Tyres

My name is Keith and my nickname was the Keithster but having read almost all 1038 pages of this most excellent forum l realised, there already are a Keith and Gster whose treadmarks are long and deep here, in recognition of their sage wisdom and knowledge of all things 3 speed and in order to maintain clarity l will heretofore refer to myself as Tyres.

clubman 

Welcome. Post a pick of your 40's Gliders. I had a huge double tube model with a big brass headbadge but I couldn't safely mount the thing. Just too big!

Tyres

HAPPY EASTER! Dreamed l got 2 eggs for EASTER, one larger than the other. In the big one was a 51 AW hub, in the small one was a brass faced SA shifter. I was so happy l jumped out of bed and stepped in dog puke in my bare feet. I was really disappointed when , l realised there was no hub or shifter.
the dog Toby a chocolate lab newfie was not harmed in this dream.haha

Tyres

Some like baskets on their handlebars tho it's not for me. I believe VV back in the 300's had an issue with the Raleigh light bracket pushing the basket out too far in front then, somebody in the 500's suggesting to just turn it to the side but I'm suggesting flipping it upside down. I think this would support basket far enough off the steering tube near the bottom of the basket while still keeping it far enough forward to not impair the swoop of the cables. However not having disassembled many Raleigh steering assemblies l couldn't say with any certainty if this is possible feasible practicable or whatever, l just thought it might help. Post #6

Tyres

2 old Raleigh collectors are talking over a pint at the bar. The first one asks " You know how your wife's eyes glaze over and roll back into her head when you're talking about finding a good in true non rusty. Westwood to finish the 40's project you're working on. Or you complain about the impossibility of finding an intact matching pair of pre war bar grips? " Then the second old Raleigh collector looks at the first and asks. "You've still got a wife?" Haha

gster

Two more posts and we can reveal the secret handshake to you.....

Calio

My new swaggin whip 😎
I recently purchased my first English 3 speed off of craigslist. It's a Dawes from the 60's or 70's. I plan on adding a rear rack & turning it into my daily/grocery getter

$280 USD & the attention I've gotten from girls is worth that price alone 😂🤷🏼‍♂️ (people reeeaalllly underestimate the power of the vintage 3 speed)

On a similar note, the amount of conversations I've had with complete strangers over a simple bicycle that I've owned for a few days is exactly the kind of thing that puts a big stupid smile on my face

Wheels seem original & oddly enough are 26 inches despite being quite a large frame. (I suppose in the 60cm range) Almost everything is original supposedly apart from the tires, seat, & grips

All said, I'd love to know a bit more about the bike. I can't seem to find a specific model on it. There doesn't seem to be a similar model for sale here in the US that I can find. I'd love to know a bit more if there'd be anyone of expertise in the matter. Thanks & stay swaggin 😎 y'all are awesome

Tyres

hi Young man, you're right they're both 28 " wheels with big old painted Westwoods but I'm 6' with long monkey like arms and manage fine. They have those huge brass headbadge .Next is a 50's red original paint 3 speed sturmey A. W . 53 l think came with a smaller glider brass headbadge have a cute blue step thru 60's coaster glider for my wife, it has a smaller brass headbadge too.
I'll post some head badge shots when I've past ten posts

Tyres

A trip downtown to look at .the Christmas window displays on the streetcar was considered a good school field trip for the younger grades. On one such trip l missed the transfer from the Queen to King streetcar at Broadview on the way home and ended up far in the Beaches 7or 8 no money miles from home 5 or 6 inches of snow. I arrived home hours later exhausted and rosy checked to crying parents and honest to God policemen drinking tea at the kitchen table. BEST day of my life, less so for parents and teacher who lost me.

gster

I'd always assumed that Dawes only made drop bar racing bikes.....

dedhed

I own a few bikes and my 1968 Raleigh Sprite is the only one that NEVER fails to have someone come up and talk to me about.

clubman 

All's well that ends well. If you got off for the transfer, you may have ended up in Jilly's and lost your virginity or worse! The Beach was my stomping ground for a few decades.
Just to make this a little on-topic, around 1990, I was riding a 3-speed home from work about 2 am on the backstreets and cut across beside a small parking lot behind Jilly's. The lot looked dark and empty but I spotted something odd and rode up to the fence.
I was petrified, awestruck and afterwards, terribly sad. A measly 10 foot frost fence separated me from a full grown tiger, alone at night, in the city. Yes apparently it belonged to a stripper.

Here's the bike...a 1940's Hercules with 26" wheels and rod brakes. That bike, the ride and the tiger are burned into my memory.

Calio

Thanks for the compliments & help 👍 I'm always impressed with the knowledge & expertise available here 😎

Here are the photos of the rear hub (which I hope render the text somewhat legible)

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Calio

I myself am quite perplexed. I've scoured resources both here in the US & obviously in the UK as well. I am yet to encounter what this bike is

That said it seems Dawes has a large gap in the catalogs available on their site which would span the time this bike would have been produced
The bike of mystery bewilders lol 🤷🏼‍♂️

Calio

Very interesting indeed. This bike might be a bit older than I initially anticipated 🤔

Calio

Definitely a strange one. I have half a mind to wonder if it isn't a frankenbike lol

Calio

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Before I forget to reply

1. The grateful dead is one of the greatest bands of all time

2. A Raleigh Sprite always merit conversation. 👍 I'd love to pick one up at some point

Calio

You know, every time someone asks about my bike I'll say it's "an extremely rare vintage English bike of mystery, possibly the only one in the world"

Might be true

gster

Sorry to sat but Jilly's is gone, along with Dangerous Dan's Burgers across the street,
The gentrification (borification) of Toronto coninues unchecked. The East End still has a rough edge and Parkdale does as well

swampyankee2

My '67 Robin Hood Lenton Sports is essentially a Raleigh Sprite 10 speed. Very handsome in gold and white, it has some issues I'm trying to overcome. But if I can, I would expect it to be quite a curiosity.

gster

As mentioned above, it may in fact be a "Bitsa" .
I.e. a Dawes 10 speed frame with 3 speed components/upright bars added at some point.
I have a Raleigh/Glider that was originally a 5-speed that's been converted to a SA 3 speed.

Raleigh/Glider Bitsa on the left. Robin Hood on the right.
Both very similar and yet different to ride.

gster

The forks appear to be slightly pushed in....

swampyankee2

That is one of the aforementioned issues I'm working on....

gster

Old school bike shops used to have a rig/jig that they used to fix bent forks but I haven't seen one for a while.
It looks to be a slight deflection .
I've had success with the 2x4 method.

swampyankee2

I used a jack backed up against the BB. Seemed to work well, but I did have to pull the fork and straighten the steering stem in a press which seemed to work. There is an issue with the freewheel so I'm upgrading to a set of alloy rims. The acid test will be to see whether it tracks straight going down the road. If not, Hopefully it works out. If not, I don't know what else I can do to fix it, although it would be a shame to just scrap it.