Hello All! My dad picked up this bike for me for $30 I thought it was a good deal but it needs new tires. He says these are very dry. I also need to replace the tires on my Aunt old free spirit that she's giving me. Figured I could use 2 bikes in NYC, should one get stolen. Can anyone here please tell me where to begin? Maybe I could order the tires online and take them to a very well reviewed bike shop in midtown or the west village. Here are the pictures of the bikes! sorry not too many of the free spirit.

The tire size should be printed / molded on the sidewall. I would suspect they are 26 x 1 3/8" maybe? Is this a Free Spirit?

Do you need "Wheels" or "Tires"? Big difference.
Assuming it's tires the size info is printed on the sidewall. From the fuzzy British-esqe 3spd red bike pic it's likely "26x1 3/8 EA3" or some such.
Tires and tubes, replace both, are inexpensive. Since you have reputable shops recommended and need their service why not just stop in and have then installed from their inventory? You're not going to save a month's rent buying online and it's a good opportunity to develop a relationship and get exactly what you need when you need it.

A classic British 3spd is an excellent urban commuter, they were designed to give reliable service for decades and will if properly maintained and secured.

No idea on the Freespirit since I see only 1 pic but same drill for fresh rubber.
2 city bikes, that's a belt and suspenders plan right there.

Good luck.

-Bandera

Hi Sarah!I think thats a good deal.Those bike here are selling for $150+. Start with your lbs (local bike shop) Mine has Kenda brand gumwalls for $12.You can find the size's on the sidewall of the tires.

Did you sell your other bikes?

See George at The Hub on Charles St. He'll fix you up right. He specializes in bikes like that.

Hi Tom and Michael, You're never going to believe this! I've been riding the hercules bike around and finally rode to work today. i dropped it off at a bike shop near work to have them tune it up so i could ride home this evening. I found out that The bike has been in a serious accident which has thrown off the front wheel. the guys said it wasn't safe to drive. So i spent $100 on the hercules bike of my dreams and now I cant ride it. They wouldn't even do anything with it he said i should take it back to the antique store where i bought it. the antique guys sells lots of bike and said this one was fine for commuting in the city. I asked to take it to a bike service shop before purchasing and he said he's look at it instead and said it was fine. When i asked him why my front foot hits the wheel when i turn he said it's the old bike frame. he was wrong, i can see where the front has been in an accident and the frame is bulging a little up front. i sure am learning more everyday. Do you guys recommend that i try to return this bike? it's really great looking but I guess it's days of being a functional mode of transportation, are over... I attached a picture as a reminder.

Thanks
sarah

Sorry to hear that! Nothing to lose to take it back,tell what the bike shop said and if they say no tug on their strings with the tear works. Did the same thing with a somewhat rare bike (not tears).In the excitment I totaly overlooked the frame damage now its the first thing I look at when buying a bike.

Sarahmel.a

That looks like an obviously bent frame that the seller should have noticed. IMO he has some liability (he should consider himself lucky that the frame did not fail while you were riding it). A total refund is in order.

What happened to the bike in the photo in your first post in this thread? That one looked pretty good.

[QUOTE=Bianchigirll;16244291]The tire size should be printed / molded on the sidewall. I would suspect they are 26 x 1 3/8" maybe? Is this a Free Spirit?


Hi Bianchigirll! this is a free Spirit. i'm not sure if they're great bikes.. I rode my hercules around the city and it did ok until i found out that it was in a bad accident years ago.. too bad was my fav bike. I couldn't turn though because my foot would always hit the front wheel. not easy when navigating in and out of traffic. i'm completely new to bikes but want to learn more and about how they function. I took the hercules back to the shop and the guy exchangedIt for me and gave me a Raleigh from 1971. It has terrible tires and tubes so I had them replaces but then found out that the gears don’t work and I don’t see that they exist either.! Was this a total scam or maybe the frame and seat are in good enough shape and all I need to do is add gears and then I’ll have a great commuter bike.. I’d love your advice! I’m going to post a picture of the new bike in just a second!

Hey Michael! I stil have the blue ross compact but I think it also needs new tires according to my dad. I had to return the hercules -very sad- i took it for a tune up and the guys wouldn't touch it because they said its not even fit to ride. it has been in a bad accident which threw off the front alignment and this is why my foot kept hitting the front tire. So I took it back to the antique dealer (i know, i shouldnt buy bikes from an antique dealer Im sure) and he said "well do you like raleighs, " and I'm like, well yes! So he brought out this scraped up 1971 brown sparkly raleigh with no tires and an awesome vintage leather brooks seat. im a sucker for aesthetics. so i said ok, i guess i'll replace the tires and tubes. i took it across the street and did that and then took it home and realized it has no working gears. What are your thoughts on this? Id love to have 3 speeds on my 3 speed. ugh jeez. is this a tough thing to do?

hi are you talking about the red one or the blue one or the black one?

the red, is in the attic at my aunts house, going to get it over Christmas and put new tires and tubes on it

the blue one is at my parents house, going to get it over xmas and put new tires and tubes on it. it prob doesn't even need it but my dad wants to do something nice for me.

the black one is long gone back at the antique dealer because it was a piece of crap. was in an accident and I couldn't safely ride it. found out after taking it in for a tune up.

Now i have a raleigh sports. 1971. great saddle, good frame i think and band new tires and tubes $81 later. i feel like an idiot. brought it home and it has no gears. dont exchange a bike in the dark. i get so excited about these things that I trust people and then call it mine..i'll post a picture of the new raleigh soon .

thanks for your help bandera! i took my bike my herc not this red one to a shop to get a tune up and they said i should return it to the place i got it because its not safe to ride. i exchanged it for a raleigh sports 1971 that needed new tires and tubes. should that have cost me $81 including labor??

thanks so much!!! the red one in the pic here is a free spirit. i'm going to pick it up along with the blue ross compact during Christmas.

do you remember what color it was? I had to return the black on it was in really bad shape after all.

the black one i had to return for a raleigh sport that needed new tires and new gears. now how on earth can i put on new gears? here is the new bike. I'll get the red one and blue one in december. not even sure what im going to do with them when i get em.

Hi Dweenk! you seem to know your stuff. the bike guy said he wasnt aware of the bent frame which is a little tough to see. He was apologetic and offered to give me a bike with a great seat that he said was worth more than the herc i was returning (doubtful) i attached a pic of the bike here. I returned that bike after all kinds of anxiety about it and he said, well I have a raleigh sport that needs tires. the guys obviously knows as much as i do about bikes because after i put new tires on the bike, i also realized the gears dont work and i dont even see them on he bike. i do need at least 3 gears for my "3 speed" what do you think i should do. i do like this bike ill post a pic now.

Hi Michael! So I took the bike back and the guy exchanged it for a raleigh sport which fits me a little better. It had no tires and I later found out after getting tires next door which set me back $81 that it needs gears too! how could i have over looked this. I have a bike that looks like an english 3 speed but its an english 1 speed? no thank... now what should i do...?

meanwhile

i have 2 bikes in NC that ill pick up over christmas and both need tires as far as i know. Im going to sell one and use the other as back up i guess if this raleigh gets stolen. i need a billion locks in new york city especially with new tires and a brooks vintage seat. i dont know anything though.

Hey Tom/ Noglider!

I had to return the hercules. They shady bike guy exchanged it for a Raleigh Sport about 10 years younger. It's not as cool. It has no tires and I found out last night that the gears don't work either. I got the tires put on but I'd love to have 3 speeds on this. what do you think? how much would this cost, do you have any idea? I already have 200 invested here and I'm tapped out.


thank you so much!

sarah

Sarah, those three speed hubs are pretty indestructible, and most bikes like that haven't been ridden anywhere enough to wear them out. So even if the cable isn't adjusted right, it's probably not a big deal. Tires are going to set you back $30-$35 for the pair of tires, tubes, and rim strips. Easy to install. You'll need a pump. Make sure they are 26 x 1 3/8 and not 'Schwinn' tires. You want them marked 37 x 590, not 37 x 597.

Give us good in-focus photo or two of the right side of the bike, showing the state of the gear cable, and we'll talk about what the gears need.

Sarah, let me help. You seem a bit lost. I really know my way around 3-speeds. Email me at the address below, and we can talk on the phone. I'm around the corner from The HUB. I see you're also in the Hudson Valley, and I'm in High Falls on weekends.

Sarahmel,

I would take Noglider up on his offer for help. I would also suggest that you check out the late Sheldon Brown's website (yes, it lives) - he has lots of advice about 3-speeds, wheel and tire sizes, threading standards (and the variations on standards), and a ton of other topics that will make you a smarter bike shopper. I would suggest that an antique shop is the worst place to buy a bike if you are a novice at used bikes. I do not even like E-Bay. All of my buys and sells have been through Craigslist. Anyway, good luck, you will get lots of help on this forum.

Noglider will get it running for you I'm sure.. And most of us on the C&V forums would be a better bet on fixing/adjusting these old bikes than most bike shop mechanics. The Sturmey Archer hubs aren't hard to fix, but most shops don't bother with them, because it is easier to say your bike is broken in order to sell you a new bike.

I'm not saying is what happened to your Herc. by the way. Personally, I don't think the photo you supplied is at a good angle to determine if the fork is out of alignment, a straight sideways shot would have been better than looking down at the bike, though I admit I think the seat tubes (on a step through is it seat tubes or seat tube/top tube?) might be slightly bent near the head tube, but again it's hard to tell, because the brake lever blocks the top tube, and if it was bent the bend would be more obvious in a straight on side shot.

The Raleigh Sport is a better bike over all than the Free Spirit, for sure. And the AW hub is pretty much impossible to completely destroy short of filling it with something other than oil, or putting too big of a cog on it. I didn't see a coaster brake arm on it in the pic so I assume its an AW. If it has a coaster brake then there might be a problem with the hub.

BTW welcome to the three speed club, aside from reading Sheldons stuff I'd highly recomend reading through the 100+ pages of posts on this forum https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...glish-3-speeds... Honestly, and take notes while you read and drool, with good notes (I still have multiple pages bookmarked for information that doesn't seem to be anywhere else on the net) and you'll be an expert in no time.