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

Salubrious 08-24-17 10:01 AM


Originally Posted by FBOATSB (Post 19814823)
I was in the COOP for a totally unrelated reason and just happened upon this unmarked chrome steel stem while perusing the bins. It just spoke "English three speed" to me. Would this be correct?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Sn...g=w547-h971-no

No. It could be British and if not might even fit, but a 3-speed stem would be very short so that there would be a clearance for the headlight. Stems like this interfere with the headlight location.

dweenk 08-24-17 12:25 PM


Originally Posted by gster (Post 19814634)
This 1978 Canadian built Raleigh Superbe was the first 3 speed I bought and started my interest in these machines.
Purchased from a guy up the street seven years ago, this is my everyday work bike and gets the most use. It also gets the most attention. last year all the bearings were re-packed and new cables installed in the original ribbed housings.
Attachment 577681

Yesterday, I installed a 22T cog and a new chain. We'll see that works out.

Attachment 577681

In fact, after buying another English built Superbe in much better condition, I foolishly sold this one. Luckily the buyer had second thoughts (i.e. he didn't have any money) and the bike came back to me.

Your bike looks like it has the wide bars of the later Sports. I have a pristine root beer Sports that has 66cm wide bars. I find them too wide for comfort, so my daily rider is a beat up Sports with 55cm bars.

3speedslow 08-24-17 01:26 PM

1 Attachment(s)
[MENTION=380471]FBOATSB[/MENTION]

That stem really looks like the English stem they used on drop bar 10 speeds or upright Raleigh Sprites.

Nice stem but hard to get drop bars through, even if they are the right clamp diameter

3speedslow 08-24-17 02:48 PM

[MENTION=398265]BigChief[/MENTION] does it matter which pin you drive out first? Got the punch but now looking for a suitable work surface. Maybe a piece if hardwood with a hole drilled through it?

Thanks! Found the tutorial, now trying to get my head around the sequence.

FBOATSB 08-24-17 03:14 PM


Originally Posted by Salubrious (Post 19814913)
No. It could be British and if not might even fit, but a 3-speed stem would be very short so that there would be a clearance for the headlight. Stems like this interfere with the headlight location.

Thanks. I guess when it spoke, I didn't hear.

FBOATSB 08-24-17 03:30 PM


Originally Posted by 3speedslow (Post 19815514)

That stem really looks like the English stem they used on drop bar 10 speeds or upright Raleigh Sprites.

Nice stem but hard to get drop bars through, even if they are the right clamp diameter

Thanks. The last English three speed I ever rode was back in the early sixties. Raleigh Superbe. We called it a "Super Bee".

gster 08-24-17 04:12 PM

1 Attachment(s)

Originally Posted by dweenk (Post 19815366)
Your bike looks like it has the wide bars of the later Sports. I have a pristine root beer Sports that has 66cm wide bars. I find them too wide for comfort, so my daily rider is a beat up Sports with 55cm bars.

Could be the wider bars....
Hard to tell what's been done to a bike over the last 40 years or so. This one lost it's Dyno hub at some point before it reached me.
As originally found...
Attachment 577740
And yes, I do have the key,

BigChief 08-24-17 04:31 PM


Originally Posted by 3speedslow (Post 19815748)
@BigChief does it matter which pin you drive out first? Got the punch but now looking for a suitable work surface. Maybe a piece if hardwood with a hole drilled through it?

Thanks! Found the tutorial, now trying to get my head around the sequence.

No. But when you reassemble, it is far easier to replace the pawl pin first because this leaves you with the long trigger to hold onto while you maneuver the cam/trigger around under spring pressure to line up the second pin. Sure, wood would work. Especially something hard like maple or oak

thumpism 08-24-17 05:01 PM


Originally Posted by 3speedslow (Post 19815514)
[MENTION=380471]FBOATSB[/MENTION]

That stem really looks like the English stem they used on drop bar 10 speeds or upright Raleigh Sprites.

Nice stem but hard to get drop bars through, even if they are the right clamp diameter

I have carefully ground away the sides of the clamp down by the pinch bolt in order to get stems like this to accept drop bars. I would not do this for someone else's bike but would and have done so on my own bikes.

3speedslow 08-24-17 06:01 PM

1 Attachment(s)

Originally Posted by BigChief (Post 19815967)
No. But when you reassemble, it is far easier to replace the pawl pin first because this leaves you with the long trigger to hold onto while you maneuver the cam/trigger around under spring pressure to line up the second pin. Sure, wood would work. Especially something hard like maple or oak


Okay so this is how I think it it should be labeled...

plympton 08-24-17 06:51 PM


Originally Posted by BigChief (Post 19814824)
Yes, the bracket shapes at the steering tube and seat tube along with the button type oiler in the bottom bracket are the features that date the frame to before 1955. The guide wheel lug on the top tube is the feature that dates the frame after 1950. We know the bike was fixed up sometime after the later 60s by the rear fender and pedals, so it's hard to say if it was originally a Dawn or Dawn Tourist. The tourist was supposed to have both the enclosed chaincase and 3 speed hub as standard. I think it would be correct to restore it to either model.

The more I examine images and compare them with mine and then get input from Bikeforum. I'm leaning toward 1950 to 54 also. The chart that I found on the "HeadBadge" called Raleigh Sports Evolution:... intro...."Applies specifically to the Raleigh "Sports Light Roadster" Model 22 prior to 1958, and..." [isn't this a light roadster model 22?] it shows a single speed available on a model 22SG whatever that is, unless SG means single gear.

BigChief 08-24-17 09:00 PM

I don't know much about the older, pre war Raleighs, but except for the high end club type bikes, 28" wheeled roadsters and kids bikes, all the different post war models shared the same "light roadster" frame. They just had different components, names and model numbers.

BigChief 08-25-17 05:24 AM


Originally Posted by 3speedslow (Post 19816111)
Okay so this is how I think it it should be labeled...

Yup, and be careful as you slide the unit apart after the body pins are out. There's two small pins that connect the chrome lever to the hardened plate. They're loose in their holes and fall right out. You don't want to loose them.

plympton 08-25-17 07:37 AM


Originally Posted by BigChief (Post 19816411)
I don't know much about the older, pre war Raleighs, but except for the high end club type bikes, 28" wheeled roadsters and kids bikes, all the different post war models shared the same "light roadster" frame. They just had different components, names and model numbers.

Robert Edwards on a blog call Classic 3 Speeds shows the detail of his 1953 Sports Tourist front fork ends. The serial number varifies 1953. His fork dropout is brazed and he says later models are stamped. Everything else about the bike is the same. A look at the 1950 catalog shows solid [stamped] drop outs. I think he confused earlier with later.
Anyway the 50 catalog shows the Dawn Tourist with the little seat bag which my bike has. A small detail but a good detective leave no stone unturned.

Salubrious 08-25-17 09:36 AM


Originally Posted by BigChief (Post 19816411)
I don't know much about the older, pre war Raleighs, but except for the high end club type bikes, 28" wheeled roadsters and kids bikes, all the different post war models shared the same "light roadster" frame. They just had different components, names and model numbers.

One way to spot a pre-war frame is the top tube is a different diameter from the seat tube. The headset, stem and headlight bracket are different too.

plympton 08-25-17 02:27 PM


Originally Posted by Salubrious (Post 19817193)
One way to spot a pre-war frame is the top tube is a different diameter from the seat tube. The headset, stem and headlight bracket are different too.

Just looked. Using my tape the top tube is 1" whereas the seat tube and down tube are 1 1/8. I will search headset and light bracket. This light bracket have Raleigh engraved.

arty dave 08-26-17 02:37 AM

>dramatic music<...There will be no frankenABS5 hub...unless someone else can figure it out :)
The reason I thought it might work is that I read somewhere that the gear holding portion of the AB shell was the same size as an AW shell; alas 'tis not so.
The S5 shell is 60mm deep, the AB only 45mm deep
The S5 planet cage is 40mm high, the AB only 25mm
The driver, ball ring, and gear ring are the same for both, and also for the AW hub (they have the same part no's).
I suspect that the planet cage of an AW will also be 40mm high (although different part).

The AB insides were coming apart quite clean, and showing little signs of wear, until I got to the planet pinions - one of the little gears is missing 3 teeth. So weird coz it's such a clean, wholesome looking hub with just tiny tips of shiny on the ends of the pawls. Also it ran through the gears well when I first got the bike, with no strange noises. I did find the missing teeth when I wiped out the inside of the hub shell.

soooo I guess I'll be pulling apart the spare AW hub tomorrow to harvest a planet pinion gear. I'll measure the planet cage for interested SA nerds (like me). Lucky I like playing with these little guys.

thumpism 08-26-17 06:18 AM

Nice camelback from the local CL. Not mine.

https://richmond.craigslist.org/bik/...278512864.html

1959 Hercules men's 3 speed - $67 (chester)

https://images.craigslist.org/00N0N_...zE_600x450.jpg

Good shape

gster 08-26-17 07:15 AM


Originally Posted by arty dave (Post 19818859)
>dramatic music<...There will be no frankenABS5 hub...unless someone else can figure it out :)
The reason I thought it might work is that I read somewhere that the gear holding portion of the AB shell was the same size as an AW shell; alas 'tis not so.
The S5 shell is 60mm deep, the AB only 45mm deep
The S5 planet cage is 40mm high, the AB only 25mm
The driver, ball ring, and gear ring are the same for both, and also for the AW hub (they have the same part no's).
I suspect that the planet cage of an AW will also be 40mm high (although different part).

The AB insides were coming apart quite clean, and showing little signs of wear, until I got to the planet pinions - one of the little gears is missing 3 teeth. So weird coz it's such a clean, wholesome looking hub with just tiny tips of shiny on the ends of the pawls. Also it ran through the gears well when I first got the bike, with no strange noises. I did find the missing teeth when I wiped out the inside of the hub shell.

soooo I guess I'll be pulling apart the spare AW hub tomorrow to harvest a planet pinion gear. I'll measure the planet cage for interested SA nerds (like me). Lucky I like playing with these little guys.

Please post some photos of the "guts".

JohnDThompson 08-26-17 07:16 AM


Originally Posted by arty dave (Post 19818859)
I guess I'll be pulling apart the spare AW hub tomorrow to harvest a planet pinion gear.

I have a good supply of AW pinion gears if you're interested. Also some SW pinions and other parts, if anyone is a glutton for punishment.

3speedslow 08-26-17 07:28 AM


Originally Posted by arty dave (Post 19818859)
>dramatic music<...There will be no frankenABS5 hub...unless someone else can figure it out :)
The reason I thought it might work is that I read somewhere that the gear holding portion of the AB shell was the same size as an AW shell; alas 'tis not so.
The S5 shell is 60mm deep, the AB only 45mm deep
The S5 planet cage is 40mm high, the AB only 25mm
The driver, ball ring, and gear ring are the same for both, and also for the AW hub (they have the same part no's).
I suspect that the planet cage of an AW will also be 40mm high (although different part).

The AB insides were coming apart quite clean, and showing little signs of wear, until I got to the planet pinions - one of the little gears is missing 3 teeth. So weird coz it's such a clean, wholesome looking hub with just tiny tips of shiny on the ends of the pawls. Also it ran through the gears well when I first got the bike, with no strange noises. I did find the missing teeth when I wiped out the inside of the hub shell.

soooo I guess I'll be pulling apart the spare AW hub tomorrow to harvest a planet pinion gear. I'll measure the planet cage for interested SA nerds (like me). Lucky I like playing with these little guys.

I wish I was as comfy with the hub bits as you seem to be! Gonna take some time.

BigChief 08-26-17 08:10 AM

Never worked on a AB hub, but I've always been impressed with how clean and unworn the gears have been in the AW hubs I've had apart. Even from bikes that obviously had tons of use. In my old job I sometimes had to rebuild electric motor gear reduction boxes. The gear teeth never broke off until after they were worn thin. Maybe these gears weren't hardened properly. I'd replace all of them just in case.

Salubrious 08-26-17 10:34 AM


Originally Posted by plympton (Post 19817942)
Just looked. Using my tape the top tube is 1" whereas the seat tube and down tube are 1 1/8. I will search headset and light bracket. This light bracket have Raleigh engraved.

I can't say how the frames worked on the rod brake machines.

BigChief 08-26-17 12:27 PM


Originally Posted by Salubrious (Post 19819459)
I can't say how the frames worked on the rod brake machines.

The frames were the same. They just drilled two holes through the brackets at the downtube joints to mount the rod brake linkage to the rear wheel.

arty dave 08-26-17 08:25 PM

Thanks for the offer John but I'm in Australia. I'll use the pinions from my spare AW if they're in good condition; and I can order some replacements, 4 for $4 from a bike store in Australia.
3speedslow I was reluctant to crack my 1st hub open, but the insides only have so many parts - and the parts all form 4 main sections plus the axle. I followed the SA disassembly/assembly instructions and watched the youtube clips.
gster I'll put up some photos later, I'd like to get one of them all together once I've opened the AW.
BC I'm impressed that the hub kept working normally without the teeth bits destroying anything inside the hub! - and for how many years? it's a '63 hub! I guess they just stayed stuck to the shell wall out of the way of the internals.


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