Vintage Bicycle Repair and Riding: American and English Bicycles
Evenings like this one are a treat this time of year - 75 degrees (24 c) and partly sunny. I got a chance to ride this very nice 1957 Schwinn Traveler.
The bike is somewhat of a contrast with the New Hudson, which I was riding last week. This bike is heavier and has a steadier feel over bumps and coming down hills. I like the variety offered by vintage three speed bikes. Even after something like 28 years in this hobby, I still have a lot of fun with it.
Here are a few shots of a recent project - a 1951 New Hudson Silver Arrow. This bike came in last year having been gone over and ridden by another collector recently. Much of the dirty work had already been done. This was from the era where New Hudson was a BSA brand.
This bike came as a drop bar single speed with a flip-flop freewheel and fixed gear hub. I built up a second set of wheels for it: a three speed wheel set using Dunlop club style rims (26 x 1-1/4 597mm). I swapped the drop bars to north road bars and replaced the road saddle with a Brooks 66. The brake levers are from a 1950s era Phillips.
The original celluloid fenders were broken in shipping, so I replaced with a comparable set of Bluemels white plastic fenders. I added a New Hudson decal from H.Lloyd decals in England.
The result is a sporty light roadster: laid back frame angles, Reynolds 531 main tubes, and an upright ride. This is the third of three bikes following that concept. I now have a 1953 Raleigh Lenton, 1949 Raleigh Clubman, and 1951 New Hudson Silver Arrow, all set up with upright bars and outfitted similar to utility bikes.
I still have a few loose ends to tie up: clean up the paint a bit, final truing of the wheels, and fine tuning of the brakes and headset. I also am considering a newer Brooks 67 saddle with an aged brown finish, but that remains an open question.
I like how the laid back frame angles combine with the lightened frame and sporty components.
New Hudson Silver Arrow (tourist configuration specs):
I've had pretty good luck so far this spring locating the kinds of parts one usually needs to rebuild a derelict, old three speed.
Some parts, such as 1930s-50s Schwinn parts, or pre-war Raleigh parts, are harder to find. So I was happy to locate some good parts at reasonable prices this spring.
These include a pre-war Raleigh fender reflector, a set of very nice "Schwinn Built" brake calipers from a late 1940s Schwinn three speed, Scwhinn frame cable clamps from the same 1940s era bike, and a bundle of very nice Sturmey Archer quadrant shifters from the 1930s-40s.
Now... if only the weather will cooperate with ride season. We shall see...
When I first rebuilt and tested this 1959 Schwinn (it arrived here as a bike core and I built it up), I used a set of Schwinn New World tourist style bars from the late 1940s or early 1950s. I recently acquired a couple nice sets of Schwinn "north road style" bars, which are more appropriate for a 1950s or early 60s era Traveler. One of these sets came off a scrapped 1962 Traveler, a closer match for this 1959 bike.
Handlebars for Schwinn three speeds are trickier to get right than those for a Raleigh. The reason is that Raleigh handlebar stems generally have more range of adjustment than the smaller, forged stems used on many American bikes of the period. The American stems tend to be rather short. The result is that your handlebar drop and reach becomes a primary means of setting up the bike to fit on the Schwinn.
In this case, the north road-style Schwinn bars work nicely. The short-lived 1959-60 forged stem is kind of short, but Schwinn's north road bars from this period have a little more rise and pull back compared to Raleigh bars, so it works out to a good fit.
Couple nice shots of the solar eclipse from earlier this afternoon that I took.
Several times in the past, I've written about using Sun CR-18 rims to spice up vintage Schwinn three speed bikes. Vintage Schwinn bikes usually use 597mm rims (S5, S6 sizes), a different size from the normal 590mm (26 x 1-3/8) rims used by English bikes.
However, many Schwinn three speeds have calipers that will reach far enough to use the slightly smaller and more common 590mm 26 x 1-3/8 rims.
For example, I used CR-18s previously on a pre-war Schwinn New World. See HERE.
And I built a bike for my wife using Sun CR-18 rims and a 1946-47 Schwinn New World. See HERE.
In the case of the pre-war New World, the "Schwinn Built" steel calipers were able to reach the slightly smaller Sun rims. In the case of the post-war New World, a set of Weinmann 810 "Schwinn Approved" calipers also were able to reach.
So what size spokes should you use? Here is what I use:
Below are my results using a spoke calculator. These spoke lengths filled the spoke nipples to their ends without going over.
I periodically do status checks on the values of three speed bikes in the market. For many years, the more common models have tended to be somewhat undervalued when you consider the quality, durability, and practicality of these bikes.
There was a Copake bicycle auction just a few days ago featuring a number of three speed bikes, so let's take a look at the values rolling in... (these prices do not include buyer's premium, which should not be all that large considering these bikes are pretty affordable)
Lot 86 is an early Raleigh Sports model for the US market. This is a pre-WWII bike (I would guess 1938 or earlier based on the frame angles) with the old-style laid back frame angles. Final price of $120. It looks like it may have had some parts changes over the years, but a pretty good bargain if you like early Raleighs for the US market.
Lot 87 was a coffee Sports, men's tall frame model. Final price of $108. That's pretty good for a largely complete Sports in a desirable size.
Lot 88 is a Japanese-made Royce Union three speed. It's a knock-off of a Raleigh. Closing price of $108. The tall frame coffee Raleigh was the better deal at that same price. I would pass on the Royce Union at that price - just too much for a knock-off bike in a smaller frame size. Perhaps these are becoming more valuable(?). I am surprised it was anywhere close to what a tall frame Raleigh Sports would bring.
Lot 89 is an unusual Raleigh-made Dunelt rod brake roadster. This is an unusual model for the US market. Most rod brake models in the US from the 1960s and 70s were Raleigh-branded and followed the "DL-1" style pattern. This Dunelt is a desirable medium frame model, with unusual chrome fenders. Final price of $120 is a good buy for an unusual and very ride-worthy roadster.
Lot 90 is another interesting bike - an old style Raleigh that is a mixture of Sports and road/club elements. The fluted cranks give away that this is something a little better than usual. It comes with a dynohub system and the condition is pretty good overall. It has neat, white-painted fenders. The only downside is it's a small frame rather than the men's tall frame type. But if this bike fits you, $180 is a good buy for a sporty, old school Raleigh.
Lot 92 is a nice, tall frame men's Humber Sports. There's nothing rare or unusual about this bike. It's a Humber from after the duplex fork era. It's in good shape though. The color looks nice as well. It needs some work, but for $96, it's a good deal for a very practical bike in a desirable frame size.
Lot 93 is a much earlier Humber. It has the desirable duplex fork and is pretty complete. The condition looks good. The grips are worth a close look - they look like original 1950s era grips (highly desirable - hard to find these in good shape). The only downside is it's a women's frame. I hope some lady bought it, fixes it up, and rides it. It would be a shame to see it parted out, which is the fate of so many of these ladies' bikes. It's a rod brake model to boot. At $60, this was a bargain.
Lot 186 is a Swiss Army Bike. The market for these bikes seems to be all over the place. It ranges from, say $100, and goes way up. I've seen very clean and original examples with lots of equipment sell for over $1,000. This bike sold at $150, which is very reasonable and a pretty good deal. The only downside is it's a smaller frame size.
My take-aways:
I finally did a proper shakedown ride on the 1957 Schwinn Traveler bike. This is an unusual tall frame bike from an era when Schwinn was not building many full-sized bikes of this sort. Adult cyclists in the United States were a rare thing in the late 1950s, as the late Sheldon Brown once noted.
I was generally happy with the way the bike rode. The stem and swept-back Schwinn handlebars are comfortable and all the mechanical aspects ran smoothly. The bike fits an adult rider nicely, being a 23-24 inch frame. The understated graphics for that time have a surprisingly modern look. They would not look out of place on even a 1990s era bike.
I was unhappy with the persistent "buzzing" of the Kool Stop Weinmann insert brake pads. These pads are advertised as direct replacements for 1950s-60s era Weinmann pad holders, and they fit the holders reasonably well. Despite several tries and brake adjustments, they still buzzed badly. I could see the beam gyrating on the ground when I would apply the brake.
The Kool Stop insert pads are an interesting concept for re-using old pad holders, but I had to swap them out after my ride. I have a set of similar Bell brand pads I will try next. A quick test indicated they vibrate less.
