Mine has a bike shop sticker from Wheel Goods Corp. Minneapolis . From what I understand, this was a large retailer. Raleigh may have made them especially for them.

I got my '72 Grand Prix from Wheel Goods on Hennepin Ave. in Minneapolis in Sept. 1971. We were there visiting my older brother. It was my birthday and he went halves on it with me for my birthday.

Yesterday, we travelled to Amsterdam to visit an art exhibition, but had a nice walk through the city as well.
As you will expect, I had one eye on the bicycles too ... :lol:

I spotted only a handfull older cottered crank bikes among the thousands of bicycles that swarm the city.
Most of the older ones, were from gazelle or Peugeot, but I also spotted these two 3-speeds : a seventies / eighties (?) Raleigh and a sixties or early seventies BSA.
Sadly, there was no time to investigate further. My wife and one of our daughters were with me, so ... :twitchy:

Peter

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...91ee7c397a.jpg

Yup! Island Cycle was the other larger retailer in Minneapolis worthy of mention.

NYC Century?
 

I notice several English 3 speed lovers live in the NYC area. Have any of you ridden your bike in the Transportation Alternatives Century? How did it go?

This year's event is on September 8. It's supposed to be the 30th and last. I'm thinking of the 50 mile route on my Raleigh Sports.

Thanks,
Ed

I'll be a marshal in that event, on the 100-mile route. I will not be taking a 3-speed. A long ride is enough of a challenge. But I have seen people ride challenging bikes such as fixies. I even saw someone doing it on a unicycle, and he was so strong that I couldn't keep up with him. I don't remember seeing 3-speeds. You could do it if you wanted, though.

As I go to the job on weekends I have not ridden this. But I wouldn't hesitate to ride my Sports; it's so comfortable in every other respect. Except possibly the upper west corner of the Bronx called Riverdale, and I haven't seen a route map, there's little in the way of challenging hills inside the city.

That is exactly the model (same color, too) I found on the street going very rusty and derelict late last winter. It wasn't even locked so I took possession. I had lots of plans to refurbish it, but the right crank arm was seized to the BB spindle. Nothing I did would budge it. A proper workshop probably would have let me try things that would have separated it, but there was nothing I could do working in my apt. I kept the rear wheel but otherwise, and sadly, sent it to Raleigh heaven.

DO IT!
I think it's interesting that people will do things like ride single speeds, fixies, and even unicycles for these challenge events. But a three speed is "just impossible".

https://live.staticflickr.com/4897/4...795bbd80_z.jpg

Heh, when I was last in NYC I rode a century on my 3 speed dahon folding bike, it has 16" wheels, it was a tough century, those itty bitty wheels just don't really roll well even with 100 PSI in them and freshly rebuilt hubs.

https://i.postimg.cc/HW6QdSBZ/B89-EE...CC00162-C7.jpg

As long as your bike is in good repair, I wouldn't anticipate problems. I've ridden my Raleigh Superbe on the Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour several times (about 40 miles from Red Wing to Wabasha, then 40 miles back to Red Wing on the other side of the river, the next day). And I've ridden my 3-speed fixed gear bike on the Door County Spring Classic 100 mile ride a couple times.

^^Hm- There certainly seems to be some truth to this- I rode the Tour Divide in June, no-one around my town seems to care, only people that actually live on the route have any idea what that might entail.

But tell people that I ride the Lake Pepin 3-speed tour on a 1951 Humber and they are amazed.

I have two much newer 20 inch wheel dahons. One day I'd like to get one of the original style 16 inchers.

I rode the MS-150 on my Raleigh Sports a few years ago. Several people were concerned that I would die. They were greatly amazed that I finished.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c628f67f53.jpg

Help yourself.

https://richmond.craigslist.org/bik/...956155061.html

Pair of dahon folding bikes - $100

bicycle frame material: steel
bicycle type: folding
frame size: folding
wheel size: 20 in

Pair of older folding Dahon bikes. Great for the beach boardwalk. They both fit in the trunk of a Mazda Protege. Might need a little tlc as they haven't been used in a while. Only one shown but the other looks like it.

$100 for the pair

What's funny about doing serious miles on a three speed is that people these days think you can't do it, but back in the 30s three speeds were de rigueur. The most miles ridden on a bike in a single year was a record that was set on a three speed and stood for decades until the last year or two.

I did read an article about this recently, they guy rode half the year on some other bike, then got a different sponsor and rode the second half on a sturmey archer 4 speed. Rode 65,000 miles in a year IIRC, in 1935 I think it was, nuts.

A guy broke the record 4 or 5 years ago with 75,000 miles, and 2 years ago a woman broke the record setting it at 86,000 miles, BUT, she rode in circles around her house for a year, where the guy in 1935 toured around England on crap roads, on a 40 pound bike, and had to stop at police stations and doctors offices to get signatures from "distinguished gentlemen" to prove he was in the places he purported to have ridden his bike. Don't get me wrong, riding 12,000 laps of a 7 mile loop around your house every day for a year straight to set the current record takes some mental toughness, but it really is not in the spirit of the record, IMO of course.

Plus, the guy riding with the Sturmey Archer 4 speed in 1935, is far, far more interesting to read about. :)

Not much different from the procedure for an hour record, just more of it.

Uh, I've got a rule: If it's five miles or less, and I don't have to carry anything larger than a vintage Schwinn seat pack and a usual messenger bag, I bike. Period.

Main commuter ride is my '72 Raleigh DL-1 Tourist. Backup (and primary ride to the one area with an extreme altitude change) is my '69 Raleigh Sprite. I usually don't find the first gear on the S5 too much of an advantage over low on the AW. Fifteen mile days running errands isn't exceptional.

I've given up the car during the week and ride about 16 miles a day to and from work.
My bike of choice has been (mostly) my Robin Hood Semi with a '63 hub.
It has a larger cog on the back (not sure which), new tires and pads.
My only commuting complaint is other cyclists (inexperienced wobblers or Tour de France pretenders) and
pedestrians on smart phones/ear buds walking out in front of you.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c0081a3c97.jpg
GLS
Goes Like Stink.

Got my hands on a classic SA shifter. Don't really need it right now but it was cheap and in decent shape.
Any ideas how to best get this into even better shape?

I'm thinking some rubbing with aluminum foil and a couple of baths in the ultrasonic cleaner?
Perhaps use some rust treatment to get rid of some of the spots on here?
Don't want to damage the chrome.

http://i.imgur.com/Lw6udxF.jpg

Thanks - and thanks to others that answered my query.

And yes, the fact that there are almost no hills in NYC (I know of Harlem Hill and bridge ramps) will certainly help!

Looking forward to it!

- Ed

I've never had one of these quadrant shifters, but if they're like the later triggers, that's an embossed brass face plate on the front. The chrome on the trigger face plates is quite delicate. It's not the usual type of plating. Only the front is plated and there's no plating in the embossed areas. It's like they printed it on somehow. If you look at the edge and can tell if the front is a separate plate, I wouldn't soak it in any acid like vinagar. It may eat away what's left. For sure, don't use any abrasives. If the front is one piece of solid chrome plated steel, you might get away with a vinagar soak. I would just clean off dirt and call it good. Nice find.