Ol Danl

Question for you 3 speed folks: Lately, I've been tinkering with a '59 Huffy Sportsman that was made by Raleigh. Have to rebuild wheels -- spokes on both, rim on rear. Just realized that neither wheel has the spokes laced -- 3x on front, 4x on rear, but neither has the last cross tucked behind the spoke. Is this a common thing for Raleigh Sports - based bikes? By the way, front hub is not Raleigh single-end ajustment hub, but apparently a Union hub, and the fork ends are sized for a 5/16" axle. So it's a bit more cheaply made than an actual Raleigh, I guess.

clubman 

That lacing is typical of these bikes. Steel rims give strength to the wheels and probably allowed for faster production. Union hubs are very well made in my experience, good German steel with one piece bodies.

Buellster

Have any of you ever seen sekai built 3 speeds? It is very unensglish I know but I saw it on my local CL and it peaked my interest. Not in a "I'm gonna go buy that!" Sense but more in a "huh, sekai did 3 speeds?"
anyone ever had one, or know how well they were built?


Interesting shifter mechanism. Stem shifter for a 3 speed? Haha


No markings on hub seemingly (seller looked too and couldnt find any)


I honestly thought of getting it just for parts but the hub isnt a sa so it wouldnt do me much good i dont think. Is that a 501 decal on the downtube? Probably not... probably just hiten somother

markk900

52telecaster

i would pick that up if it were local to me. Right size and nice crank and bars.

Ol Danl

Clubman -- thanks for your response to my question, and for the vote of confidence in the Union hub. I found this thing at an antique store for $10 and thought I'd give it a shot. Been wanting a 3 speed again for some time, and frequently read this thread.

clengman

My wife has been looking for a good bike path cruiser for a while. I came across this Raleigh sport step through at a garage sale today. For $20 I decided to go for it. It has a shimano 333 hub which doesn't seem to be working, but I should be able to get a used sturmey archer hub and shifter at my favorite bike shop (plug for Bicycle Heaven in Pittsburgh, PA!). Everything else seems to be in really good shape! My wife is very happy. She looks good on it, too.

dweenk

https://annapolis.craigslist.org/bik...671738163.html
Seller says 1950's, but is clearly from around 1976. Looks to be in great shape and only $50.

3speedslow

3speedslow

BigChief

That's a fabulous deal at 20 bucks. You might be able to find another good deal on a Raleigh that isn't as pretty as this one, swap the rear wheels and recoup most or maybe all of your money, That way, you'd get your SA hub and matching Raleigh pattern rims.

BigChief

I've got a question. I need a project that's going to last a while. Mine have been finished too quickly. So, I've decided to build up a brand new Raleigh. A total refinish. One of the things I need to learn is how to paint a white blaze on a rear mudguard. How do I mask it so I get a clean, factory looking edge on the blaze?

clengman

That's a good thought. I looked on Craigslist and found a few Raleigh sports, but all were in pretty nice rideable condition and were going for around $150.

I didn't even notice until you mentioned it that the rims were not matching, but I guess it makes sense since that shimano hub is definitely not original equipment.

I should be able to find an AW hub at bicycle heaven for a good price. Then a set of spokes and a couple tires and I should be good to go.

Buellster

So I'm looking to change out the cranks on my sports. I am hoping to convert to a newer style of cranks as opposed to the original cotters.
I ride the bike a lot and dealing with cotters is pricey and frustrating.
my super course had the cranks converted by the previous owner. It looks like the PO used the original cups and a spindle labeled 5S☆. I am wondering if I could use a similar spindle and keep the standard cups?
any good suggestions for a place to find such a part?
thanks!

clubman 

It shouldn't be difficult. One problem I've had is some spindles can bind in the Raleigh cup openings. A round file and Dremel can relieve the edges easy enough.

I've never found cotter cranks to be expensive to maintain as long as you do them yourself, use good cotters, bearings, grease and you have a cotter press. When done properly, they can last a decade.

Buellster

I just dont have the tools. My LBS charges like 50 or 60 bucks to do a repacking but they told me the price regularly gets up to 80 if they encounter issues.
I figured if I pulled the spindle and the cups I could find a non cottered spindle that matched and fit?

clubman 

Fair enough, I haven't used an lbs for anything other than consumables in the last ten years and I've got sticker shock at those quotes.

Don't even try to pull the fixed cup. It's 26 tpi and not compatible with almost all other BB's. You're on the right track with an axle swap using original cups.

thumpism 

That's a beauty, and it's much nicer than either of my ladies' Sportses (which, admittedly, were free). And it's a 23" frame.

BigChief

To me it seems like much more trouble and expense to convert the BB and replace the crank than it would to just service the existing crank. Besides, the heron crank is an important to the aesthetics of these vintage roadsters. A cotter press is $59 from Bikesmith and is an excellent quality tool. The only issue that could come up is if the cotter starts to bend before it breaks loose. This does happen, but for me it has been very rare. I've rebuilt many old Raleigh BBs and I'll say that 19 times out of 20, the press will pop the cotters loose and they'll be reusable. I do always remove the cotter nuts and washers a couple days before I plan on the rebuild and fill the wells around the threads with penetrating oil. In all these years I have only had to resort to plan B twice. Although I have had instances where the cotter broke free but bent slightly and didn't fall all the way out so I had to drive it through with a punch. Then I needed to replace the cotter. Again, Bikesmith is the place to go for Raleigh cotters.
edit...It's nice to have the spanners for the adjustable cup and lock ring, but you can get by fine with a hammer, punch and channel lock pliers. And a chopstick and rag works well for cleaning the still attached fixed cup.

New Crank Cotter Press

Ol Danl

I've bought a 5S spindle recently from Husky bicycles for $5 or so. They seem to be one of the most common 5 series lengths available. Also found 5N and 5J on ebay (new). The problem is finding which replacement crankset has the appropriate profile to work with an available 5 series spindle. Finally got a triple crankset to work with a 5N spindle in a Raleigh Record frame, but this was after trying a couple of cranksets that wouldn't work with anything available.

DQRider 

Harris Cyclery has them with CR18 alloy rims: https://www.harriscyclery.net/produc...91/?rb_ct=1437

.

BigChief

You could save some money with one of these steel hub/ alloy rim Sta-Trus . I have one on my scorcher. It is a step down from the CR-18 from Harris but it is a decent wheel and it is actually very well trued.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sta-Tru-26x...cAAOSwoPtbEXuI

desconhecido 

I've bought from Bikewagon and as far as my experience goes, they are reputable. Selling a steel rim advertised as alloy -- I doubt that they would do that, but who knows. If you are concerned, call them and ask what rim they use. At the same time, ask about the diameter of the axle and make sure that it will fit the dropouts on the intended bike -- probably will, but if it's a Raleigh, I'd measure just to make sure.

As for shiny alloy and braking, it's not a problem. The CR18 rims in that size are all polished, as far as I know, and they brake just fine.

Either the Bikewagon wheel or the Harris wheel seem like real good deals to me. If you were to build it yourself, a CR18 rim will cost you $25 to $35 and 36 spokes with nipples is probably $15 to $25 or more, dpending on where you get your spokes. In either event, if you buy one of these wheels, get yourself a decent spoke wrench in the right size, if you don't already have one, because you'll proably have to touch up the spokes after a ride or two.

JohnDThompson 

Yes, polished aluminum rims are/were a common option. And yes, they do brake perfectly well. Many years ago, I replaced the chromed steel rims on my Superbe with polished aluminum CR-18 rims, and the improvement in braking was substantial. The dull finish on some aluminum rims is often an anodized finish, which is quickly abraded off the brake track by the brake pads, leaving a surface identical to that found on the brake track of a polished aluminum rim.

BigChief

I have one on my customized Rudge. It is an aluminum rim. The hub is steel with that modern chrome that you see these days. I can vouch for it. It's a good wheel for the price and whoever laced it up did a good job. Here it is on my Rudge. I'm also using Tektro R559 brakes.