nlerner

48t chainring and 22t cog. It's a bit under-geared, and ideally I'd put a 20t cog on, but 19t and 22t is all I had in the bin. I'll live with that for a while before making any changes.

adventurepdx

I'm no expert, but I don't think it's that unfair, especially since it's a pre WWII British bike in the US. As for the missing chaincase, the seller said in the descrip: This model did not come with a chainguard, as evidenced by the 1930 catalog (see picture).

drday

This is probably on the mundane side for most but, it is a nice bike and complete. It has all the features that the Superbe is to have. Locking fork, light set with ('59) dynohub. Someone tried to convert it to a nine speed using a Moyne 3 gear freewheel, '62 Simplex plastic dérailleur but failed. First attempt at posting a picture. This is a before picture, I have since cleaned and overhauled it.

thumpism

Neat. I have a Pro frameset hanging up and plans to do something similar.

desconhecido 

Is that a Datsun Roadster? I used to have a numberof those. 64 1500 and then a 2000.

drday

desconhecido, I set my garage up for multiple uses to work on lots of things, bikes, cars, canoes, etc.
Not to hijack the thread but, yes it is a '64 1500 project I picked up a couple of years ago. I was hoping to buy and sell some bikes to finance it, oh well.
My narration can be found here, scroll down till you get to the post by Fetch,
So, Why did you buy a Roadster? - Page 9 - Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

desconhecido 

So, this project, though not complete, has been rolling up the miles. It's a 56 Sports that came as part of a package with a 51 Sports step through that we wanted. The bike had lots of issues and I just couldn't decide what to do with it. Then, a couple years back someone was discussing putting 700C wheels on the Sports as they fit and could you still get fenders in there and all that sort of stuff. Consensus seems to be that you migh be able to get fenders on with 32mm tires, but not with anything bigger. So, I'm a 28,, sort of person so I thought I'd give that a try and here we are:

resting under a Pecan tree.
Has a nice saddle and Carradice bag:

The saddle is an RHM creating. MKS track pedals. Should have gone touring, these are too narrow.

A frontal view

Ended up with black CR18s because 40hole 700C rims with matching rims for the front are not common. It's ok.

Brakes and fenders. The fenders are Zefals I bought on closeout from Nashbar and they barely fit between the brake (od Dia Compe Royal Gran Comp 500) and the tire. I spent about a year trying to get them adjusted so that they wouldn't rub anywhere and couldn't totally eliminate some rubbing on the long and floppy extension of the fender in front of the fork. You see the result. I can get about an inch more showing, then it might not look so silly.
Saddles again. I love this RHM creation in the style of a Brooks Swift. Quite comfortable.

arex

That's beautiful.

thumpism

Back in my shop days the lady co-owner had a guest bike she wanted to upgrade, a ladies' Sports 3-speed. I got the nod to rebuild the wheels on 700C Super Champ 58s with 32C tires and they just fit under the stock fenders. Everything else was left stock and it turned out well. Good job on yours.

thumpism

Price seems a bit optimistic, but if anyone has been searching for one of these it might be worth considering.

Vintage JC Higgins 3 Speed

Vintage JC Higgins 3 Speed - $350 (Midlothian)



All original late 1950's- to 1961 JC Higgins three speed bike. Made in Austria. Bike is 100% untouched and complete. Needs a cleaning and minor adjustments.
Dark Forest Green in color.
$350.00 OBO

desconhecido 

The bike was pretty nasty when I got it and had some damage, probably from being stored unused since the 60s or 70s. The guy who sold it to me had inherited the house that his grandparents had lived in and the bikes he sold me were the ones used by his grandparents back in the 50s and 60s. The step through was in pretty good shape, under the grime, but this one had issues including rusty, pitted, and dented fenders and a novel curve to the left seat stay. I'm not good with sheet metal so I didn't even think about trying to straighten those fenders. Then, they would have need to be filled, smoothed, and painted.

desconhecido 

This appears to be a 64. I bought it from a friend in San Antonio about a year and a half ago. It started it's trip from San Antonio shortly after and finally arrived in Houston Thursday. I think that works out to about 600 yards per day.

nlerner

And you'll be building it up as an English 3-speed?!

jamesdak 

LOL, oops I so fat fingered this into the wrong thread.

gster

Think that price is reasonable as well.
I paid $250.00 for this one last year.

wahoonc

I would!

Aaron

wahoonc

Nice find! Unusual colour too.

Aaron

desconhecido 

Yeah, it's similar to what I have seen described as emerald green. It's not the same "bronze" green that they used on the Superbe. There was something called "Lenton Green" but I'm not sure what that was. In an old thread, RHM posted a picture of a 60s Lenton that may have been a similar shade of green, but his looks a little bluer on my monitor.

There was some tape holding the generator wires to the frame and underneath the tape the paint is still unfaded and shiny. I don't know how much work I can do cleaning up the paint without damaging the decals and the decals are actually in pretty good shape. According to Kurt Kaminer's site, the years 61 -64 were the ones with "Sports" on the seat tube and "Raleigh" on the downtube. Chain guard is missing, but I have a replacement -- not in that color, unfortunately.

BigChief 

Very nice! I've been daydreaming over almost the same project for years. Although, mine would be a short neck stem with all rounders. I especially like your choice of crankset.

3speedslow

Would love to find one of those Raleigh scripted SR seatpost, nice touch.

Question though, I noticed with the GB bar the map and GB are opposite of what I have on my bars. Was there a purpose for this? Timeline change? Or just how the bars were put into the bending machine ?

Great looking 3 speed project!

nlerner

Thanks! Actually, I have a Clubman-like crankset with Raleigh herons, but it wouldn't fit on the spindle I used for this build (and it's the only spindle I have that's made for a single-ring crankset). Pretty odd that there would be different size spindles.

That's an excellent question, but I have no idea. Probably is indicative of the era of bars. Some GB catalogs are out there online, but I haven't come across the kind of detailed timeline you'd need to answer that question or a site like the one dedicated to all things T.A.

BigChief 

Great find. I like that color too. If you wanted to, since it's a solid color and not the candy apple type, you could match this paint on an old 2 point hockey stick chainguard and use a downtube transfer since they're the same on this model. The new vinyl transfers are quite good. I have one on my roadster. I like to use One Shot sign painter's enamel. I buy small cans of primary colors and experiment until I get a good match. You can spray a clear coat or not and use a more coarse compound to leave the finish a bit dull. It's possible to blend in the new chainguard pretty well and who knows, after a few years of use it might look almost original.
Here's a 64 I finished up last summer.

desconhecido 

Mighty fine looking bike and the chainguard looks like a match. those rims are pretty nice, too. The only ones of the original rims I ever got looking decent are on a 51. Didn't have to do much to them as they are some sort of different steel alloy and they hold up very well. They are the ones with the raised matte finish centers. I was pretty surprised when I started cleaning up the bike to find the rims in nice condition and stainless spokes, too. I think they stopped using those pattern rims and the stainless spoke in 52 or 53. By 56, they were gone.

Salubrious

Looks like you could do with a metal pulley. You can get them and the metal fulcrum clip from Jon the Gentleman Cyclist- see the Lake Pepin 3-speed tour website for contact info.

The Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour

dweenk 

A friend bought this for me back in October in Richmond, VA (the city where old Raleighs retire). I just got it from him today and must say I am pleased with the bike. It appears to be original except for the seat, shifter cables, and tires. The only problems I have found are a front tube that needs replacing and a broken plastic faceplate on the 3 speed shift trigger. It shifts through all gears, so now I only need to wait for a warmer day to begin the cleanup. Oh, I have a sprung leather saddle waiting for it too.