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

Pgavindonnelly 02-06-15 07:32 PM

Nothing wrong with that!

Originally Posted by Bandera (Post 17530977)
"Free" bikes are like "free" kittens/puppies...........;)


arex 02-06-15 07:33 PM


Originally Posted by desconhecido (Post 17534086)
People sometimes speak of converting their Raleigh Sports bicycles from 650A, ISO 590 rims to 700C. I'm thinking of doing this with an old Sports that has the traditional 40/32 spoke configuration. When people do this, do they keep the 40/32 configuration, and, if so, what rims are a good choice? There don't seem to be a lot of options in 700C 40 hole rims at a reasonable price.

How does the fit with the frame turn out for various 700C tire options? Judging from the estimates in various bike computer manuals, 700C 25mm to 28mm tires are probably about the same diameter as 590 X 35 (26 X 1 3/8). And, given the fact that the big fat Panaracer tires fit fine, I'd expect to be able to go to maybe 32 with the 700C tires and still squeeze under the front fender. But, there isn't all that much room. Is there an opinion on what the widest tire is that will work?

Going to a wider rim like the Sun Rhyno as compared to a CR18 -- wouldn't that tend to lessen the OD of a 32mm, or so, tire?

Does anybody try a 100mm front hub as compared to the 90mm (I think) that the Sports normally uses? If so, how does that work out?

You MIGHT have trouble finding a 700c rim with 40 holes, I dunno. Check around, I'm probably wrong. [edit] It looks like there's a variety of 700c 40h rims meant for tandems out there, including RhynoLites. Didn't see any CR18's, though.

I think the general consensus is that the tires that will fit the frame are 32mm w/fenders, 35 or 37mm w/o fenders. I had hoped to fit 42mm on mine, but that proved to be in error. Also, variations in real-world size may limit what 37mm tires will actually fit...I have 37mm Continental EcoContacts on my bike, and they fit, but the 38mm Schwalbe Marathons I tried were jammed up against the fork crown, totally unusable. Given that, I'd almost have to say not to go over 35mm, or you'll most likely have problems.

I had my wheels built with Sun RhynoLites, thinking I was going to be able to fit much larger tires than I was able to. The Conti 37mm tires are very nearly too narrow for the rim. If I could to do it over, I'd have chosen CR18's instead.

desconhecido 02-06-15 08:50 PM

Arex, thanks for the info. Peter White seems to offer several Velocity rims in 40. The Rhynos and then the Mavic A719 may come in 40, but I probably won't know for sure until I try to buy some. CR18s appear to be available in 40 in black, but I'm not sure I can actually buy any of those, either. I think a 36h SA hub may be in my future.

Looking through the old parts of this thread, it seems that you may have had some issues with brakes, including the Tektro 559. I've been assuming they would work -- did you find them to have too much reach?

arex 02-06-15 11:16 PM


Originally Posted by desconhecido (Post 17535056)
Arex, thanks for the info. Peter White seems to offer several Velocity rims in 40. The Rhynos and then the Mavic A719 may come in 40, but I probably won't know for sure until I try to buy some. CR18s appear to be available in 40 in black, but I'm not sure I can actually buy any of those, either. I think a 36h SA hub may be in my future.

Looking through the old parts of this thread, it seems that you may have had some issues with brakes, including the Tektro 559. I've been assuming they would work -- did you find them to have too much reach?

The reach was fine, but the brake assembly on the fork (again) hung down from the crown too far and interfered with the tire. Resold them on eBay, and got some old Weinmann 610 dual-pivot centerpulls...these are a much better fit. The 559's might work just fine with 32mm tires, though, and they seemed to me to be very well-made. It was kind of a hard decision to give them up.

Mind you, all the fitment problems I had were on the front fork. There's all kind of room in the rear, and you could fit whatever you wanted back there.

...wow. That kind of sounded wrong.

arex 02-06-15 11:24 PM

2 Attachment(s)
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=432891http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=432892

michaelz28 02-07-15 12:54 PM

is there a reproduction saddle bag for a raleigh sport ? my bike had the original raleigh catalog baby seat so the bag was removed by the bike shop . i saw some brooks stuff ( new ) and can get a whole bike for the prices on them . i did an ebay search and there were quite a few , more than i care to look through and most had a modern look to them . anybody want to trade one for a vintage english Leco baby seat ????

desconhecido 02-07-15 03:32 PM

I like the Carradice bags. The one I have is the Barley model. Might be a touch large and, they don't come for free, but it's not like it's tied to a particular bike or anything. They are nice. I think I've seen cheaper knock offs, but can't easily find them right now.

michaelz28 02-07-15 07:09 PM


Originally Posted by desconhecido (Post 17536541)
I like the Carradice bags. The one I have is the Barley model. Might be a touch large and, they don't come for free, but it's not like it's tied to a particular bike or anything. They are nice. I think I've seen cheaper knock offs, but can't easily find them right now.

thanks , i checked out their web site and there is a good selection . i got my eye on one . anyone ever hear of originals coming up on ebay or craigs list ?

desconhecido 02-08-15 04:50 PM

2 Attachment(s)
The owner of the Black Widow negotiated the Carradice Barley from me. Here's a picture of it so you can gauge how big it is. It's a 7 liter bag.http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=433170

And Stella, Stanley Kowalski's favorite dog:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=433171

michaelz28 02-08-15 06:39 PM

Stella has some blue eyes .. border collie mix ? thanks for the bag pict . it gives me a little prespective on the size .

BGBeck 02-08-15 07:35 PM

I finally had time to take an after picture:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...4303230001.jpg

The offending cotter (bottom) with a new Bikesmith cotter:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...4503250001.jpg

michaelz28 02-08-15 09:28 PM

i thought i was looking at my bike [IMG]http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...psawfft7kv.jpg[/IMG]

michaelz28 02-08-15 09:35 PM

oh , that's a cotter pin .. i see where it was stuck now ....

michaelz28 02-08-15 10:40 PM

i see what happened i think... the " cotter pin " was attempted to be removed from the wrong side and twisted the stationary head off . i guess that's why they put the logo on that end of the " cotter pin " .

desconhecido 02-08-15 10:55 PM


Originally Posted by michaelz28 (Post 17538815)
Stella has some blue eyes .. border collie mix ? thanks for the bag pict . it gives me a little prespective on the size .

Yes, Stella, at 21 months, still has blue eyes. Very interesting, too. The irises are composed of two concentric rings of blue each a slightly different shade. Both eyes are the same, so it's two shades all together, not four. We got her from the animal shelter when she was seven weeks and weighed less than three pounds. We've had other dogs with blue eyes when they were very young that changed to brown when they matured. Not Stella, who appears to be Baby Blue forever. There's a lot of stuff on dog eye color on the internet -it can be hereditary just like other eye colors or it can be associated with lack of pigmentation. For example, some dogs will have dark pigmentation on one side and a brown eye and albino pigmentation on the other and a blue eye. Stella's appears to be just a hereditary color, like typical eye color variations, as she doesn't have the other pigmentation issues, such as merle, which are associated with blue eyes. That's good, because other things, like deafness, can be associated with the same pigmentation things associated with the eye color.

We don't know her background, so anything is possible, but she is mostly terrier and has terrier personality traits. She looks a lot like a Rat Terrier, except they usually have upright ears. Her colorings fit a very common Rat Terrier variation called, oddly enough, tuxedo. We suspect she may have some retriever as she is larger than most terriers with similar coloration and her face is broader. It's probably impossible to have a mixed breed dog in Houston that's not part pitbull, but if Stella is, it's probably a small minority and she doesn't display any of the domination personality traits that pitbulls are so desired and bred for. First pound rescue we've had and she's great and gentle with everybody and almost all other dogs. Like many dogs, she is posessive of her territory and likes to point out to passing dogs exactly where her territory (fenced) is. We working on that, and she's getting to be less of a squacker when other dogs go by, which they do a lot in our neighborhood. But, you're working against instinct and it's a lot of work.

desconhecido 02-08-15 11:26 PM

Lubing non serviceable inexpensive rubber pedals.

Many of the bikes in the world of three-speed English bikes have pedals of quality lower than we would like. It's my belief, and I suspect that of others, that pedals should be serviceable and cleanable almost like a bottom bracket or wheel axle. But, that wasn't the way Raleigh, and many others, including Schwinn, saw it. Now, one thing you may notice about a number of quite high quality pedals (Campy super legerrio, or legg-whatever). They have little oil holes. I discovered 20 years ago that you could do a quick service on these guys with a grease injection tool with a needle end and some relatively thin grease, currently use Finish Line teflon in a pound tub. A dualco grease injection tool works well. You can pump grease all the way until it comes out the back. So, I took a pair of inexpensive pedals that I had trying to coax some lubricant into and drilled very small holes (about 1mm to 1/16") in the end caps -- just where Campy drilled the holes on theirs. Pumped away for a while and grease came out the other end. Pumped a little more and CLEAN grease came out. Rotation is about a million times better, but still needs some work, but I think this is a though for those with sticky rubber block pedals that you would rather not replace.

Velocivixen 02-08-15 11:58 PM

Interesting. I had to do that with my 1978 Schwinn Le Tour II pedals. My Phillips 3-speed has Philite pedals and they are serviceable. As a matter of fact I just adjusted them this afternoon.

I just saw this on my local CL. Thoughts?
1974? Women's Raleigh Sports

gna 02-09-15 12:12 AM


Originally Posted by Velocivixen (Post 17539587)
Interesting. I had to do that with my 1978 Schwinn Le Tour II pedals. My Phillips 3-speed has Philite pedals and they are serviceable. As a matter of fact I just adjusted them this afternoon.

I just saw this on my local CL. Thoughts?
1974? Women's Raleigh Sports

Your Phillips is way cooler.

Do you want another project?

Velocivixen 02-09-15 12:48 AM

No, I've got to get to know my Phillips. I've hardly ridden it since I bought it since I've been doing mechanicals. We need to bond. :thumb: I'm still recuperating from my rear wheel build yesterday.

I'm just curious if that is a good deal for that bike in a hot bike market.

clasher 02-09-15 08:28 AM

I think that's a fair price, the paint looks to be in great shape and all the parts seem to be there. I wouldn't expect new tires for a hundred bucks. People try and sell bikes like that for more in my town which isn't anywhere close to Portland in terms of a bike culture but the proximity to Toronto does drive prices up a bit.

desconhecido 02-09-15 08:30 AM


Originally Posted by Velocivixen (Post 17539631)
No, I've got to get to know my Phillips. I've hardly ridden it since I bought it since I've been doing mechanicals. We need to bond. :thumb: I'm still recuperating from my rear wheel build yesterday.

I'm just curious if that is a good deal for that bike in a hot bike market.

In my opinion, no, not unless you want the bike to restore and keep or to restore as a gift. Or unless you have your heart set on experiencing the joys of Raleigh's self-adjusting brake levers. It needs new tires. The chrome is in bad shape (per the description). It appears to have the original mattress saddle and I've never seen one on a bike that old that's serviceable unless the bike has been stored indoors and maintained. Judging from the condition of the chrome, this bike hasn't been treated that well. It will need everything done to it and you know exactly what that means. On the other hand, it looks like the paint and decals have survived pretty well and unless it's scratched up pretty bad, all that should look really good when finished. For parts, you've probably got a pretty good frame and a couple 36 spoke hubs. The brakes are probably the Raleigh steel ones, which work pretty well, for what they are. If the crank arms aren't too rusty, you've got the crank and bb. Stem, maybe ok, but of that vintage they're prone to rust. So, I don't know that you can get $100 worth of parts out of it either.

So, if someone doesn't plan on keeping the bike, they're upside down almost from the start. If someone wants it to keep or as a gift, then, $100 bucks here or there, that's about as cheap as you can get a decent saddle for it so it doesn't matter.

I'd been hoping to find a restorable Raleigh Sports step through for several years and if I hadn't snagged the Black Widow, for about half what they're asking for that brown one, I would probably have snapped up the brown one in that ad in about a nano-second. Knowing that I was going to sink a bunch of money into it and end up with a nice rider that was worth about half of what I had into it, assuming "worth" is what you can sell it for.

noglider 02-09-15 10:14 AM

It's probably a good deal, but there could be hidden problems. If I needed one or a project, I would buy that one.

michaelz28 02-09-15 10:45 AM


Originally Posted by Velocivixen (Post 17539587)
Interesting. I had to do that with my 1978 Schwinn Le Tour II pedals. My Phillips 3-speed has Philite pedals and they are serviceable. As a matter of fact I just adjusted them this afternoon.

I just saw this on my local CL. Thoughts?
1974? Women's Raleigh Sports

that's my bikes sister . same year and everything .

Velocivixen 02-09-15 12:17 PM

Great to know. No. Not buying but just wondering.

Salubrious 02-09-15 01:46 PM


Originally Posted by desconhecido (Post 17539551)
Lubing non serviceable inexpensive rubber pedals.

Many of the bikes in the world of three-speed English bikes have pedals of quality lower than we would like. It's my belief, and I suspect that of others, that pedals should be serviceable and cleanable almost like a bottom bracket or wheel axle. But, that wasn't the way Raleigh, and many others, including Schwinn, saw it. Now, one thing you may notice about a number of quite high quality pedals (Campy super legerrio, or legg-whatever). They have little oil holes. I discovered 20 years ago that you could do a quick service on these guys with a grease injection tool with a needle end and some relatively thin grease, currently use Finish Line teflon in a pound tub. A dualco grease injection tool works well. You can pump grease all the way until it comes out the back. So, I took a pair of inexpensive pedals that I had trying to coax some lubricant into and drilled very small holes (about 1mm to 1/16") in the end caps -- just where Campy drilled the holes on theirs. Pumped away for a while and grease came out the other end. Pumped a little more and CLEAN grease came out. Rotation is about a million times better, but still needs some work, but I think this is a though for those with sticky rubber block pedals that you would rather not replace.

The pedals on my 72 Raleigh were servicable- I simply removed the end caps and set them up. I've not seen a set that I would consider non-serviceable. Not saying they are not out there, but I've yet to see them.


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