At a local LBS. I have a feeling they are almost as old as the bike, the brand is Cheng Shin

....a few more. I'm part collector, part hobby seller...

here's my (American!) daily commuter...a 65 Columbia which I really like

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/...3cdaa531_b.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/...98d88f9e_b.jpg

a blue '63 that I sold in great shape..

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/...1d4d18b1_b.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4119/...6006eb00_b.jpg
a shot of my BSA before I bought it...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4074/...d06862b8_b.jpg
and another DL-1 close-up. I guess I don't have too many far away shots of this bike yet...maybe because it's so big! :)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/...96dcfbb9_b.jpg

a 71 Sports that was used very briefly before being stored that I just sold..

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/...0fc7ab78_b.jpg

I think I may have tracked down a usable Sport for my club bike conversion but I have a question that I should know the answer for:
Can I mount the break levers from a sport onto drop bars or am I going to have to track down "new" (i.e. salvaged) drop bar specific break levers?

The very old drop bar models used the same steel levers on drop bars but if you ride on the hoods as most do they are not comfortable and don't offer a lot of braking leverage... but they do have a very authentic look.

My 1955 Lenton has it's stock steel levers and stops rather well but my '54 conversion has modern Dia Compe levers which are comfortable on the hoods and deliver some decent stopping power from there as well... my wheels are alloy 700c and the brakes are also Dia Compes which helps.

as a sidenote - does anyone have a picture of what my 1951 Dawn Tourist's chainguard SHOULD look like? I'll be sanding it down soon, and I want to make it period-correct. Thanks in advance...

This was posted on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/damonab...n/photostream/

awesome thanks - I just need a close-up of the pinstriping and font...

Mkeller234- That is so clean, it looks NOS! I like the tires and the handgrips, very nice indeed!

Just a note, this ebay seller has just listed this alloy wheelset in 26 x 1 3/8" with rear freewheel threading. Usually you can get thinner locknuts and axle spacers so these can work on Sports, they have on mine.
But I haven't used this exact pair of wheels, so beware the front hub is probably 100mm, and the rear 120 or 126mm.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I know I have posted this one in this thread yet. It was a 1958 Western Flyer with Norman of England decals. I regret selling this bike in hindsight.

Check out how long the front fenders is:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/...409079b9_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/...b5e31956_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/...d1b414a0_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/...93eaedd4_b.jpg

Norman decals:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/...34cf9749_b.jpg

Upside down trigger shifter:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/...e771b70b_b.jpg

Cool chain guard and Williams crank:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4115/...e565c129_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/...6bd8a6cb_b.jpg

Why don't we see paint colors like that any more. Exquisite. I've had an emotional response to that shade of blue since I was a kid. What is it called?

Great bike!
You should post it on the "can a man ride a woman's frame?" thread.
I'd love to have ridden that.

Yeah, I really like the color too, especially with the grips, saddle and white head tube. The white box stripping seemed nicer than usual on that bike too. One quirk was the shifter cable clamp, it only fit the top tube, not the downtube. You can see the cable runs at a strange angle, it's how it was when I found it. RHM speculated that it may have had a higher grade of tubing but I never checked the seat post diameter. The lugs also had a really nice shape with "key hole" cut outs in the back.

Oh, believe me I wanted to but it was way to small for me. I really wanted a reason to keep even though my wife did not want it for herself. The women that bought it was pretty thrilled... looking back I sold it really low. I just hope it's being cared for. The SW hub was frustrating and untrustworthy.

What was the selling price?

I sold it for 100 dollars. It's not a give away... but at that price it was rare enough that I wish I had kept it. I think I even used Phil Wood grease in that one. I would have swapped the SW hub internals with an AW had I kept it. Even the kickstand on that bike was cooler than normal.

I paid 10 dollars for the bike at a thrift store, but it was filthy.

I ask $150 for English three speeds, and I'm not as good at cleaning bikes as you are.

If it makes you feel any better you can't swap AW internals with an SW... it is a completely different beast and has a small hub shell.

Well, maybe a tiny bit. I never got to the point of actually researching it and just assumed it was that simple. I did disassemble that SW hub when I worked on the bike and saw how different it was. The springless pawls were neat looking but I would hate to have to replace one. Actually I seem to find just as many SW hubs as I do AW, which seems unlucky to me. I had a Red Western Flyer

The thing that comforts me the most is that it would have sat idle in my garage. I guess it could be doing the same somewhere else but I know I would have felt wasteful for keeping it.

Tom, that was the first time I ever sold a bike so I wasn't really aware of the value.

I have an SW laced into a wheel and at some point would like to do some of the modifications many have suggested to make them a more reliable unit...

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/sw.html

I did the spring stretching thing once with the Norman. I don't know if I did it right or not, or if the hub benefitted from it. I don't know if I switched the pawls around or not. Now I did have another Raleigh built Western Flyer that had an SW hub that seemed to work as well as any AW I have had. I didn't ride that bike extensively so it's hard to say, but it never once gave me a issue engaging the gears.

I'm still here. I just went through one of the busier points of my job this past week or two. Hit me up if you run across anything. I sent you an email, btw. Thanks noglider!

I tried, I had it in my ebay "watch list" right on my radar, then forgot about the auction until 1 hour past. I'm getting a bit itchy at this point.

I'm tryin'. It pains me to see all the Raleight Sports, Superbes, Tourists, etc. on the east coast. I can't find anything on this coast. It's been a month since I sold my road bike (received good dough for it) and it was my only rider. Didn't plan on it being this big of a lay off, but I want to make the best purchase I can. That Sports you found a few weeks ago was excellent. I also loved that Rudge Deluxe that @ftwelder has in post #749. Not sure if he sold it or would even be willing to ship.

Was perusing the local classified section yesterday and saw an ad for an antique folding bike and after checking things out yesterday I left a deposit and returned today to retrieve my new 3 speed.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...esthauler1.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...esthauler2.JPG

All it needs now is some new tyres... it is another 451 equipped British model and will stay just as she is.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/77R20a.JPG

I'm on the lookout for a small 3-speed Sports. Keep your eyes peeled on your local Craigslists!

(I'm going to try a wanted ad in the local paper, and see if any seniors have one they'd part with on the cheap- that sounds like a good idea.)

What do you mean by small sized? Also diamond frame or step through?

Aaron :)

I don't know how small Raleigh frames were made, but my road bikes float around 50cm/19.5". I can ride slightly bigger bikes, though.

And diamond-frames, for the win!

As far as step-throughs go, I don't like women's frames, but I love riding mixtes. Does anyone else love mixtes?

The Sports usually came in a 21" or 23" frame. The standover height on the 21" frame is about 30". They also made a "Camelback" frame, the Colt, which is about 18":
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=166944

21" men's frames are relatively easy to come by around here, but the 23" is more highly sought after.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/1922797332.html
http://images.craigslist.org/3n73p43...e47a921cad.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/3k63mc3...a4caef1607.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/3kc3p13...36dc1b1bf0.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/3nc3p03...48afa91079.jpg
Wait a while then offer $75

They also made a diamond frame in the 19" size for a couple of years. 1974? IIRC it was silver.

I suspect the OP can probably ride a 21".

Aaron :)

banjo_mole and jedge76, go to http://google.com/alerts and create an alert with terms kinda like this:

3 speed bike site:craigslist.org

It will scour craigslist once a day for you and email you the results.