History: Heyday of the Three Speed Bike in the U.S.A.

 

One of the subjects sometimes discussed by enthusiasts of vintage bicycles, and particularly three speed bikes, is exactly when the "golden age" of the English three speed took place in the United States. Collectors of such bicycles in the U.S. today seem to focus on the period from 1946 through 1959 as the "golden age". This short article argues that the "golden age" of the English three speed in the United States in broader memory took place between 1960 and the road bike boom of the early '70s, contrary to the viewpoint of most collectors today.

First, let's address the geography. In Britain, we can trace the popular three speed bike back to the early days of internal gears around 1900. In contrast, in the United States, relatively few three speeds were imported prior to the 1930s. A British enthusiast might think of the "golden age" as being antique three speed bikes from before WWII, whereas even a 1950s bike would be an antique in the United States.

Most collectors of three speed bikes in the United States regard the apex of quality as taking place some time between 1935 and 1960. Opinions differ, but generally the period 1946 through 1959 is cited most frequently as the "golden age", based on quality and the variety of English three speed bikes offered in the U.S. I tend to agree with that assessment, if we're looking at just quality-of-product.

I'd like to offer another perspective, one that could be called the "popular viewpoint". In other words, how the general public remembers the English three speed in the U.S. rather than the relatively niche group of collectors who have these bikes today. This broader view holds that the "golden age" of the English three speed in the United States took place between 1960 and the 10-speed boom of the early '70s.

During the 1950s, "balloon tire" single speed long-popular in the U.S. went into a steep decline. That style of bike was gradually replaced by "middleweight" bicycles, some of which had hand brakes and three speed hubs, introducing many riders to elements of English three speed bikes. Eventually, these bicycles were supplanted by the small wheel "muscle bikes" and the English three speed bikes in the early and mid 1960s. For many people in high school, college/university, and graduate school settings in the 1960s and early 1970s, the English three speed bike was the go-to vehicle. 

The people I've spoken to over the years point to the period between 1960 and the 10-speed "bike boom" of the early 1970s as being the popular "golden age" of the three speed in the U.S. These riders, generally born between 1940 and 1960, relied heavily on English three speeds to get to school, commute to class, pick up groceries, deliver newspapers, etc. It is also interesting that this period do not coincide with what collectors today think of as the "golden age" of English bikes in the U.S. In fact, collectors sometimes deride the bikes made after the early 1960s as increasingly more cheaply made than earlier bikes. 

The quantity of English three speeds imported into the U.S. is much closer to the popular memory than with the collectors and experts today. The vast majority of English three speeds imported into the U.S. came into the country from 1960 through 1975. There was strong demand for these bikes after the decline of the balloon tire bikes, but before the 10-speed road bike boom of the early '70s. 

The anecdotes I have heard (samples below) over the years are consistent with popular memory as well:

 

"In the 1960s, no one wanted fat tire bikes anymore. Those were heavy and not cool. Everyone wanted either a Sting Ray or an English three speed."

"I replaced my Sears bike (a middleweight) with an English bike (a three speed Dunelt)."

"In the 1960s, it was de rigeur to have a three speed."

"I bought a Raleigh three speed with my allowance (this was in the early 1960s), put on a basket and delivered newspapers with that bike."

 "I remember three of the kids on my block had three speeds in the 1960s."

[Several people I have spoken to over the years recall getting British three speed bikes as presents from family members in the 1960s. Their stories are all similar]

 

Given that three speed bike use in the U.S. appears to have been strongest from 1960 through the road bike boom of the early 70s, there is a certain collector snobbishness at work. In the popular mind, and especially among the large "baby boom" generation, the English three speed in the U.S. will be remembered as an icon of the years between 1960 and the early 70s, alongside the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, James Bond, and the Rolling Stones. Popular memory overall and what a narrow set of collectors have in mind often aren't the same thing.