noglider 

Dodgy?

markk900

As the others have said, for "zippy" build it yourself is the fastest path.....here's my zippy bike:



However, for the times (and they are more frequent than you might expect, especially for rail trail or bike trail rides around my city), this is the bike for the more "regal ride" (it *is* the aristocrat of bicycles after all):



The Trek feels like it weighs half of what the Humber does, and the high pressure tires have nice low rolling resistance. The Humber though (once you get it up to speed) just keeps on keepin' on, kind of like England itself.....

Velocivixen

Gorgeous bikes. I really want to fiddle around with cottered cranks & SA 3 speed hub. I have a 1974 Motobecane Grand Jubile of Reynolds 531 and it's fantastic. Really just want to learn about and try riding something different.

markk900

You can build an appropriate 3sp back wheel for the Moto and convert from one mode to another in a matter of a couple of hours. I didn't mention this but I did the IGH conversion with my Peugeot first, and swapped back and forth several times until I decided I wanted a really nice frame for my "zippy" ride, and converted the Trek. Nothing was drewed on the Trek and putting it back to stock would take very little time.

Might a way to experiment with SA in any case, at a fairly low cost and minimal commitment.

Salubrious

The thing about the 3-speed frames is that often they have a relaxed frame geometry. With upright seating, this makes for a more stately ride.

Since I do have hills to deal with, I installed a 22-tooth cog in the rear, so I have two gears for climbing. I don't find the bike to be particularly slow- I'm easily able to get it up to 25 mph and more, which is not bad considering the riding position. But although I have a number of bikes that are lighter and faster, I find that most of my riding is on this bike. It is well-suited for light errands due to its rack and fork lock (I don't seem to need to carry a separate lock with this bike as a result).

From what I have seen of the Raleighs, the Sport and the Superbe are the best bets if the bike was made in the 1970s or later. Not to say that I have not discovered a few fit and finish problems with my Superbe, the worst being a poor casting on one crank arm that caused it to engage the BB hardware. A bit of filing sorted that out. A lot of filing actually. I do find though that I prefer the ride of my Humber Sports even more. Can't lock the fork though...

The Superbe gets complements all the time. Its funny, I have to take one of my high-end rides into a bike shop before it will get complemented by people I don't know, but on the street the Superbe does it hands down over all my other bikes put together. Actually its gotten complemented in bike shops too. Still can't figure out why a good British three-speed can be so charming, but cares?? Its fun.

markk900

British 3-speeds are the bicycle equivalent of a side car - charming, fun, non-threatening and ridden (usually) by approachable people who are smiling. My wife and I get all sorts of smiles, waves and general friendliness from others of all ages on our 3-speeds, that we don't see as much when on road or mountain bikes. Three speeds are recognizably different (though the current popularity of hybrid city bikes will dilute that a bit in the non-cycling public's eyes)

Velocivixen

@Salubrious - excellent observations. That color green of that Raleigh - is my most favorite bicycle color! Sort of a gold green. Outstanding bicycle. I'll keep my eyes open for a Sport or Superbe. The Hercules seller seems to be off the grid, so I'm not going to pursue that one any more.

adventurepdx

I'm not surprised. When I looked at CL it was posted about a half-dozen times. May be a scam?

But don't despair! There are plenty of other cottered-crank Sturmey-Archer three speeds on Portland Craigslist right now!

• Vintage Monarch Speedster three speed - $50 (St. John's ) Vintage Monarch Speedster three speed Looks to be a British-made Monark.
• 1962 English Sturmey Archer 3 speed - - $125 (PORTLAND OR) 1962 English Sturmey Archer 3 speed - Can't tell what it is, one really small pic.
• vintage triumph bicycle for trade or cash sturmey archer 3 speed road bike Engli - $69 (sellwood) vintage triumph bicycle for trade or cash sturmey archer 3 speed road bike Engli
• Vintage AMF 3 speed bicycle - $40 (north portland) Vintage AMF 3 speed bicycle An AMF-Hercules
• Hercules Vintage 3 speed bicycle, circa 1970 Cycling - $125 (Tigard) Hercules Vintage 3 speed bicycle, circa 1970 Cycling
  

Salubrious

A couple of (his n hers) Sports at what looks like a nice price here on CL:

1972 His/Hers RALEIGH 3 speed touring bikes 58cm and 59cm

Velocivixen

Those look to be gorgeous. Unfortunately I'm in the Portland, OR Metro area, so those are out of reach for me.


@adventurepdx - Thanks for the links all in one place. I saw those, and sort of didn't know how to proceed. One said the hub needs to be replaced or ??? I don't have the knowledge to be able to tell whether it just needs an adjustment or replace. If replace, fine, but I don't know (yet) how to build a wheel. I want something that is rideable now. I might just reach out to see who responds.

adventurepdx

I'm no expert, but a lot of times the indicator chain/cable just needs to be adjusted. If you didn't want to tackle that one, I'd consider the other ones. See if any of them catch your eye and go from there.

Salubrious

The hubs hold up quite well. Usually they are just in need of some degreasing and lubricant. Rotate the wheel so the oil port is pointing down, get a can of WD40, install the nozzle on the can and spray a good deal of its contents into the oil port (its a good idea to have the wheel over something to catch the spillage).

Give the wheel a spin- and repeat. Then measure out a tablespoon of ATF (automatic transmission fluid), put it in a dispenser (a small plastic squeeze bottle will do) and inject it into the oil port (wheel rotated so the port is up this time). Then take the bike for a spin. In a mile or two you will know if the hub actually needs service.

The rule of thumb for the shifter adjustment is that the cable is barely loose in 3rd gear. If the shifter is messed up, it can interfere of course- make sure it moves easily.

Bandera

:

Here's Timeline of a 1973 Raleigh Sport in the USA

6/15/73 Assembled w/ a sip of SA oil in the hub.

6/16/73 Purchased to "Save Gas" and "Get in Shape"

6/17/73 Ridden down the block in 3rd gear, banished to garage.

6/17/83 Moved to basement.

Yesterday: Advertised on CL as Vintage for 5X original price w/ dry rotten tires, frozen brake cables and a dried up varnish in the hub.

(Most of these machines have more neglect than miles: Caveat Emptor)

-Bandera

Velocivixen

@Bandera - I got a kick out of your timeline!!! Good to know.

I just watched another video of full disassembly/cleaning/reassembly and adjustment of a SA hub! The big auction site has someone in Oregon selling NOS cone wrench for SA.

I sort of feel like a vulture, circling, waiting for a victim....I mean a bike with a SA hub.

markk900

If you want to slake your thirst, try an older LBS and see if they have a discarded wheel/hub....I bought a couple of hubs (for parts) when I was first thinking about tearing into one (was always intimidated by them as a youngin'), and got one cosmetically challenged one for about $20, and one NOS for about $30. No you can't ride it as a hub, but it sure takes the mystery out of them. Good for parts in future once this habit overtakes you and you really do get that rare one that actually needs bits replaced.

Velocivixen

@markk900- I'm a regular at two of our well known bike coops in Portland. City Bikes and Community Cycling Center, and am positive that City Bikes will have hubs in various conditions. You're right though. I could just get a hub to tinker with. Then I'd have to learn to make a wheel.

Number_6

Last month I picked up a 3-speed Sprite and a 23" Sports for $50 each outside of St. Louis. The Sprite is a 25" based on the Record/Grand Prix frame- which is not exactly common I gather. The CL asking price was $300 for both, but I was a ready cash buyer and the fellow wanted to clean out his garage. I almost didn't get the Sports, thinking it was a smaller framed Sprite- as the seller said the big bike was his and the small one was the wife's. I bought it anyway at the last minute without any examination (as the seller offered it up for the same agreed price as the Sprite) with the rationale of using it for parts or maybe fixing it up for a relative. I didn't know what I had until I was halfway across Ilinois and did a liitte Googleing as well as finding out the "small Sprite" was a "big" Sports! So I had two bikes I could use.

That being said, both bikes have a lot of garage rash and neglect, so a serious cleanup and wrenching are in ordee- yet they are pretty complete so I see no or minimal expense in getting them going.

Number_6

The Austrian Sears bikes were made by Puch I beleive and likely have a Sachs-built SA hub.

I've no direct experienmce (yet) but they could be good value. Puch is part of the Steyr-Dainler-Puch combine whose products have ranged from bikes and mopeds to contract-built heavy Mercedes trucks and military 4x4's- they built Euro market Chrysler minivans for Benz back in the Daimler Chrysler days. Sachs license built the SA hub and re-engineered it for rationalizon purposes. Sachs is part of Fichtel and Sachs- makers of all sorts of power tranmission units- the most famous possibly being the old VW Automatic Stickshift.

adventurepdx

A Better Cycle on SE Division is another good source of used Sturmey-Archer hubs.

noglider 

@Velocivixen, take a chance on one or more of these bikes, if the prices are low. It's an extremely rare 3-speed hub that can't be brought back into service. They are reliable and durable beyond imagination.

You've proven yourself to be mechanically capable. If it's time to build a wheel, we will walk you through it. Lacing it is a matter of following a pattern, so it's like weaving or knitting. It can be confusing, but you just follow the steps, and you get there eventually. Bringing up the tension is a different skill, and it takes patience. We've walked many people through building their first wheels, and we can do it with you. The results will be very rewarding, and this time of year is a good time to pick the skill up. The only catch is you probably won't need to do this, because, as I said, whatever hub you encounter is likely to work fine.

On the other hand, you may want to try building a 3-speed wheel for your Moto. Or you may acquire a 3-speed and want to replace its rim(s). Replacing the original rims with Sun CR-18 rims is a worthwhile upgrade. They have approximately the same diameter as the originals.

Velocivixen

@noglider - thank you for the encouragement. I just re-read Sheldon Brown's instruction on wheel building, and I'm certain I could lace one. It's the art & science of trueing the wheel that will take practice.

The Hecules seller is very cagey. I essentially asked when/where after several emails regarding what time they were available. When I said I could meet any time and asked where should I go, I never heard back. They keep resisting it- changing the price daily. The others on our CL don't call to me. If I'm gonna get one it might as well be pretty.

gna

I believe they referred to it as "bronze green."

noglider 

Ya, the funny thing is people tend to think the lacing is the hard part. Well, maybe it is for some, but it's just a bunch of steps. You either get it or you don't. Once it's right, it's right. The tensioning-and-truing stage is where there is a continuous scale of skill, where you could have got it "right" but not necessarily "good." But don't worry. You'll get that "good," too.

wahoonc

Ya mean like these?

Aaron

Velocivixen

Very Pretty. Yes, that lovely bronze green. Living in Oregon I cannot help but to love the color green.