nlerner

That kids' 3-speed reminds me of this 1957 Raleigh Wendy w/ 24" wheels that I trash picked some years back. Sorry for the lousy photo, but it's in quite remarkable shape with the exception of the grips. Anyone want to take a road trip to Boston, you're welcome to have it for free.

adventurepdx

Not an English frame (American) nor hub (Japan), but I spotted this Rollfast three speed yesterday. I rarely see Rollfasts in Portland, and don't think I ever came across a three-speed! I like that it's called an "Ultralight".
Shimano three speed hub with grip shift. And is that front fork tweaked?

68sd

I have a similar step through frame as the blue one from the same period.It has the same chain ring that i thought was odd since its a badged raleigh and doesnt have the Heron.

johnnyspaghetti

That is rather cool.

68sd

a real beauty

johnnyspaghetti

I went ahead & picked it up for $70. It does have a mismatched 36 spoke front wheel or maybe Its the rear that came off something else? Looks real good though.

68sd

you stole it, thats a great price, i was looking at simlilar 61 in the 180 range and i thought that was a decent price.
its good to see there still good deals out there

browngw 

Early reference to "Scorcher" from the book Canada Cycle and Motor, The CCM Story (John A McKenty)


"By the time John Moodie ordered his bicycle in 1878, frames were made of tubular steel and the wheels covered in rubber, improvements that made the machine both lighter and faster, a fact that pleased Moodie and countless other young men whose competitive spirit compelled them to travel at ever increasing speeds. Looking to outdo each other, these young "scorchers" often drew the wrath of club members seeking a more leisurely pace, a fact that led the older riders to often insist there be no "scorching" on club runs. Forced to find other outlets to vent their zeal, the younger riders began to organize various racing events. In 1881, when Canada's first official bicycle race was held in the Toronto Industrial Exhibition, it featured John Moodie and two other contestants who went head to head."

johnnyspaghetti

This one is 300 round trip away and looks excellent super clean and listed as a single speed you can clearly see it has a 3-speed IGH with no shifting hardware present. $65

https://lacrosse.craigslist.org/bik/...396417126.html

rustymetal

I've only had one bike with drum brakes, a mid 60's Dunelt, the drums were very effective but very noisy, I changed the shoes once. The new shoes were grabby and hard to feather to a smooth stop but the rest of the mechanism was worn pretty bad. The whole bike had been well used long before I owned it. The new shoes didn't stop the extreme moaning noise they made when stopping. They would vibrate the whole bike. They sounded worse than any noisy caliper brake you could ever imagine. I was a kid when I owned that bike, I used it to deliver newspapers and it got quite a workout, often on dirt roads fully loaded. After four years I had to retire the bike after the frame developed several cracks, one of which was around the circumference of the right bottom bracket cup threads. It got so bad that the only fix was to tack weld the cup in place. Soon after I noticed the rear dropouts were coming loose from the chainstays, thinking it was just the dropouts being loose inside the tubes, I brazed them back into place, touched up the paint and kept using it. About five months later one dropout cracked again, this time letting go of the chainstay tube all together. I welded it but the reality was that the frame was doomed. Metal fatigue was taking its effect on the steel.
Later that year, while riding it on a snowy road, I turned up a steep driveway and the front wheel slid out from under me. When I got up, I immediately stood the bike up and noticed right away something was amiss. The right fork tube was separated from the crown, it had broken off flush with the crown cap casting.
I dragged the bike home, hung it up and forgot about it. A few years later I stumbled across a similar vintage Sunbeam bike which needed a lot of work, but it was free. The Dunelt became its parts bike, donating its super clean rims, (since it had drum brakes, the rims had perfect chrome), stem and bars, saddle, and rear rack.
I stripped down the Dunelt at that time, kept all the goodies I figured were worth saving and hung the frame up out back behind the garage in a lean too where we kept firewood. That was in the late 70's. I left home in the 80's, that place eventually became my uncles house, which I just inherited. Out of curiosity, I looked to see if the frame is still there but its gone, the lean too is nothing but rotted wood, the firewood pile all but melted into the ground. If its still there, it buried.
I kept and rode the Sunbeam with its mixed bag of parts for several years, eventually giving to someone I worked with who was looking to turn it into a club type bike. By that time it too was well worn, a bit rusty here and there and had been through a few moves through several states. The last I saw the bike it was in Florida. I never took to the Sunbeam like I did the Dunelt. The Sunbeam was a smaller frame and didn't fit me as well. The Dunelt was a full 24" frame, much like the Robin Hood I found just recently, which I think will soon become one of my favorites.

68sd

That Supercycle is a beauty, my first bike i ever bought was a Gold 67 supercycle just like this, though not as nice as shape, i love how the gold on these glows.

rustymetal

I've got a single speed version of that bike hanging in my basement here, it belonged to my father. It was put together out of several others just like it in the 70s while he was home recovering from a surgery back then.
Its a red bike, with several different color bits and pieces. The original fenders were painted on that one but they were rough, a few years ago I dug it out and replaced the fenders with a chrome set I found on a trash picked ladies bike. The bars were also changed out for a pair from an old Mixte road bike. I'll have to dig it out and snap a few pics one day.

johnnyspaghetti

Hey it got close to 30F today and it was nice out. I stayed in the house 3 days til yesterday. ST..GD..MF

thumpism

Lower that stem when you go to fetch the bike.

ThermionicScott 

+1, it looks like it isn't even in far enough to be straight with the steerer tube.

johnnyspaghetti

I did observe that stem. I have talked this guy down to $50 due to the logistics but can't pull off transportation for a while seeing is I have to do this under the radar of the ruler (her) I'm pantsless.

johnnyspaghetti

This is different. The chaincover mounts to the seatpost tube. It does have the metallic jockeywheel for the shifter

markk900

@browngw: always love pictures of your supercycle. I remember we all used to invert our handlebars to get the look you have on that one!

JaccoW

Thanks for the feedback. That's similar to what I am feeling in mine. Probably a 70's model but even with the right levers it's noisy, shudders and not as effective as I remember on similar bikes.

I'll probably upgrade to modern 90mm models this year.

BigChief 

That gold Super Cycle and the gold Robin Hood are inspiring another scorcher build in my mind. So far, every frame I've ever painted was black. It takes me weeks, but eventually I can get a professional looking paint job. I think I might try my hand at a gold enamel and clear coat. I've been hunting for an overpainted or wrecked tall frame for a while now with no luck. But I do have this 21" frameset. I have it stripped now and it only had a light surface rust. It's perfectly usable. The 21" Rudge worked out fine so I might try the long Sunlite stem approach again. This time I'd braze a couple cable stops on the top tube before I painted for the dual pivot calipers.

rustybike.JPG

browngw 

I say "go for it"! Looks like a great project. I recently sprayed(Rattle Can) a '77 CCM in a metallic light blue. Although the paint was not super smooth, after a polish with compound the finish is acceptable. Another one will be saved.

browngw 

Continuing work on the '77DL1. Bars are now cleaned and polished as well as the 6 1/4" axle installed in the AW hub. Here are some of the shiny bits.

3speedslow

Nice and shiny pile of bits!

SirMike1983 

Does anyone have a Raleigh DL-1 anti-vibration brake pad arm they'd be willing to part with/trade/sell? The part I'm looking for is the shaped, stamped piece that extends the rod brake pad off of the main rod brake assembly. It's the piece attached to the brake pad below. I have one but am missing the second from the Export Model I re-built. I've been riding it without them but would like to locate the missing one.

browngw 

On the subject of frame painting. I did this 77 CCM Mixte with a liquidation store rattle can this fall and it came out spiffy after a compounding. If your frame needs paint or has little monetary value, it can be done. This can of Duplicolor cost me $3.99. The decal areas were taped off.