Fall Colors, Late-Season Rides

 

We're down to the last few weeks of riding season here. The trees are turning colors and the days are getting shorter. 

 

 There's not much new to report on the bike front this week: just some more time on the 1964 Schwinn Traveler and 1949 Schwinn New World. 

1949 Schwinn New World

I find that I spend less time fixing bikes and more time riding them when the season gets to this point. 

 

The focus is on keeping bikes on the road, finishing the season with as many rides as I can squeeze in, then closing things down when the cold weather arrives. I have the cold winter months to work on bikes and ride time is precious this late in the season. 

1964 Schwinn Traveler

 

My suggestion is to keep riding while you can. It's good exercise and soon the cold weather and short days will be upon us.

 

Fall Rides - Warm Weather, Schwinn Three Speed Bikes

 We're starting to get some fall color here, though the weather this week was pleasantly warm. Unfortunately, we're losing daylight, which means trying to get started on the ride a little earlier each evening. But as long as the weather is good and the daylight is just enough, the rides continue. 

This week's rides are the 1964 Schwinn Traveler and the 1949 Schwinn New World.

 

These two bikes have some differences but are pretty similar. Both have welded steel frames, though the New World frame is partially of fillet brazed construction. The Traveler has more welded joints. Schwinn gradually expanded their use of welded construction on these frames. As time went on, the company advanced its techniques welding sections of frame, doing away with some joints that were previously fillet brazed.

 

The bikes are both good riders. They're both on the heavy side for a three speed, but also comfortable to ride. The frame angles are relatively laid back compared to a Raleigh Sports. The Weinmann brakes on the Traveler work a bit better, but the Schwinn-made steel brakes on the New World function about the same as any English three speed utility machine. The wheel sets are basically similar: steel rims, galvanized spokes, Sturmey Archer AW and Schwinn-made hubs. Both have the same gear ratio: 46 teeth in front and 22 teeth in back (modified from 18 in back). 

 

Perhaps the biggest difference, aside from the frame size, is the fork construction. The Traveler has a forged, blade-style fork and the New World has a tubular fork. The New World's fork gives a little better ride, but it's not a huge difference when you consider the rest of the bike is similar to the Traveler. The New World has an edge in the ride category, but I still very much enjoy the Traveler's ride. 

 

 

Autumn Arrives - 1974 Raleigh Sports and 1949 Schwinn New World

 

The autumn arrived right on schedule this year. The equinox occurred earlier this week, and sure enough, the cool weather arrived with it. The days are getting shorter, though there is still enough daylight to ride after work, at least for a few more weeks. 

This week's rides are the 1974 Raleigh Sports and 1949 Schwinn New World. They quite different from each other in terms of frame construction and year-of-construction, but they're both excellent riders.

 

 

One of the things I like about these 1970s Raleigh Sports bikes are the brake cable braze-ons they added. The earlier bikes use cable clamps, which are fine, but the braze-ons really make for a "clean" frame design.

 

The bronze green on this Sports has a kind of earthy quality to it. I've seen "Bronze Green" range from an almost-emerald type metallic appearance, to flatter olive tones, to a metallic bronze tone with a lot of gold in it. This 1974 Sports has decent paint and is closer to an olive green than to metallic bronze or to emerald. It has a certain earth tone, 1970s quality to it that blends nicely with fall seasonal type colors. 

The weather patterns change here in the fall, not just the temperature. Fall and winter are when we get coastal storms - "Nor'easters" being the common term here because they travel northeasterly along the coast and bring strong northeasterly winds along with them.  We have one of those approaching this weekend... looks like rain both days. We generally don't get those during the summer months, though the summer can bring strong thunderstorms from the west. 

The New World  has that 1940s-50s automotive, electric blue type color. It has an aluminum coat, which gives it that characteristic shine. It was a color that was popular in the late 1940s and into the 1950s on automobiles, which set the style trends in the USA in those days.

 

It's important this time of year to have decent lights. It's starting to get a little darker at the end of my rides. I like a retro-styled light that has an LED bulb for extra visibility on the road.

Schwinn Three Speeds: 1940 New World and 1960 Traveler

 Decent weather most of this week, which was a good turn for riding. I took out the 1940 New World and the 1960 Traveler. The New World has a distinctly 1930s-40s design, versus the post-war Traveler. The New World has a much more traditional style. Both are good riders, though I give the edge to the Traveler with its Weinmann brakes, handlebar shifter, and stainless fenders. But variety is the "spice of life", as the old saying goes...

 

1974 Raleigh Sports Ride and Look Back

 

 

I will admit to being a bit sentimental, including about bikes I have owned for a long time. I've owned this bronze green, 1974 Raleigh Sports for about 23 years. I remember getting it in September 2003 as a $30, second-hand bike. This time of year tends to remind me of getting, fixing and riding this bike, so it tends to come out in September and October. 

I've made some changes to the bike over the years, but it has always served me well and has held up nicely. I used it as a commuter for part of college and post-graduate school. After that, I used it as an occasional commuter on nice days and as a recreational machine on bike trails and road rides. It is on tire set #4 since 2003, which isn't a lot for a high-mileage road bike, but is decent mileage for an upright 3-speed bike.

I've always had a generously-sized saddle bag on this bike, a holdover from its days as a commuter when I'd have my personal stuff, lunch, and a few other items in the bag. The British flag lapel pin came from the Crystal City Mall in Virginia at some point very early in the bike's time with me, probably in fall 2003. If I were rebuilding the bike for the first time today, I'd probably use a brown, Acorn-brand small saddle bag. But this large bag is a leftover from bike commuter days... 

I believe I got the bag, pump pegs, and pump from Menotomy Vintage Bicycles (the old "OldRoads" website), which is no longer in business. 

I remember getting stuff for this bike from their shop and from Harris Cyclery in Boston (both are gone now). I got advice tuning the gear ratio and the AW hub from Sheldon Brown (now also gone, too soon). He was always very helpful and would answer emails if his website didn't have a particular detail that was needed for a repair.

Not every bike you own needs to be highly-collectible. This 1974 Sports is a solid, old bike, but not as collectible as some other Raleighs. But I certainly have a soft spot for this bike and plan to keep it as long as I am around. 

Here's a throwback photo from the C&O Canal Trail in 2008, same bike with a little different configuration. (The Trygg double-leg stand cracked and was replaced). I've moved away since, but if you're ever in the DC area, the Capital Crescent, Mt. Vernon, and C&O Canal Trails are all great biking and walking venues.

2008 - C&O Canal Trail, looks like it was a nice evening...

 

 

9/11 at 25 years; Schwinn New World Rides

Not much to report on the biking front this week, just a few ride photos of the 1949 Schwinn New World. 

On a separate note, it is difficult to believe that 25 years have passed since the 9/11 attacks occurred. At that time, I lived in an apartment across the Potomac from the Pentagon. I remember the chaos and destruction of that day well. There was also an extraordinary amount of sacrifice and bravery that day on the part of the police, firefighters, medics, military personnel, and ordinary citizens who helped others during and after the attacks. It's odd how the memory of it sticks in my mind like it happened just last week, and yet it was a quarter century ago. But that is a good thing. We should all remember. 

New Arrival - 1951 Raleigh Clubman (Blue)

Over the long weekend, I was fortunate enough to meet up with a fellow Raleigh enthusiast and to buy this very nice, 1951 Raleigh Clubman, along with some extra wheel sets and parts.

 

This Raleigh is in fine shape. It has most of its blue paint and frame graphics. The Bluemels fenders are in good shape and the chrome is clean. 

 

I've owned several Raleigh Clubman bikes before. The best of them were a re-painted (professionally, it seems) 1951 Clubman and an original paint 1949 Clubman. Those bikes have since moved on to other Raleigh collectors, but I've always wanted a nice, blue Clubman. 

 

This one was relatively close by, so I decided it would be a good one to own.

 

A nice feature of the 1951 Clubman is the use of 27 x 1-1/4 rather than 26 x 1-1/4 rims, which makes finding good quality tires easier today. This particular bike came with two spare wheel sets. All three wheel sets use the very nice, Dunlop Special Lightweight steel rims of that time period. One seat of wheels features a 1951 Sturmey Archer AW hub and the other a classic flip-flop single-speed fixed-gear and freewheel hub. The bike currently has a Sturmey Archer FM four-speed, moderate-ratio hub.

 

This 1951 Clubman has a 22-inch frame on 27-inch wheels, which is a of a moderate size and should fit me pretty well.

Even with steel rims, this bike was very light weight for its time period. I had it parked alongside an old-school Phillips rod brake roadster I was cleaning. It's quite a contrast.

I have been finishing up a very basic refurbishment of my re-purchased Phillips roadster lately. The Phillips was a bike I owned for a few years, sold to another enthusiast, then bought back when he no longer wanted it. That bike is nearly ready, so I have to decide whether to proceed next to the early Raleigh Dawn or to the Raleigh Clubman. We have maybe 45 to 60 days left in the riding season here, before the cold weather really starts to bite. We will see...

 The Clubman also came with a number of nice parts, in addition to the extra wheels. These Shockstop grips are in nice shape and very pliable.

The bike also comes with a lightweight pump with a Robin Hood logo on it.

I don't know if I will get to this bike this season or not. I'd really like to, but it depends on whether I start work on the early Raleigh Dawn roadster I picked up last winter. They're both nice bikes. "Good problems to have", as the saying goes...

Late August Rides - Raleigh, Schwinn

This week's rides are the 1947 Raleigh Model 35, 1958 Raleigh Sports, and 1949 Schwinn New World.  

August is usually a hot, dry month, but this August has been fairly damp. Even the lawns here are still green and needs to be mowed at least once per week: June weather more than the usual August. A damp August has also produced a strong population of mosquitos. They find you quickly and bite in numbers if you stop to take photos... I got plenty of bites trying to get these...

1947 Raleigh

1947 Raleigh

1958 Raleigh

1958 Raleigh

1949 Schwinn New World

New World

1949 Schwinn New World