kingfish254

Very cool. Appears to be in excellent shape. You should post a pic of that chainring.

robertjohnkay

kingfish254

Nice. Not as cool as a Rudge chainring, but pretty cool.

jedge76

Found this yesterday. Price a little steep? It's a real beauty though, either way:

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Andrew F

price is way steep! Looks very nice but IMO on close inspection the paint finish looks rattle can, you can see it in the seat lug photo. For $500 I'd want original or a professional paint job. Keep looking of something local, It'll show up.

noglider 

Remember, you make a money/time tradeoff. If you're willing to wait, you can get the deal of the year. But you may have to wait a year or two.

I waited years for my pretty 3-speed to show up at a good price. I paid $60 for it, on craigslist. It didn't look good, but it's shining up well. Everything is original except for the tires.

greengage

Saw that on eBay and on my local CL--it looks pretty terrific to me but that's the highest price I've ever seen on a Sports. I've seen some rod-brake Tourists sell for that in Boston, but it seems pretty outlandish.

Andrew F

Shhhhhh, be vewy, vewy, qwiet...were hunting waleighs....I pointed jedge76 to a sweet original 23" Superbe closer to his locale. Let see if he bags one.

flammenwurfer

You are very right. When I started getting into bikes, I couldn't find any good deals, and I was not very patient so I went and bought Motobecane Mirage that was in good riding shape, but pretty ugly for $100. I've since found numerous better bikes for half the price. But then, I wouldn't have had anything to ride for 6 months or however long, until I found my first bargain.

Still, $600 for that Sports is ridiculous.

gbalke

Tom is spot on with his advice. We've all been in your shoes, wanting something to a point where you're willing to pay what ever it takes to get it. For me it was a '69 Firebird I couldn't live without. Cost me dearly in both money plus I had to toss in my Austin Healy Sprite. A week later, a found a '70 Firebird for less money. I still kick myself in the a$$ on that one.

Take your time, watch e-Bay and Craigslist and see get an idea of "real" prices for the bike you want. Your bike will come along and you won't have pay an outrages price for it.

Just my 2 cents.

rhm

This is a few days old, but I just spotted this... All three bikes appear to have their fenders, and the Herc has the H-H-H crank. I guess the Norman is the one in the way back. Pretty good deal, seems to me, though way too far for me to make the drive.

https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/bik/1898939744.html
(3) old english bikes - $75 (waltham)

Date: 2010-08-14, 4:24PM EDT

Raleigh, Norman and Herculies all from england Gen. and lights on one good parts or make one bike 1 781 254 3026 obo Ken

• Location: waltham
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 1898939744

greengage

It is kind of amazing how many of these bikes are in the Boston area. A perpetual flow of students, I guess, and a never-ending flow of recycled bikes. Plus we're thrifty and curmudgeonly and like to save old stuff.

noglider 

I didn't say he should wait. I'm saying if he waits, he pays less. If he doesn't want to wait, he can get one now by paying more.

curbtender

I think's he be look'n older, but we all can't pass up a good deal...

alternatve

Hey guys, I'm contemplating converting my 10 speed into a 3 speed IGH train. Question is, its slightly hilly around my parts so that might prove a hassle. Would a larger rear cog help matters? I've read something about using a large cog in order that the lowest gear becomes normal, gear 2 and 1 being lighter gears for combating hills. Would like your two cents please.

flammenwurfer

Yes, a larger rear cog will lower the overall gearing making hills more manageable. I converted my Raleigh Technium to 3 speed and 700c wheels with a 20 tooth cog. It's just right for me, as I can get up some pretty decent hills in 1st. You might top out at a lower speed in 3rd, but that's a trade-off you have to make. I'm very happy with my setup though.

rhm

The "standard" OEM setup is 46/18. You'll find this on just about every Raleigh Sports and similar bikes. And in my opinion it's too high; I switched the 18 to a 22 on the bike I ride on Long Island (where the hills are pretty mild), and that works out very nicely; I use all the gears and often find myself cruising along in high gear at the top of my cadence. But for a really hilly area, lower gears would be nice.

What you should do on your tenspeed depends to some extent on what its existing crank will allow, but I'd imagine its smaller chainring is either a 40 or 42, and it probably has 27" wheels. The largest cog you can find easily and cheaply is 22T, so I'd start out with that, and see how it goes. With a little effort you may be able to find a 23T or 24T cog; if those aren't big enough for you, you'll have to find a smaller chainring, which will depend entirely on what your crank can handle.

Are you familiar with Sheldon Brown's Gear Calculator? It's an invaluable tool when contemplating a project of this type.

flammenwurfer

Oh, forgot to mention that my chainring is 42. 42t chainring, 20t cog, 700c wheels. Which gives me 42-56-75 gear inches.

I think a stock Sports chainring is 48 tooth.

nlerner

I believe the older ones are 46t, but at some point (late 70s, mabye?) the standard became 48t. A 46t is much more useful, imo.

Neal

noglider 

I strongly agree that most 3-speeds are geared much too high. What's up with that?

In 1981, I rode for a few weeks in rural France. Most of the older women got around by bicycle, on single-speed freewheel bikes. They pedaled with a very low cadence and I deduced that their ratios were very high? What's up with that?

rhm

Yeah, well, it's a good question. But the fact is, most riders use a far higher gear than I would. When I leave my office I ride over the Queensborough Bridge, which is a half mile climb on which I typically pass about five other cyclists. Almost without exception they are in a higher gear than I, and almost without exception they are on derailleur bikes where I can see that they have several lower gears to chose from; and they don't. And when I ride anywhere with my kids, or my wife, on our three-speeds, they are in their high gear the whole time. They don't even downshift at stops.

ftwelder

I wouldn't mind parting with my 65 Rudge DeLuxe for $275.00. I just got a '51 Raleigh sports than needs my love. The bars are up now. I have access to so many of these. It's 100% original, right down to the tires and tubes.


IMG_3092 by frankthewelder, on Flickr

mkeller234

My wife pedals slowly in a high gear. I asked her about it and she said she felt "out of control" pedaling at a higher cadence. She also seemed to think that spinning was to much work for to little speed. I did finally persuade her to shift into 1st gear at stop signs and hills. Shifting a 3 speed Sturmey archer hub is so simple that I have trouble understanding why it intimidates some people.

I remember pedaling slowly with high gears as a kid on my old Giant mountain bike. Spinning the cranks does feel "wrong" until you get used to it.

Andrew F

I noticed the same thing in Ireland, I assumed it was because no one was in a hurry to do anything. The upright position does seem to lend itself to a slower more labored cadence.

The Wicked Witch of the West was peddaling at a quick cadence when she got sucked up into the tornado....Hmmmm

mkeller234

Haha! Good point!