noglider 

@browngw, I don't really like the Tourist model. I mean it's fine for some folks, but it's not for me. But man, that is a WORK OF ART!

noglider 

Absolutely. We've talked about it before here. It's a very useful thing. Here is my Rudge at my former home in Maplewood, New Jersey. Maplewood is a very hilly town. I replaced the 18T cog with a 24T cog. That's a little hard to find, and an easier-to-get 22T is good enough for most people. I even hauled stuff in my trailer with this setup. High gear was still useful. I just coasted down the steepest hill.

The bike now lives at my mother in law's place in Florida. I ride it once a year. Florida is flat, so now I can't use first gear, but it's windy there, so having gears is still useful. I should replace the cog with something smaller, but given that I only ride it once a year, it doesn't make a difference.

JaccoW

Tried a 28T and 16T combo with a derailleur. Worked fine but you might want to order a new clip to hold everything in place if you go for the really extreme sizes.

Plenty of options here. I've seen 12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/26/28 in both straight/offset and 3/32 or 1/8 sizing.

I would suggest playing around with this link to see which size you prefer. (just slide the cogs to your preferred size)

thumpism

24T for me also on my Sports, cog from a Shimano Nexus 3-speed but I also have a Sturmey 22T in the wings.

thumpism

From the Seinfeld episode The Handicap Spot, "Love the Drake!"

Kilroy1988 

A nice, even job from the look of things.

But be warned, it will do likely both fix and rub off! Especially on the newer saddle, which already has fibers full of other dye and oils and waxes, it's possible that a majority of your application will come off after some use and leave it rather drab looking. Once that happens just go back and do it again!

I've been using Fiebing's dyes for professional leather work for over a decade, mostly on fresh vegetable tanned leather where it can absorb best. Even then I lose a reasonable amount of most applications - I rub dyed areas with clean cloths quite liberally to remove excess dye before moving on to sealing oils or waxes.

I would definitely suggest going back more than once to buff out the surface of the saddles with clean cloths before attempting to ride on them. Once you have virtually nothing coming off on the cloths, it's safe to say that you can ride, but I wouldn't start out with your favorite shorts... Sweat and the impressive friction created by a pair of legs versus a hand and a cloth will likely draw even more dye out.

Good luck!

-Gregory

BigChief 

I don't have the LED bulbs yet, but I'm calling it finished. There's good continuity through the whole system now. It should work...hmmmm. This headlamp never worked from day one. The ring tab coming from the center contact for the bulb was never stripped and connected to the tab. The tab was just crimped onto the insulation.I replaced the wire and reused the brass tab. The back of the front mudguard was a mess. Crunched and rusted away. Odd because there was no other bad rust damage on the bike. It is the original though. I trimmed off about 3/4" and reinforced the lower 3 inches of thinned out steel with JB Weld and painted the underside. Also did some touch up on the primary surface and did my best to blend it in. I replaced the threaded driver and 18T cog with a splined straight leg driver and 20T cog. New chain. All new bearings. I repaired the original cloth cable housings and repaired the bent 3 or 4 speed trigger shifter. The handlebar grips are old and English, but not original to the bike. I used a 70s ESGE Raleigh marked kickstand. I painted a regular Sunlite pump black. A pair of older Dunlop Sport tires are still on the bike for now. They seem to be in reasonable shape. So, here's the official all done photos.
1951 Rudge Sports

nlerner

Ballenxj

Man, that is NICE! Looks to be my size, and year. I LOVE it!
Congrats on getting the wiring sorted.

gster

Thanks for the advice.
I did give them a good buffing and
took the old saddle out for a spin.
So far so good.
Most of my shorts are ruined anyways from work.
My name is also Greg.

clubman 

+1 or 2! Black is best.

gster

Classic

Buellster

The rudge looks beautiful bigchief!

gster

Robin Hood!


My friend Mark K. was over the other day and took the Robin Hood for a quick spin.

He pointed out that the left crank seemed off and on close inspection, it does seem to have a slight inward curve to it.

Time for the Johnson bar!

Buellster

I love the look of the old front chainrings with the cottered cranks. I had hoped to put one onto my conversion project but that is seeming unlikely. Are thier any options for newer cogs that have that vintage look but dont break the bank? Or are there any years I can look for on some bikes that moved away from cottered cranks but still had the detail on the cog design?


Example: Its just a basic front cog on a Raleigh sport, bur compared to the new front cogs it feels like art.

gster

Saddle Bags!
I'm taking advantage of some free time to fix a lot of things around the house, bicycles included.
The stitching on the bottom of these old saddle bags had come apart so they've been fixed.
A trick from a former student.
Instead of thread I used dental floss.
We'll see if it holds up.


Maybe I should go out and deliver the mail or some newspapers.

gster

OT
The garage where most of the bikes are stored (as well as a couple of vintage cars) took a major hit in the spring from
a fallen limb. Thankfully, the damage was minimal. Bikes and cars were all OK.

It's pretty much back in shape with a bit more work to complete this week.

Ballenxj

I have heard about using dental floss before, and that makes me wonder how well monofilament fishing line might work? Nice bike postedl.
Saddle bags on a three speed classic is, well, classic.
Glad to hear none of your classics inside that tree struck building were hurt.

gster

Cranky Cranks
Something is completely f**ked with the left crank on the Robin Hood.
The pedal simply WON'T come off, which leads me to believe it's been cross threaded on.
This is the first pedal ever, that wouldn't break free.

In any case, I've replaced that crank with a spare (square cut as opposed to rounded) and it
seems to help.
The bike still seems to be a wanderer but then again, so was Robin Hood.
A nice fresh pair of MKS pedals to finish.

gster

Thanks.
Mono could be a good choice as well.

RobbieAG

I put Schwalbe Marathons on my Raleigh Twenty after getting a flat with Kendas. No flats since! I'm very pleased with them.

RobbieAG

I haven't noticed the ride being harsher with the Marathons vs the Kendas.

JaccoW

UK or French eBay is my advice. I've seen plenty of Raleigh cranks in excellent condition on the eBay.co.uk

Your main cost will be shipping.

Buellster

I saw some but many seem to be the old cottered cranks and I dont believe that I can mount a cog for cottered crank on a newer style square taper.

Buellster

Okay so I'm a little lost with this. You guys are only referring to rear cogs right? How many teeth does my front chainring need to have?
Id that as important?
2 Dumb questions
This current set up in the pic has a 2x biopace on the front. I'm assuming that the biopace oval shape is completley incompatible with a three speed?
I am also assuming you cant use anything but a 1x crank, and that you cannot use a front derailur and change your front gears with a internally geared rear? (I feel like I know the answer to both of these but asking and knowing seems better than thinking so).