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I think that's a Montgomery Wards ad, so US prices...

Maybe I missed the sale because I saw the ad a few decades too late?:p

Ah yes, Monkey Ward's. You could also buy bikes from Western Auto, Two Guys From Harrison and Bamburgers.

I have a saddle bag like that. Bought it from a vintage bike guy who bought it NOS on eBay. Had it on my '55 Phillips for awhile.

Start it and they will come?

I do a few pub crawls in the Fayetteville, NC area. Usually by myself. But they are out there. I have been to a couple in the Midwest, great fun.

Aaron :)

There are bike pub crawls, but certainly not 3 speed specific! Once mine is up an running, I'll be doing them on mone.

I was in a semi-local bike store yesterday, BackPeddling, that a few years ago dealt only in used bikes. Now they are a more normal store but still lots of old stuff and the owner is a collector. They are a great resource for bits and pieces although not cheap. Looks like they have bought up bike store inventory as they closed or modernized - I should have taken a picture of their service area.
They have bins and bins of bike parts. Took this picture of a couple of bins.
http://i.imgur.com/wDbCyaj.jpg

Backpeddling | King of Bikes ? Guelph, Ontario

http://www.backpeddling.com/wp-conte...o-1024x678.jpg

We have staged many pub crawls with a focus on three speeds... folders more specifically.

@Slash5 Shhhh - don't give away the secret! :) I live about 4 blocks from there.

I looked at their site and lots of 3 speed stuff.

"Normal bike store" I thought vintage was normal!:)

@Slash5, what a treasure that place is. I'd love to browse there. Via Bicycles in Philadelphia has a big collection of old things, too.

There's those old saddlebags again. George and John must have been shopping at Monkey Wards.

I have two of those bags- one on a DL-1 and one on a Sports. I believe that style of bag also came stock on Raleigh bikes for a good number of years, in addition to the department store offerings aftermarket.

They're not bad, but I think the Carradice Zipper Roll is the the better choice today (and it looks the vintage part perfectly well). The best of my Raleighs has that bag, and I love it.

The Banjo Brothers Barrel Bag is also an option for lower price, but still decent looks. I have these on my other roadsters. They're a nice balance of price, features, and look.

I'm with you there. I've seen a couple of those bags on bikes for sale, and well, 50 year old vinyl is 50 year old vinyl. Carradice is a better way to go, and Minnehaha (Banjo Bros) aren't bad for what they are (but they are not Carradice!) Their barrel bag is pretty inexpensive though. I haven't tried the Zimbale or Cardiff offerings, but they at least look nice. And if you want to get fancier, you can get Sackville stuff, sold by Rivendell and made in Connecticut. And Brooks has their own bags too.

But none of the modern makers have made a bag that replicates the size and styling of those "leatherette" touring bags, as far as I know.

I got a Carradice coming, can't wait !

Hi all I'm new so be gentle! I recently picked up my first ever English 3 speed which considering I'm English is a bit surprising

its a 1964 Triumph Palm beach which is a rebadged Raleigh really, it's in fairly good condition and I only paid £15 so I'm chuffed to bits with it :)

The pics are screenshots from the EBay listing I'll take some better pics if it ever stops raining here

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=487318http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=487321http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=487322

Welcome to the Forum !

You have a nice entry there. IMO, need a leather saddle, umm, a Brooks perhaps ?

We are friendly bike cannibals.

Thanks, underneath the awful gel cover is the original Lycett saddle but it is in poor condition so I'll have to replace it or look at getting it re-covered

That's news about the saddle. If recovering is in the future keep RHM in mind. He is a member here who does great work with recovering saddles with frames he has or provided by customers.

OT... What 50's Dawes do you have ?

I like the bike - hideous saddle though. I would also check that the stem has not been extended to the point of failure.

I'm not sure what the model of my Dawes is when I acquired it it had been hand painted and had Galaxy decals on but I'm pretty sure it isn't a galaxy and Dawes are very hard to find any info on because of a fire destroying the records or so I've read.

The only thing I know for sure is the head badge is from the 50's and the original paint colour was green, I've since shot blasted and had it sprayed ready to be rebuilt at some point.

Welcome to the forum! Nice bike. That is a mid 1950's frame. A rare 23" 50s frame at that. Good find!
edit. I can be more precise. The brazed on cable pulley and the flip top oiler on the bottom bracket put the frame at 1955-1958

Yes- it's really about what you want to spend at this point. There are enough options so that there's something in every price range. The Banjo Brothers would be at the bottom range, right up to Carradice, Brooks, and Sackville at the higher end. No, they don't capture the faux-leather look, but then I think the canvas look (or real leather for that matter) is the better look. If you are willing to spend the money, go for the better bag. You can always transfer it to another bike if you need to.