Originally Posted by
Ghostknife
Question for you English 3 speed Guru’s. I have the original seat bag for the Sports but both leather straps for closing the top were brittle and broke off.
Is it worth it to get some new straps sewn on or just get a new bag?
The suggestion to bring it to a shoe shop is a great one! I did that with a bag of mine and it turned out great. They used the original buckles- the bag looks great.
Originally Posted by
FSOG Rich
This is my Tourist. My first Raleigh and my first 3-speed. From the markings on the hub, it looks like a 1974.
I was on a long-term assignment down in Melbourne, FL, and the hotel I stayed at was only about 1 mile from where I was working. As I knew i was going to be there for quite a while, I got on Craigslist and found this advertised. I'd always had a secret longing for a three speed, so this fit the bill perfectly. Everything was original, but the saddle and tires had dry-rotted away, so new tires and a new Brooks saddle. A new chain, it was ready to go. I absolutely love the "Patina" just enough rust and discoloration. I use this bike now to make runs to the store, and local restaurants for takeout. Great bike to ride, so comfortable, but I sure wouldn't want to do any hill work on it!
And, yes, I do know that the headlamp is in the wrong place, but I haven't been able to find a bracket to attach it.
You can change the rear sprocket from the stock to something larger, like 22 teeth and it will do reasonably well on hills. You'll have to lengthen the chain slightly and that might require a new chain unless you can find the right kind of chain from a junk bin. You don't have a chaincase so you could go a tad larger to a 23 tooth (your gear ratio is slightly higher on account of the larger wheel diameter of the rod-brake machines). Alternatively there are 44-tooth cranks.
It would be a good idea to service the bearings in the crankset (you'll need a cotter pin press to do this right, but they are not crazy money; see
https://www.bikesmithdesign.com/CotterPress/ ) and headset. They have probably not been lubricated since 1974. This probably goes for the hub bearings as well. There are new brake pads available that stop far better, and the brake levers are made of soft steel and over time, bend a bit upwards with use, causing you to loose braking power. You can fix that by gripping the lever at its hinge point on the handlebar with one hand (this is to prevent you from putting too much pressure on the hinge and separating it from the bar) and carefully bending the brake lever down with the other hand, so that you have greater travel of the lever.