Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Classic & Vintage
Reload this Page >

For the love of English 3 speeds...

Notices
Classic & Vintage This forum is to discuss the many aspects of classic and vintage bicycles, including musclebikes, lightweights, middleweights, hi-wheelers, bone-shakers, safety bikes and much more.

For the love of English 3 speeds...

Old 05-29-10, 08:09 AM
  #351  
Fir
Senior Member
 
Fir's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 92

Bikes: Scott Lightflight MTB, Raleigh Sports 3 spd, Rocky Mountain Hammer, Raleigh Twenty 3 spd, Eaton's Glider 3 spd, CCM Galaxie ladies, CCM arch-frame mens missing model name, Miyata Terra Runner, numerous waggons, and various hulks begging restoratio...

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Well I didnt know all that stuff and I would prompt you to write it if I knew what to say...

"...that will fit my 10 and 12 year old daughters as well as my soon to be wife." At first I pictured a bike long enough for 4 people... Ok, read slower... So seat height adjusts, and top tube removes? I wish good tandems were more common. And good vintage ones. I never heard of a 3spd tandem; someone someplace must have tried it.


Hilly in New Jersey? Do they have nice bikeways there?
Fir is offline  
Old 05-29-10, 09:55 AM
  #352  
kingfish254
Senior Member
 
kingfish254's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 999

Bikes: 1989 Dahon Stainless Classic III Folder - 1990 Dahon Mariner Classic III Folder - 2005 Dahon Jetstream P8 Full Suspension Folder

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Brilliant old cycling movie

Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver
The cold and drizle could not dampen my spirits today as I received another frame... a very loooong frame.

It won't be a three speed but it will seat two... the dimensions are perfect for me up front and the rear is an ingenious convertible design that will fit my 10 and 12 year old daughters as well as my soon to be wife.

When I ride my three speed I hear this music... you just have to watch this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP1KxPjh4RM
65er,
Thanks again for sharing a golden nugget with the rest of us. This old video should be the "Catch of the Day".
Cheers
kingfish254 is offline  
Old 05-29-10, 02:53 PM
  #353  
Sixty Fiver
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
 
Sixty Fiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 27,272

Bikes: See my sig...

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 95 Posts
Originally Posted by noglider
I know all that stuff. Yet I prompted you to write all that because you write it so well. I could read your descriptions of bikes all day.
You are my muse...
Sixty Fiver is offline  
Old 05-29-10, 02:59 PM
  #354  
Sixty Fiver
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
 
Sixty Fiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 27,272

Bikes: See my sig...

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 95 Posts
Originally Posted by Fir
Well I didnt know all that stuff and I would prompt you to write it if I knew what to say...

"...that will fit my 10 and 12 year old daughters as well as my soon to be wife." At first I pictured a bike long enough for 4 people... Ok, read slower... So seat height adjusts, and top tube removes? I wish good tandems were more common. And good vintage ones. I never heard of a 3spd tandem; someone someplace must have tried it.

Hilly in New Jersey? Do they have nice bikeways there?
It has a rear top tube that can be removed which allows for a very wide range of rider sizes... have seen 5 year olds riding on this design and it will also seat much taller adults.

It is an older model but is a custom built frame that has never been built up... will be sending it back to add braze ons for everything from bottles and pumps to disc brakes and will run a 24 speed touring set up and it will be used for some long rides as well as rides about town.
Sixty Fiver is offline  
Old 05-29-10, 07:26 PM
  #355  
Fir
Senior Member
 
Fir's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 92

Bikes: Scott Lightflight MTB, Raleigh Sports 3 spd, Rocky Mountain Hammer, Raleigh Twenty 3 spd, Eaton's Glider 3 spd, CCM Galaxie ladies, CCM arch-frame mens missing model name, Miyata Terra Runner, numerous waggons, and various hulks begging restoratio...

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
I acquired a couple of mixte frames for the purpose of welding one to the back of a me-sized bike to make a tandem for me and the little guy. He's 3&1/2 now and getting enthusiastic about us riding together on our bikes. He needs to learn the coaster brake better though. Then the [mercenary] donor laid more bikes on me and so I have 5 or 6 mixte frames...

He's getting old enough to want to be part of the peddling business and it helps to keep warm. The bicycle industry has not yet developed a lot of high quality solutions to this transition period between swaddling the baby in many layers of fleece inside a waggon and letting him sleep en route - to full on peddling and staying warm in all weathers. There are people in our town who still follow the bizarre practice of enclosing their children in multi-tonne steel and glass high-rolling-resistance-wheel-ed containers to ferry them from place to place endangering and be-smogging the rest of us meanwhile. It can be rather off-putting.

I haven't seen a good quality and affordable tandem come available here in the last few months or so. Pretty rare birds around here. Did Raleigh ever make a tandem?
Fir is offline  
Old 05-29-10, 07:42 PM
  #356  
Fir
Senior Member
 
Fir's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 92

Bikes: Scott Lightflight MTB, Raleigh Sports 3 spd, Rocky Mountain Hammer, Raleigh Twenty 3 spd, Eaton's Glider 3 spd, CCM Galaxie ladies, CCM arch-frame mens missing model name, Miyata Terra Runner, numerous waggons, and various hulks begging restoratio...

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP1KxPjh4RM

- great movie, by the way! Both joyful and heart-wrenching (to think how much we have given up) I had found that before once, but we all watched it last night during our friday movie intermission. Here is one of my great favourites, perhaps a little off topic as no bikes are directly featured, let alone Englishe Threee Speedes, but is truly a classic every modern cyclist will likely comprehend.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/what_on_earth/

9 min 35 s -Still relevant today as in 1966. We saw it several times in elementary school; I was lucky enough to have a series of teachers who appreciated it :-)
Fir is offline  
Old 05-29-10, 08:28 PM
  #357  
Sixty Fiver
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
 
Sixty Fiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 27,272

Bikes: See my sig...

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 95 Posts
Originally Posted by Fir
I haven't seen a good quality and affordable tandem come available here in the last few months or so. Pretty rare birds around here. Did Raleigh ever make a tandem?
Raleigh was offering the Venture and Companion models for the 2009 model year but believe they have been discontinued... there was a time when tandem riding was very popular and you could have had them equipped with SA hub gearing.

After world war 2 tandem bicycles really fell out of favour and it is only since the 90's that tandems have enjoyed a renaissance and renewed popularity... the Co Motion Periscope is another family friendly tandem that will accommodate smaller children as well as your spouse and friends. As hand built model it comes with a nearly 4k price tag.

Many tandems are really bicycles built for two (there is a difference) and are not designed for serious competitive or touring use... CCM made tandems that were just this in that the seating was very upright and many were fitted out as as coaster bikes or three speeds.

Just found this 1898 Raleigh... wow.

https://www.springersmusic.co.uk/Tandem.htm
Sixty Fiver is offline  
Old 05-29-10, 08:30 PM
  #358  
Sixty Fiver
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
 
Sixty Fiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 27,272

Bikes: See my sig...

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 95 Posts
And check this out... this is from an 1897 catalogue.

Sixty Fiver is offline  
Old 05-29-10, 08:33 PM
  #359  
Sixty Fiver
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
 
Sixty Fiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 27,272

Bikes: See my sig...

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 95 Posts
In reading the above advert one realizes that the tandem was the fastest vehicle on earth in 1897... and a single speed to boot.
Sixty Fiver is offline  
Old 05-29-10, 09:14 PM
  #360  
old's'cool
curmudgineer
 
old's'cool's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Chicago SW burbs
Posts: 4,429

Bikes: 2 many 2 fit here

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 263 Post(s)
Liked 111 Times in 70 Posts
Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver
In reading the above advert one realizes that the tandem was the fastest vehicle on earth in 1897... and a single speed to boot.
'
That's pretty cool.
I read somewhere, in the 70's, that there was a class of racing for quad bikes. Supposedly pretty exciting to watch. I've never seen it, so I don't know.
old's'cool is offline  
Old 05-29-10, 09:50 PM
  #361  
wahoonc
Membership Not Required
 
wahoonc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: On the road-USA
Posts: 16,855

Bikes: Giant Excursion, Raleigh Sports, Raleigh R.S.W. Compact, Motobecane? and about 20 more! OMG

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 70 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 15 Times in 14 Posts
In answer to Fir, there are several options for kid packs on tandems. Burley, and Santana are a couple that come to mind and Precision makes a stoker kit just for allowing kids to ride on a tandem.

Aaron
__________________
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(

ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.

"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"
_Nicodemus

"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"
_krazygluon
wahoonc is offline  
Old 05-29-10, 09:53 PM
  #362  
Sixty Fiver
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
 
Sixty Fiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 27,272

Bikes: See my sig...

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 95 Posts
Aaron... that is the coolest picture.

Yours ?
Sixty Fiver is offline  
Old 05-30-10, 06:22 PM
  #363  
Fir
Senior Member
 
Fir's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 92

Bikes: Scott Lightflight MTB, Raleigh Sports 3 spd, Rocky Mountain Hammer, Raleigh Twenty 3 spd, Eaton's Glider 3 spd, CCM Galaxie ladies, CCM arch-frame mens missing model name, Miyata Terra Runner, numerous waggons, and various hulks begging restoratio...

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Thanks for the photo wahoonc. That is a very kewl setup. I think kids much prefer to be in/on the same vehicle with mumma or papa than sealed off in a separate waggon. Thanks for the springer link 65er :-) https://www.springersmusic.co.uk/Tandem.htm Fastest vehicle on Earth! I liike it :-) I will certainly keep an eye out for one like that...

I would certainly pay £39 for a number 9 path racer in a heartbeat - only 40 lbs? amazing, My Twenty is almost that much.
Fir is offline  
Old 05-30-10, 08:39 PM
  #364  
choteau
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Oregon
Posts: 366
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Hmm, I recently saw a picture of a Phillips tandem that looked similiar to this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Or...,_MA,_1899.JPG That was a SA 3 speed Tim

Last edited by choteau; 05-30-10 at 08:41 PM. Reason: info
choteau is offline  
Old 05-30-10, 08:53 PM
  #365  
wahoonc
Membership Not Required
 
wahoonc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: On the road-USA
Posts: 16,855

Bikes: Giant Excursion, Raleigh Sports, Raleigh R.S.W. Compact, Motobecane? and about 20 more! OMG

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 70 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 15 Times in 14 Posts
Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver
Aaron... that is the coolest picture.

Yours ?
Nope...when mine were that small I couldn't afford a tandem, poor deprived children had to ride in a 15 year Bugger behind dad's 25 year old Motobecane.

We do have a tandem at the moment, IIRC it is a 2005? Raleigh Companion. It doesn't see much use because I am seldom home.

Aaron
__________________
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(

ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.

"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"
_Nicodemus

"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"
_krazygluon
wahoonc is offline  
Old 05-31-10, 08:00 AM
  #366  
Fir
Senior Member
 
Fir's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 92

Bikes: Scott Lightflight MTB, Raleigh Sports 3 spd, Rocky Mountain Hammer, Raleigh Twenty 3 spd, Eaton's Glider 3 spd, CCM Galaxie ladies, CCM arch-frame mens missing model name, Miyata Terra Runner, numerous waggons, and various hulks begging restoratio...

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Or...,_MA,_1899.JPG

That is a beaut! A loop-frame tandem, who knew? Great view for the "stoker" :-) Room for skirt and bustle. Front brake might have been a useful option. Grips can't be original? Can't figure out the bracket thing near the bottom of the steering tube.
Fir is offline  
Old 05-31-10, 08:21 AM
  #367  
choteau
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Oregon
Posts: 366
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
I think the "bracket" is so both the riders could steer! So the front rider could ride hands free OR the stoker could share control of the bike.... puts a whole new spin on "back seat driving"
choteau is offline  
Old 05-31-10, 08:51 AM
  #368  
Sixty Fiver
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
 
Sixty Fiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 27,272

Bikes: See my sig...

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 95 Posts
Yep... a good number of vintage tandems offered rear steering and with the loop frame the lady say up front.
Sixty Fiver is offline  
Old 05-31-10, 01:34 PM
  #369  
Fir
Senior Member
 
Fir's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 92

Bikes: Scott Lightflight MTB, Raleigh Sports 3 spd, Rocky Mountain Hammer, Raleigh Twenty 3 spd, Eaton's Glider 3 spd, CCM Galaxie ladies, CCM arch-frame mens missing model name, Miyata Terra Runner, numerous waggons, and various hulks begging restoratio...

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Pretty geometry.

Didn't dawn on me at first that the front bars control the steering too. That might be confusing

I guess to put a little one on there, you could mount a seat someplace partway down the front seattube and little handlebars affixed to the loopy downtube. With such a view they would not require a DVD player. And their C of G would be low for nice stability when you are jumping on and off etc. The front seat tube wouldn't bend with that extra brace there. Wonder what the whole thing weighs. Pretty geometry. Eye catching.

I just recieved a CCM Galaxy with arched seatstays and loop frame - must be mid sixties. They had their own way of putting things together hey? Rear tire says 28 x 1&5/8 x 1&3/8. I think it might make a nice steed for Mrs Fir if it was altered to a 3 spd AW hub and given something in the way of brakes somehow. This might invoke my first lacing project... Hope it doesn't go like my first truing project...
Fir is offline  
Old 06-03-10, 11:12 AM
  #370  
Fir
Senior Member
 
Fir's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 92

Bikes: Scott Lightflight MTB, Raleigh Sports 3 spd, Rocky Mountain Hammer, Raleigh Twenty 3 spd, Eaton's Glider 3 spd, CCM Galaxie ladies, CCM arch-frame mens missing model name, Miyata Terra Runner, numerous waggons, and various hulks begging restoratio...

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Sideways on a German 3 spd

I did find a Tandem :-) Technically I guess it's a German and Canuck 3 spd because the hub is a Sachs. Tips the scales at 25kg [55lbs]. EEk, was hoping for less... I guess it won't be too barbaric to shorten the rear ST as the frame has been butchered already. Sure funny to steer and your whole cockpit moves sideways.

[whoops, scratch "Tandem" it's a BB42:

"Many tandems are really bicycles built for two (there is a difference) and are not designed for serious competitive or touring use... CCM made tandems that were just this in that the seating was very upright and many were fitted out as as coaster bikes or three speeds." - posted 05-29-10 08:28 PM

Be interesting to compare to a proper tandem one day.]


Last edited by Fir; 06-03-10 at 12:12 PM.
Fir is offline  
Old 06-03-10, 11:41 AM
  #371  
rhm
multimodal commuter
 
rhm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: NJ, NYC, LI
Posts: 19,852

Bikes: 1940s Fothergill, 1959 Allegro Special, 1963? Claud Butler Olympic Sprint, Lambert 'Clubman', 1974 Fuji "the Ace", 1976 Holdsworth 650b conversion rando bike, 1983 Trek 720 tourer, 1984 Counterpoint Opus II, 1993 Basso Gap, 2010 Downtube 8h, and...

Mentioned: 584 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1907 Post(s)
Liked 572 Times in 338 Posts
Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver
Yep... a good number of vintage tandems offered rear steering and with the loop frame the lady say up front.
Hey, you almost described my Counterpoint Opus II!

But hold on, weren't we talking about English three speeds?
rhm is offline  
Old 06-03-10, 02:06 PM
  #372  
Sixty Fiver
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
 
Sixty Fiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 27,272

Bikes: See my sig...

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 95 Posts
Originally Posted by Fir
I did find a Tandem :-) Technically I guess it's a German and Canuck 3 spd because the hub is a Sachs. Tips the scales at 25kg [55lbs]. EEk, was hoping for less... I guess it won't be too barbaric to shorten the rear ST as the frame has been butchered already. Sure funny to steer and your whole cockpit moves sideways.

[whoops, scratch "Tandem" it's a BB42:

"Many tandems are really bicycles built for two (there is a difference) and are not designed for serious competitive or touring use... CCM made tandems that were just this in that the seating was very upright and many were fitted out as as coaster bikes or three speeds." - posted 05-29-10 08:28 PM

Be interesting to compare to a proper tandem one day.]
Nice old find... and it is a three speed.

Those CCM wheels are a Canadian 28 which is a 622 / 700c so you can run better wheels and tyres and can even use modern 700c tyres as long as you don't inflate them past 70 psi as the rims are not designed for high pressure.

That BBF2 looks like it will be a lot of fun.
Sixty Fiver is offline  
Old 06-03-10, 02:17 PM
  #373  
Sixty Fiver
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
 
Sixty Fiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 27,272

Bikes: See my sig...

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 95 Posts
rhm - That is a very cool design... some friends have one of these and ride it all summer long.
Sixty Fiver is offline  
Old 06-04-10, 12:04 PM
  #374  
Fir
Senior Member
 
Fir's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 92

Bikes: Scott Lightflight MTB, Raleigh Sports 3 spd, Rocky Mountain Hammer, Raleigh Twenty 3 spd, Eaton's Glider 3 spd, CCM Galaxie ladies, CCM arch-frame mens missing model name, Miyata Terra Runner, numerous waggons, and various hulks begging restoratio...

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Alas, the tyres claim to be 26x1.75; hopefully Mtn bike tyres will fit. I guess it's a bit too young a vintage for the classic 28". MIG welded frame and not as prettily as one might hope. But at least I have a tandem now.

Mind is racing with thoughts of how to use all that length. Potentially could haul more than an Xtracycle :-) It could take huge pannier baskets, or rows of them, if the rear cranks were easy to swap off and on. Alas they are one-piece [there must be a cure for that]. Will keep an eye for more vintage tandems for sure.
Fir is offline  
Old 06-04-10, 01:08 PM
  #375  
Sixty Fiver
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Thread Starter
 
Sixty Fiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 27,272

Bikes: See my sig...

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 95 Posts
Fir - Do the tyres say 1.75 or 1 3/8... odd for a CCM of this age to have modern 26 inch tyres fitted.
Sixty Fiver is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.