70cst

This is my 1969 Superbe ... not mint but very nice. This is my 69 Superbe with my 61 Schwinn 5 speed.

HercRider

That might be another 21" frame...I'll let others more knowledgable chime in. Price is consistent with what I've seen the last two months, and it is a good looking bike.

Great looking bikes! That Superbe looks nice-i'm guessing the Dynohub still works? I've seen quite a few Superbes on CL, and more than half don't have the Dynohub, which is a great accessory, IMO.

wahoonc

I am in his general area and would be glad to assist. My parts stash is on the low side but I do have one bike that could provide a fair bit of donor parts. It was a step through frame in the bronze green that got damaged in shipping.

Aaron

wahoonc

21" frame, price is reasonable, especially for the age. FWIW at 5'-11" you should be able to ride either frame size. I am 6'-2" with long arms and legs and ride both. The 23" definitely fits better though.

Aaron

el_spumante

Thanks, Aaron! Now if only I could find a 21" and 23" to compare side-by-side... But knowing that either should work sure makes hunting a lot easier.

el_spumante

Yeah, I've learned that just by looking around. I passed on a very nice Sports on ebay yesterday that sold for $315. It didn't seem way out of line, but it was a bit more than I was comfortable spending (especially with the added shipping charges). I'd of course rather pay $50-100 for a bike that needed little or no work to make it rideable, but $150 for that bike seems OK to me. Especially if I can bargain the seller down closer to to $100 ;-)

70cst

Yes ...The Dynohub works as it should. Wasn't the Dynohub standard on a Superbe?

graywolf

It does not look that way to me, it looks like a guy that does not know how eBay works trying to beat a guy that had already out bid him by adding a little bit at a time. Notice that the winning bid was dated way earlier than all those bids.

wahoonc

Debatable. I have seen Superbe both with and without the Dynohub. I suspect it may vary with the year and if the original owner ditched it or not.

Aaron

gbalke

Highly doudtful that a bidder with a feedback score of 199 would not know how e-Bay works. It's also interesting that the winning bidder (feedback score of 0) enters two bids on the same day, just a few seconds apart. First $155 and then $315. This could all be legit, but then again, we just may see this same bike being auctioned again by the same seller.

In any case, good luck with your hunt for a nice Raleigh Randy. Let us all see what you come home with.

HercRider

Saw this one on the Raleigh Craigslist:
https://raleigh.craigslist.org/bik/2630624993.html

Looks good, but it is a bit pricey (time to haggle), and it is a 21".

el_spumante

Thanks for looking out, HercRider! I saw that one and talked with the seller yesterday. I haven't seen the bike, but apparently someone offered him $350 if he would wait until Friday, which means that the best I was able to do was talk him "down" to his original asking price of $300. Looks like a very clean bike, w/ the Brooks in good shape and the rack, etc., but I'm not sure I'm ready to drop that much. Though it is a nice bike...

Two other possibilities came up in the past few days, and I'd appreciate any thoughts from y'all:

1) A 1970s (I don't remember the year) LTD, black like the one on Craigslist. A brand new bike shop in Durham remembered I was looking for one, and emailed me as soon as one came in on consignment. I went and looked at it yesterday and it's got some surface rust (minor), but the paint is good, they said everything works fine. The Brooks looks like black vinyl, so they'll replace that (but I doubt with a leather saddle), They are also going to do new cables, clean the rust off as best they can, and some other minor things (new tires, maybe?). Asking $175. It's a 23", w/o a rack.

2) A 1974 AMF-Hercules (from someone who saw my wanted ad on craigslist). The seller told me that this is basically a Raleigh Sports, just marketed under the AMF-Hercules name for the U.S. market. Some googling seemed to confirm this. But would it be the same quality? As for the bike itself, it's also black (makes the color choice easy!). I haven't seen the bike or photos (yet), but the seller says it is in very good shape, with only some very minor rust and patina. Original fenders, chain guard, etc. Newish tires. He did mention two minor problems: 1) the rear fender is missing the bracket which is supposed to secure it to the brakes. 2) The front wheel is missing one spoke (but the wheel is true). He's asking $140. He said he'll send photos tonight, and I'll post them here if I can figure out how.

SO, of these three options, what do you think? I am thinking that $140-$175 for these second two makes more sense than twice that amount for the first one from craigslist, but that one does have the rack, light, and Brooks. Y'all have been at this a lot longer than I have, so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for being so helpful. I'm excited to get one of these soon!

noglider 

I have a 1967 AMF Hercules. Overall, it's the same quality except for maybe the chainring and a few other minor exceptions. It is true that it is a Raleigh Sports with AMF-Hercules marketing for the US market. Raleigh had a whole lot of fake brands, most of which it had acquired in 1960. There were names such as Philips, Robin Hood, Dunelt, Rudge, Hercules. I can't remember them all, and I'm sure the list and stories are on more than one web page.

Sixty Fiver

They were captive brands... companies that Raleigh absorbed over many decades to make them one of the biggest bicycle manufacturers on earth and the GM of the bicycle industry.

Some brands were relegated to second tier status but a Phillips is still a very nice bicycle when you compare it to it's Raleigh counterpart while Rudge was kept as a top tier model as they were a highly regarded maker and claimed they sold "The World's Best Bicycle".

This also allowed Raleigh to broaden sales by by bending the rules surrounding distribution agreements... Raleigh dealers were guaranteed some exclusivity but if the shop across town sold Phillip's or you bought a Glider at Eatons (a re-badged Sports) they were not breaking their rules.

The relationship between Raleigh and many dealers was not stellar and have heard from many old timers that they hated dealing with them as they could be overbearing in their demands of a shop that carried their product.

On another note, my favourite LBS is going to start carrying new Raleighs for 2010 and some of their recent offerings are extremely nice and well thought out bicycles.

el_spumante

Thanks for the insight. Do you think that the wheel with the missing spoke would be an easy (cheap) enough problem to fix? If the wheel itself is in good shape, would it be possible to just replace the missing spoke? Hopefully I'll have some photos of the bike I can post up later this evening.

HercRider

I'd go for the LTD from the bike shop, as you can develop a relationship with them, and they probably have some guarantee. Also, you can ride it around a bit and have them size it up for you. If the rust is on the wheels and components (vice the frame), it should be easy for you to clean off (there are quite a few threads on this very forum about it).

I'm guessing this is a 3 speed LTD? Some were 10 speeds with derailleurs, vice the Sturmey Archer hub; I prefer the 3 speed, myself, for my city riding.

Velognome 

+1 Grab the '70 LTD

el_spumante

Yes, sorry: it IS a 3 speed internal hub. I really don't want anything with a derailleur (I didn't know they made some). The frame and the paint on it looked pretty clean. Good point re: the relationship with the bike shop--especially if they do offer some sort of warranty on their labor and/or parts they installed.

el_spumante

Thanks. That's the way I'm leaning. Even if it's $30-40 more than the AMF-Hercules, I'd like knowing that I wouldn't have to do any work to the bike at first. I'll keep y'all posted. They are supposed to have it cleaned up and ready to sell by the end of the week.

gna

+1 I'd go for the LTD.

That said, AMF-Hercules are good bikes. They tend to have a space age chainguard:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/63209607@N00/3197824231/

I've only seen one 23" frame, though. Replacing a broken spoke isn't too hard, and I'm sure one of us could find a fender bracket.

el_spumante

Here are some photos of the AMF-Hercules I mentioned. It looks like a very clean, well taken care of bike. I'm going to try to see it in person tomorrow or Friday (still waiting on the bike shop to finish the LTD--and I'm considering "compromising" by buying both of them so I'll have an extra bike for when friends visit, if one breaks down, etc.).

https://picasaweb.google.com/randybr...eat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/randybr...eat=directlink

gbalke

Randy, I have to agree wwith the majority; grab the LTD from the bike shop. That being said, that Herc sure does look to be in pretty nice shape.

As far as buying both, who ever heard of anyone having more than one 3 speed?? Just hard to imagine that. Oh what the Hell, buy them both and submit to the addiction.

Super.bee

Hi everyone, thanks for the great thread. I have been reading it just as I began riding a recently done 3 speed project, and enjoying both.

No pictures that I can share yet due to autumn's early sunsets, but I wonder if anyone has any info on Aberdale cycles of London. Looks like they were absorbed into BCC/TI in 1958 or so, along with Brampton if this is reliable (https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Tube_Investments). I also read somewhere their B'ham plant closed in 1961 (post-acquisition?).

I have an Aberdale with Brampton 3 speed hub (missing lubricator, unknown type) and "Speedy Switcher" trigger shifter. Fork is, unfortunately, bent. Bike has the taller, older looking version of the hockey stick chainguard with flowing gold script "The Aberdale", wheels 32 and 40, Dunlop rims. Missing its grips, saddle and post when found in a scrap pile. I am thinking mid 1950s?

Thanks again and hope to have some photos to you by week's end!

el_spumante

Ha! Yeah, who in their right mind would have two (or, say, five, six...) 3 speeds?!

As soon as I have one (or two!), I'll post up some photos (not that folks here haven't seen plenty of these bikes before).

Thanks for all your help.

Super.bee

Hello,

I am doing my best to figure out posting of photographs (size, quantity) and ask for your patience. Here are some shots that I hope you enjoy. I certainly welcome any feedback on how I put this message and images together.

I am really enjoying the labels, like "featherweight" and "Bonderized", and that gold script. Also interesting to me are the brakes. The front has a part that wraps around the fork. The rear has tabs that seem like they belong on the front to keep the caliper from knuckling under the fork. Maybe I am misunderstanding. Anyway, I'm trying to get in touch with another Aberdale owner and will share any information they can give me.

Thoughts on this bike's history or future? My plan is to get it riding, finding a new post, saddle, and grips. As for the fork my thoughts are to substitute another and put the old one on a shelf, or perhaps to straighten, if this bike is less common. If I straighten it could a framebuilder reinforce it somehow?

As you can see the bike is in pretty rough shape. In any case, hope this is an interesting addition to the thread and thanks!

EDIT: Ah, I get the brakes now. Why don't we see this on more caliper brakes, especially longer-reach?