For the love of English 3 speeds...
11-13-10, 09:42 PM
#1126
Bicycle Adventurer
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A 4-day holiday weekend here in NZ, spring is sprung, so I did a little spring maintenance on my 4 speed Raleigh, plus swapped a brown B66 for a black Flyer Special on my old BSA, and it looks much better. Goes better, too, with the narrow saddle.
Here are the pics. They could have gone in the 'What are you wrenching?' or 'White tyres' threads, but this is the thread that never dies ..
The Raleigh had decaying but nice Michelins on it, so I bought some Cheng Shins. I quite like the grey, but the quality is not special. They don't quite fit right, so both front and rear have a bit of a flat spot because I don't think the inner diameter is quite right for the stainless Dunlop rims. I deflated and fettled and re-inflated but I cannot eliminate the problem.
Here are the pics. They could have gone in the 'What are you wrenching?' or 'White tyres' threads, but this is the thread that never dies ..
The Raleigh had decaying but nice Michelins on it, so I bought some Cheng Shins. I quite like the grey, but the quality is not special. They don't quite fit right, so both front and rear have a bit of a flat spot because I don't think the inner diameter is quite right for the stainless Dunlop rims. I deflated and fettled and re-inflated but I cannot eliminate the problem.
I had to deal with that issue for a while with some Schwinn S-6 Chengies.
11-13-10, 09:51 PM
#1127
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
11-16-10, 06:17 PM
#1128
threespeeder
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Sports fenders
Kurt - When it's a little nicer I will put the girls together for a side by side shot but this is as close as they will get for now.
The Lenton is an inch taller at the head tube than the Sports but is still riding on it's EA1 wheels which puts both bikes at nearly identical standover heights and the room in the bikepit is almost the same.
The geometry is very similar if not identical... both bikes have relatively short rear stays as they were built for a smaller wheel.
I am pretty sure the straight gauge Sports weighs less than the Lenton which is a 531 frame... before I added the fenders and swapped out the bars and brakes it was 26 pounds on the scale from the loo.
The Lenton's did not come with the lovely heron chain wheel but rather have a swappable 1/8 track chain ring on a 3 bolt spider as these were used for everything to commuting to time trials and club racing. The Lenton could have also been purchased as a three speed for a few pounds more.
The Bluemel fenders fit wonderfully on the Sports and there is still good clearance between them and the 700:32 tyres which are some run of the mill Duro Proteks... they have a vintage look and I have had good success with these tyres.
The Lenton uses the same fenders and you can see how much extra clearance there is in the frame.
I am not sure how these new parts would fit into a modern Sports as the geometry on the '54 might be just a little different, I do know that you cannot use the stock steel fenders in a 700c conversion.
And of course, because I built a fair weather and rain bike... it is now snowing.
The Lenton is an inch taller at the head tube than the Sports but is still riding on it's EA1 wheels which puts both bikes at nearly identical standover heights and the room in the bikepit is almost the same.
The geometry is very similar if not identical... both bikes have relatively short rear stays as they were built for a smaller wheel.
I am pretty sure the straight gauge Sports weighs less than the Lenton which is a 531 frame... before I added the fenders and swapped out the bars and brakes it was 26 pounds on the scale from the loo.
The Lenton's did not come with the lovely heron chain wheel but rather have a swappable 1/8 track chain ring on a 3 bolt spider as these were used for everything to commuting to time trials and club racing. The Lenton could have also been purchased as a three speed for a few pounds more.
The Bluemel fenders fit wonderfully on the Sports and there is still good clearance between them and the 700:32 tyres which are some run of the mill Duro Proteks... they have a vintage look and I have had good success with these tyres.
The Lenton uses the same fenders and you can see how much extra clearance there is in the frame.
I am not sure how these new parts would fit into a modern Sports as the geometry on the '54 might be just a little different, I do know that you cannot use the stock steel fenders in a 700c conversion.
And of course, because I built a fair weather and rain bike... it is now snowing.
Last edited by Threespeeder; 11-16-10 at 06:19 PM. Reason: grammar
11-16-10, 06:24 PM
#1129
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
Nice Sports! Interesting post on the Bleumel fenders. I have a 73 Sports and need to replace the original fenders since the rear fender is bent so that the stays keep rubbing against the Schwalbe cream tyres. Also, from what you wrote, it sounds like I might also be able to replace the stock wheels with 700cc wheels? Thanks!
It does change the handling a little in that it feels quicker (than a Sports) but is by no means twitchy.
It looks like winter is upon us and these old folks will soon have to stay inside for a season... I will let the younger kids play in the snow.
11-16-10, 06:35 PM
#1130
threespeeder
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*cough*
These are both fixed gear conversions... the Twenty was a 3 speed originally and will be a 3 speed again albeit with an SA SX3 fixed gear hub.
1973 Raleigh Gran Sport
1973 Phillip's Twenty
My daughters ride English 3 speeds... they use these for all their about town riding and commuting since they are properly fendered and have chain guards.
1980 Raleigh Saffron
1973 Raleigh Fireball custom.
And the fair and beautiful one has this as her "B" bike... her A bike is a modern version with an 8 speed IGH.
1974 Raleigh Twenty
These are both fixed gear conversions... the Twenty was a 3 speed originally and will be a 3 speed again albeit with an SA SX3 fixed gear hub.
1973 Raleigh Gran Sport
1973 Phillip's Twenty
My daughters ride English 3 speeds... they use these for all their about town riding and commuting since they are properly fendered and have chain guards.
1980 Raleigh Saffron
1973 Raleigh Fireball custom.
And the fair and beautiful one has this as her "B" bike... her A bike is a modern version with an 8 speed IGH.
1974 Raleigh Twenty
11-17-10, 10:05 AM
#1131
threespeeder
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Wow, real beaut's! I have a 73 Sports with the same Delta creams and they really dress the old guy up but your DL 1s take the cake! I am looking for a DL-1 here in WA state, E. side and it is like the search for the Holy Grail! Though I am a male type I think the loop frame is practical and beautiful. Last time I rode a DL-1 was in the 50s at my grandparents in Watford N of London. I think it was a loop frame thus as a ten year old I was able to ride on a full size bike. Hmm I wonder if that bike is still extant?!
11-17-10, 10:15 AM
#1132
Ahoy there!
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My 1962 Raleigh Gran Sport that I recently converted to 3 speed. Hi-ten frame, running a Sturmey Archer SRF3 and modern components.
Originally, a racing bike: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroral...ran-sport.html. Rides nicely as a around-the-town bicycle!
Originally, a racing bike: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroral...ran-sport.html. Rides nicely as a around-the-town bicycle!
Last edited by criscoshoes; 11-20-10 at 03:43 PM. Reason: Updating photos and description.
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11-17-10, 01:16 PM
#1134
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That rubber mallet is key to proper development, too, I'll bet!
Neal
Neal
11-17-10, 03:06 PM
#1136
Thrifty Bill
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Just finished with the ladies Triumph I picked up a couple of days ago. I think the bike is a 1976 +/-.
I really liked how it turned out. I have to get it on C/L quick before the wife gets home. If she sees it, its going into the keeper fleet.
I really liked how it turned out. I have to get it on C/L quick before the wife gets home. If she sees it, its going into the keeper fleet.
11-17-10, 04:03 PM
#1137
Senior Member
Edit: Okay, in several ways.
Last edited by Roll-Monroe-Co; 11-17-10 at 04:04 PM. Reason: Okay
11-17-10, 04:14 PM
#1138
Count Orlok Member
11-17-10, 04:17 PM
#1139
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Oh, looky what came in the mail to-day.
It'll be 38 years old next month, but it just escaped from the box.
It'll be 38 years old next month, but it just escaped from the box.
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11-21-10, 07:44 PM
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Hercules (Birmingham made)
Any suggestions for fenders to finish this project would be appreciated. The Hercules-made hub is an interesting feature of this bike.
https://s726.photobucket.com/albums/w...Ddriveside.jpg
thanks, nick
https://s726.photobucket.com/albums/w...Ddriveside.jpg
thanks, nick
11-21-10, 09:15 PM
#1141
Get off my lawn!
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Cool old Herc. How does the work? I'm in the midst of redoing this old Hercules, the hub is simular to yours but an A Type O, the model is a Birmingham made Renoun. I've been unable to find much infor on these hubs other than they seem to pre-date the Hercamatics and the B Types which I believe were made by Sturmey Archer.
11-21-10, 09:19 PM
#1142
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
I have been enjoying my new 3 speed mtb a great deal... more than a few people have come into the shop with freewheel / freehub issues due to the cold and the AG has been purring along in what has been -20 C weather and it does not realize that it is winter.
11-21-10, 09:34 PM
#1143
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Cool old Herc. How does the work? I'm in the midst of redoing this old Hercules, the hub is simular to yours but an A Type O, the model is a Birmingham made Renoun. I've been unable to find much infor on these hubs other than they seem to pre-date the Hercamatics and the B Types which I believe were made by Sturmey Archer.
11-21-10, 10:22 PM
#1144
Get off my lawn!
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It most likely had a paint to match set like a raleigh. I'd look for a used set.
11-21-10, 10:59 PM
#1145
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Am I right in assuming that the Hercules hubs were not date stamped?
11-22-10, 01:27 AM
#1146
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Hi! I grew up in small coal towns in the Pennsylvania mountains(USA) and there wasn't a whole lot of anything available. But on or about 1961 a family moved in on the other side of our duplex and during the move leaned an old girls bike against the fence. Well, there it stayed and everyday I would walk down the alley and stop to gaze at this marvelous machine decaying in front of me. Now I could read so I knew it was English built which was just great with me because I was already in love with British Sports Cars and I was constantly reading about the Austin Healeys, MGs, Triumps as well as the Tour de France.
It never occured to me that someday this steel beauty would be mine plus it was a girls bike afterall. She needed brake shoes, gear changer/cable and new tires/tubes. Well, since I wasn't too discrete about my gawking the lady had seen me oogleing her bike everyday and came out to talk to me. She asked if I liked the bike - it's English, what's not to like so I said yea. Then she told me I could have it. My brain was swimming as I could not believe what just took place. I picked her up and carried her home to the back porch.
There was no money in our family and I had already been informed that if I ever wanted a bike I would have to procure one myself. As a child I was pretty thrifty - on allowance day my brothers would run to the local candy store and immediately gobble their allowance into obscurity. Me, I was into "stuff". We didn't have much so I would save my allowance @ 50 cents per week until I had enough to get what I wanted. I took side jobs weeding gardens, picking raspberries or green beans, shoveling snow, mowing lawns, anything to accumulate extra cash for more "stuff". The high point of every year was at Halloween. During the spring and summer I grew Indian Corn and Pumpkins while everybody else was growing tomatoes. Tomatoes? Seriously? Anyway, about a month before Halloween I would go door to door getting pre-orders for bundles of Indian Corn and Pumpkins which I delivered a couple weeks before Halloween. All totaled I would net about $12.00 which was alot to me.
So one piece at a time I started buying needed parts for what turned out to be a 1950s Hercules - black of course. Tires and tubes were first - I could then ride it albiet a little tough to get going in 3rd gear and even tougher to stop with me straddleing the top bar dragging my shoes in the gravel of the alleys. Next came brake shoes - you just can't appreciate what you can do with brakes until you ride without them. Finally, I needed a gear changer with cable. In my town of 7,000 people there was no such part available. So I jumped on a bus that crossed the Susquehanna River into what was called a "City" where the store of stores was located - Montgomery Wards. I ordered me a Sturmey Archer gear changer and cable and waited the three weeks before I had to once again cross the River to pick it up.
You can imagine the sensation of spending months saving money to buy parts and then ripping through the gears that first time - what a rush! I was in Bicycle Heaven! Thank God for the English! I zoomed everywhere that first day until dark set in. As luck would have it the brother of a good friend of mine donated all the parts from another 1950s Hercules boys bike that he had torn apart in an attempt to motorize it. In the boxfulls of parts that arrived was a generator and light set. Before long I was riding a 1950s boys Hercules(black of course) equipped to ride at night as well as day.
When I came home from College all the bikes and parts that I had acquired had made their way to the dump. It wasn't till about a year ago that I reunited with another Hercules 3 speed - again, black of course. It was listed in Craigs List for $50 and was just a 15 minute drive away. The hub is marked for 1975 production and even though it doesn't have the air pump braze ons that my 1950s models did, it is in very nice original condition. I've been building and wrenching on balloon tire bikes for awhile now so I just took some pics and moved her into storage. I was so elated to go through all these 46 pages of English 3 speeds that I feel inspired to go clean her up. I hope I didn't bore anyone too much - sometimes old people are long winded. Enjoy the pics and thanks. Robert
It never occured to me that someday this steel beauty would be mine plus it was a girls bike afterall. She needed brake shoes, gear changer/cable and new tires/tubes. Well, since I wasn't too discrete about my gawking the lady had seen me oogleing her bike everyday and came out to talk to me. She asked if I liked the bike - it's English, what's not to like so I said yea. Then she told me I could have it. My brain was swimming as I could not believe what just took place. I picked her up and carried her home to the back porch.
There was no money in our family and I had already been informed that if I ever wanted a bike I would have to procure one myself. As a child I was pretty thrifty - on allowance day my brothers would run to the local candy store and immediately gobble their allowance into obscurity. Me, I was into "stuff". We didn't have much so I would save my allowance @ 50 cents per week until I had enough to get what I wanted. I took side jobs weeding gardens, picking raspberries or green beans, shoveling snow, mowing lawns, anything to accumulate extra cash for more "stuff". The high point of every year was at Halloween. During the spring and summer I grew Indian Corn and Pumpkins while everybody else was growing tomatoes. Tomatoes? Seriously? Anyway, about a month before Halloween I would go door to door getting pre-orders for bundles of Indian Corn and Pumpkins which I delivered a couple weeks before Halloween. All totaled I would net about $12.00 which was alot to me.
So one piece at a time I started buying needed parts for what turned out to be a 1950s Hercules - black of course. Tires and tubes were first - I could then ride it albiet a little tough to get going in 3rd gear and even tougher to stop with me straddleing the top bar dragging my shoes in the gravel of the alleys. Next came brake shoes - you just can't appreciate what you can do with brakes until you ride without them. Finally, I needed a gear changer with cable. In my town of 7,000 people there was no such part available. So I jumped on a bus that crossed the Susquehanna River into what was called a "City" where the store of stores was located - Montgomery Wards. I ordered me a Sturmey Archer gear changer and cable and waited the three weeks before I had to once again cross the River to pick it up.
You can imagine the sensation of spending months saving money to buy parts and then ripping through the gears that first time - what a rush! I was in Bicycle Heaven! Thank God for the English! I zoomed everywhere that first day until dark set in. As luck would have it the brother of a good friend of mine donated all the parts from another 1950s Hercules boys bike that he had torn apart in an attempt to motorize it. In the boxfulls of parts that arrived was a generator and light set. Before long I was riding a 1950s boys Hercules(black of course) equipped to ride at night as well as day.
When I came home from College all the bikes and parts that I had acquired had made their way to the dump. It wasn't till about a year ago that I reunited with another Hercules 3 speed - again, black of course. It was listed in Craigs List for $50 and was just a 15 minute drive away. The hub is marked for 1975 production and even though it doesn't have the air pump braze ons that my 1950s models did, it is in very nice original condition. I've been building and wrenching on balloon tire bikes for awhile now so I just took some pics and moved her into storage. I was so elated to go through all these 46 pages of English 3 speeds that I feel inspired to go clean her up. I hope I didn't bore anyone too much - sometimes old people are long winded. Enjoy the pics and thanks. Robert
11-22-10, 02:12 AM
#1147
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
Road Master... that was beautifully written.
The Hercules is a beautiful bike.
The Hercules is a beautiful bike.
11-22-10, 04:03 AM
#1148
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Road Master,
Well said Good things come to those that wait! I always wanted a Raleigh Superbe, it took 40 years but I finally go one, thanks to the generosity of a fellow forum member.
Aaron
Well said
Good things come to those that wait! I always wanted a Raleigh Superbe, it took 40 years but I finally go one, thanks to the generosity of a fellow forum member.Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
11-23-10, 05:21 AM
#1149
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Hi Guys! Thank you for the kind words. I'm getting ready for another Indiana winter. We don't get a ton of snow here but the weather is definitely not conducive to working on bikes. I put new gaskets and stops on the garage door plus added an additional ceiling light so I'm all set for another season of cleaning parts for my balloon bikes and detailing my Hercules.
I notice in the pics that my white cable covers have yellowed some - does anyone have any cleaning tricks to share on how to restore them to white/white? I prefer to keep them original as they are not cracked or damaged. Any help with this is greatly appreciated.
It's really nice to have a place that like interested bicyclists can share stories and ideas. When I had my Herc as a kid I was obviously the only one in town that had one so I was pretty much an outsider. It's nice to be able to share with others that are as excited about English 3 Speeds as I am. Thanks alot. Robert
I notice in the pics that my white cable covers have yellowed some - does anyone have any cleaning tricks to share on how to restore them to white/white? I prefer to keep them original as they are not cracked or damaged. Any help with this is greatly appreciated.
It's really nice to have a place that like interested bicyclists can share stories and ideas. When I had my Herc as a kid I was obviously the only one in town that had one so I was pretty much an outsider. It's nice to be able to share with others that are as excited about English 3 Speeds as I am. Thanks alot. Robert
11-23-10, 07:05 AM
#1150
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Bikes: (3) 1970's Raleigh Sports, (1) 1968 Robin Hood 3 speed, 1974 Raleigh Grand Prix, 1976 Raleigh Grand Prix, 1969 Peugeot UO-18, 1971 Peugeot UO-08, 1980 Giant road bike, 1954 Humber, 1940ish Hercules Popular, 1963 Dunelt, 2007 Trek 3700 mountain bike
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I notice in the pics that my white cable covers have yellowed some - does anyone have any cleaning tricks to share on how to restore them to white/white? I prefer to keep them original as they are not cracked or damaged. Any help with this is greatly appreciated.
Robert
Robert
