I've found that the old mantra of regional price differences still strongly applies to Raleigh 3 Speeds, despite the popularity of the internet. I've seen somewhat marginal Raleigh Sports bicycles from the 1970s sell for over $100 here in DC-- they're becoming somewhat popular with the hipster university crowd as well as with people who are looking for short distance commuter bikes (gas prices here are quite bad this year). In other areas away from the city, like places in the upper midwest for example, I've seen rather pristine Sports models well for under $50.

This sort of regional pricing seems to be quite present with Raleigh 3 Speeds, but less so with older balloon tire bicycles (perhaps that's more of a 'collectors' and 'antique' niche where people don't ride them to work?).

Anyway my 2 cents- keep an eye out for bikes both in person and on the internet. If you're not sure, don't be afraid to pass on a bike- with Raleigh Sports bicycles another will come along certainly, you can still find them pretty readily if you're looking.

If you are going to ride an English 3 speed you should know how to adjust the indicator spindle and know how to shift the bike smoothly...

They upshift nice under moderate loads and down shifting requires that you back off on the power a little or coast for a second...my 8 year old just got her first 3 speed and has already figured out how it shifts and likes the ability to shift down at a stop.

If the shifter cable is slack it will default to third gear which is a common problem I see on 3 speeds that come into our shop as well as shifter cables that are sticky or frozen in the housing although this will keep the shift box from moving or it wil move and nothing happens.

The SA hub is such a robust unit that I have rarely came across one that did not work and would have to revisit the manual to take one apart as it has been such a long time I have needed to overhaul one.

I did fall into this one. I was originally looking at a different pair of Sports listed on Craigslist by the same seller. He was asking $135 for that pair, both of which had vinyl saddle and needed tires. After not selling for several weeks, he dropped the price to $100. Still no sale so I asked my son to stop at the seller's Flea Market store, which was closed to my son's house, and offer $75 for both. My son called me and told me that the seller had just received a second pair in much better shape. These are the bikes I bought. I maybe spent two to three hours cleaning and polishing the bikes, lubed what I could and they were both ready for the road. Oh, did I mention that they both had brand new tires?

take your time and look at garage sales and second hand stores.i paid a total of $45 for both of these and they are both like brand new.