Posted in 3speed, bicycle, black, English bike, Raleigh, Rod brakes on November 25, 2018| Leave a Comment »
It’s Alive! Back on the road after hanging in the shed for the past 9 years. This is my 1979 Raleigh DL-1 Roaster. New saddle, new rear rack, new inner tubes and a serious wheel truing. Rear wheel had over 1/4″ hop in it. Need to change the rear cog to a 24t to get the gearing a bit more suitable for the hills around here. Long range plans include an FG hub converted to 5 speed to get a better gear range and adding some lighting.
Posted in 3speed, folder, tagged 3 speed, Atala, dahon, folder, Rixe on February 25, 2012| 1 Comment »
I had come to the conclusion that perhaps I needed to stop bringing bikes home…Good Luck with THAT one!
I have not one, but 4 folders come in over the winter months. The latest being a pair of Dahon Classic III folders. My lovely bride found them at a thrift shop, sent cellphone pictures. Of course the question was…”how much?” “They don’t know, make an offer.” I told her I would have to go down and see them first. She shows up at the house an hour later with them, the manager told her to just take them home and if we didn’t want them to bring them back later or bring the money. Got both for $100, parts are a bit difficult to find, but not totally impossible. They apparently were made for two different markets or in two different factories. The red one has a Sturmey-Archer AW 3speed and a full chain guard, the blue one has a Sachs Torpedo 3 speed and a bash guard, there are several other differences too. I have already put new fenders and a rack on the red one so I can use it when I travel, I think of it as a poor man’s Brompton. 😀
The other pair are from my LBS, someone brought them in for a repair estimate and decided to pass on the repairs and asked if anyone would buy them…yup, this sucker right here. 😛
The red one is a Rixe made in Germany, the gold one is an Atala made in Italy. Both have some interesting features and I will have to go a bit more in depth in a future post. For what it is worth the Atala is a better built bike than the Rixe. Both of them are single speed, Rixe has a coaster brake, the Atala a free wheel.
Posted in 3speed, bicycle, English bike, tagged 3 speed, British, Colt, English Bike, Raleigh on March 20, 2011| 4 Comments »
I give you some pictures of the lovely “Green” at my place…
The smaller bike in the top photo is the newest addition to the family.
It is a 1973 Raleigh Colt in fabulous condition.
Go mbeire muid beo ar an am seo aris!
Aaron
Posted in 3speed, bicycle, English bike, folder, Hercules, Raleigh Twenty, tagged 3 speed, British, English Bike, folder, Hercules, Raleigh on March 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Sorry about the impromptu hiatus.
Work has been a real beast these past few months, but with the current economic situation any job is better than no job.
As time has rolled along a couple of new members have been added to the metal side of the family.
I purchased yet another Twenty. This one is a 1975 Raleigh Stowaway, with the 451 wheels. These were never sold on the US market as far as I know, so this one must have wandered its way in from the UK somehow.
The newest member is a 1973 Raleigh Colt that I literally picked up today. I actually purchased it back in early December. But just got a chance to pick it up today. It is in spectacular condition for it’s age and matches my Superbe in colour. It has the petite 18″ frame that my lovely bride needs to be able to ride. It will need a bit of tweaking and a couple of upgrades prior to her riding it. But here is a picture…beauty shots will come a bit later.
I did get the 1964 Hercules completed and off to my sister late last year. More on that one too…in a bit.
Spring has Sprung here in the Carolinas, so riding season is hard upon us!
Aaron
Posted in 3speed, bicycle, English bike, Uncategorized, tagged 3 speed, Boston, English Bike, Raleigh on March 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »
They say the older you get the faster time passes…I must be at the stage where I am approaching warp speed! 😀
I have been meaning to post…HONEST! We took a vacation in Denver in June. No pictures the camera crapped out. But did get a chance to try their bike share and ride their light rail. Both were excellent.
Just got back from a week in Boston, lots to see and do. We used mass transit almost the entire time we were there, and walked the rest of the time. I even got pictures. Here is a picture I snapped out behind the State House. Appears to be a late 1960’s early 1970’s Raleigh Sport in good condition for its age. FWIW those are the original tires!
I have much more to report on in a bit. Including several bike builds and acquisitions.
Aaron
Posted in 3speed, bicycle, black, English bike, Ladies bike, tagged 3 speed, AMF, English Bike, Hercules on May 23, 2010| 4 Comments »
I guess this might qualify as progress, I have the AMF Hercules almost completely torn down. All that is left is to pull the fork and headset bearings. I have done a couple of coatings of heavy oil on the frame, fork and fenders and the shine is starting to come back. I have also been shining up the bits and pieces, the bike will never look new again but it will look like a well cared for 45+ year old bike when it is done. It should ride as good as when new. I will add a few pictures of cleaned up parts a bit later.
Aaron
Posted in 3speed, bicycle, English bike, Hercules, Ladies bike, tagged 3 speed, AMF, Bike, British, Hecules on November 5, 2009| 5 Comments »
Meet the newest member of the fleet/herd/flock or whatever you call the collection of bicycles that are currently in residence here.
This one was given to me by one of the mechanics at my LBS, because he knew that I like “old stuff”.
This is a 1964 AMF/Hercules. I don’t know much about the Hercules/AMF bikes, only that they were built by Raleigh Industries and primarily sold in North America. The bike is typical of the British 3 speeds of the era. Sturmey Archer AW three speed hub, 26×1-3/8″ tires, Dunlop steel rims, etc. I have just started the cleanup process so I have a ways to go. Initial impressions is that this is a well built bike and of better quality than what Raleigh was putting out by the 1970’s.
This particular bike shows signs of much use, but no real abuse. It has been well cared for in the past, but had been neglected for a while. Mechanically it is in good shape and won’t need much done. Cosmetically it is a bit rough, but nothing some elbow grease, oil and polish won’t cure.
Hercules was it’s own brand started in Birmingham, England in 1911 and was absorbed by Raleigh in 1960. The Hercules Museum webblog has a lot of information gathered in one place.
This bike most likely will be going to my sister to use riding around her neighborhood and the large park behind her townhouse. I will have to find out if she wants a basket and if so what type. Perhaps a Peterboro from Maine or a Wald Woody?
More to be posted as things slowly progress.
Aaron
Posted in 3speed, bicycle, bikes, English bike, folder, Raleigh, Raleigh Twenty, Three Speed, Twenty, Uncategorized on September 15, 2009| 8 Comments »
I was “supposed” to Labor on Labor Day…but at the last minute my lovely bride got a long layover in MSP so of course having the opportunity to see her and only being 6 hours away was a no brainer. Put the work crew on autopilot, loaded the Twenties into the truck and away I went.
For those that don’t know she is a Senior Flight Attendant (25 year veteran) for a US mainline carrier. Works fairly well for us, with both of us being on the road (most of the time).
We had a grand time and rode the bike paths around Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet. The cycling infrastructure in the Twin Cities never ceases to amaze me. It was about a 7 mile run, but that was plenty for my bride and served as a shakedown/checkout ride for my Twenty since undergoing a fairly complete overhaul.
The weather was perfect for riding, and listening to the acoustical band at the bandstand at Lake Harriet. In all a wonderful and relaxing weekend.
I will be headed back to the Twin Cities for another weekend retreat for the ABCE. Stay tuned for a report on that!
Aaron
Posted in 3speed, bicycle, English bike, folder, Raleigh, Raleigh Twenty, Twenty on August 12, 2009| 11 Comments »
Received my new to me Twenty from Ebay today!
It is a 1972 model and is complete and in great shape. Only thing missing is the head light bracket. It will need a new set of grips, the old ones are cracked. Other than that a complete and thorough cleaning and we are good to go.
These things are addictive!
Aaron
Posted in 3speed, Columbia Commuter II, Compact, dutch bike, Magneet on June 15, 2009| 21 Comments »
Look what came to live with us 😉
On a bike ride with a friend of mine (previous post) we ran across this at a local bike shop. Took my bride back to see it and for a test ride, the rest is history so to speak.
It is a 1966 or 1967 Columbia Commuter II. Not really a folder, but the handle bars rotate and drop down, the seat goes down, the pedals can be rotated inwards and the fork assembly comes off the frame for storage, it has a wheel driven generator, headlight, interesting fender mounted taillight and the Sturmey-Archer 3speed TCWIII hub(more pictures to come). The Dutch part comes from it being built in Weesp, Holland by the Magneet Company, no longer in business.
Not sure which markets it was available in. I have found one advertisement for it via Ebay where Mr. Donut was giving one away in a contest around 1969.
My bride loves it and wants a wicker basket for the rear rack.
Aaron
2whls3spds's Blog 