...and another thing; my limited but observant experience with Niagara is that they are really fair about their pricing on shipping when you bundle a number of things into one order. I do not order tires from them without picking up some other things that I need each time...

Ha-Ha! That sounds like a true skinflint that I know quite well.....

There was a lot of love going around this afternoon in Portland... our housemate was hosting the S.O.T.S. ride and the turnout was simply wonderful, the people were awesome and there was a rather impressive array of three speed bicycles that spanned 6 decades as well as some other non three speeds that were equally beautiful.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...ridegroup1.JPG

For me it was also really nice to meet a few people I know from here and other forums... I moderate on the Raleigh Twenty forum and met one of our members from there and we had a great time as her 20 and my wife's 20 are very close cousins.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...de%20(108).JPG

Conrad's Raleigh Superbe is just that...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...de%20(125).JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...de%20(126).JPG

My 1954 Raleigh was the second oldest bike at the ride...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...954sports1.JPG

I believe my friend's Brompton was the newest, it is a 6 speed.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...ide%20(79).JPG

This Canadian beauty was striking... it is a CCM that has had some nice custom work.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...de%20(113).JPG

After a ride and a picnic we wrapped up the day at the Lucky Lab and I enjoyed talking with Chris Igleheart who is a pretty humble guy considering he has been involved in some pretty legendary projects and is a notable builder who has just come back to Portland.

Was definitely a good time and all went well (other than someones blow out).

And was a pleasure meeting you and your wife (Downriver represent!!!).

Lots of cool bikes and even cooler people. Already looking forward to the next one.

Though looking at your picks makes me remember I gotta re-run all my Dyno wires.....the projects never end do they?

It's a pretty small world... but then Portland has taken in a lot of refugees from Michigan.

:)

I'm pretty sure that is the first flat my wife has had in well over six years... she has had the Twenty for almost 4 years and it has probably seen well over 5000 miles, has been loaned out to friends and family, and I use it a lot when I am here.

Was nice to see more 20's at the ride...

This showed up on another thread and I wanted it to be shown here for those with a need to know. Haven't tried it but looks promising...

Post #84 at the BF thread it is on:
$16 Dollar Cotter Press
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...6-Cotter-Press

Pic and link:
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...095_0006537807

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=315280

That was me who posted about that, I've used it on three bikes now and it works great. Has a tendency to really shoot the cotters across the room when they break free though, so make sure anyone else around is standing clear.


Anyway, came here to post about the 1970 AMF Hercules I picked up a few weeks ago:http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=315807

I'm thinking that handlebar setup had to have been done aftermarket, correct? I'd expect to see a setup like that from the 30s or 40s, but not from 1970. Other than that, it's pretty much the cleanest original old English bike I've ever seen. Paint shines like a mirror in most places. Headbadge and decals aren't faded at all. Original Bates Dunlop Lightweight tires are in great shape. It even has the original tubes with the threaded valve stems, which still hold air just fine. Has a functioning odometer attached to the front wheel, and it reads 31 miles- given the condition of the bike, I wouldn't be at all surprised if that's original mileage. Unfortunately it's quite a bit too small for me, so I'll be selling it, but it sure is pretty to look at. Here's a full album: http://imgur.com/a/1bfxQ

I am about to repack the bottom bracket on my Raleigh Superbe, I am wondering if I should lubricate the crank arm engagement area of the spindle and / or the cotters. I do have a Bikesmith cotter press to press the pins home and was going to reuse the original cotters unless that is ill advised. Your thoughts will be appreciated.

Mmmmm? Have we met?

I've never done that nor have I heard of anyone doing it. I suspect it doesn't matter whether you do or don't.

bmc lube it all. If your cotters are not damaged by all means use them. They fit. Use PB blaster or equiv before removing the old ones.

Lube the small area where the cotter contacts the face of the spindle. Do NOT lube spindle surface where it contacts the bore of the crank arm. You want to resist movement of the arm independent of the spindle, not encourage it.

Nice!

Ha-ha!

Probably...

[when my wife was in law school & I was a young Fortunate 500 exec, things were kinda tight. Don't wanna sound insensitive or anything but she started calling me Finestein back then....

...all these years later, ...and it's been quite a few of 'em, ...she allowed Sunday, ...as we made our way home after delivering the Schwinn Meridian to her mom to use for the family summer vacation, ...and seeing to it that she was settled in and pleased with it, ...that she was so very glad that I'd gotten her back into bikes... That's worth everything to me.]

I finally got around to installing new hand grips on my Superbe. The original grips were leaving the palms of my hands black and I decided to preserve them instead of waiting till they were completely destroyed. I bought Cardiff leather grips some time ago and here they are. They are pretty comfortable. For aesthetics, may try the Rivendell cork grips for kicks someday.

On a side note, a local bike shop owner offered me a brand new Trek 1.1 for my Superbe the other day. I thought about it for a few minutes, mostly for the sake of suspense, and politely declined with a "no way!" Granted, the 1.1 is the very entry level Trek road bike, but still, somewhere in the neighborhood of $700 with taxes. Quite a compliment that I was excited about!

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=318100

I'll have to think about those grips- they look nice. I just completed the Lake Pepin tour and the biggest problem was the comfort of my hands on the trip.

I also had a problem with the crank on my Superbe that has been tricky to sort. In trying to set the bearing cups, there were some places where it was too free, but rotate it 180 degrees or so and it was too tight. Thinking it was the bearings, I took the whole thing apart and replaced the bearings with new stainless (and also applied grease as no service appeared to have even been done since installation in 1972). It was slightly better but the problem persisted. Next I took it apart again and replaced the bearing cups. That too got things a bit better. One problem I had when I started with no cotter press (plus one cotter pin was stock and the other had been replaced, putting the cranks out of 180 degrees); during this operation I got the Bikesmith press and proper cotter pins which makes things easy.

So eventually it appeared that replacing the bearings did the trick (the BB axle seemed to be straight). The crank was nice and free. I rode it that way for a week and no worries, then I took the bike on the 3-speed Lake Pepin tour. By the end of the first day, my little demon was back- although I was not getting any looseness in the bearings, it was binding significantly during part of the rotation.

This morning I took the left side arm off and presto! -no binding. Upon examining the inside surface of the crank arm, I could see significant scoring around the BB axle hole! I checked the bearing cups- they were set correctly, and the BB axle (as far as I know) is stock. So I filed the inner surface of the crank arm (which was already scored pretty obviously) and reinstalled it. Works fine.

One theory right now is that the BB axle might have been replaced, but if so the drive side has a nice drive line with one spacer on the inside and one spacer on the outside of the SA hub sprocket- pretty much dead on. This means that if that theory is correct, the left side of the axle was the part too short- and if this was done it was decades ago. I suspect though that the crank arm itself was the culprit, as I found casting defects that had not been ground off properly before polishing and chroming.

I thought I would pass this along as it was a vexing problem!

Which bike was yours?

I was riding a 1972 Raleigh Superbe in that olive green color. It was equipped with Brooks handlebar grips, steel Lyotard pedals, Sun CR-18s and an alloy seatpost.

Spring has sprung here...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...r20spring2.JPG

An ongoing saga of rod brake pad replacement. In the last episode I had bought the wrong pads from Harris Cycle and had to return them for these
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=319346
http://harriscyclery.net/product/fib...-pair-1507.htm .

Unfortunately I got the last pair and as many of you know bikes, particularly older pull up brake Raleighs stop better when both front and rear brakes are fully functional. So a bit of Googling found these
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=319343
clearly used and from Greece. Other hits that came up were different styles entirely such as these.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=319345 .
Harris has no ETA on when if ever the 'good' brake pads wil be in stock again. Does the assembled wisdom have any recommendations on vendors of brake pads for a 1980 Tourist?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Try this. http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/fibra...s-id72408.html

Read through quite a bit of this thread now and my wife has shown an interest in riding a vintage club bike/city cruiser. If any of you have something that resembles the following, send me a message: Higher end women's step-through frame club/city bike/cruiser for a 5'1" woman.

Looking for:
Excellent paint condition, no rust, aluminum rims (I realize many had steel and I am willing to swap them out), sturmey-archer 3 speed internally geared hub, a brooks saddle in great condition would be nice but not necessary, higher grade steel (no high-tensile etc). Prefers brighter colours (no dark greens, blacks, greys, maroon, etc). A chrome headlight with generator would be nice, doubly nice would be if it were already converted to LED. I am not sure which are superior brakes on these but I imagine caliper brakes are more reliable than rod/coaster.

I am also willing to fix something up if it is in need of it provided it can be restored to great condition and the price is right. I am not looking for a low end department store brand cruiser. I have an address in Washington state to ship the bike to.

And...the next Three Speed Ride in Portland, OR will be Sunday, June 23rd! Meet at Fernhill Park (Important! At the corner of NE 41st and Ainsworth) at 4pm. From there we will roll for about ten miles in mixed terrain, with a picnic stop somewhere towards the end. Yes, bring your teakettle!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7460/8...ba175208_n.jpg

Should this web page be reclaimed from the Wayback Machine? (Maybe it already has...)

http://web.archive.org/web/200911251...te/index.shtml

There are so many changes done to the bike on that article that if you did all of them, essentially you would have only the frame, kickstand and chain guard left. If I was going that far I would start with a different frame too. These days the world has changed- its easy to get Sun CR18s now so no worries about rims.

IMO there is some misinformation in the article too- the comment about the cottered cranks seems off. Its not that hard to find a good cotter press- just go to Bikesmith. Cottered cranks remained in use on track frames for a long time after alloy cranks were introduced for a reason (although I am not a particular fan of the Raleigh crank....).

Bottom line is the constant conflict between keeping things practical and operational vs original...

My oldest bike, a 1950 Raleigh Sports which is all original save for the newly built wheels, brake pads, and Wright's saddle (circa 1935 methinks) and the grips, which ere replaced in 1951.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...h50sports2.JPG

Will be rebuilding the original hubs with another set of the Mavic 650A rim I have but for now those 1975 hubs will have to suffice.

The conflict is only imaginary. Here's my '62 Sports, it's all original or period correct except for the fenders grips and saddle ( I have the correct ones, I've just been too lazy to install them). Anyway this bikes gets lots of miles 50+ at a time. I have no issues with reliabilityhttp://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/7...605d4a15_c.jpg

Ha!

Back from an incomparable vacation to Huntington Beach/Brookgreen Gardens and was sorely tempted to inquire about this little puppy while there last week...

This is indeed English and it appears indeed to be a 3-speed so I'd surmise that it qualifies for the Lazarus Thread...

Graybeards what say ye about this wee steed?

--------------------------

[h=2]Old Raleigh Compact Folding Bicycle Bike - $500 (Little River, SC )[/h]I have a really nice condiiton. Older Raleigh Folding Bicycle. This compact bike is easy to take with you. Very nice well cared for condition.
Selling for $500 firm.
Text or call only.
Sorry no delivery.
84three 28six 820eight.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=321340 http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=321341 http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=321342

$500? Seems a bit steep. Not sure what model that is, either.