mike

I remember when I started bicycle commuting and bicycle collecting about fifteen years ago, I was in love with old three speeds. I had Raleigh, Robin Hood, Hercules, Schwinn, Huffy - tons of three speeds all with their own characters.

They were so smooth and so comfortable and so practicle and so reliable. The 26" X 1 3/8" wheel base and the upright postion with a spring saddle really made for a pleasant, effortless riding experience. They were actually pretty fast too. They used to call the old three-speed bicycles "English Racers".

Somehow, they have all been sold and I don't have even one three-speed now. Interestingly, I rarely see them either.

How about you folks? Is anybody still riding three-speed internal hubs? I mean RIDING them - not just parking them in your garage.

USAZorro

Mike, I will be soon - though it will be more of a utilitarian vehicle. The old 3-speed, Raleigh Superbe will be back on the road as a light-duty grocery hauler in less than a week. It won't displace my lightweight derailleur-equipped bicycles as my "rider of choice" though.

halfspeed

I rode a red Schwinn Speedster in the mid '70's. If I lived in town, I'd love to have it back.

ollo_ollo

In the early 80's I commuted to grad school & work on my 3 speed Raleigh Sports, its slightly sprung Brooks B72 was the most comfortable saddle ever. Unfortunately its long gone. I did have a Schwinn Speedster a few years ago but shipped it off to my grandkids in Tennessee.

mike

Sounds like a lot of you fellows used the three speed for a utalitarian bike. Coincidently, I did the same. Most of mine had some kind of basket on it - either the wire side-saddle or milk crates lashed to the rear carrier.

I ended up selling my three-speeds during the Great Garage Clean-out in 2003 when my wife made me thin out most of my 76 bicycles.

oldy57

I still ride my 3 speed Eatons Glider and a 4 speed also. I enjoy them as much as any of my other bikes. I am restoring another this winter. Have a look at these Minneapolis bike rides. www.3speedtour.com www.abcetour.com The ABCE is on next weekend. It sounds like a great weekend. I may go but it is a little far for me, 500 miles.

hibit

Every day.
I guess you've never visited the Netherlands (: I think a third of the bikes I see here are 3-speeds.

ko57

I'm looking at a 3 speed on eBay right now-keeping it to myself, I want to win that baby. Should I be the lucky lady who wins it I'll definitely ride it, hopefully as a commuter now and then.
I've always found that leaning forward with the 10 speeds I'd riden or my present mtn bike to be awkward. I like the nostalgia of these bikes and the quality of their build. My brother had a 3 speed bike with front & rear racks, S/A hub, headlight, I believe it was all chrome. He kept it clean and well maintained. I'll have to ask him the brand, not sure if it was a Schwinn-didn't look like any I've seen.

Keeping my fingers crossed, will post a thread and pic if I win...

Regards,
ko57

John E

As a UCLA undergrad and later as a grad student, I rode a Hercules 3-speed with one of those great Cyclo 4-cog hybrid gear conversions. I scrapped the Cyclo clockspring derailleur in favor of an early Campag. Gran Sport and had a great 12-speed transmission, the equivalent of 53-40-30 / 14-16-18-20. I finally gave the bike to a friend, but still occasionally miss it.

For about two years, I ran my first Bianchi 10-speed as a 3-speed coaster with friction downtube shifting, which worked very well and gave me a handy neutral position for crank positioning at stoplights.

bobn

Back in the mid to late 50's I had a black 26" Hercules 3 spd with a Hercumatic trigger shift-I woke up Christmas morning as a kid and there she was-We were inseperable until I got my junior drivers license-Sure wish I had it now-I would ride with pride!!

bidaci

I have a Panasonic Sport LX that I stripped down and installed a Shimnao 3 speed rear wheel with a coaster brake and bullhorn bars. I put the shifter behind the rear seat on the seat stays so it looks more like a fixie. I use it as an errrand/play bike.

FlatTop

My favorite flavor of bike. Ride everything from light roadsters to cantilevers to big honkin' heavy Columbias converted to Shimano 3 speed. Sturmey-Archer or Shimano, but can't find any Torpedo or other Euro hubs. Always on the lookout for 3-speed coasters as well.

meatwad

<< Is anybody still riding three-speed internal hubs? I mean RIDING them - not just parking them in your garage.>>

Here's mine. Le tour IV with Austrian Sears crankset.

mike

HA! Brilliant! Did you have to lace the hub onto a 27" rim?

Hey, did you spend any time looking at the old Austrian Sears 3-speeds? They were really well-made machines.

Walter

Threw an afternoon newspaper 2X a week after school from a Huffy with a S-A hub. Wanted a 10 speed but that was and still is the only bike I've ever been paid money to ride.

jim-bob

My frankenbike has a 3-speed coaster brake hub. I love it, especially for pubcrawl duty.

meatwad

[QUOTE=mike]HA! Brilliant! Did you have to lace the hub onto a 27" rim?


Hey thanks. The wheel was off a strange Sekai girls bike. 27 aluminum araya. realtively bolt on. Now I've got a club bike.


<<<Hey, did you spend any time looking at the old Austrian Sears 3-speeds? They were really well-made machines.>>

Yeah nice craftmanship and very good quality metals. The one I have (that the cranks came from) has been molested even more than the schwinn. It's a single speed cantilever style but made by the same company.

Flaneur

I run a chain store step-through with a shimano hub for local visits and errands in the town where I work. It lives chained up outdoors, so has to be simple, tough, reliable and unobtrusive. Steel cranks and bars, chainguard, rubber block pedals, bell. I only replaced the crappy steel brake calipers with some Weinmann ones and put on soft shoes for acceptable braking on steel rims.

The hub has threading for a single freewheel, which is a sensible touch. Seems a little sensitive to adjust, compared to the Sturmey-Archers I know better.

I'm also restoring an old postman's Pashley, a long, slack angled loper, with Sturmey drum brakes front and back and a three speed rear. Lots of fun, in a stately way.

There's something to be said for throwback cycling, where a bike has no status connotations and is of so little value to potential thieves that I don't worry about it's safety, when I leave it someplace.

takara14

I just took a closer look at my parents' bikes in preparation for deciding their fate. Both are Columbia three speeds from the 70s but are distinct models with differing features. Dad's is a brown "Tourist" with brown fenders and steel brakes. Mom's is a blue "Sports III" with matching blue fenders and Dia-Compe alloy brakes. Both have typical Columbia frames and cranks. Sturmey-Archer 3 speed hubs and trigger shifters on both. Are these the same bike, differing by year of production, or two seperate models in the Columbia heirarchy?

jfz

My rain bike used for my 20 mile round trip commute is a 3-speed (shimano) Schwinn girls bike I was given for free. I also have a mint condition AMC Hercules 3-speed from 1971, a 1969 Hercules that needs a bunch of work and a box full of Sturmey Archer parts to keep them running as long as I will need them. I still think the 3-speed English bikes are the best for commuting and shopping-wish someone would bring em back.

v1nce

I do! Both a SA and a Shimano. Hub Gears Uver Alles!! Two days ago i did 50 Kilometers on my three speed folder, with no difficulty.

Also, as i write on my long as$ page about my Tank Bike (https://www.rhizomes.nl/ultimatebike.html)

"The back rim i bought and then i laced in some amazing spokes (a gift from Grima) and a three speed, freewheel Sturmey Archer Hub.

Both my 'Mavic' rims are of the reinforced double walled aluminum variety and have with double nickel plated brass eyelet's to reinforce the spoke holes.
They were actually designed for downhill mountain biking and in this case the extreme strength and design doesn't mean they are heavy."

I like the idea of mixing the time tested bomb proof design of SA hubs with modern, light and strong as heck rims and spokes. Good stuff. I don't mind derallieur but haven't truly needed them as such yet. Maybe if i become a tourer type rider, though i'd rather have a a 8 or 14 speed hub in this unlikely event actually...

dafydd

they make great short-range commuter bikes. i ride one every day (3-speed international, top), own two other roadsters, and a rudge club bike project. i switched the v-brake levers to CLBs and added some Honjo fenders at the start of the summer, which has made it more pleasurable in the rain and more blingy in any sort of weather. it weighs about 21-22 lbs now, and plan to shave off a bit more with a super record headset, some innocuous Ti parts, and possibly braze-on fittings, plus hopefully a front dynohub with internal wiring. it's a nice mix of vanity and practicality.

the first bike that got me into cycling is a early 70s green Raleigh Sports, which is in semi-retirement. it currently has alloy wheels, but eventually i'll put the originals on. my humber is also on the link above, as well as a folder i no longer have.

simontemplar

My dad won't ride any bike that has a derailleur, so all his are 3 spd internal hubs. At the moment he has a 1971 Peugeot UO8 that he converted to shimano nexus 3 spd, a Biria 3spd and a converted Huffy beachcruiser. The shimano nexus is ideal because it shifts so perfectly and smoothly. But I make do with an old Sturmey Archer on my 1964 Puch tourer. I like to do things the old fashioned way, if it the old fashioned way doesn't work.

charlcilliers

I cycle many of the 3 speeds in my collection. I completed the 109km 2005 Argus cycle tour www.cycletour.co.za on a 1962 Achilles 3 speed bicycle. See pics on my website www.oldbikes.741.com.

Next year I will be cycling the Argus (my tenth tour) on my 1953 Rudge-Whitworth and a friend will be on the Achilles. We will be raising money for our local (Stellenbosch, Sout Africa) animal welfare society.

Regards

Charl Cilliers

CitiZen

< shoving my way to the front >
Stand aside, stand aside! I ride the one of the best of the new three-speeds; the Breezer Citizen.
https://www.mikesbike.com/images/citizenu.jpg