themanmachine

Long story short, I am obsessed with three speeds. I am far too young to have enjoyed their original wave of popularity, but after converting one of my bikes using an old three speed hub, I am sold. I don't understand why more people don't use three speed hubs for their clean aesthetic, durability, ease of use, and mechanical elegance.

I know there are more modernized three speeds out there: let's see some pics, I'll start it off with a few pics of my prized Raleigh/Shimano Japanese-English frankenbike.

Brian T.

The only thing I know about it is it's a Kalkhoff, made in Germany.

Cruiser 001-01.JPG

Cruiser 003-a.JPG

Cruiser 005-1.JPG

Cruiser 006-a.JPG

Yellowbeard

I'm lacing up a 27" wheel with one right now. All I need are some north road bars and a crank and then I'll have all the parts I need. Never ridden one before, looking forward to it.

Doohickie

From my commute a week ago





Sturmey Archer AW 3-speed hub, dated 65 12 (December, 1965)

AEO

E.A.3. 26 x 1-3/8

I-Like-To-Bike

Vaterland used for 3½ years of commuting to and from Heidelberg. Now is my weekend shopping bike, Sachs Torpedo 3 speed with coaster brake. Bullet proof.

Juggler2

My Schwinn Speedster, the more I ride it, the more I like it!

Juggler2

I-Like-To-Bike, I see a cable and padlock hanging on your bike. Have you ever felt the need to use a U lock? I have a nice cable/padlock combo that seems to work well in this neighborhood.

Doohickie

The more I look at it, the more I like it.

dedhed

ILTB, nice upgrade from the Old Style to the Leinie's!

Sirrus Rider

Hey! It's a Three speed and I commute on it to my weekend job.


For those wanting something more conventional I offer the following:

tcs

So you want to see a "modern" 3-speed?

Changing trains on tour. BikeFriday tikit w/ SRAM iMotion3 hub:



The tikit is supposed to be BikeFriday's commuter model (I commute on mine) and I can't believe that they don't offer a factory model geared like this. The iM3 hub shifts fast.

tcs

tcs

Cannondale Capo w/ SRAM T3:



"Lookout, Floyd, your drug test has been sent to a French lab!"

All those lovely single speed and fixed gear bikes sold over the last few years are out there just waiting to be repurposed with internal gear hubs. (Sturmey has announced bar-end shifters for their 3- and 5-speed hubs, you know.)

tcs

I-Like-To-Bike

No more Old Style, they just drastically raised prices so that a 24 pack costs $3 more than I was paying for their 30 pack. When I drink local stuff, I don't want to pay high prices for it.
It's too far to bicycle to get my favorite domestic brand, Yuengling, so I have to nurse the brew I bring back from East Coast visits.

I-Like-To-Bike

I've been using that same cable for the last 12 years in Iowa and Germany. For close to 6 years I parked a Raleigh 3 speed bicycle everyday outside at Philadelphia City Hall where I worked and locked it with a cheap chain just through the rear wheel. That was the 70's when thieves wouldn't look twice at such a bike and only wanted 10 speed racers. Nobody ever stole any accessories from it either, presumably because they weren't 10 speed horn, pump or Brooks saddle.

If I cycled in Chicago or Philadelphia today I might rethink my locking techniques and a U-lock might be part of the package.

-=(8)=-

The '#3' soft cooler, priceless
Nice

I-Like-To-Bike

I should add that this bike is a typical German Commuter bike and came with a frame lock which I seldom use. Mainly because Americans trying to move the bike for some reason(legitimate or not)wouldn't know what it was and might break some spokes. It worked fine for short term security in Germany for 5 years.

Sancycles

Japanese Bridgestone Bicycle.

Nexus 3-Speed Internal Hub


Nexus 3-Speed Shifter


Bridgestone - Size 27, 3-Speed Internal Hub (Belt Type), Alloy Frame, Stainless Rims / Spokes / Carrier / Basket, Side Mirrors, Million White Side Tires, and Umbrella Carrier.

wahoonc

No three speeds here...and enough bits and pieces to build up several more...

Aaron

crawdaddio

The Gf's sun cykel with a nexus hub. Pretty smooth ride......

dirty tiger

Cool thread.

I plan on teaching myself wheel building.

I'd like to build up a 3-Speed IGH Cross Check.

ksdine

Since I have quite a few of them, I must be obsessed with 3-speeds too. For my daily workout bike I mostly have used a 21-speed mountain bike since I like going fast, and for that a 3-speed's skinny tires don't feel safe when going over 16 mph. For the same reason, I don't like using flimsy 10-speed road bikes.

Several months ago my brother-n-law gave me his old Steyr 10-speed (c. 1972). While stored in his garage the rim was trashed when junk fell on it during the 1994 Northridge earthquake, so he moved it out into the weather to rot since 1994, so even its good rim was rusty beyond repair.

I was going to recycle its parts, but then it dawned on me to turn the Steyr into a 3-speed since I had all the parts I needed laying around. Since the rims I had were 26" and the Steyr used 27" wheels, I had to lower the brakes to reach the new 26" rims, which wasn't very hard to do.

I removed all the ball-bearings and cleaned the bearing races, buffed all the metal, and put it back together. At first I used a skinny 1 3/8" rim up front, but decided to replace that skinny rim with a mountain bike's wider rim, so I ended up using the same wide tire that my 21-speed mountain bike uses.

Since the Steyr's main crank is larger than the main cranks on most 3-speeds (52 teeth), the bike is surprisingly fast, but very stable with the wider front tire, so I'm very happy with my 3-speed FrankenBike and now use it for my daily bike rides:

Gresp15C

Here are mine, my work bike and my fun bike. Both have similar skeletons: Early 80's steel road frames with early 60's Sturmey Archer AW hubs. The work bike has all of the commuter encumbrances, and the fun bike is stripped down for... fun. I actually commute on both of them, depending on weather and how much stuff I need to carry. The commuter is shown upon return from Home Depot to get a quarter sheet of plywood for a project.

TroN0074

My 1963 Armstrong without saddle on the picture and me with my 1971 AMF Hercules

I-Like-To-Bike

Looks just like my 60's vintage AMF Hercules 3 speed with S-A AW 3 speed. My wife used to ride this one all about the Heidelberg area. It is hanging up in the garage now waiting for someone who appreciates this type of bike