1953 Rudge

My favorite thing about Rudge bicycles is the front chainring. That hand symbol in the middle of the ring is cool. Jeff includes a picture that makes the chainring visible, plus a pretty neat story.

This is a 1953 women's Rudge that I recently received as a gift. The story is that this bicycle was purchased in 1953 by a woman who never owned a car. She bequeathed the bike to her neighbor who then brought to a local repair shop. This shop refused to work on it. I was more than happy to get it up and running again. The only newer parts that I can see are the pedals, and reflectors. It came with a large ugly aftermarket seat, but the original was in the basket. I've been riding it for the past two weeks, and she is a very smooth runner. I don't know if I will do more than a lube a cursory cleaning as she has so much MOJO as she is. I am thinking about a new leather saddle though. Best Regards Jeff

1979 Schwinn Collegiate3

This blog caters mainly to English 3-speeds, I think mainly because that is what people are interested in restoring. Unfortunately, this means some of the nice American 3 speeds get short shrift. I'm a Schwinn fan, and glad to see that Doug sent along photos of his Collegiate3.

Our latest submission comes from The Great White North.

Hi, I'm an English lit doctoral student at the University of Toronto, with a penchant for 1960s vintage items. I've just purchased this gorgeous Raleigh from a guy in Toronto, ON. When I saw it on the porch in person from the street, I immediately thought it was from the 1960s. I'd be interested if anyone could date the bike more nearly than I've done. The photos were taken by the man who sold it to me, Mr. Boris Rabkin. Cheers, Elizabeth

As many, but not all, 3-speeders know the age of a 3 speed can most reliably be determined by looking at the hub. There will be a two digit number stamped into the shell that indicate which year the bike was manufactured. Of course, if the wheel is ever removed and replaced this method becomes unreliable. Good luck, Elizabeth!

1969 BSA

Doug sends along his great barn find, a 1969 BSA.

I found this Great 1969 BSA in a barn in RI. Birmingham Small Arms is mostly know as being the largest proucer of motorcycles for awhile, but BSA had been making bikes since 1880. BSA sold the bicycle business to Raleigh in 1957. So this is more Raleigh than BSA, but still....., cool badge.

Many more photos are available at Doug's Google+ page.

Time for Advocacy

I don't want to use this blog as a bully pulpit, but I thought this was worthy. Plus, maybe a post will drive a submission or two, since things have been quiet as of late.

Recent legislative shenannigans are making it look like biking may become a bit harder, soon. But there's still time. The League of American Bicyclists has a nice, easy to use form on their website that allows you to send an email to your congressperson telling them that you want bike funding. Do it now.

If you're not already clicking the link, you're missing out on stuff like this:

House leadership is exerting pressure to completely cut bicycling and walking out of transportation. Lawmakers seem to have gone through line-by-line to gut programs that make streets safer. The outrageous American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act:

Destroys Transportation Enhancements by making the program optional
Repeals the Safe Routes to School program, reversing years of progress in creating safe ways for kids to walk and ride bicycles to school
Allows states to build bridges without safe access for pedestrians and bicycles
Eliminates bicycle and pedestrian coordinators in state DOTs
But there’s still a chance to save biking and walking. This week, Representatives Petri (R-WI) and Johnson (R-IL) plan to stand up to leadership by offering an amendment that restores dedicated funding for Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School. Representative Petri and Johnson can only be successful if everyone with a stake in safe sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways contacts their Congressional Member today.

Do it. That is all.

1975 Schwinn Speedster

Time for a nice change of pace. Instead of the usual English models, Kevin sends some pictures of a 1975 Schwinn Speedster with a 3 speed hub. This one is his "daily driver" and gets used on a regular basis. There's something unique about a bike that gets ridden a lot, it just shows through. And I've got a soft spot for vintage Schwinns. Kevin says of the bike:

I recently acquired a 1975 Schwinn Speedster with a 1973
Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub. The bike featured a Schwinn approved rack
that had a basket attached, but I broke the rack on the second day of
ownership by overloading the basket. Not wanting the bike to lose the
additional charm that the rack & basket combo provided, I dug through
the used parts at the local bike CO-OP until I found a suitable
replacement rack. Then it was a simple matter of drilling a couple
holes in order to attach the basket.

The bottle generator and headlight still worked when I found the bike,
but the original tail light was broken, so I ordered a new one. My
commute home takes me down a big hill, and I'm pretty sure that front
lamp looks like a motorcycle headlight when I'm coasting at 30+ mph.

You might have noticed the front chain ring looks small. That's
because I swapped the original 44t chain ring for a 36t. That changed
the original gear range, which was around 50~90 gear inches, to 40~75
gear inches. It's made the bike much more versatile in a city that has
very uneven terrain. Since I finished fixing up this bike, I've been
logging about 50 miles per week on it, just from commuting, getting
groceries, and generally cruising around town. The only downside to
this bike, for me, is that it uses the 37-597 sized wheels. Only one
company makes tires (they come in black or gumwall) and there are no
options for tread pattern, whitewall, studs, and so on. My next goal
for this bike might be to retrofit some 37-590s onto it.

Thanks Kevin!

1955 Raleigh Sports

From Tim, and beautiful older 3 speed.

Winston arrives from England!

Winston is a 1955 Raleigh Sports that recently arrived in the US with a returning serviceman. The bike was purchased in rural England and was used almost continuously as a commuter vehicle. When we purchased the bike we could see that it had been protected in the traditional English manner- repeated coats of motor oil to protect against rust. Despite the discouraging exterior, we knew there was a treasure under all that grime.

Restoration included total dis-assembly and an intensive cleaning. While I don't recommend it, the oil coating did protect the bike. The painted frame and the chrome survived nearly intact under a thick layer of crud and responded nicely to careful cleaning and polishing. All parts are original with the exception of grips and new tires. The original grips were saved but too deteriorated to use so we replaced them with a set of vintage Raleigh grips from the 60s. This bike was ordered with a nice set of factory options- dynohub and light kit, Lucas cyclometer, upgraded Brooks B66 saddle and the Sturmey Archer switch-on dry battery unit that provides a standby lighting power source when the wheels aren't turning.

The bike looks and rides great after the rebuild and we're hoping it rolls along for another 55 years.

A complete set of photos can be found on use.com:

http://www.use.com/Vintage_1955_Raleigh_Sports_9027770876f2c878f5fe

Nothing more to add, a lovely bike all around.

1956 Standard

Mark is back again, this time with pictures of his wife's bike (and his wife). He's also done his homework on this bike, as it not only comes with photos but a brief history lesson:

The Standard Cycle Company Ltd of Birmingham was one of the oldest bicycle companies in England - they started in the late 1890s in the hotbed cycling centre of Birmingham/Coventry. They were quite the going concern through the decades until 1965, when in October the company was absorbed by the Swift Cycle Company (of the same area). There is little information available online about the company, but they appeared to make quality bicycles.

Here is an ad from 1931:

and another from 1962:

Here's a shot of the company logo:

My wife's bike is apparently their "stock in trade": the Model K - traditional English roadster: frame is "bondarized" against rust, fittings are mostly Brampton and Nicklin, and overall the quality of the ride is excellent......The bike is mostly original; the exceptions are that the front wheel was replaced prior to our ownership, the seat post has been replaced by a modern alloy (mostly so I could raise the seat so I could ride it). Other than that its pretty much as it was when it left the factory in 1956. My wife and I love riding together as it seems 3 speeds have the same effect as motorcycle sidecars: everyone smiles, waves, says hello as you ride by, with that lovely "tick-tick-tick" of the SA hubs to keep you company.....

Parting shot:

We thank Mark for sharing, and hope he won't be in trouble for submitting a photo of his wife's backside...

Eaton Glider

Mark sends photos of another less common 3 speed. He goes as far as to call it an oddball, but we won't resort to such name calling here.

I noted you said its been quiet on the site lately, so thought I'd provide another photo or two for you. The Eaton's Glider is essentially a Raleigh Sport made for the (now defunct) Canadian Department store chain. Mine appears to be 1972 (based on the hub), and it seems to be mostly original. Interestingly, the rims are Canadian not English! I added the Brooks, and the fenders are not original but close.....

I've been having a ton of fun on this bike, which I've only had for about 6 months.

Here are a couple of shots:

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/markk900/Cambridge%20to%20Paris/IMG_1917.jpg

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/markk900/Cambridge%20to%20Paris/IMG_1924.jpg

(The black bike in the background is my wife's 1956 Standard Model K - more photos later).

Thanks for the submission, Mark, and for the promise of something else to look forward to. These are the things that help us make it through winter.

Raleigh Wayfarer

Shawn sends lots of links for pictures of his Raleigh Wayfarer. It's a nice looking bicycle, and it's been outfitted for daily use with some nice upgrades. Though it remains true to the style and the era in most, if not all, of the changes.

Hey there!

Love the Three Speed Gallery site. I've been meaning to submit my
bicycle for awhile, but I've only now gotten around to it!

I bought a Raleigh Wayfarer Raleigh for $30 off of Craigslist in
December of 2010 and had to go to darkest East Vancouver, Wash. to
obtain. It's a classic British 3-Speed from the 1970's. I can't find
much info about this particular model on the internets, though. I
spent a lot of energy and some money restoring and updating it. Now it
is my primary "everyday" city bike. I love this bike!

Here are photos on my flickr page:


Here is more info and writings on my blog:
http://urbanadventureleague.blogspot.com/p/my-bikes.html
http://urbanadventureleague.blogspot.com/search/label/raleigh

thanks for your time.

yours,
Shawn

It's a great looking bike, and $30 may never have been as well spent.

1979 Raleigh Suburbe

It's been quiet out there lately in Old Three Speed Gallery land. Everybody is hunkering down for winter, I imagine. Thankfully, Jon sent some nice pictures of his 1979 Raleigh Supurbe. Should give a gentleman something to do on a cold winter's night.

Hey there,
I've been lurking your blog for a while and I thought I'd submit my recently acquired '79 Raleigh Superbe. I bought it about a week ago and have added new tyres, changed the shifter and swapped the saddle for a leather brooks. It's mostly original with almost all the original bits and pieces. Anyway there are more pics and the full story at my blog

there is also my flickr here

Thanks
Jon

No Jon, thank you.

Raleigh Sports

Ben sends some pictures of old Raleigh Sports that he received from his grandfather. Not much other info than that. He does say "bikes" but I'm unclear if these pictures are of one bike or two.

Huffy

This may be the first Huffy featured on this site. It meets the main criteria, it's old and it's a 3 speed. Leisa says:

I'm thinking this is 60's Huffy. I don't know for sure and haven't seen anything like this one. I found this at a flea market and picked it up for a good price, it had all the things I like about a bicycle, it's sleek and the narrow tires....it rides very good and it is fast. The tag on the seat says Deluxe Sport, I've searched around to see if I could find anything like it on the web and had no luck, so I'd like to find out the exact year if anyone knows please let me know.

Rudge quickie

Geoffrey sent a quick one sentence note along with a single photo of what appears to be a beautiful mid-1950s Rudge.

Metropole

While I'm more partial to English 3 speeds, this is the Old Three-Speed Gallery, not the Olde English Three-Speed Gallery. Plus, this bike is unique enough to warrant being here, even if it was "English only."

Mike says

I'm a 3 speed lover, but found this French Metropole and couldn't pass it up - trouble is, I can't find anything about it. Best guesses for the age are late forties, early fifties based on the components. The seat and pedals are German, and the shifters are Cyclo and Simplex. It has a neat VDO spedometer in kilometers, as well. The only thing missing on the bike that concerns me is the taillamp lens.



Anything you've seen before? Thanks for your time!

Earlsdon

Pat comes to the 3 Speed Blog with a plea for help:

I cant figure this one out nor can I find ANY info of it online. I bought this last week. Great shape overall. Rear Sturmey Archer hub showss 55 2. It says Earlsdon on the seat tube and made in Netherlands on top tube. Brake calipers have cursive writing that says Brilliant. Here are the photos the seller provided. I can take more. I couldnt pass this one up for 80 bucks. It just looked so unique and I have never heard of it. Feel free to post it on the site. Maybe someone else might know some info on it?

What say you, 3 Speed Bloggers? Anyone? Bueller?