BigChief

Took the Rudge out for a moonlight scorch last night. They just put a fresh coat of blacktop on a road near my house. Waited until themoon got high, put some fresh AAA batteries in my headband light, rode a half mile down the gravel road ( the scorcher is nothing like the roadster on gravel) got to the pavement, put pictures of a 150 pound white tail jumping out in front of me out of my mind and let her rip. Ahhhh, bikes go a lot faster at night you know. This is fun.

Renngrrl

Great minds think alike. I did something similar the other night. New headlight and gatorskins so I had to take the Puch out "just around the neighborhood". It was a gorgeous night with an almost full moon and a storm coming in. Finally turned around 17 miles from home on rural roads. I was having too much fun watching owls dive after mice being stirred up by my lights on the road.

And since it's the 3-speed thread, a gratuitous Murphy pic from beginning of today's ride
IMG_2936.jpg

BigChief

Wow, Murphy's looking sharp. Love the cream tires. Back when I was a teenager in New Jersey I had a few friends who still biked even after we got into motorcycles. The traffic where we lived was so bad that we stayed up and rode late,late at night. Now, I live out in the country, but the paved roads are dangerous in the daytime. Lots of blind curves and dips no shoulders, so I tend to ride on the unpaved town roads. The DL-1 handles uneven surfaces far better than any Sports bike. Forget my Motobecane road bike! You would think the extra weight of the roadster would be a problem, but I don't have any problem with it. I do have mine geared down to 46x22, so I have a granny for hills. If anything the added weight helps smooth out the ride.

DQRider 

The proper English technical term for that, I believe, is "Road-holding weight". Some say it was an intentional feature of the design.

Renngrrl

I am thinking of fiddling with the gearing. Yesterdays ride was flat but the head winds we rode into made the day into an endurance ride. My fault - I decided to go storm chasing into an area known for wind problems. I brought a rain slick with me and my DH chuckled. He was wishing he had one by mile 18.

I did get to ride the gravel along the levees and she was smooth as silk. Those fat delta cruisers and the weight of the bike made for a much smoother ride then the Rugby Sport would have given. She's just a joy to ride.

BigChief

The reason I'm so pleased with the DL-1 is that I have to leave my bikes at friends places in a coastal village to ride. The roadster opens up all the gravel roads to me right here at the farm. I can just hop on a bike and go for a 20 minute ride. Means a lot to me. Now, I haven't ridden a high end gravel grinder, but the old roadster is just as easy to ride on unpaved roads as the usual, run of the mill utility bikes with suspensions. The weight difference really doesn't amount to anything to me. The weight might help, but I suspect it's more the big wheels and frame geometry. Both of my roadsters came with a 16T cog on the AW hub. Even for flat roads it was way to tall for me. Now that I have a 22T cog and the brakes working properly, the DL-1 is my main go to for short rides. At least while I'm up north. Too hot for me today. Might just go out at midnight on the scorcher again. That was serious fun.

carrieberry71

I have this wonderful blue 3 speed Philips bike and I was trying to find out more about it. I can take more pictures of it tonight if it would help.

BigChief

Ah, a very pretty classic 3 speed step through. Nice color. From this picture I can see it's made by Raleigh in Nottingham sometime after Raleigh acquired the Phillips company in 1960. You can get a more accurate date by looking at the month/year stamped on the 3 speed hub.
It's missing it's original chainguard but a chrome one like this one would be the best replacement short of an original in the same color.

sunvalleylaw

@thumpism suggested I post this pic here. I, my brothers, and some of my cousins on rentals at Sun River, in Oregon. Fun times!

I did not, however, think the bikes were as cool as my beloved Sting-Ray I still had.

pfaustus

Whitworth wrench substitutes stolen from a landrover website:
Whitworth SAE or Metric
1/8 = 11/32
3/16 = 7/16
1/4 = 17/32
5/16 = 19/32
3/8 = 18mm
7/16 = 21mm
1/2 = None
9/16 = 1"
5/8 = None
Unless you inherited old SAE wrenches from the 60s or before, you will probably have to hunt the flea markets for the x/32 sizes. But they are a lot more common than whitworth wrenches at my local fleas.

dweenk

I bought a set of Whitworths from Big Red Toolbox in England a couple of years ago. The price was good, the shipping was cheap, but US Customs held them up for over a month.

I have a few bikes that require them, and a friend with limited resources that owns two older British motorcycles. It seemed like the thing to do, and I would do it again.

arty dave

I've been slowly cleaning bits of my DL-1. I knew there was an inscription on the bell but couldn't really make out more than the largest word 'SUPER'. After polishing -
'SUPER friends of the road' with some kind of forearm & hand image right in the centre.
I mentioned in a previous post that in my parts stash I have a Miller battery headlamp with a built-in horn and wired handlebar button that I want to put on the DL-1. I put a battery into it (1 x D size) but no horn or light - will the horn not work if a bulb is blown? I had a good look at the insides and it is extremely clean and appears to have solid connections everywhere. It's stamped '1958' on the inside. I failed electronics at high school so I guess I'll start with some new bulbs and hope that makes it all work.

When my Dad died I went through all his tools - he had a good collection of Whitworth as he restored (some English) military vehicles as a hobby after retiring from the army. His last vehicle was a replica of a light patrol model T that would have been used in WW1 Palestine. I had no use for Whitworth so we sold them, but I did keep a couple that had cool maker stamps, 'King Dick' was one.

Cute Boy Horse

I suggest going through every connection with a multi-meter and checking for continuity.

erileykc

No idea what operating principle your electrically operated horn uses but making sound in general involves using relatively thin and light mechanisms ( truck air horns excepted ) so wear and tear is likely more an enemy of your horn than of the lamp. A few pictures of the innards could be instructive.

BigChief

Is the unit mounted on the bike? A lot of these electrical devises depend on a connection to a frame to complete the circuit. Sometimes, even then, the ground connection can be iffy. I remember I used to have to run separate ground wires to make things like blinkers to work reliably on my old English motorcycles.

thumpism 

Not mine, and I have three Sportses already so don't need this one that looks like a rare ladies' 23" frame.

https://richmond.craigslist.org/bik/6184420844.html

1974 Vintage Raleigh Sports 3 Speed Bicycle - $100 (The Fan)



condition: excellent
make / manufacturer: Raleigh
model name / number: Sports

Here we have a beautiful and rare vintage Raleigh Sports in "coffee brown." The bike will need a good tune up...but for those of you who admire vintage 3-speeds, you know that once you get it up and running, it will give you another 40 years of solid riding. All original parts except the saddle.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I'm willing to accept reasonable offers and can deliver within the city of Richmond. Thanks!

arty dave

Miller internals 4 by arty dave armour, on Flickr


Here are the internals. There is a metal rod inside of the horn button that certainly looks like it makes metal on metal contact with handlebars when the button is pressed. Should I move these headlamp images to a new thread?


Miller internals 2 by arty dave armour, on Flickr

arty dave

Miller under showing horn & button by arty dave armour, on Flickr

BigChief

Oh, the battery is right inside the headlight. Just a thought. Again, referring to my experience with old English motorcycles. These were always wired positive to ground. If I were putting a battery in this, being an American, I would assume that terminal with the wire going to the horn button would be the positive side of the battery. Since it's English, perhaps that would be the negative terminal?

Velocivixen

Just thought I would update anyone who's interested, especially @noglider, since you asked. I LOVE my Raleigh Twenty new wheels with drum brake in front & 2-speed kickback rear. Of course the brakes are still "bedding in" and will only improve with some more riding time.

I love that there is only one single cable to the drum brake. I recommend the Sturmey Archer brake levers - they come as a pair and for $17, that's a steal. They're sort of a low sheen silver (paint?) with a faux leather textured length along the grip side of the lever. They have a confidence inspiring feel to them - sort of firm and luxurious (like driving my '64 Lincoln Continental!).

I did a bit of Rivendell-esque twine & shellac job on 3 small spots where the rear rack vibrates (the rack frame & the sprung "trap"). Subtle as well as effective.

The Knog "Oi" copper bell is elegantly designed, but not for high noise situations. Pleasing tone, but quiet, so not recommended for noisy riding situations.

I was able to get the bent crank arm about 98% corrected, so as I pedal I only very slightly feel a difference in that pedal. I guess I could work on it a bit more, but for now I'm good.

noglider 

Thanks for the updated, @Velocivixen. I bet you won't notice the bent crank after a while.

BigChief

That's great. I didn't even realize there were still kick back hubs being made. Sounds like you're happy with the overall gearing, but is it possible to swap cogs like a 3 speed?

Velocivixen

@BigChief - oh yes - the drive side setup is just like the Sturmey Archer 3 speed. The circlip, cog, any spacers, dust cover, etc. The axle, of course is solid, and there are anti-rotation washers on each side. I chose a 2-speed WITH a coaster brake, so it has the brake arm clamped to the NDS chain stay.
If I'm riding at a good clip and go over a good sized bump the gear will shift, but only because I'm coasting (I coast a lot) and the bump causes my feet to shift slightly. It only takes a "flick" - not at all a "kick" to change gears.

I know the front drum brake is likely still bedding in, but I notice a sort of "thunk, thunk,thunk" sensation as I'm braking. As though there may be brake dust on part of the drum, then a clean spot - so like friction/smooth as regular intervals. Don't hear it; just feel it. I'll give it more break in time and if it still does that I will disassemble and wipe out any dust.

BigChief

Raining this morning so I got back to work on my 73 roadster. The 72 is finished except I'm still hunting for fenders. Before I tear the whole bike down, I figured I'd get the brakes sorted. The work I did on the 72 produced stellar results and I was hoping to get the 73 stopping just as well. I already had 4 Fibrax pads in my parts box so I didn't spring for a set of Kool Stop salmon inserts. Except for the graphics, these bikes are identical. I carefully set up the brakes just like I did on the 72, but the results were underwhelming to say the least. The braking power difference between the two bikes is enormous. It has to be the pads. That's the only difference. I've noticed this on my Sports bikes as well. Those Salmon Kool Stops are just amazing. The rod brakes on these old roadsters are nominal at best, but these salmon pads actually bring the braking power up to a reasonable level.

SirMike1983 

That complete roadster is in nice condition. They're long and tall in the frame, which gives them some nice ride characteristics.

I've lately been riding Schwinn 3-speeds a lot, like this 1941 New World 3-speed. They're English-inspired, but have some neat American features.