as well. There's really no need to spend too much buying replacement parts.;),,,,BD

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n...LiteSprite.jpg

You might want to re-seat the tube in your front tire. The valve stem is looking a WEEE bit stressed;)

...mountains was made for hiking:p FWIW I keep a couple of different cogs in the side pocket of my Carradice bag when touring. Allows for a quick gear down if the hills are really steep. Other than that I look at it as an opportunity to stretch my legs and use a different set of muscles for a change;):D

Aaron:)

There's no shame in walking a 3 speed up a steep hill!

You do not however live in Boone NC USA. Also I would like to keep the bicycle looking like it could have been built in the early 1950's which limits my selection somewhat.

Someone asked for a photo so here it is (only the wheels and saddle have been upgraded so far):

http://www.graywolfphoto.com/digital...-20080204g.jpg

If you're going to quote me, please don't change my words.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2.../marksbike.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ntley10001.jpg

the first pic is a sports (fixed gear)bike done by a friend,the second is my 28" wheeled roadster converted to alum rims,V brakes,and 5 speed derailer.

the first pic is a sports (fixed gear)bike done by a friend,the second is my 28" wheeled roadster converted to alum rims,V brakes,and 5 speed derailer.[/quote]

I've seen the first one on Cyclofiend I think. It's class. Where did you get the hip flask holder? I need one.

I have, however, lived in the Andes, the Rockies, and the Appalachians... for whatever that's worth.

Also for whatever it's worth, I like your concept. I haven't gone that far, and doubt that I would, but I still like it. Should be a very useful and fun bike.

My response was intended to point out that cheap parts are not easily found here.

I do not know if I will ever go that far with it, but it seemed like an interesting idea. Of course upgrading can be a form of poorboy's credit card, just do what you can afford today and wait until you can come up with some more cash to do more. At least you can ride in the mean time, unlike if you are saving the money to buy that dream bicycle in a couple of years.

I have revolving hobbies; mess with one for awhile, then mess with another, eventually I get back to the first maybe a year or two later.

i've had new alloy rims built for two of my sports, and soon i'll do the third as well, though the steel rims on it are pretty clean. i do appreciate the lighter weight and better braking when wet however. i think i could swap out the steel seat post for alloy, but i'm pretty happy with the rest of it. i like my bars though they may be heavy. all three of the handle bars are slightly different on my bikes and i really notice that when i ride and like it! two of the three have new brooks saddles as well, one is sporting the b-135 that was intended for my tourist but never got on there. yet. the b-135 is admittedly overkill, but it's just so damned cool!

Want a set of Continental top touring tires for the 28" roadster??? I mean super cheap. There was a guy selling them at the flea market this week. Pretty good condition, never been mounted. Very nice looking tires, I almost bought them so I could look for a roadster, hehe. They hadn't sold by the time I left Sunday,
so it stands to reason they'll be there next Saturday. I think he was asking $5 for the set, IIRC?,,,,BD

I've been compiling parts for my seventy-something LTD-3 mainly a cinelli 90 stem, nitto north road bars, and some campy strada cranks, and a record bb spindle. I want to put some 700c wheels but I don't know if they will fit. the crank/bb combo should be the biggest weight savings

I guess the people in the road forum know about humor... I thought we did here too. I apoogize, I deleted my post.

If you want to change that much on your bike it won't look all that original. It might be simpler and cheaper to get to your target weight by "Roadsterizing" a lighter road frame.

With that many changes to equipment, the only advantage to basing your bike on a 3 speed would be the shallow angles and long stays. BUT, IMHO these are significant advantages. Especially since you have your bars higher than your seat, like I do.

I had my Jack Taylor set up with North Road bars for a while, and it just didn't handle as well as it did with drops or as well as a proper 3 speed.

Handling is subjective though and many are happy with road frames with upright bars.

It is not at all clear whom you were responding to. If it was me the handling, and the vintage look, are what I am trying to preserve. If I want to ride a more modern bike I have this:

http://www.graywolfphoto.com/digital...-20080119d.jpg