mkeller234

Question: Why do the seat clamps on most 3 speeds face forward? Being used to road bikes with set back seat posts the 3 speeds look backwards to me. I checked the 1973 Raleigh Catalog and it had the clamp mounted towards the front and I followed suit.

I took this picture on my ride this morning. Look at the 28in rims compared to the cars wheels! I was nervous about posing my bike so close to someones shiny car... worth it!



Gratuitous "3 speed in the park" picture.... sorry, I can't help myself!

Andrew F

[QUOTE][/QUOTE]

Where's the car?

More impressive then the wheel size is the overall impression. The DL is almost larger than the car! I'd feel safer on the DL in traffic.

wahoonc

I completely agree, I knew my DL was big, but not THAT big!

Now I will go looking for Smart Cars to intimidate.

Aaron

alternatve

So its more preferable to cruise in a low gearing setup instead of fighting it out with a high gear ratio? I'm just back into cycling since when I was a kid, and the higher ratio you were then, the better you were... So I must have inherited that experience. Even now when slowing down, I pedal slower instead of changing gears.

I can get a 22T easily yes, but I have seen a 24T rear cog around before, must search around. The main problem for me is to obtain a SS crank. All that's around me are fixie cranks (with accompanying price and design) or cottered cranks which is the look I'm going for but heavy and I rather square taper..

I have come across Sheldon's Brown gear ratio calculator several times but I must confess that it has always stumped me. His other articles are a gem though.

mkeller234

Spinning a lower gear at a higher cadence is supposed to put less stress on your knees. I think it keeps your heart rate up also.

Andrew F

+1 on that! I can feel the difference in my knees if I push a high gear for too long.

jonwvara 

That's a 23-inch frame, yes? Where in Vermont are you at? I'm in Cabot.

noglider 

Hey, jedge76, are you still with us? This isn't English, but it's very well made and in excellent condition. And the price is excellent.

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/for/1908000408.html

redneckwes

Todays thrift store Sports.



Raleigh forever!

ftwelder

I am in Bellows Falls! greetings neighbah! 23? dunno, never measured it! I would say yes if I were to guess.

mkeller234

Nice! Brooks saddle and all. I'd like to find something like that for my mother in law. Great catch.

greengage

Such a nice-looking bike, though probably a little sporty (and tall) for me! How do you have "access?"

chris902

So I am new to the forum but I thought I'd post my 1978 Raleigh Sport:




A nice craigslist find that runs in pretty good shape. Everything in this photo is original except for the bag and the bell. (legally I need a bell on it and haven't been able to track down a more old-timey one for a decent price). Unfortunately I have since had to replace the pedals with new fangled ones since one was falling apart. I've also buffed up the chrome on it to make it a bit prettier. I used to ride a ten speed road bike but sold it shortly after buying this. I use this as an every day commuter bike and it handles great and is a comfortable and low maintence ride. (and cost less than one twelfth of the Pashley's that seem to be replacing fixies amongst urban hipsters)

I am currently trying to track down another three speed in decent shape to convert into a club bike/path racer with drop bars (maybe flipped north road style bars) and an unsprung saddle. My plan would also include reducing the weight by stripping off the chain guard and fenders (heresy for purists, I know).

This is a great thread and there are some jaw dropping bikes on here and has given me some great ideas.

Andrew F

Nice clean Sports Chris! Keep your eyes open, I found my stripped Sports for just a few$ to do what your talking about. Keep you eyes open their are lots of needy 3spds out there.

wahoonc

Nice looking bike in the harder to find 23" size

Here is my latest incarnation. This bike is probably a 1972 (no hub date) purchased for $25 in 1982 and used as a daily rider for close to 15 years. It has well over 30,000 miles on it. Other than wear out items like brake blocks, tires and a couple of chains it has kept on rolling through it all. I took the hub down a year or so ago and it was still clean and showed very little wear. I did replace the pawl springs as they seemed a bit weak.

I just added the baskets for hauling growlers and groceries.

Aaron

AL NZ

I have left 2 English 3 speeds at the mother-in-law's in Suffolk, UK. I am back in NZ
One was a mid-60s Raleigh-built BSA which worked well, the other a 50s Trent Tourist with an SW hub which initially worked badly, until I realised the idiot I bought it from had pumped grease into the hub. Once I oiled it liberally it started to free up.
Are good working SWs a bit scarce?

I am now back in NZ where I have been back on my 20s single-speed BSA 28" wheeled bike. Nice to be re-united. The Eadie coaster brake barely works, so quite fun stopping.
I am bringing back a container from the UK with a Subaru in it, a 1955 Raleigh 4 speed FG hub bike, and the old 1939 loop frame Raleigh which I love riding even though my knees hit the handlebars.

I also have some refurbished Sturmey hub-brake hubs coming - front is the larger tandem hub, rear is 3 speed - to build into some wheels. In NZ I have (somewhere in storage!) some NOS Japanese 28" rims (Westwood shape) that I will get spoked up. I also bought sight-unseen some NOS 28" mudguards, and I have an old frame at my sister's place with a Major Taylor stem, so a bit of a bitsa will be built to my own whim.

If anyone in England wants the 3 speeds sitting in Suffolk, let me know.

noglider 

I do, but the shipping cost would be prohibitively expensive.

ftwelder

I have a friend who is a bike hoarder. He has 100 or more Raleigh three-speeds. I also live in the NE USA where nearly every garage contains a Raleigh. I noticed you live in Boston. The deck is stacked in your favor.

Sixty Fiver

Taught a mechanic's class on 3 speed care and feeding yesterday morning as we see a lot of them and our volunteers find them to be rather baffling machines to work on.

Had a few nice guests show up... it became as much a class about Raleigh Twentys as it was how to service and maintain your three speed.







The green 20 was a donation that I used for the demo and by the time the class was over it was purring like a kitten and one of the students bought it and joined the fold... it was in really nice shape and just needed a few little things to make it right.

Sixty Fiver

If there was a Greatest Bikes Ever Made" list, the pedestrian and utilitarian Raleigh Sports would have to sit at the top of the list...

They may be responsible for carrying more people than any other brand or type of bicycle and whether that has been around the block or around the world, they have done this very well.

Consider that if you buy a Raleigh Sports and fork out a little cash to have new 650A alloy wheels built you have a bike that is every bit as nice as a Pashley... and in my opinion... a bike that is just a little classier.

Interestly enough... Raleigh made more Twenty's and variants of this than they did full size models and these are considered to be their best selling model of all time.

But Twentys seem to collect more dust as they are seen as being a quirky little bike that can't possible be comfortable or capable... until you actually ride one.

choteau

Hello from Oregon. This summer I've been riding my 50's Phillips roadster, 40ish lbs, 28" wheels and rod brakes. Fun, fun, fun. I'm now doing 25+ mile rides on it. Looking at winter coming and the poor braking when wet, decided to look at a new bike, so rode a Torker Graduate, drum brakes, 5 spd Sturmey, very solid bike, but the ride quality is not there. Guess I've gotten spoiled...... Tim Thinking about building a winter wheelset, 28" rims with drums front and rear.

Sixty Fiver

choteau - I rode a Raleigh 20 through last year's snowpocalypse in Portland... at one point I was one of the only vehicles moving on the road and was rocking Schwalbe Marathons.

When I have ridden a 20 here in the winter I run knobbier tyres as we have more snow and ice to deal with.

kingfish254

65, I see you have been welding some more bits to your 20.

wahoonc

Just found out that Innova makes studded tires in the 406 size...with 144 studs!

I don't normally have to ride in conditions that would require studs, but is nice to know they are available for the next ice age.

Aaron

fender76

Hi all - just found this thread and figured I'd share some
Of my 3 speeds

Dl-1


My BSA



And a Dawn Tourist I just acquired to restore