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

markk900 05-01-21 12:48 PM

oldlugs : I actually think we are in agreement - maybe I am just being meaner than you. If you have to mark something above retail so some idiot can bicker you down to more than you would have asked, I call that stupid on their part. I get it at a flea market but for a hobby like ours I think it’s ridiculous. Of course I am not in any way trying to make this a business so I don’t *have* to sell anything; sounds like you have more of a business perspective.

gster 05-01-21 02:08 PM

The Cat Came Back!
I'd given this bike to my father in law several years ago for his birthday.
He's not riding it anymore so I traded him a nice office chair for it.
It came back dusty, flat tires and some cobwebs...
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...19009725c8.jpg
It's a completely original 1972 Superbe and I'm sure it's never been apart.
I replaced the tires and pads when I gave it to him but other than that it's as
it left the factory.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b86186b927.jpg
Original R nuts on the cotters and seat clamp.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4824053b55.jpg
Original coated shifter cable.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d7c86cf5e7.jpg
Paint and decals all in excellent shape.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5ecd0186ef.jpg
Here it is beside my everyday Canadian Superbe.
You can see the difference in colour.
I've poured some heavy oil down the seat tube as I really don't
want to damage those cotters.
This bike should be in a museum.
The only thing wrong is the trigger is quite faded.
I have a new NOS upstairs that I'll install.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...40a3a382cb.jpg

clubman 05-01-21 04:54 PM

Perfect. Sell the Canadian model and tune that one up. It's your 'End of Days / Zombie Apocalypse' bike! :thumb:

thumpism 05-01-21 08:04 PM

Gold!

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...51843423551331

https://scontent.fric1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...10&oe=60B1F5FD

gster 05-01-21 09:59 PM


Originally Posted by clubman (Post 22040230)
Perfect. Sell the Canadian model and tune that one up. It's your 'End of Days / Zombie Apocalypse' bike! :thumb:

I'd be worried that I'd ruin it.
Or the zombies would steal it...

cudak888 05-01-21 10:08 PM


Originally Posted by thumpism (Post 22040430)
Gold!

An all-original budget-minded S22 it looks like. They pop up on occasion, but that one looks particularly nice.

-Kurt

oldlugs 05-02-21 04:21 AM


Originally Posted by markk900 (Post 22039956)
oldlugs : I actually think we are in agreement - maybe I am just being meaner than you. If you have to mark something above retail so some idiot can bicker you down to more than you would have asked, I call that stupid on their part. I get it at a flea market but for a hobby like ours I think it’s ridiculous. Of course I am not in any way trying to make this a business so I don’t *have* to sell anything; sounds like you have more of a business perspective.

What's worse is when they show up to buy something for $75 and their driving a brand new Cadillac and trying to get a $75 new old stock wheelset for $10 so they can put it on eBay for $200 next week.
I don't know if I have a business perspective or not but I refuse to lose money. I'm not going to buy an old bike for $100, spend $70 on tires and tubes, $20 on cables and pads, and spend 3 or 4 days taking it all apart, cleaning, polishing, and making sure everything fits just right and works like new and then sell it for $50 to some cheap skate who plans to flip it at the fleamarket or on eBay. I generally keep a bike for a bit, end up finding something I like better or just something new or different and move on, I usually list them after a season or maybe a year or two, or when the next one is done and ready to take its place. Only a few bikes so far have become forever keepers, one is a Robin Hood I've had since I was 12, and a pair of Raleigh road bikes I bought while I was in high school and still own. All else is just for fun, so long as it don't lose me money. Lately I've gotten extremely selective in what I buy, and I found that if I want this hobby to pay for itself, I need to flip something that sells better then old English bikes. I buy every cheap, men's frame beach cruiser I can find that's not rusty or bent, they sell fast, and most will pay as much as it sold for new and come back every year because they left the last one out at the shore all summer and it rusted solid. That bunch only knows Huffy, Murray, and what ever they see for sale in Target these days. The same crowd also junks the bike when the tires go flat.
Part of it is they don't know the difference between a good bike and junk, and it wouldn't matter much because you can't store any bike below the high tide line and expect it to last. I actually had a couple tell me they wanted a bike that 'floats', so that when they forget it out on the beach over night, they'll have half a chance of finding it in the surf.
I'm not sure if its just that folks here don't know what a good bike is, or if its just a case of the only brand recognition being the cheap brands they were brought up with all these years because their parents bought cheap bikes too. I've had people swear that Huffy was the best bike ever made, then tell me they get almost a year out of every one. Those people will pay more for a Huffy than a Raleigh or Schwinn. Then there's those who have no cash, they buy everything on a credit card and never have any cash. Since there's no bike shops around anymore that sell 'shop grade bikes', they go to Target or Dick's for a bike and put it on their credit card and pay for it $20/mo for the next ten years. The same people will never pay more for a good used shop grade bike then they would for the cheapest bike at Target. They can't fathom why any bike, let alone a used bike is for sale for $200 or more.

There's no in between when it comes to those who want to bargain and those who want to for almost nothing. Its one or the other. If you price it at a fair price, they either won't respond because they want it for cheap, or they expect to bargain the price down to half or less. I do far better marking a bike way up and taking half, then I've ever done just putting a fair price on it. Those that want to bargain the price leave me no option but to pad the price a bit or nothing sells. Those who feel the need to bargain the price are generally the one's who end up buying. The rest just email and don't show or show up and have no cash.

gster 05-02-21 06:24 PM


Originally Posted by cudak888 (Post 22040539)
An all-original budget-minded S22 it looks like. They pop up on occasion, but that one looks particularly nice.

-Kurt

What makes this budget minded?
Simple chain ring?
Parts bin?

cudak888 05-02-21 06:40 PM


Originally Posted by gster (Post 22041605)
What makes this budget minded?
Simple chain ring?
Parts bin?

Mattress saddle, Sturmey twist-grip shifter, Sturmey Endrick rims instead of Westricks. They were slightly cheaper than a full-fledged DL22.

The '62 catalog is the only catalog that I remember that references the S22; it pre-dates the gold versions, but gets the point across. I don't think the gold '68-72 variants were ever cataloged.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2074a0846f.gif

-Kurt

nlerner 05-02-21 07:04 PM

Some years back I snagged locally a pair of early 1960s his & hers DL22s, and both had coaster brake rear wheels (TCW?).

clubman 05-02-21 07:37 PM


Originally Posted by gster (Post 22040025)
It came back dusty, flat tires and some cobwebs...


Paint and decals all in excellent shape.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5ecd0186ef.jpg

Spiders are a problem there I see... :eek:

gster 05-02-21 08:03 PM


Originally Posted by clubman (Post 22041734)
Spiders are a problem there I see... :eek:

Yeah, that was left over from Halloween.
2019 we had 600 kids come by (I'm not kidding, I know how much candy I bought)
last year 25 kids at most...

gster 05-02-21 08:04 PM


Originally Posted by cudak888 (Post 22041637)
Mattress saddle, Sturmey twist-grip shifter, Sturmey Endrick rims instead of Westricks. They were slightly cheaper than a full-fledged DL22.

The '62 catalog is the only catalog that I remember that references the S22; it pre-dates the gold versions, but gets the point across. I don't think the gold '68-72 variants were ever cataloged.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2074a0846f.gif

-Kurt

Thanks for that.
I've often thought our Canadian Gliders and other rebrands hit a certain price point.

paulb_in_bkln 05-03-21 04:45 AM


Originally Posted by markk900 (Post 22038634)
Mine is a 1983 600 so never had full 531.

I own the same ('83 Trek 600). Just finished a rebuild after having the frame repaired. Not a 3 speed, still pleased with the result. Better than new, really. It was originally red with a silver head tube.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cdc2261c03.jpg

BFisher 05-04-21 12:07 PM

Put my 1x5 Sprite-like Humber to hub gears, rolling on 27" aluminum (or as the locals say "aloonimin") Weinmann hoops.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...56744471a5.jpg

thumpism 05-05-21 05:27 AM

Local Superbe for sale, not outrageous but not original.

https://richmond.craigslist.org/bik/...316969405.html

https://images.craigslist.org/01212_...lM_600x450.jpg

Salubrious 05-05-21 12:30 PM


Originally Posted by gster (Post 22040025)
The Cat Came Back!

Original R nuts on the cotters and seat clamp.

Original coated shifter cable.

Paint and decals all in excellent shape.

Here it is beside my everyday Canadian Superbe.
You can see the difference in colour.
I've poured some heavy oil down the seat tube as I really don't
want to damage those cotters.
This bike should be in a museum.
The only thing wrong is the trigger is quite faded.
I have a new NOS upstairs that I'll install.

With a proper cotter press you can remove the cotter pins with ease. They are very re-useable. With a cotter press you'll find that cottered cranks are easier to set up than alloy cranks.
If you are planning on doing anything with that bike, consider replacing the pedals (they have a terrible bearing system!!). That particular pedal wasn't used on all the Superbes in 1972; mine had reflectors built in but were more conventional block pedals.

gster 05-05-21 01:21 PM


Originally Posted by Salubrious (Post 22046218)
With a proper cotter press you can remove the cotter pins with ease. They are very re-useable. With a cotter press you'll find that cottered cranks are easier to set up than alloy cranks.
If you are planning on doing anything with that bike, consider replacing the pedals (they have a terrible bearing system!!). That particular pedal wasn't used on all the Superbes in 1972; mine had reflectors built in but were more conventional block pedals.

I dislike those pedals as well but for the sake of originality I'll keep them on.
I have another Superbe for the everyday stuff.

thumpism 05-05-21 10:50 PM

Both for $95!

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...81487856906482

https://scontent.fric1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...e0&oe=60B811BA

https://scontent.fric1-2.fna.fbcdn.n...30&oe=60B88B76

thumpism 05-05-21 11:18 PM

Another tall Superbe in the heartland.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...79384062590191

https://scontent.fric1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...a0&oe=60B73F7B

thumpism 05-05-21 11:21 PM

Nobly with 27" wheels!

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...75327896722788

https://scontent.fric1-2.fna.fbcdn.n...bb&oe=60B7770E

thumpism 05-05-21 11:28 PM

By the way, if anyone is looking for 3-speeds I'm finding loads of them on FB Marketplace. For some reason they're coming out of the woodwork and they are cheap-to-reasonable, with a few of them overpriced. Raleighs, Triumphs, Normans, Herculeses, just about any brand you can think of. Not shilling for FB, but it's a great resource for these things if you're shopping. Happy hunting.

markk900 05-06-21 08:10 AM


Originally Posted by gster (Post 22046300)
I dislike those pedals as well but for the sake of originality I'll keep them on.
I have another Superbe for the everyday stuff.

If you ride them much they may just disintegrate - mine did.....I tried to rebuild them with only limited success.....

gster 05-06-21 09:09 AM


Originally Posted by markk900 (Post 22047405)
If you ride them much they may just disintegrate - mine did.....I tried to rebuild them with only limited success.....

My supply of MKS pedals seems to have dried up lately.....

adventurepdx 05-06-21 11:21 AM


Originally Posted by gster (Post 22046300)
I dislike those pedals as well but for the sake of originality I'll keep them on.
I have another Superbe for the everyday stuff.

Why suffer for the sake of "originality"? Pedals are so easy to mount and remove. Save the original pedals for when the "originality" matters, like a Tweed ride, vintage bike event, or when you sell the bike, and ride better pedals otherwise.


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