As the proud new owner of a 1974 Hercules (my wife also just bought a red 1972 LTD-3 in very good condition for $50 from CL) recently tuned up by my LBS, I've been having a lot of fun with my bike. But I'm also eager to make a few changes to our bikes, such as replacing the hard plastic grips with cork ones and swapping the mattress saddles for leather Brooks one.

I've done some searching online and in the archives, and it sounds like the Brooks B67 or B66 would be the way to go. From what I gather they are the same saddle, essentially, with the B67 being made for modern seatposts. So, my question is: would I be better off buying a B67 AND buying a new seatpost, OR would you recommend a B66 on the original seatpost? Pros/cons of going either way? And if I do go with the B67 and new seatpost, what size do I need--1"? I'm an absolute beginner when it comes to bicycles (aside from riding them for years), but I'm eager to learn how to do my own maintenance and restorations, and I've appreciated the advice here as I researched and purchased our 3-speeds.

Thanks for any advice.

I've often contemplated an alloy seatpost with a bit of a set back.......but the old steel post still resides in the seattube. So for that part, the bikes is still unadulterated. I'm for keeping it orignal and being content just thinking about all the new shiney stuff you can get.

No Sorry needed! I have rattle canned fenders too. Never attempted the white tail yet, but that's up next. Tape it off and touch it up? Primer first?

-D

Plan is to: prime, paint the tail, tape and paint the fender and then go back and add a pinstripe...I think

Very nice machine indeed! I like cool Italian bikes that aren't cool because they have 3-speed internal gear hubs. :) Surely this bike will clean up nicely. I can't wait to see it after you've worked it over a bit.

That is my favourite colour on the old Raleigh bikes. They look so rich in that hue. Nice find rmisiano.

Hercules Lion
 

I posted a thread with this bike a few days ago (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...les-Thread-%29), but thought it fitting to place it in the "For the love of English 3 speeds..." thread. It is fitting for this sweet lady.

After a drive to Philadelphia on a snowy October day, this nearly entirely original Hercules Lion is now in my collection. The only items that I have detected that are not original are the inner tubes (that's to be expected) and Shimano shifter, which has since been temporarily swapped to a SA trigger shifter until the Her-cu-matic shifter arrives.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6109/...841d1f51_z.jpg
Hercules Lion - 2 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6234/...6da472e7_z.jpg
Hercules Lion - 13 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6095/...7a6b5683_z.jpg
Hercules Lion - 23 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6052/...810b2921_z.jpg
Hercules Lion - 19 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6042/...fb4183d8_z.jpg
Hercules Lion - 10 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

Yep, I've been looking over Sheldon's site. Thanks for the info! I'm keeping this bike for myself but its good to know that I got a decent deal.

That's a beautiful Rudge you got there. Thanks for sharing...it makes me wanna head out back to the garage and work on mine some more!

I'm new to bike repair, so this will be the first time I overhaul a headset. According to Sheldon Brown, one of the things I'll need is a 1 5/8in wrench. Is this a common size for bike headsets, or is it peculiar to these old three speeds? Unfortunately my adjustable wrench is just a wee bit too small.

Also, what's the best way to service the rear hub? It shifts nicely but the wheel doesn't spin as it should and I'm not too familiar with these Sturmey Archers.

For the headset, you can get away with a big channel lock and a 12" adjustable wrench. This will make some people cringe, but the bigger the nut, the less damage pliers cause on a nut, and the adjustable race is super big.

You'll need a special size "cone wrench" to adjust the cones on the SA hub. They're available, but you can also grind down a standard bike cone wrench. You should also use a bench vise, a hammer, and a punch.

The cones should be slightly loose, i.e. there should be a little bit of wobble. There should not be wobble in modern hubs, so this is unusual advice.

But don't be quick to overhaul the rear hub. It's rarely necessary. Spray a ton of WD-40 into the oil hole. The follow it up with oil. Bike oil is good. So is automatic transmission fluid. Even motor oil is OK. Just don't use 3-in-1. Keep putting oil in until it starts leaking out the axle ends. Spin it a bit and put more oil in. This has a good chance of bringing the hub back to life, and it may work as well as new.

+1 I've done this to a 62AW, 60AW, 48FW as well as a Herc. A type O. All are clicking along and shifting happily! Though I've never had the oil come out the ends on the stand, they usually just hemerage 30W oil for the first month of riding and then drip for another 6 months.

Yup, WD-40 and bike lube did the trick! It ticks marvelously now. I also bought a channel lock and fixed the headset too, it seems like it was just tightened to much. Thanks again for the tips. I thought this bike would be a big pain to fix up but its nearly done.

I'm VERY happy to hear that!

Does the bike ride yet? What else is left to do?

I just need to polish the chrome, service the brakes, and add a chain. Hopefully I'll have pics of the result tomorrow...It would have been done today but I got sidetracked after running out to grab a Raleigh Sprite I saw on Craigslist. That makes four Raleigh bikes in the shed now. I think perusing this thread over the past few months has triggered an addiction :)

Why it's so difficult to find English 3-speeds on a size 23" and a men's frame? Seriously, I'm browing CL and there are plenty of women's frame and a few men's size 21", but the larger frames are becoming really rare in my opinion.

Many (or most) were purchased for kids (in the US anyway) and the boys were tough on them too.

Like most manufacturers the production numbers on larger frames is much smaller and in the case of the Sports, a taller individual would have been steered toward the DL1 Tourist and this is a bicycle that does not appeal to smaller riders because the 635 wheel size limits rider height in the other direction with men's frames with less limits on women's frames due to the step through.

I'd say in every dozen men's 3-speeds we find, one will be a 23" frame.
I picked up a spotless Raleigh Superbe in 23" this week:

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...6&d=1321443535

Congrats on that find! (let's see some better pics, please)

Strongly considering getting the Dunelt DL-1 we've got lurking in a corner of the shop. It's a little rugged, but who knows? I reckon every bike guy should have a British 3-speed.

Just rescued this one

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/1678/1000986q.jpg

and a 1954 Sports Tourist

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/8...81554114er.jpg

Wow, that 23" Raleigh would be perfect for me. You could consider selling it to a fellow bikeforum member!

Thank you folks for the feedback. I have another question if you don't mind. Is it possible to have a 1972 Raleigh Sports built in Taiwan? Is there a problem with the built in Taiwan Raleighs or it is the same as the ones built in England? Concerns/issues? Thank you.

I'm not sure about Taiwan but I have a Malaysian Raleigh Sports. Some on here say that they had better build quality than the Nottingham bikes of the same era.


http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...g/IMG_0261.jpg

Thank you Kingsting! I probably misunderstood the country of origin, so it is Malaysia and not Taiwan, great clarification. I will check it personally this weekend, let's see.

From what I've seen, the Malaysian bikes were lower priced models. (S22 and S22L?) The most noticeable differences were the box-section rims, mattress saddles, blackwall tires, and no pump pegs on the frame.