and STILL They Roll In!

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. :-D

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. :-P

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.

My shop is now the hub of excitement

Well the hub part anyway, and I am excited to have them...

Was tidying up the work bench earlier today and realized that I had quite a few hubs laying on it waiting for someone to verify dimensions so spokes can be ordered....wonder who that would be?

Hard photo op to miss out on ;-)


These are the hubs laying on the bench. Sturmey Archer vintage, Sturmey Archer new and Shimano. One pair of the vintage hubs are getting laced onto a set of CR-18 alloy rims to go on my Raleigh Superbe for everyday riding. The original steel rims have a kink and hop that I cannot get out, but I want to save the wheels for shows. Another of the vintage hubs is for my wife's Colt, she is getting a dyno hub on it. The newer SA hubs are for the Raleigh Record build, that one is getting the CR-18 rims also. The Shimano hubs are just there for the moment, both are 8 speeds, one interestingly enough is coaster brake.

Seeing How it IS Saint Patrick's Day

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

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaack

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

I haven't died...honest!

They say the older you get the faster time passes...I must be at the stage where I am approaching warp speed! :-D

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

Devil is in the Details!

When I get a new to me bike, one of the first things I do is a quick and dirty ride around the block just to see what works and what doesn't. Next thing up is usually a complete tear down, cleaning and parts inspection.

Most of the bikes I buy are in need of TLC, some are worse than others. One thing I enjoy doing is bringing old dull parts back to life, in most cases, especially with the old heavy chrome a bit of cleaning and polishing is all it needs. These are the brakes off of the AMF Hercules that I am rebuilding for my sister to ride. The brakes themselves are fine, they just need new pads and cables. It is amazing how much nicer they look.

The AMF Hercules is progressing, I am almost done with the clean up of the parts, and have started reassembling things. Repacked the headset and the bottom bracket yesterday.

On another note: The Staiger has gone to live with my DD in Western Massachusetts as a commuter bike, if all goes well it will travel with her to Keene, NH as she returns to grad school.

Aaron

I can see clearly now...

that I have a new headlight on the Twenty, and I suppose I can be seen more clearly from the rear now I have a new tail light too.



The headlight is the newest Cyo from Busch and Muller
the tail light is their 4D Lite Plus I was using the B&M Retro headlight which really looks nice on a bike the age of a Raleigh Twenty, but the original Sturmey Archer Dyno hub only puts out ~2 watts at speed. The Retro light takes 2.4 watts and the tail light was an Spanninga LED and would barely glow.

Now I have lots of light! I can see and be seen. The Twenty has been getting the most use so far this year as I am working out of town and it is easy to haul along with me.

The bag on the back is a Banjo Brothers Racktop Pannier bag. It has small panniers that drop down out of the side pockets.

Aaron

Labor Day Weekend Riding

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

Double the Fun!

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

Dutch Chic

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

Loaded and Locked

Here is one of the reasons I wanted a Twenty. It is locked down in the truck and I am headed out for a couple/three weeks at an out of town job site. It takes up a lot less space than a full sized bike and can be locked in the cab if necessary. So far all I have done to it is general cleaning. I have a new set of alloy rim wheels being built up for it. Plenty more pictures to follow.

Aaron

What the...IS THAT!?

That is the typical reaction when people see this bike *big grin*
In reality it is a 1968 Raleigh Compact RSW 3 speed. It was Raleigh's answer to the Moulton after they had turned Alec Moulton's design down back in 1961. Alec Moulton secured funding and was quite successful.

Raleigh's answer was the Compact RSW you see above, they began production in 1965 and stopped around 1974 producing some 100,000 units. It was also made in a non folding version known as the Shopper Mk I,II, or III. It is a fun little bike to ride, but bloody heavy. It weighs almost as much as a full sized Raleigh Sports! The kids around my area refer to it as my clown bike...I wonder why. ;-) And yes at 6'-2" and 200# I can ride it just fine. I snagged this one off of Ebay after being tipped off by a buddy of mine.

For the tech specs: It has a Sturmey Archer AW 3speed hub, 16" Dunlop tires. Original tires were completely White as was the original Brooks Mattress saddle. The seat post and saddle are not OEM. The tires are Dunlop Redlines and were a suitable replacement. They also came with an optional dyno hub and fender mounted headlight.

Lady in Blue

Or perhaps Blue Lady...

This is my bride's favorite bike, it is a bit old and shows signs of having had a less than gentle life.

My wife has never been an avid cyclist, she did have bicycles growing up and she did ride them about the neighborhood.

When we got married we searched for a suitable bike for her to ride so we could do things more things together. For her, being of below average height finding ANY bike to fit was a challenge. We did find a nice GT Slipstream with 24 speeds in her size, but like many people she has had a real problem with making the front and rear gearing work to her advantage.

We attended an ABCE Tour in New Brighton, MN in 2006. Had a wonderful time and the Blue Colt was one of the donated door prizes. It was preordained! The stars aligned! Destiny! Or whatever you want to believe. ;-) we won the Colt.

She was the only person attending that would be able to ride such a small framed bike. We had it shipped back to our home in NC. Once home we added the lovely wicker basket. It has become her favorite bike, it gets ridden to the video store, the grocery store, the mailbox and where ever else she choses.

The technical details: It is a 1971 Raleigh Colt 3 speed with a coaster brake hub. The Colt was a "tweens" bike. The frame is a petite 17" but with the upright riding position works quite well. The rear hub is the awful TCW II coaster brake hub, but is working well at this time, so we shall leave it alone.

And here is a "family" picture of the two Raleighs that get the most use (out of the dozen or so I own)

Queen of Fleet Street (well my street!)

I had long wanted a Raleigh Superbe in my size. Tall framed Raleigh bikes are hard to come by, especially in the Walmart infested part of the country I live in. We had a small Raleigh dealership here for a few years back in the early to mid 70's, but they were expensive bikes in comparison to the ones available at the department stores, so not many were sold in this area. I listed it as one of my dream bikes on a thread at Bike Forums. A generous member contacted me and offered one he had just picked up for what he paid for it along with the cost of shipping. The rest is history, I have my dream bike and ride it every chance I get. I am loath to leave it parked anywhere I can't keep an eye on it...it took over 20 years to find it!

The bike that started it all (not really)

I like to think that this was the bike that started it all. It was in the fall of 1982, I was walking home from somewhere, because the car was broken down...again. It was an MG, but then again they alway were breaking down. LOL

I had to get to work or I was going to be fired for not showing up. Happened to pass a pawnshop, and this beauty (it was then ;-)) was sitting in the rack out front. They had a $50 price tag on it, I got it for $25, good thing because that was about all the money I had in the world at that point. I had not owned a bicycle in several years so it took a bit of time to reacquaint myself, but what they say it true. Once you learn to ride you never forget. This bike became my only local transportation for the next 4 years. It was ridden in street clothes in whatever the weather of the day that was provided.

It spent a couple of years with my brother as a campus bike, then came back home and was ridden by me until 1990 when it went into semi retirement. I dug it back out a few months ago, put air in the tires a few squirts of oil in the hub, cleaned the chain and off to the grocery store we went. I have since added new tires, seeing how the old were dry rotted.

Sharp eyed purists will notice that it has the wrong fork on it...my brother was standing on the pedals late one night when it went neutral on him, he hit a parked car, broke the forks and dented the head tube. Forks were replaced, the head tube is still dented. And dear brother got stitches in his shin and chin ;-)

Aaron