Saved some modern 3-speeds
 

Not vintage, but definitely a lot of Sturmey-Archer 3-speed content! I was practically awash in adjusting S-RF3's to make this donation happen, and I'm pretty proud of it. Wanted to share the story with my fellow C&V'ers.

Incidentally, the Gen 2 bike is actually a very nice rider, and uses 26x1-3/8" wheels.

https://bikesharemuseum.com/saving-the-spins/

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...37031249be.jpg

Mods, feel free to move if you wish, but I posted it here mainly as I want to share this with C&V.

-Kurt

:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

Your donation of 50 bikes to the Bahamas to be used by First Responders in hurricane relief is a true inspiration. Might even make it into a sermon on Christmas Eve. :innocent:

Nicely done!
Thanks.
Brent

Great work Kurt! I which I had your time and enthusiasm. And age...

Kurt, you are doing good work there. I read @PastorBobinnh comment, and as a heathen, I totally agree with the good pastor.

You can thank my co-workers at the Miami Project for suggesting the Bahamas. Transporting this many bikes would have been an issue otherwise, but we have a few staff members who were able to arrange it.

I didn't go into detail about how the Bahamas story came about, as I'll be writing a separate article for work once the bikes arrive at their new home (and homes).

Believe me - I don't know how I squeezed these bikes into an already overcomplicated schedule, but I knew I had to do it.

As for age...well, that's what riding a bike is for, right? :)

Thank you for the kind words :D

-Kurt

Incidentally, with the good news on the Bahamas 50, Spin surprised me a few days ago: They're also donating the rest of the warehouse bikes that didn't make it to San Diego - over 200 of them :eek:

It's opened a lot of additional opportunities that I wanted to do initially, but couldn't.

In the meantime, since I now have two Gen 2's, I did what any C&V tinkerer would do: I hot rodded the bike that started it all - #7723417 . I drilled the rims for tubes and installed the creme tires that didn't work out from the '51 Raleigh (and a few other subtle modifications, such as those orange Jagwire brake cables) :D . The Gen 2's have hooked bead EA3 rims, so the issue of the Wanda tire blowing off isn't an issue as it is on the '51.

I also plan to put on one of those 31.8mm seatpost clamps on it that have rack adapter mounts. This bike is calling for a matching rear rack. The headset also lets it down; it deserves a better upper raceway. All in due time.

Say hello to "Peaches and Creme" - probably the first customized Spin ever:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4ef5f36bb7.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6144131c6d.jpg

-Kurt

Just had to update this with a little note: I put a Amazon-sourced no-name rack on the Spin (which has "wings" that can be flipped out to turn it into a porteur-style rack, or retracted to support panniers) and it suits it perfectly. I also wanted to settle something I'd been trying to guess for a while: Which weighs more, my '51 Raleigh, or the Spin?

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3ace8b0116.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ca69b76a72.jpg

This question more or less exists as they're probably the heaviest suckers of anything in my fleet - and I couldn't quite place which one was heavier from lifting them alone.

I don't have a hanging scale (yes, I know I should), but since both have dual leg kickstands, I figured the bathroom scale I use for weighing eBay packages would work. And it did.

Anyone want to take a guess at how much each weigh? Keep in mind the Spin has had its solid tires swapped out.

-Kurt

I'm guessing it's the "All Steel Bicycle."

By how much?

-Kurt

Two pounds.

Close. Any guess at the weights?

-Kurt

Now my inexperience with Raleighs is gonna show.

35/37? :o

Not a bad guess. Might be around the ballpark for a 1970's model...but think thicker tubing on the pre-TI models. Don't forget those stainless rims.

-Kurt

FYI, I went to the warehouse today to start removing locks for the remaining bikes (estimated to be around 200). I did a head count after this Twitter post...there are roughly 440 bikes in the room (!).

Twitter

I already set aside 100 for the County's Bike305 program (a division of the county's Parks and Recreation department), but this is definitely going to be the Epic Project of the year...and it has barely started.

With help from a Spin team member, we got roughly 45 locks and numberplates off in a space of three hours. Those were the locks that were already unlocked.

I also found the only first-generation Spin in the room or anywhere here in Miami - we only had Gen 2's and Gen 3's - it must have been a demo at one time; it's the only one of its kind here. I saved it for the museum (even though the front brake makes me cringe).

Twitter

-Kurt