Ged117 

I'm thinking of using MKS Sylvan pedals for my fiance's '56 Sports. It has the original pedals in great shape, and she will be commuting with the bike. I figure I will put the originals away with those from my '50 Superbe, and use the MKS pedals on it too. My feet are too big for the originals anyway and I suspect the MKS pedals will be more comfy for her as well.
I'm almost finished my Peugeot project, and must get the '56 Sports ready for spring. I have a '72 AW wheel from a donor bike that I am going to clean up and use in place of the SW, which drops out of gear despite being in correct adjustment. I think that is why the bike is in such nice shape - it didn't get ridden all that much. At any rate I don't want her hunting for correct gear engagement in traffic, so once again I am happy to have found a cheap donor. A neat part of this project is that I found a sturmey lightset off of UK eBay which was originally installed on a '49 or '47 Lenton. The paint is rough so I'm going to sand it and paint in a creamy white to match the mudguards on the '56 Sports (which also need a little work at the ends - I will follow Chief's example with his mudguards). I just have to re-wire the light system - I suppose I could use lamp cord. I plan to use the Nicelite LED bulbs. She won't be riding at night, so being seen is the goal with this one and I'm not worried about how the beam pattern is etc. I'm going to find a 32 hole CR18 wheel for the Lenton dynohub (it has the cool bakelite covering too - and I found another locally in a parts bin).

gster

I think MKS pedals a slightly bigger than the originals with a
larger footprint.
I've had a pair in regular hard use for the past 6 years (at least).
I've only had to tighten up the connecting bolts once or twice.
They seem to be discantinued in Canada which is a shame as
the were only $25.00/pair...
Those SW hubs seen to have a bad reputation
I found a bare one at the co-op that appears almost new.
Probably swapped out and hardly used.

gster

Still Out There
Ladies Superbe @ $65.00...
The forks look a little off.

BigChief

That is one nice stepthrough. Love the color. Original silver cable housings. I'm much more comfortable riding with the steel MKS pedals, but it's great to have those super rare original 50s double quills. There's lots of mid 50s 40 hole AW hubs around because people tended to save good hubs from wheels with rusted away rims. It would be nice to lace the original rim to a good 50s AW someday. The newer rims aren't of this quality.

Ged117 

I have a '56 AW that I am going to build into a CR18 next winter, to join the dynohub CR18 front wheel to lighten up the bike quite a bit for longer rides. The original front wheel from the '56 Sports will be cleaned up and installed on my '50 Superbe, since as you say it is in nice shape, unlike the replacement '70s flakey one on my Superbe right now.

Commando

Last time I was home in Toronto (live in Australia now), I was astounded by the number of locked up, clearly abandoned 3-speeds everywhere. When I lived there 15 years ago, commuting and exploring on my Superbe, I don't remember seeing so many laying about, perhaps I wasn't paying attention, however. Here in Oz, English 3-speeds are not nearly as common, so bikes are parts are more expensive, I'm gonna bring tools with me next time I make the trip to the Big Smoke!

jackbombay

Limited to about 41mm on the rear with a 650b wheel. I will have hard numbers on this fairly soon.

gster

I often wonder if people do any research before placing an advert.
Here's a rather average Raleigh built Glider for sale here in Toronto.

Seller is asking $300.00.
Selling points:
Tires hold air.....amazing
New vinyl seat worth $40.00 included in purchase price.....wow
The average asking price around here would be $100.00 - $150.00.
If i was interested I'd pay $50.00 - $75.00.

Numberfourson

I have always admired English three speeds. As a kid I built whatever I rode from parts scavenged here and there. Old 24 " wheels gave way to Sting Ray's and ten speeds. But always three speeds seemed classic. I now have a garage full of bikes and a basement workshop that's running out of room. Amongst my Zeus and Raleigh road bikes a 1958 Royal York English three speeds. I've had it for about twenty five years don't know much about it and don't really care. It's an English three speed and I have as long as I can remember wanted one.

gster

I think there was a Royal York posting here a while back.

adventurepdx

I always find the "tires hold air" (or even better, "tires seem to hold air") thing silly. I guess for someone who thinks they need/hope to do zero work to a used, old Craigslist bike, that's a big selling point. But me? The first thing I want to do is replace tires on a 30-50 year old bike. Chances are that the tire is going to fail pretty quickly with any regular use. And while I love the quality of many vintage things, tire technology has definitely improved for the better over the years. The only thing I wish is they made more vintage style "block pattern" tires in 650A. The only one I know of is the Panaracer Col de la Vies.

BigChief

I miss the old Dunlop tires too. Maybe it's just me. Time does seem to pass more quickly as I age, but it seems like I'm topping off my air pressure much more frequently with modern tires and tubes. It used to be that I could...inflate hard...and forget about it for weeks.

JIMBO53

Just because it "appears" to be abandoned, it might not be-you could get arrested for theft. I'd be careful parting it out or cutting the chain-surveillance cameras everywhere and this could be a big "uh-oh..." moment you can't take back for an old bike.

JIMBO53

I have a 71 DL-1 Tourist that has original Dunlop Roadster tires. One of the tubes went down the other day while on a ride. The tires look great-supple, no cracking or splitting, inside the tires are good with no issues I can see. Would it be OK to put new tubes in the existing tires?

gster

i always replace the tires on a new project that I intend to ride but I do recycle
old tubes on occasion. You're right, I have Dunlop tubes from the 50's that hold air better
brand new ones,
I like the ones with a threaded valve and lock nut.

Salubrious

Certainly as long as you are OK with the old tires.

adventurepdx

Well, I never said I missed the old Dunlop tires, though I know that on this thread that would be the "correct" thing to say. I don't have experience with those tires. I just like the tread pattern on some of the older tires, and wish we'd see more of that. The Col de la Vies are the only modern tire in 650A that has that vibe.

And I don't feel like I'm topping off more with modern tires and tubes, but since I don't have the experience of "back then", I can't say for sure. I feel like my Conti tubes and Schwalbe Delta Cruisers hold the air quite a while. I went to check pressure on the tires yesterday after a couple weeks of not using the bike, and each tire maybe lost 10 psi.

And it's been years since following the credo of "inflating hard". I used to inflate to the maximum pressure on all my tires, now I'm more likely to go towards the minimum pressure. And I feel like the amount of flats has decreased. And I'm no lightweight rider!

adventurepdx

For modern options, both Schwalbe and Continental have threaded valves and lock nuts for their Schrader tubes. (Must be a German thing.) I pretty much just use the Conti tubes and have good luck on air retention. And I can usually find them cheaper than the Schwalbe tubes.

BigChief

Apparently, threaded schrader valve stem tubes are still available. It was mentioned on this thread a while back. "Inflate Hard" was what the old Dunlops had molded into the sidewall.

Ballenxj

I have a set of heavy duty tubes I had put on at a bike shop where I bought them, along with puncture proof street treaded tires on my Diamond Back mountain, now commuter bike. I don't remember the brands of either, but the tubes are threaded outside Schrader stems, and put in place of drilled out rims for presta tubes. They seem to stay inflated way longer than the original presta tubes. I've done this to two bikes now because I don't like Presta. The other has 700c with schraders now as well.

adventurepdx

Yeah, by me about two and a half years ago.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...l#post19894730

clubman 

I still ride Dunlops from the 60's after they added the Nylon bead. They don't deteriorate like the all-rubber models previous. I've had a pair on my Canadian Sports for 10 years and although it only sees light use on roads and cinder paths, I've had zero flats. Great block pattern.

Ballenxj

And by me in the post right above your last one.

Salubrious

Its a durable tire, but IME slow and a harsher ride than most of the new offerings.

adventurepdx

Oh yes, I saw that post. But when @BigChief said "a while back", I think they were meaning further than "the last post."