gster

Done already!
It needs a bit of work but it gives me a project...
I'm hesitant to buy tools here but I think a C wrench and
a flathead screwdriver may get me by.
It (of course) looked better in the photos.
Cranks are mis aligned.
Interesting history though
It's a Condor.
'Benotto Giacinto moved his company to Mexico. At first he went to Guadalajara and founded the brand Condor, his first bicycle factory in Mexico. In 1958 he moved to Mexico City and created the brand Benotto.

So Italian design, made in Mexico.
I'll likely leave/sell it when I go but may take the saddle home.

2fat2fly

The chain freed up pretty easily, it was rideable with just some light oil even before I did anything else. I was able to ride it about 5 miles 'as found' with just some air in the tire and some oil here and there.
I've since soaked the chain in Evapo-rust and removed all the rust inside and out, and again soaked it in some oil while I work on the rest of the bike. It'll likely be just fine, I've had a few others that were a lot worse do just fine.
If it breaks, I'll replace it I suppose but the chain is likely worn to the sprockets at this point. If I change the chain, it may not work well with the used sprockets on the bike. If I find a better wheelset for it, I might swap the chain then if it turns out to be a keeper. I'll likely just keep this till I find a larger frame bike, but for now I'll proceed with cleaning it up as if its going to stay just in case.

2fat2fly

Mine uses what looks like a hollow rivet with a domed head. They're split on the inside in 6 fingers. One rivet is broken, only the outer cap still remains, the other 9 are still there but really rusty.
The rest of the saddle is decent but there's a gouge in the top of the white front area. I have a huge commercial sewing machine in the basement that I can use to make a new seat cover, it may take some learning to use but it came with the house. The former owner used it for leather upholstery.

I tried to pry back each 'finger' of the original rivets but they snap off the instant I try to bend them. The one rivet is rusted through on the dome a bit too.
A fresh set of rivets on this and a new seat cover may make the seat too good for this ride. Most of the bikes I've looked at have had this same saddle, this is the first one that's not been physically broken. It seems for some reason everyone is broken in half, front to rear, near where the white and black vinyl meet. I'm not sure what causes a steel seat pan to just break in half there but so far I've seen at least a dozen broken the same way, plus one Sprite with a plastic or fiber base that was broke the same way too.

I did stop at one tack shop here to ask about rivets but all they had were brass and black steel rivets, no chrome. The rivets they had were similar to the originals but with solid heads. They also had a tubular type rivet that used a rear ring vs. just split fingers. Kind of like a blind grommet.
I suspect that some of those saddles used 12 rivets, as they had a riveted on rear badge vs. just having the Wright name printed right on the back. I looked at a 23" Robin Hood the other day that had the badge, but that saddle was broken in the middle like so many other's I've seen.

PilotFishBob 

I picked up this '74 DL-1 on a whim (and after reading this thread) while visiting my sister in Atlanta in 2017 (she grabbed it for me, I got it from her). Got it back to Memphis, did the usual disassembly and clean/touch up, then stalled on it as other acquisitions jumped the queue - I was on a hot streak for awhile. But I finally put it back together this month, more cursing than usual since it was my first time dealing with something like this. I've ridden it a few times now and I like it, but it is a beast. Need to find an appropriate rack at some point...

BFisher

That looks great! Mine is due for some fresh tires and I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Can't decide between those off-white Schwalbes or black.

browngw 

Mine 1979 Canadian DL1 came with a plated steel tube rack. I could not save the chrome and give it a coat of black. It sort of suits the somber solid looks of the bike. I agree with them being a "beast". Good description.

PilotFishBob 

Nice bike, I like the full chaincase. That rack looks perfect, I've seen similar at hollandbikeshop.com and I may have to bite the bullet at some point and order one. I also like your bottle cage solution, I was debating how I'd go about adding one to mine.

BFisher , I had a hard time deciding between black and cream - I tossed a coin and so there it is. Came out okay I think.

thumpism 

A little surface rust. Well, maybe a lot...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...41278307014269

thumpism 

Beauty.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...96310157774411

dirtman

from FB ad


Can't give a ladies model away around here, we call them donor bikes.
The problem at $180 there's no money left for a flipper either, the saddle and wheels are the main value but only if they're perfect.

Also, why on earth do so many people list a bike like that and not bother to at least pump up the tires and wipe down the chrome?
The paint looks like someone just waxed it, scratches and all, but the handle bars and rims are dingy looking and the tires look like they're flat. If your going to ask $180 for a ladies bike, at least make it rideable when someone looks at it.

Regardless of the shiny paint and the flat tires, the bike has a 'well used' look about it for some reason. The saddle don't look right, I don't think I've ever run across an early 70's ladies sports with a Brooks leather saddle on it, the paint is scraped up pretty good all over, and the rear rim has some funny spots that show up in the front angle pic in the ad. It makes me think they positioned the rusty spots on the rim up high where they won't show in the pic. It could just be a reflection though but after looking at a bunch of bikes recently I've seen all sorts of tricks to hide defects in the ad pics. Its in better shape than most but I don't see $180 there.
Its too bad they want to much for it because I know where there's a minty clean brown men's frame that would convert that to a nice bike if the wheels are good.

dirtman

Looks to me like it sat in a chicken coop under the roost for the last 50 years, or its the catch of the day after a bad day fishing down at the river. The front fender is rusted completely through, not quite 'surface rust'. I don't think I'd even bother to have brought that one home in that shape.
I had found a Schwinn 'Spitfire' that said made in England on it years ago, it was stored in a barn loft. It had been up there since the late 50's or so. (Hub was dated 1952). It was completely covered in chicken droppings, rust, and dirt. The guy said take it if you can get it down in one piece.
I tied a rope on it and lowered it to the ground and threw it in the truck. After a good wash, the only think I managed to save for parts was the rear hub innards. The chainguard and fenders had rusted through in spots, the frame had deep rusty spots that had swollen up from freezing, the saddle springs were both rusty and broke into bits, something had chewed on the saddle, and both fenders were rusted through on top. Both rims were missing about 10" at the bottom where they sat for years in the build up of of chicken manure.
Even the headbadge was corroded away, it all but fell apart when I tried to remove it. It looked to be a run of the mill Norman or Armstrong type model rebadged as a Schwinn.
Its too bad because I've never seen another one since.

SirMike1983 

These are neat bikes and an interesting concept of a little bit heavier-duty 3-speed. They're kind of the forerunner to today's hybrid bikes, but they're somewhat hampered by the undersized cantilever frames. They're quite heavy by today's standards, but the old single-speed ballooners of earlier times were even heavier, so they were considered "middleweights". If the frame will fit you, they're nice if you're going down stony dirt paths and the like (a little heavy, but they're steady over dirt and loose stones). The flat blade forks are generally OK, but be aware that they do flex a bit more side-to-side, at least if you're used to a Raleigh type thimble fork.

The Schwinn radiant red is a potent color and was also available on the diamond frame Schwinn 3-speeds. I finished off a radiant red Schwinn Racer project last summer.

Unca_Sam

I'm not sure how a saddle constructed like mine would snap the seat pan between the nose and the rear absent severe rust. I suppose it's possible that the seam in two-tone saddle allows water to accumulate at that point and the open cell foam padding held it there. I'd agree that fabricating a new cover is unlikely to be economical in any sense, but you may be able to repair the gouge with an adhesive or a backer and adhesive if it's through the woven support. I'm imagining that your gouge still has the vinyl hanging on, if it's missing entirely, then you'd be better off continuing the search for a donor cover.

Let me know if you want the rivets.

dweenk

I wager that the only components that are borderline functional on the 3 speed are the S/A trigger and the S/A hub.

barnfind

I've seen three versions of those two tone vinyl saddles, one has a metal pan, one has a plastic pan, and the third, older version has just springs and horsehair.
I've seen all three fail at the seam. The metal pan tends to crack between the left and right middle rivet holes right across the top slightly behind the seam in the vinyl. I've only found them long after they failed so I can't say whether the vinyl cracked first or because of the metal cracking. After 50+ years its hard to tell.

markk900

I bought an identical model to this (including the self-adjusting brakes) for my sister for $60 CAD - It was all original and it only needed a cleaning, lube and air in the tires. I can confirm that it did NOT have that lovely Brooks saddle.....

oldspokes

I bought a ladies model Sports with Endrick wheels at a fleamarket over the summer for $40US, the wheels were good but the bearings all had to be gone through. The grease had all but petrified over the years. The guy swore up and down it had the original tires on it but I don't remember them coming with 'CST' branded tires back then. They were rotted enough to be that old but not original.
The chrome on that bike looked like brand new. I stripped it down, hung the frame in the garage and built up a clean old Robin Hood men's frame I had gotten a few years earlier. I listed the rather clean ladies frame on CL all summer for $20 but didn't get so much as an offer on it. I pulled the headbadge and hung up the fork for future use and tossed the frame. The bike had been bought new in Montana and somehow made its way to PA. The guy who had it said he had sold the matching men's model that morning for $300 but no one even looked at the ladies bike. I fully agree, they're basically just donor bikes, usually with decent wheels so long as they didn't come from the shore areas or the bottom of the local pond.
I've been messing with old three speed bikes for 40 years, in all that time, I think I've had one ladies bike with a leather saddle, and that bike was from the 30's. I had two road bikes with Brooks saddles, but never found a Sports with one. I've probably had 30 Sports models over the years, and three times that many 'other' brands from England.
I only buy them when their my size and cheap, with the thought that any 50+ year old bike is going to need a lot of work, whether its cleaning or a full overhaul, it all takes time, and money in most cases.

oldspokes

The saddle may be a surprise, all that dirt may have protected it to some degree. I had a B17 that came from a barn found Carlton a few years ago, the bike was covered top to bottom in bird droppings, the tires had fallen off the rims leaving nothing but the fuzzy casings behind, and the rims were both rusted through all around the outermost edges. The BB, both hubs, and headset were all frozen solid.
I pulled the thing apart more out of curiosity than anything else, the frame was shot, it had major rust inside, mostly from mice living in it, the wheels were junk, the steel bearing races in the hubs were pitted badly, the skewers both broke off during removal. The handle bars were rusty, the stem cleaned up, but it wasn't anything I'd reuse, the seat post was badly rusted into the frame. The saddle came off, got soaked in Evapo-Rust, the chrome rails cleaned right up, and a good cleaning and coat of Proofride made it look almost new. The layer of field dust protected the seat from the bird droppings. The only other part I saved was the headbadge. Its still on my older Super Course today. I gave it to a guy who collects old bikes, he made a mailbox post out of the rest of the bike.

2fat2fly

I like how the black looks on that rack, it looks like the same rack I took off the Dunelt I've been working on.
What did you do to smooth out the bad chrome?
The chrome on mine is pitted and peeling. It has the texture of 30 grit sandpaper.
I soaked it in Evapo Rust but the chrome is gone.
On mine, someone had made crude extensions to make the drop arms reach the dropouts, if I can make this thing look presentable,
maybe I'll see about finding or making some round clamps like on yours and put it back on. If not on this one, on something else down the road.

2fat2fly

I looked at four ladies models in hopes of finding a good used set of rims, two were ladies Hercules models, one a men's Robin Hood, and one 21" Raleigh LTD, all were cheap but not a one had a decent set of wheels. The best was the first Hercules, but the rims had big time chrome loss and pitting in one area, as if it sat in the dirt for a long time with flats. The guy had scrubbed up all the chrome to make it shiny for the pic but kept the bad spots hidden or shaded in the pics. The bike was rusted bad enough in a few spots I wouldn't consider it fixable. All that I looked at were between $40 and $100, but not a one was worth bringing home even for parts. Out of the four, one may have had a decent crankset.
I'm starting to think there aren't any good rims left around these parts.
I was thinking about that clean Hercules for $250 on CL, when I went looking for it, it was gone, so i suspect someone got it by now.
Two of the four I looked at last night are no longer listed. Someone felt it was worth while to deal with rusty rims and pitted chrome.

I really find it hard to believe that with as many of these bikes that were built, no one has started to reproduce 32/40h Dunlop (Endrick) rims by now. There surely is a demand for them so long as they weren't too expensive.
I do remember complaining back in the late 70's when I had to buy a new Raleigh Sports front wheel, tire and tube, someone swiped the front wheel on me one day and I needed to match one up. My choices were some cheap American replacement rim for $9.99, or a Raleigh original for $12.99. With the tire, tube, and new wheel I didn't break a $20 bill, but that was a good chunk of my pay check back then. Bike shops now don't sell wheels, your lucky around here if they even stock tires or tubes for the bikes they sell.
I noticed yesterday that Walmart here eliminated the bike parts section. They just sell bikes, no parts now. The woman putting action figures on the shelf there said they dropped bike parts due to lack of sales. The bike racks were full of all sorts of junky looking pink, cream color, and baby blue beach cruisers and tiny kids bikes. Nothing with gears.

markk900

Sadly for Canadians, this appears to be true at Canadian Tire (which in spite of its name was likely the #1 choice for people getting their first, second and even third bikes for decades - I had never seen a dedicated bike shop until my later teens)..... When I was a kid the catalog had several pages of accessories and the parts supplies were plentiful, the bikes were made in England, France or Canada; in the last few years the bikes are not much different than Wally World, and the parts section has gotten to be a smaller and smaller section of the store. Which is a pain because many LBS's are closed here Sunday's so when you need a tire or a tube or a spoke or a cable on one of the prime riding days you haven't much choice (and frankly those consumables were cheaper at Crappy Tire than anywhere else including online). So I stock up whenever they have supply.....(then forget I have a supply stashed away!).

Unca_Sam

I think it's very likely uneconomical to produce chromed steel rims in ISO 590 or 597 for anything less then what they charge for them now, when they're available. I have the same problem with the original wheelset on the Hercules I just finished; too much chrome loss and pitting on the rims, plus a bad front bearing. Had the bearing been good, I might have finished clearing the rust and flaking chrome with the dremel wire brush, and still ridden on them (with junk brake pads). If the rust kept coming, I'd likely eventually paint them. Luckily, there was the set of wheels I'm using at the co-op. If you have a bike kitchen or a co-op near you, I recommend you check there for parts.
I still want to unlace the wheel to salvage the SA AW hub from 1960, but you're right that finding a 40* rim in ISO 590 size is difficult. I know that there was a pair of tandem rims at the co op drilled for 40* and 36*, but I'd have to find a 5 speed frame and an AW hub with the longer axle for parts. It'd be easier to just sell the hub. rather than invest that kind of money into an oddball bike, probably on a Hi-Ten frame without much intrinsic value on its own. Although...the guys at the Co-Op might get a kick out of that kind of project...

Salubrious

A few pages back some alloy 650A rims made in the UK were recommended to me. I bought a pair (shipped to the US) and I think I spent about $100.00 total. Nice rims too- I like them better than the Sun CR18 rims as they are a few millimeters wider and seem to have a better finish. The wider size will work better with the stock brakes.

gster

Buyers Remorse
My own fault as I should have been more thorough.
Front forks are askew, pushed to one side but I reefed on them by hand
and they're better.
Handlebars are also a bit off but will need a vice and a pipe to correct.

Cranks have been aligned and the seat clamp reversed.
There's another one in town, a non rider on display at a book shop.
I may ask the owner to give it me to make one good bike and then
give it to him when I leave..
At least it's a project......

michaelcummings

Not starting an argument, we all do what we think best.

In my case, the rust had already started a stress fracture, so cleaning up the rust didn't help.
My chain worked fine, until I stood up on the pedals and pushed down hard.

Just before the chain broke, my foot was standing on the pedal.
A moment later, that foot was planted on the ground while the bike and the rest of my body continued onward.

It was not a controlled landing.

I was in pain and at risk of never having children

Anyhow, that is my $.02 about why I hate rusty chains.