For the love of English 3 speeds...
06-21-20, 10:55 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Toronto
Posts: 2,562
Bikes: 1971 Hercules, 1978 Raleigh Superbe, 1978 Raleigh Tourist, 1964 Glider 3 Speed, 1967 Raleigh Sprite 5 Speed, 1968 Hercules AMF 3 Speed, 1972 Raleigh Superbe, 1976 Raleigh Superbe, 1957 Flying Pigeon, 1967 Dunelt 3 Speed
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Sunday Quarantine Project
A true Bitsa Scorcher
23 1/2" 10 speed frame.
Previously, this bike was built up with 28" x 1 1/2" Canadian size rims with a Perry coaster brake.
Those were removed yesterday and replaced with a standard 26" 3 speed wheel (1962 hub) and a EA1 rim up front.
Swapped out the rear cog to a 20 to take up the slack chain and found an old
trigger and cable in the shed.
Missing a rear brake caliper but one will show up.
A true Bitsa Scorcher
23 1/2" 10 speed frame.
Previously, this bike was built up with 28" x 1 1/2" Canadian size rims with a Perry coaster brake.
Those were removed yesterday and replaced with a standard 26" 3 speed wheel (1962 hub) and a EA1 rim up front.
Swapped out the rear cog to a 20 to take up the slack chain and found an old
trigger and cable in the shed.
Missing a rear brake caliper but one will show up.
Last edited by gster; 06-21-20 at 11:03 AM.
06-21-20, 02:01 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Port Dover Ontario Canada
Posts: 1,515
Bikes: 1965 Dilecta Le Blanc, 1956 Royal Nord, 1972 Raleigh Sports, 1972 CCM Turismo,1976 SuperCycle Excalibur, 2014 Salsa Vaya, 2017 Felt DD70, 2019 Giant Lafree and others
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1979 Raleigh Sports Step Thru
The last few months have been very busy on the bike front. Friends and family wanting bikes or their bikes repaired, have kept me busy. I gave away some bikes, discounted others heavily but I guess there has been some good karma generated as well. A nice lady gave me a Norco Sekine Cruiser which I was able to set up for the pastor at our church. A good friend called last week and said he was placing this bike on Kijji for $50, did I want it for $35. The dual chainguard setup was weird but not irreversible. The chrome on the wheels bars and brakes is perfect. I am very tempted to do something I don't like to do like move the best parts to another bike. The Serial # starts with RL9...…. making it a Canadian 1979.
Beautiful wheels
79 shifter missing plate, SR stem
Only one of these brake covers left on the bike.
Beautiful wheels
79 shifter missing plate, SR stem
Only one of these brake covers left on the bike.
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We are what we reflect. We are the changes that we bring to this world. Ride often. -Geo.-
We are what we reflect. We are the changes that we bring to this world. Ride often. -Geo.-
06-21-20, 04:09 PM
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I've been considering getting my 69 Bonnie back on the road. I haven't ridden it in years because I don't have any friends to ride with anymore, but I'm so bored these days that a solo ride around the hills is starting to seem pretty exciting. Your Bezza has the same front brake as my Triumph. Best drum brake ever made.
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06-21-20, 09:04 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Toronto
Posts: 2,562
Bikes: 1971 Hercules, 1978 Raleigh Superbe, 1978 Raleigh Tourist, 1964 Glider 3 Speed, 1967 Raleigh Sprite 5 Speed, 1968 Hercules AMF 3 Speed, 1972 Raleigh Superbe, 1976 Raleigh Superbe, 1957 Flying Pigeon, 1967 Dunelt 3 Speed
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My motorbike friends have also dispersed over the years.
Glad to know it's a good brake.
I'm still in quarantine for 3 more days...
When I'm done, I'll pop out for a gallon of gas, some oil
and a couple of inline fuel filters and
try to fire it up.
I was hoping to take advantage of reduced traffic and
get it out there.
We'll see.....
Glad to know it's a good brake.
I'm still in quarantine for 3 more days...
When I'm done, I'll pop out for a gallon of gas, some oil
and a couple of inline fuel filters and
try to fire it up.
I was hoping to take advantage of reduced traffic and
get it out there.
We'll see.....
06-22-20, 07:14 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Toronto
Posts: 2,562
Bikes: 1971 Hercules, 1978 Raleigh Superbe, 1978 Raleigh Tourist, 1964 Glider 3 Speed, 1967 Raleigh Sprite 5 Speed, 1968 Hercules AMF 3 Speed, 1972 Raleigh Superbe, 1976 Raleigh Superbe, 1957 Flying Pigeon, 1967 Dunelt 3 Speed
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Raleigh Tourist
For sale in Toronto at
what I would consider a reasonable $350.00
For sale in Toronto at
what I would consider a reasonable $350.00
06-25-20, 02:05 PM
Junior Member
In my case, I can't remember the specifics but the bike would not shift.
Also, I don't recall if I just replaced the ground down gear or swapped in the complete unit.
The rest of the gears seemed ok
Another case was a loose pin that secures the sun gear.
This bike also refused to shift properly and closer examination revealed the
drive shaft was actually warped/bowed.
Also, I don't recall if I just replaced the ground down gear or swapped in the complete unit.
The rest of the gears seemed ok
Another case was a loose pin that secures the sun gear.
This bike also refused to shift properly and closer examination revealed the
drive shaft was actually warped/bowed.
The pinion is ground down, and all four planetary gear pins and center holes are worn badly, the rest of the hub was fine.
The thing would bind ride fine but would let go and slip at will. If you rolled the bike backwards, it would bind up and get locked into sort of a fixed gear state.
The woman who owned it said her grand kids were using it and one of them figured out that if you held he shifter and pedaled real fast and let go it would make a huge clunk as it jumps into gear. My bet is that's what did the damage. The bike otherwise was mint, it had an old Lucas cyclometer on it that worked with under 300 miles on it. Oddly though, both outer axle bearing cages were missing one bearing each, with no signs of any damage to the races and no loose bearings inside.
The whole inside of the hub was full of gritty ground up metal from the pinion gear, the oil in the bottom of the hub was pretty caked up with powdered metal from the worn parts. One of the planetary gears is worn far worse than the others, the inner hole is wallowed out pretty bad, all four pins are worn where they contact the planetary housing, not the gears. The housing showed no wear. A fresh set of gears, a new axle and four pins, and some new bearings and all was well again.
The rest of the bike was really clean, the sprockets showed almost no wear, and the paint was near perfect. It wasn't a high mileage bike.
Having ridden on these hubs for many years, seeing one this torn up with such little use surprised me. This one and yours are the only two I've seen fail this way, its odd both are 1972 models.
This pic shows how badly the pins and gears are worn as well. Not all are worn the same.
Last edited by oldspokes; 06-25-20 at 06:08 PM.
06-25-20, 04:43 PM
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Found it, all the way at the bottom of the scrap barrel.
The pinion is ground down, and all four planetary gear pins and center holes are worn badly, the rest of the hub was fine.
The thing would bind ride fine but would let go and slip at will. If you rolled the bike backwards, it would bind up and get locked into sort of a fixed gear state.
The woman who owned it said her grand kids were using it and one of them figured out that if you held he shifter and pedaled real fast and let go it would make a huge clunk as it jumps into gear. My bet is that's what did the damage. The bike otherwise was mint, it had an old Lucas cyclometer on it that worked with under 300 miles on it. Oddly though, both outer axle bearing cages were missing one bearing each, with no signs of any damage to the races and no loose bearings inside.
The whole inside of the hub was full of gritty ground up metal from the pinion gear, the oil in the bottom of the hub was pretty caked up with powdered metal from the worn parts. One of the planetary gears is worn far worse than the others, the inner hole is wallowed out pretty bad, all four pins are worn where they contact the planetary housing, not the gears. The housing showed no wear. A fresh set of gears, a new axle and four pins, and some new bearings and all was well again.
The rest of the bike was really clean, the sprockets showed almost no wear, and the paint was near perfect. It wasn't a high mileage bike.
Having ridden on these hubs for many years, seeing one this torn up with such little use surprised me. This one and yours are the only two I've seen fail this way, its odd both are 1972 models.
The pinion is ground down, and all four planetary gear pins and center holes are worn badly, the rest of the hub was fine.
The thing would bind ride fine but would let go and slip at will. If you rolled the bike backwards, it would bind up and get locked into sort of a fixed gear state.
The woman who owned it said her grand kids were using it and one of them figured out that if you held he shifter and pedaled real fast and let go it would make a huge clunk as it jumps into gear. My bet is that's what did the damage. The bike otherwise was mint, it had an old Lucas cyclometer on it that worked with under 300 miles on it. Oddly though, both outer axle bearing cages were missing one bearing each, with no signs of any damage to the races and no loose bearings inside.
The whole inside of the hub was full of gritty ground up metal from the pinion gear, the oil in the bottom of the hub was pretty caked up with powdered metal from the worn parts. One of the planetary gears is worn far worse than the others, the inner hole is wallowed out pretty bad, all four pins are worn where they contact the planetary housing, not the gears. The housing showed no wear. A fresh set of gears, a new axle and four pins, and some new bearings and all was well again.
The rest of the bike was really clean, the sprockets showed almost no wear, and the paint was near perfect. It wasn't a high mileage bike.
Having ridden on these hubs for many years, seeing one this torn up with such little use surprised me. This one and yours are the only two I've seen fail this way, its odd both are 1972 models.
1972.......
perhaps a bad batch of gears slipped out of the factory.
06-25-20, 08:11 PM
Junior Member
The sun gear is worn more on one side than the other, the axle is perfectly straight. The carrier wasn't worn at all, the new pins and gears fit perfectly into the same carrier.
I didn't use it though by chance that it was maybe off center somehow but the hub did seem to work just fine with it. When I fixed this hub I just grabbed a complete internal set off the shelf. I flushed out the original hub shell and put it together so she didn't have to wait for it. It was that or just grab a good used wheel and I really didn't want to give one of those up if I didn't have to. The hub kits I have are aftermarket, they may be oem parts just repackaged but they were really cheap back when I bought them on closeout years ago.
I do notice one thing, your pinion gear, and mine are both silver, all the original SA replacement gears and axles I have are sort of gray metal. I think I have another 1972 Sports out there that I still have to go through, its a pending project of sorts, I think I'll be checking that hub too. I wonder if they farmed out some gear making that year? The axles look the same and the planet gear teeth look good, but the inner holes are torn up.
The really odd thing is that as bad as these gear looked, I was able to ride this bike around here a bit before taking it apart, it would shift, but every so often the pedals would slip and then a bang/clunk as it caught again. Pushing it backwards would make the hub bind up, pushing it forward or coasting it was like a fixed gear bike.
The farther you pushed it backwards, the tighter the hub got till it locked up. The planet gears were still holding onto the ring gear, but not the sun gear, I would move the bike just fine in second or direct drive because three of the planet gears were still tight enough where as they still had hold of the ring gear I suppose.
06-25-20, 11:12 PM
Junior Member
I just got done fixing the hub on the brown Raleigh Sports I picked up a couple weeks ago, the sun gear I took out of the hub was stripped the same way.
The bike had a repair tag on it saying it had a problem with the hub, I added some oil, pumped up the tires and took it for a ride. It rode fine till I really put some real pressure on it. It would skip a bit in third gear, make a snapping sound and then felt like it was binding up. Shifting to 2nd would fix it till I shifted into high again and stood on it.
When I opened it up the thing was full of bits of metal, about half the sun gear teeth were gone and one planet gear pin was broken but still in place.
I saved the gear but lost the pieces to the pin. I stripped down a hub from a junk bike and its been fine since.
The hub was dated 10-71.
The hub was a greasy mess, it leaked oil bad around the right bearing cup. The whole rear wheel and spokes were caked with old dirt and grease. When I put it back together I sealed the threads with some thread sealer.
The bike had a repair tag on it saying it had a problem with the hub, I added some oil, pumped up the tires and took it for a ride. It rode fine till I really put some real pressure on it. It would skip a bit in third gear, make a snapping sound and then felt like it was binding up. Shifting to 2nd would fix it till I shifted into high again and stood on it.
When I opened it up the thing was full of bits of metal, about half the sun gear teeth were gone and one planet gear pin was broken but still in place.
I saved the gear but lost the pieces to the pin. I stripped down a hub from a junk bike and its been fine since.
The hub was dated 10-71.
The hub was a greasy mess, it leaked oil bad around the right bearing cup. The whole rear wheel and spokes were caked with old dirt and grease. When I put it back together I sealed the threads with some thread sealer.
06-26-20, 04:29 PM
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Found it, all the way at the bottom of the scrap barrel.
The pinion is ground down, and all four planetary gear pins and center holes are worn badly, the rest of the hub was fine.
The thing would bind ride fine but would let go and slip at will. If you rolled the bike backwards, it would bind up and get locked into sort of a fixed gear state.
The woman who owned it said her grand kids were using it and one of them figured out that if you held he shifter and pedaled real fast and let go it would make a huge clunk as it jumps into gear. My bet is that's what did the damage. The bike otherwise was mint, it had an old Lucas cyclometer on it that worked with under 300 miles on it. Oddly though, both outer axle bearing cages were missing one bearing each, with no signs of any damage to the races and no loose bearings inside.
The whole inside of the hub was full of gritty ground up metal from the pinion gear, the oil in the bottom of the hub was pretty caked up with powdered metal from the worn parts. One of the planetary gears is worn far worse than the others, the inner hole is wallowed out pretty bad, all four pins are worn where they contact the planetary housing, not the gears. The housing showed no wear. A fresh set of gears, a new axle and four pins, and some new bearings and all was well again.
The rest of the bike was really clean, the sprockets showed almost no wear, and the paint was near perfect. It wasn't a high mileage bike.
Having ridden on these hubs for many years, seeing one this torn up with such little use surprised me. This one and yours are the only two I've seen fail this way, its odd both are 1972 models.
This pic shows how badly the pins and gears are worn as well. Not all are worn the same.
The pinion is ground down, and all four planetary gear pins and center holes are worn badly, the rest of the hub was fine.
The thing would bind ride fine but would let go and slip at will. If you rolled the bike backwards, it would bind up and get locked into sort of a fixed gear state.
The woman who owned it said her grand kids were using it and one of them figured out that if you held he shifter and pedaled real fast and let go it would make a huge clunk as it jumps into gear. My bet is that's what did the damage. The bike otherwise was mint, it had an old Lucas cyclometer on it that worked with under 300 miles on it. Oddly though, both outer axle bearing cages were missing one bearing each, with no signs of any damage to the races and no loose bearings inside.
The whole inside of the hub was full of gritty ground up metal from the pinion gear, the oil in the bottom of the hub was pretty caked up with powdered metal from the worn parts. One of the planetary gears is worn far worse than the others, the inner hole is wallowed out pretty bad, all four pins are worn where they contact the planetary housing, not the gears. The housing showed no wear. A fresh set of gears, a new axle and four pins, and some new bearings and all was well again.
The rest of the bike was really clean, the sprockets showed almost no wear, and the paint was near perfect. It wasn't a high mileage bike.
Having ridden on these hubs for many years, seeing one this torn up with such little use surprised me. This one and yours are the only two I've seen fail this way, its odd both are 1972 models.
This pic shows how badly the pins and gears are worn as well. Not all are worn the same.
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06-27-20, 05:45 AM
Junior Member
What's odd is that I just picked up another 1972 Sports at a place I cleaned out yesterday, its rear hub is acting the same way, it slips in first and third and when I try and back the bike up it locks up. I got two bikes in this lot and several hundred jars of new parts, and a bunch of plastic containers and buckets full of used parts along with it all. I filled my van twice and made another trip with my pickup and 20ft enclosed car trailer. It was some sort of divorce or bankruptcy sale that my buddy won at auction, I made a deal for the bikes and parts. I'll be a month sorting out the whole mess, maybe longer if it stays this hot. I do have another place to go check out so I may have to get at least the van and trailer cleaned out just in case for tomorrow.
Until recently, I don't think I've ever seen a bad pinion gear, maybe age has something to do with it?
The first one I had here looked to be a very lightly used bike, at least until her grandkids got hold of it.
I don't think it was run bone dry but its hard to tell, there was oil in it when I opened it up but not much.
The more I think about it, I think the planet gear pins went first, then that let the planet gears chew up the sun gear.
The odd part is nothing else is damaged or worn. It was a greasy mess all over the back wheel so it may have lost most of its oil
over the years and never had any added but it also had its original white stripe Raleigh tires, and a Lucas cyclometer that read something like 240 miles, and the cyclometer was aligned properly and working. I rode it around the block myself when I was done with it to make sure it was 100%.
Until recently, I don't think I've ever seen a bad pinion gear, maybe age has something to do with it?
The first one I had here looked to be a very lightly used bike, at least until her grandkids got hold of it.
I don't think it was run bone dry but its hard to tell, there was oil in it when I opened it up but not much.
The more I think about it, I think the planet gear pins went first, then that let the planet gears chew up the sun gear.
The odd part is nothing else is damaged or worn. It was a greasy mess all over the back wheel so it may have lost most of its oil
over the years and never had any added but it also had its original white stripe Raleigh tires, and a Lucas cyclometer that read something like 240 miles, and the cyclometer was aligned properly and working. I rode it around the block myself when I was done with it to make sure it was 100%.
06-27-20, 04:42 PM
Senior Member
I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. This is my 4th Raleigh Superbe and one Sports. I find a model in terrible condition and then spend too much time and money putting it back together. Each time I swear is the last, and yet here I am.
06-28-20, 05:26 AM
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Bikes: 1971 Hercules, 1978 Raleigh Superbe, 1978 Raleigh Tourist, 1964 Glider 3 Speed, 1967 Raleigh Sprite 5 Speed, 1968 Hercules AMF 3 Speed, 1972 Raleigh Superbe, 1976 Raleigh Superbe, 1957 Flying Pigeon, 1967 Dunelt 3 Speed
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NO MORE BIKES!!!
I now have 17 and I just sold 3....
06-28-20, 07:00 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Toronto
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Bikes: 1971 Hercules, 1978 Raleigh Superbe, 1978 Raleigh Tourist, 1964 Glider 3 Speed, 1967 Raleigh Sprite 5 Speed, 1968 Hercules AMF 3 Speed, 1972 Raleigh Superbe, 1976 Raleigh Superbe, 1957 Flying Pigeon, 1967 Dunelt 3 Speed
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Wishful Thinking
Somebody thinks this is worth $170.00
Somebody thinks this is worth $170.00
06-28-20, 10:17 AM
Senior Member
a bargain!
My superbe was $75 and 45 minutes away in Mississauga but I nearly walked away when I saw the corrosion on all the chrome bits. The rims are ok but they may not clean up very well. If they don't I'm not sure what I'll do. If they are bad I will probably find a donor wheelset. I used to rebuild these into CR18 590 rims I got from the states but they dont appear to be readily available here in Ontario.
The other 3 speeds I owned found new homes but this one is my size and may turn into my bar bike/outdoor lockup. The one hill back home may be a knee killer.
My superbe was $75 and 45 minutes away in Mississauga but I nearly walked away when I saw the corrosion on all the chrome bits. The rims are ok but they may not clean up very well. If they don't I'm not sure what I'll do. If they are bad I will probably find a donor wheelset. I used to rebuild these into CR18 590 rims I got from the states but they dont appear to be readily available here in Ontario.
The other 3 speeds I owned found new homes but this one is my size and may turn into my bar bike/outdoor lockup. The one hill back home may be a knee killer.
06-28-20, 10:20 AM
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I look at it this way. Every time I make an old English roadster useful again it pushes it's life span up another 10 or maybe even 20 years into the future. They might even be picked up and boosted again by somebody after me. I know it's a small feature in the grand scheme of life, but their presence on the roads and being useful is just one more nice thing to see in daily life. There's a lot of things like that. A pretty flower garden, a restored old barn, things that don't make sense in a financial way but add to life in a good way. If it puts a smile on somebody's face, it's worth doing.
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06-28-20, 10:55 AM
Senior Member
Ride last week
Dead tire
New tires
Last week I decided to explore a small city park that has a couple of miles of single track on the way home from my commute to work. It runs right along the Pawtuxet River in Warwick. I had a good time. Clearly people ride quads back there as the trail had double ruts with a central crown of approx. 12". Challenging to ride with my gearing but fun. A fair amount of roots. I fell once riding the central crown into a deep rut. Some of the smoother sections depicted below.
Verdant
Last edited by JJScaliger; 06-28-20 at 11:07 AM.
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06-28-20, 08:44 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Saratoga calif.
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Bikes: Miyata 610(66cm), GT Vantara Hybrid (64cm), Nishiki International (64cm), Peugeot rat rod (62 cm), Trek 800 Burning Man helicopter bike, Bob Jackson frame (to be restored?) plus a never ending stream of neglected waifs from the Bike exchange.
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old Rudge
Any old Rudge fans on this list. You may have seen the one I posted a while back. I just posted a request for an appraisal on the What's it worth page.
The Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange has one that a member has fixed up somewhat. We want to sell it but aren't sure of it's value . It should probably be in a museum , but with different pedals and brake pads could be ridden.
The Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange has one that a member has fixed up somewhat. We want to sell it but aren't sure of it's value . It should probably be in a museum , but with different pedals and brake pads could be ridden.
06-29-20, 07:14 AM
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Location: Southport, North Carolina, USA & Pevensey, East Sussex, UK
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Bikes: 1)1992 Trek 970, 2)2010 Trek 6500, 3)1973 Colnago Super, 4)1955 Freddie Grubb Meteor. 5)1993 Airborne Ti-Hag Titanium. 6)1936 BSA 602DX Roadster. 7)1957 Philips P2 Sports. 8)1955 Dayton Roadmaster. 9)1948 Humber Clubman. 10) 1949 Sunbeam WA3 Wayfarer
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1948 Humber Beeston Clubman
I was given this bike by a gentleman in his eighties who told me he bought it new in 1948. He no longer can ride it and as I restored bikes he offered it to me for free. After taking a look at it I made him take a payment for it, a token payment really but fair as it was going to cost a lot to restore.
The Humber Beeston Clubman is the rarest of the trio of Clubman bikes made by Raleigh, the other two are the Lenton Clubman and the Rudge Aero Clubman.
It had a Sturmey Archer AM Medium Ratio 3 Speed but he said it had failed at some point and the bike shop swopped the innards for an AW Wide Ratio unit.
The bike had been adapted as he got older and the dropped bars changed for Straight Bars and the brakes changed for later Raleigh design as the originals had the fixed length with nipples both ends and the cables were obsolete. Also the rat-trap pedals were replaced with rubber tread ones. The 26” x 1-1/4”. Dunlop Special Lightweight rims were shot having been dented and rusted.
So really I only had a frame, crank set and hubs (SA Casing for rear). From which to restore his bike to original condition.
The frame had been over-sprayed, covering the transfers in a thin film of blue paint. Fortunately there was enough present to photograph and dimension all the transfers to get new ones made. Lloyds made me a new set so I can get the frame refinished and transfers replaced.
The original bars and stem had been long discarded and the stem being the clamp type I had little hope of finding one, luckily and guy in Canada had a correct bars and stem and was happy to sell and ship to UK, fortunately they are in nice condition
The brakes were also tricky as for the Humber Fork Crown they have a special ferrule to fit between the crown plates, I bought several old sets from e-bay and between them I managed to make up a decent correct set. I have also managed to obtain some correct NOS cables.
The 3 Speed trigger on the bike was a mid-fifties type, not correct for 1948 . After much searching I obtained a NOS Model GC2 Trigger which was only made between 1948 & 1949, very rare as NOS.
I found a Sturmey Archer AM 3 Speed hub on e-bay but when I stripped it one of the planet gears and the axle sun gear were stripped, Colwood Wheelworks who happen to be close by supplied the damaged parts so I could rebuild it. In this 3 Speed the planet wheels have to be set using timing marks when re-assembling and this probably was the cause of the damage. I now also have a spare AM 3 Speed hub for spares if needed.
The wheels were 26” x 1-1/4” 40 spoke rear and 32 front. I really wanted to fit the correct Dunlop Special Lightweight rims but these are rare as hens teeth. I attended Bike Jumbles and everyone I spoke to was also wanting them and having no luck. After about a year of looking a front 32 hole stainless one turned up on e-bay and I paid a large sum to get it, it arrived with its original factory wrapping paper still on it.
A few weeks later a rear chrome 40 hole one also NOS showed up and I grabbed that too and that was also still in its original wrapping. At a glance they look identical though stainless has a slightly different colour to the expert eye. The wheels are away being built and I am so pleased to have the correct rims. The chrome parts on the bike do have some corrosion on the visible surfaces but it is not too bad and white vinegar is eliminating the rust, with an oil coating they will be acceptable for re use. All the bearing surfaces are good and will be fine with new balls.
The Bottom Bracket is fine and I also have a NOS replacement set of Cups and Axle if needed.
I found a correct set of rat trap pedals also on e-bay.
Current state of play is the frame has to go to the re-finisher but with the Covid-19 situation I am not able to take it to them. This may change after July 4th when new rules come into play.
Humber Beeston Clubman as obtained.
Pinch bolt type Headset.
Original SA Wheel Wingnuts are all present as also all the mudguard (fender) quick release wing nuts/bolts.
Bike with correct Bars, Stem, Brake Levers & Trigger Shifter fitted.
Bike Stripped and parts treated for re use.
Better view of bike parts showing correct Brakes and Pedals. Saddle has been well treated with Brooks Proofide and I hope to get to good enough condition for re-use.
This is the Sturmey Archer AM Hub, designed for Clubman Bikes. The Planet gears are duplex and need to be timed during re-assembly otherwise they are destroyed when the bike is ridden.
This is the GC2 Trigger Shifter only produced in 1948 & 1949.
This is the GC2 that I obtained NOS.
Humber Beeston Catalogue 1948 Model 325 Literature/Specification.
The Humber Beeston Clubman is the rarest of the trio of Clubman bikes made by Raleigh, the other two are the Lenton Clubman and the Rudge Aero Clubman.
It had a Sturmey Archer AM Medium Ratio 3 Speed but he said it had failed at some point and the bike shop swopped the innards for an AW Wide Ratio unit.
The bike had been adapted as he got older and the dropped bars changed for Straight Bars and the brakes changed for later Raleigh design as the originals had the fixed length with nipples both ends and the cables were obsolete. Also the rat-trap pedals were replaced with rubber tread ones. The 26” x 1-1/4”. Dunlop Special Lightweight rims were shot having been dented and rusted.
So really I only had a frame, crank set and hubs (SA Casing for rear). From which to restore his bike to original condition.
The frame had been over-sprayed, covering the transfers in a thin film of blue paint. Fortunately there was enough present to photograph and dimension all the transfers to get new ones made. Lloyds made me a new set so I can get the frame refinished and transfers replaced.
The original bars and stem had been long discarded and the stem being the clamp type I had little hope of finding one, luckily and guy in Canada had a correct bars and stem and was happy to sell and ship to UK, fortunately they are in nice condition
The brakes were also tricky as for the Humber Fork Crown they have a special ferrule to fit between the crown plates, I bought several old sets from e-bay and between them I managed to make up a decent correct set. I have also managed to obtain some correct NOS cables.
The 3 Speed trigger on the bike was a mid-fifties type, not correct for 1948 . After much searching I obtained a NOS Model GC2 Trigger which was only made between 1948 & 1949, very rare as NOS.
I found a Sturmey Archer AM 3 Speed hub on e-bay but when I stripped it one of the planet gears and the axle sun gear were stripped, Colwood Wheelworks who happen to be close by supplied the damaged parts so I could rebuild it. In this 3 Speed the planet wheels have to be set using timing marks when re-assembling and this probably was the cause of the damage. I now also have a spare AM 3 Speed hub for spares if needed.
The wheels were 26” x 1-1/4” 40 spoke rear and 32 front. I really wanted to fit the correct Dunlop Special Lightweight rims but these are rare as hens teeth. I attended Bike Jumbles and everyone I spoke to was also wanting them and having no luck. After about a year of looking a front 32 hole stainless one turned up on e-bay and I paid a large sum to get it, it arrived with its original factory wrapping paper still on it.
A few weeks later a rear chrome 40 hole one also NOS showed up and I grabbed that too and that was also still in its original wrapping. At a glance they look identical though stainless has a slightly different colour to the expert eye. The wheels are away being built and I am so pleased to have the correct rims. The chrome parts on the bike do have some corrosion on the visible surfaces but it is not too bad and white vinegar is eliminating the rust, with an oil coating they will be acceptable for re use. All the bearing surfaces are good and will be fine with new balls.
The Bottom Bracket is fine and I also have a NOS replacement set of Cups and Axle if needed.
I found a correct set of rat trap pedals also on e-bay.
Current state of play is the frame has to go to the re-finisher but with the Covid-19 situation I am not able to take it to them. This may change after July 4th when new rules come into play.
Humber Beeston Clubman as obtained.
Pinch bolt type Headset.
Original SA Wheel Wingnuts are all present as also all the mudguard (fender) quick release wing nuts/bolts.
Bike with correct Bars, Stem, Brake Levers & Trigger Shifter fitted.
Bike Stripped and parts treated for re use.
Better view of bike parts showing correct Brakes and Pedals. Saddle has been well treated with Brooks Proofide and I hope to get to good enough condition for re-use.
This is the Sturmey Archer AM Hub, designed for Clubman Bikes. The Planet gears are duplex and need to be timed during re-assembly otherwise they are destroyed when the bike is ridden.
This is the GC2 Trigger Shifter only produced in 1948 & 1949.
This is the GC2 that I obtained NOS.
Humber Beeston Catalogue 1948 Model 325 Literature/Specification.
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Cuius summa inventa
Last edited by PeterLYoung; 06-29-20 at 07:19 AM. Reason: Add Photo.
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06-29-20, 07:21 AM
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Any old Rudge fans on this list. You may have seen the one I posted a while back. I just posted a request for an appraisal on the What's it worth page.
The Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange has one that a member has fixed up somewhat. We want to sell it but aren't sure of it's value . It should probably be in a museum , but with different pedals and brake pads could be ridden.
The Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange has one that a member has fixed up somewhat. We want to sell it but aren't sure of it's value . It should probably be in a museum , but with different pedals and brake pads could be ridden.
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06-29-20, 11:34 AM
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10 years ago I refurbished a 1958 Phillips for a friend for the Lake Pepin tour. This year she was selling the bike; I had built up wheels for it using CR18s as the originals were shot; $125.00 that she wanted seemed too cheap to me! Another friend was looking for a cheap bike for his girlfriend- I pitched this one to him and after a look-see, he thought it might work. He spend a lot of time cleaning the bike and was astonished at shiny everything looked. He and some friends always thought my 'professor' bike ('72 Superbe) was a bit on the nerdy/funny side (which I'll readily admit) but after riding the Phillips this weekend he came back with an entirely different viewpoint! He loved the ride quality (Kendas, FWIW), the ease of shifting and the overall charm of the machine. Enough so that he is thinking of getting one for himself! I'm trying to get a photo since he shot one after polishing it up.
This weekend I realized that the original shift cable on my Superbe was fraying inside the shifter due to corrosion of the last 48 years. So I built up a new cable, using a standard shift cable, some tiny brass tubing I got at Ace Hardware for the cable ends and the adjuster sleeve. A bit of small diameter heatshrink did the job for the cable covering as it goes past the pulley. I crimped the brass tubing on the cable once I had everything assembled. On the shifter end I also applied solder. On the adjuster end, prior to crimping the tubing I filed the tubing so there would be less friction with the adjuster when adjusting the cable tension. Finally I added a bit of grease so it would move easier. The new cable works great and looks the part.
This weekend I realized that the original shift cable on my Superbe was fraying inside the shifter due to corrosion of the last 48 years. So I built up a new cable, using a standard shift cable, some tiny brass tubing I got at Ace Hardware for the cable ends and the adjuster sleeve. A bit of small diameter heatshrink did the job for the cable covering as it goes past the pulley. I crimped the brass tubing on the cable once I had everything assembled. On the shifter end I also applied solder. On the adjuster end, prior to crimping the tubing I filed the tubing so there would be less friction with the adjuster when adjusting the cable tension. Finally I added a bit of grease so it would move easier. The new cable works great and looks the part.
06-29-20, 02:11 PM
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10 years ago I refurbished a 1958 Phillips for a friend for the Lake Pepin tour. This year she was selling the bike; I had built up wheels for it using CR18s as the originals were shot; $125.00 that she wanted seemed too cheap to me! Another friend was looking for a cheap bike for his girlfriend- I pitched this one to him and after a look-see, he thought it might work. He spend a lot of time cleaning the bike and was astonished at shiny everything looked. He and some friends always thought my 'professor' bike ('72 Superbe) was a bit on the nerdy/funny side (which I'll readily admit) but after riding the Phillips this weekend he came back with an entirely different viewpoint! He loved the ride quality (Kendas, FWIW), the ease of shifting and the overall charm of the machine. Enough so that he is thinking of getting one for himself! I'm trying to get a photo since he shot one after polishing it up.
This weekend I realized that the original shift cable on my Superbe was fraying inside the shifter due to corrosion of the last 48 years. So I built up a new cable, using a standard shift cable, some tiny brass tubing I got at Ace Hardware for the cable ends and the adjuster sleeve. A bit of small diameter heatshrink did the job for the cable covering as it goes past the pulley. I crimped the brass tubing on the cable once I had everything assembled. On the shifter end I also applied solder. On the adjuster end, prior to crimping the tubing I filed the tubing so there would be less friction with the adjuster when adjusting the cable tension. Finally I added a bit of grease so it would move easier. The new cable works great and looks the part.
This weekend I realized that the original shift cable on my Superbe was fraying inside the shifter due to corrosion of the last 48 years. So I built up a new cable, using a standard shift cable, some tiny brass tubing I got at Ace Hardware for the cable ends and the adjuster sleeve. A bit of small diameter heatshrink did the job for the cable covering as it goes past the pulley. I crimped the brass tubing on the cable once I had everything assembled. On the shifter end I also applied solder. On the adjuster end, prior to crimping the tubing I filed the tubing so there would be less friction with the adjuster when adjusting the cable tension. Finally I added a bit of grease so it would move easier. The new cable works great and looks the part.
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Last edited by BigChief; 06-29-20 at 02:17 PM.
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Robin Hood for 60$
Hey Yall,
Long time no see!
saw this Robin Hood on the CL for 60 bones and thought somone may have an interest.
portland or: https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/...147938001.html
Long time no see!
saw this Robin Hood on the CL for 60 bones and thought somone may have an interest.
portland or: https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/...147938001.html
06-29-20, 07:19 PM
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Hey Yall,
Long time no see!
saw this Robin Hood on the CL for 60 bones and thought somone may have an interest.
portland or: https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/...147938001.html
Long time no see!
saw this Robin Hood on the CL for 60 bones and thought somone may have an interest.
portland or: https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/...147938001.html
Thanks!
06-29-20, 08:13 PM
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Hey Yall,
Long time no see!
saw this Robin Hood on the CL for 60 bones and thought somone may have an interest.
portland or: https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/...147938001.html
Long time no see!
saw this Robin Hood on the CL for 60 bones and thought somone may have an interest.
portland or: https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/...147938001.html
edit 'Maybe' the Shogun?
nah
