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-   -   For the love of English 3 speeds... (https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=623699)

Fir 05-24-10 10:44 AM

Happy
 
Happy Victoria Day :ride:

Sixty Fiver 05-24-10 10:52 AM

Victoria day is a good day for a pottle on the old three speed which I used yesterday a a good bit too... the '54 will be one of the characters in an upcoming stage play and a good number of my other bicycles will be used as props and for display at the theatre.

I am also the technical consultant for all things bike related as the play is set in an old bike shop and some of the bicycles that get used in the play will need some tuning up and I need to train the hero (a bike mechanic) so he can do small repairs during the show.

Fir 05-24-10 01:06 PM

A Bullet Train to Edmonton
 
Kewl, we loove live theatre. What's it called? Wish there were a bullet train to Edmonton. '54 is a Rudge?

I gotta overturn the gardens pronto and get some little green things in there. Before the predicted monsoons return... And putting a Bell baby seat on the Twenty instead of the Pletscher. 700+ g (+plastics) instead of 500g. Curious to see how it will handle that. And a 22t cog.

Do you know of the Caravan Theatre Co in Armstrong? They did Macbeth one time and had one of the characters totally shoe a horse on stage while delivering his lines. He was really good; it was fascinating. :deadhorse: - it was a live horse though, right way up.

Why do we only get Victoria's day off? Why not all the others?

Roll-Monroe-Co 05-24-10 04:16 PM


Originally Posted by Zaphod Beeblebrox (Post 10840008)
Just saw this today....its modern but definitely with a Classic Style.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Co...10/5360047080/

http://s.wiggle.co.uk/images/cooper-reims-zoom.jpg

Wow. A modern bike with absolutely nothing objectionable about it. There /has/ to be a catch.

mickey85 05-24-10 04:31 PM

Fugly handlebars and a $1200 USD bike with no history?

Sixty Fiver 05-24-10 04:38 PM


Originally Posted by Fir (Post 10858563)
Kewl, we loove live theatre. What's it called? Wish there were a bullet train to Edmonton. '54 is a Rudge?

The play is being staged by Workshop West who's rehearsal hall can be seen from my front step... it is called Spoke Song and is set in a 1970's Dublin bicycle shop and has a number of overlapping story lines.

Frank is the bike shop owner who wants more than nothing to see his fellow citizens re-discover the joy of cycling in a city that is becoming more and more car centric and is also courting the hand of a fair young lady... he actually sounds a lot like me.

It speaks to the troubles of that time and the political strife and bombings that went on during the 70's...

And it spans back to the turn of the last century and tells the story of his grandparents who first opened the little bike shop after the war...

It has a bit of everything... and a lot of bicycles !

I received one of these bicycles and this one has a starring role...

http://ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/gitanetandem2.JPG

It is running at the end of June and will play during our bike month which is an epic festival in itself... it would be worth the trip to take in the festivities and the play... which may go on the road.

Fir 05-24-10 08:05 PM

"I received one of these bicycles" - you make it sound so easy to find things...

That's a beauty tandem. I almost asked what does the stoker do with their hands, but in the context of that dramatic plot I will just let the imagination run... It almost looks like chrome rim on the front and aluminum on the back? Vinyl seat on the back?

Cannot find 'Spoke Song' on Workshop West's site. Would there be some nice accommodation around there, B&Bs or suchlike?

Do you listen to Michael Enright of a Sunday Morning? His opening monologue this week was about the urban war for real estate between bikes and cars and how drivers- well, we just caught the end of it. I will look for the podcast; can link it here if anyone is interested.

OMG I just put 'Salmon Kool Stops' on my [wife's] Twenty. There're skid marks up and down our block now. Well I had to try it out. It seems to stop harder than the Sports now. The Weinmann arms do bend some, but hopefully there won't be any permanent distortion.

wahoonc 05-24-10 08:24 PM

I haven't gotten around to greasing the cables on my Twenty yet, but at 215# and a few panic stops I haven't managed to bend the calipers...yet!

Aaron :)

kingfish254 05-24-10 09:20 PM

[QUOTE=Fir;10860707That's a beauty tandem. I almost asked what does the stoker do with their hands, but in the context of that dramatic plot I will just let the imagination run... .[/QUOTE]

Maybe the play is a romantic comedy and the stoker is supposed to grap on to the driver's love handles.

Sixty Fiver 05-24-10 11:01 PM

The tandem is a few cm too tall for me to ride with my saddle up another 2 inches so the stoker's bars were removed... other than that the position up top is perfect and I can stand over the bike.

Since I work with a custom builder am sure we can put a mount at a lower position and fit the stoker's bars... my oldest daughter shold be able to ride as she is a long legged lass and am looking forward to riding with another stoker.

Spent some time replacing old worn cables and housings and set up the brakes properly.... with the rear drum and Mafac synched up the bike can do mad skids and the front braking is astonishingly good.

Will be looking at replacing the 27's with 700's... I have a gorgeous 40 spoke tandem wheel for the front and will lace up a new rear with a monster rim.

Rode the bike 20km today and it rolls out and rides beautifully.

Fir 05-28-10 02:16 PM

Do you Ride your "ETS" in the Rain?
 
Would that be "ETS" or "E3S" or "ETSs"?

I bought my Sports thinking it would be great for rain and snow. Now I got used to it, it seems too nice a bike to be subjected to rainy streets :love:. And they aren't making any more of them. Oh well, back to the fenderless Mtb today. Thank God for rain gear...

Sixty Fiver 05-28-10 02:35 PM

I built up my old Sports as a working / rain bike but have yet to see any real rain... have now shellacked the bars to protect the cork and make it easy to keep them clean.

Built another rain bike... a 1975 Peugeot UO8 that is fully fendered and think this will be my primary rain bike and will use the Raleigh as my back up rain bike.

Both bikes are amazing to ride and am thinking my tricked out hybrid is going to collect dust now.

noglider 05-28-10 02:47 PM

I love UO8's and Sportses, but I can't lump them in the same category. Not even close.

Sixty Fiver 05-28-10 03:25 PM


Originally Posted by noglider (Post 10881266)
I love UO8's and Sportses, but I can't lump them in the same category. Not even close.

As stock these are very different bicycles...

The UO8 is a touring / road bike and is much lighter, not quite as stiff, and has quirky French parts instead of quirky Raleigh threaded parts.

:)

The Sports was made to be run for 100 years, is tough as nails (and made from the same carbon steel), and is very utilitarian and upright... it does however share the same geometry and steel as the Raleigh Grand Prix which runs on road wheels.

My converted Sports and UO8 have similar configurations in that they are both road bikes with nice alloy wheels and alloy parts and are pretty close to the same weight with the UO8 having a slight edge there... the gearing range is also very similar as the 3 speed does what the 6 speed does in much bigger steps.

The UO8 is faster and shares the same nice ride quality while the Sports is stiffer and a little quicker in the handling department... when the UO8 gets 12 speeds it will be a no contest in the speed and climbing department as it will simply have a better gear range.

But I love em both.

Fir 05-28-10 06:25 PM

Any pix handy?

Are you getting monsoons there like we are here? Barely stopped raining all day:( They said it was the rainiest May in (whatever it was, since the ark or the dinosaurs or Doofenbeaker or something)

How about you Tom? Always sunny in New Jersey, right?

Sixty Fiver 05-28-10 06:34 PM

We have been having the driest spring since Doofenbeaker.

Got a little drizzle today and things cooled off a fair bit.

Fir 05-28-10 07:05 PM

Under[wear] Statement
 
Cooled off!? Im hunting for my woolies and Stanfields...:wtf:

Fir 05-28-10 07:15 PM

What music suits your favrit ETS (Engglish Thr33 Sp33d) ?
 
Touring along the river trail the other day on our 40+1/12th yr old Twenty, and "Ferry Cross the Mersey" rolling through my head with little dude in the newly affixed rumble seat. Sunshine all the way. Commuting doesn't get any better. Song by 'Gerry and the Pacemakers.' released in 1964 according to Wikipedia. Pat Metheny has a version of that song too.

What music do other people hear when they ride their vintage machines?

Sixty Fiver 05-28-10 08:17 PM

The cold and drizle could not dampen my spirits today as I received another frame... a very loooong frame.

It won't be a three speed but it will seat two... the dimensions are perfect for me up front and the rear is an ingenious convertible design that will fit my 10 and 12 year old daughters as well as my soon to be wife.

When I ride my three speed I hear this music... you just have to watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP1KxPjh4RM

noglider 05-28-10 08:49 PM


Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver (Post 10881438)
As stock these are very different bicycles...

The UO8 is a touring / road bike and is much lighter, not quite as stiff, and has quirky French parts instead of quirky Raleigh threaded parts.

{... and on and on and on ...}


I know all that stuff. Yet I prompted you to write all that because you write it so well. I could read your descriptions of bikes all day.

Fir, sunny in New Jersey? Are you kidding? We have a varied climate, but it's usually cold or hot or humid or raining or blowing hard or ... We really have only a few very nice days a year here.

Fir 05-29-10 08:09 AM

Well I didnt know all that stuff and I would prompt you to write it if I knew what to say...

"...that will fit my 10 and 12 year old daughters as well as my soon to be wife." At first I pictured a bike long enough for 4 people... Ok, read slower... So seat height adjusts, and top tube removes? I wish good tandems were more common. And good vintage ones. I never heard of a 3spd tandem; someone someplace must have tried it.


Hilly in New Jersey? Do they have nice bikeways there?

kingfish254 05-29-10 09:55 AM

Brilliant old cycling movie
 

Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver (Post 10882658)
The cold and drizle could not dampen my spirits today as I received another frame... a very loooong frame.

It won't be a three speed but it will seat two... the dimensions are perfect for me up front and the rear is an ingenious convertible design that will fit my 10 and 12 year old daughters as well as my soon to be wife.

When I ride my three speed I hear this music... you just have to watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP1KxPjh4RM

65er,
Thanks again for sharing a golden nugget with the rest of us. This old video should be the "Catch of the Day".
Cheers

Sixty Fiver 05-29-10 02:53 PM


Originally Posted by noglider (Post 10882782)
I know all that stuff. Yet I prompted you to write all that because you write it so well. I could read your descriptions of bikes all day.

You are my muse... :)

Sixty Fiver 05-29-10 02:59 PM


Originally Posted by Fir (Post 10883948)
Well I didnt know all that stuff and I would prompt you to write it if I knew what to say...

"...that will fit my 10 and 12 year old daughters as well as my soon to be wife." At first I pictured a bike long enough for 4 people... Ok, read slower... So seat height adjusts, and top tube removes? I wish good tandems were more common. And good vintage ones. I never heard of a 3spd tandem; someone someplace must have tried it.

Hilly in New Jersey? Do they have nice bikeways there?

It has a rear top tube that can be removed which allows for a very wide range of rider sizes... have seen 5 year olds riding on this design and it will also seat much taller adults.

It is an older model but is a custom built frame that has never been built up... will be sending it back to add braze ons for everything from bottles and pumps to disc brakes and will run a 24 speed touring set up and it will be used for some long rides as well as rides about town.

Fir 05-29-10 07:26 PM

I acquired a couple of mixte frames for the purpose of welding one to the back of a me-sized bike to make a tandem for me and the little guy. He's 3&1/2 now and getting enthusiastic about us riding together on our bikes. He needs to learn the coaster brake better though. Then the [mercenary] donor laid more bikes on me and so I have 5 or 6 mixte frames...

He's getting old enough to want to be part of the peddling business and it helps to keep warm. The bicycle industry has not yet developed a lot of high quality solutions to this transition period between swaddling the baby in many layers of fleece inside a waggon and letting him sleep en route - to full on peddling and staying warm in all weathers. There are people in our town who still follow the bizarre practice of enclosing their children in multi-tonne steel and glass high-rolling-resistance-wheel-ed containers to ferry them from place to place endangering and be-smogging the rest of us meanwhile. It can be rather off-putting.

I haven't seen a good quality and affordable tandem come available here in the last few months or so. Pretty rare birds around here. Did Raleigh ever make a tandem?

Fir 05-29-10 07:42 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP1KxPjh4RM

- great movie, by the way! Both joyful and heart-wrenching (to think how much we have given up) I had found that before once, but we all watched it last night during our friday movie intermission. Here is one of my great favourites, perhaps a little off topic as no bikes are directly featured, let alone Englishe Threee Speedes, but is truly a classic every modern cyclist will likely comprehend.

http://www.nfb.ca/film/what_on_earth/

9 min 35 s -Still relevant today as in 1966. We saw it several times in elementary school; I was lucky enough to have a series of teachers who appreciated it :-)

Sixty Fiver 05-29-10 08:28 PM


Originally Posted by Fir (Post 10886000)
I haven't seen a good quality and affordable tandem come available here in the last few months or so. Pretty rare birds around here. Did Raleigh ever make a tandem?

Raleigh was offering the Venture and Companion models for the 2009 model year but believe they have been discontinued... there was a time when tandem riding was very popular and you could have had them equipped with SA hub gearing.

After world war 2 tandem bicycles really fell out of favour and it is only since the 90's that tandems have enjoyed a renaissance and renewed popularity... the Co Motion Periscope is another family friendly tandem that will accommodate smaller children as well as your spouse and friends. As hand built model it comes with a nearly 4k price tag.

Many tandems are really bicycles built for two (there is a difference) and are not designed for serious competitive or touring use... CCM made tandems that were just this in that the seating was very upright and many were fitted out as as coaster bikes or three speeds.

Just found this 1898 Raleigh... wow.

http://www.springersmusic.co.uk/Tandem.htm

Sixty Fiver 05-29-10 08:30 PM

And check this out... this is from an 1897 catalogue.

http://www.springersmusic.co.uk/imag...ogue%20(2).jpg

Sixty Fiver 05-29-10 08:33 PM

In reading the above advert one realizes that the tandem was the fastest vehicle on earth in 1897... and a single speed to boot.

old's'cool 05-29-10 09:14 PM


Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver (Post 10886224)
In reading the above advert one realizes that the tandem was the fastest vehicle on earth in 1897... and a single speed to boot.

'
That's pretty cool.
I read somewhere, in the 70's, that there was a class of racing for quad bikes. Supposedly pretty exciting to watch. I've never seen it, so I don't know.


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