Any love for old English 3 Speeds?

That Phillips is quite nice, I’m sure they were made at the Raleigh factory as well. 
Great idea and something I considered myself, the dropouts on my Colorado are the same as my 3 speeds, 110mm I think. 

Do you think long reach calipers would reach the rim on 26” wheels or are you building a 27” rear with a SA hub? 

Aha. It's cadmium plated parts that turn black. I have had this happen a few times and always with small fasteners. I'm not too familiar with cadmium plating and its applications or how to identify it.

I have had a couple of disasters with aluminum parts. If you try to de-grease aluminum with most of the "citrus de-greasers" at too high a concentration or heat, the high pH will turn them black and you will never get it off except by sanding. If you use anything containing phosphoric acid (like CLR in the US) and possibly other low pH products, it will oxidize the aluminum, basically creating a coating of corundum that you also will also never remove except with abrasives.

I usually refurbish aluminum parts like brake components by tumbling them in a vibratory tumbler with non-abrasive ceramic media, water, and a surfactant like a few drops of dish soap. This seems to knock off or chip the oxidation to the point where the parts are easily polished with mag/aluminum wheel polish.

I'm interested to hear if anyone uses a polishing wheel and what process you use.

Maybe we should start a thread about restoration best practices. Pardon me if there is one already. I admit I did not look before writing this.


Brian

Finally putting the Triumph back together. I’m using parts from stock I already had but had to order a few bits, like 5mm pinch bolt for the rear caliper, a woods valve inner tube and some old school brake levers. The crankset came up quite clean with the evapo-rust but it’s still evidently seen better days.
It won’t be prettiest bike due to some pitting on the frame and chain guard, but be good to get her back on the road even if I sell her on.

I enjoy working on the old 3 speeds, they’re built like tanks and made to last.

Got my eye on another Hercules that is extremely clean for its age...

I picked up a 1959 Raleigh Trent Tourist for little money.
The key thing is the frame, forks and chainguard are worth the effort. The wheels and most the components don’t look like they can be saved but nothing out of the ordinary that can’t be replaced. The rear Sturmey Archer hub is clean though, so I’ll hang on to that in case I decide to get a wheel built with it in the future.

I just sold a Hercules, it was one of the Nottingham produced ones, not the earlier Birmingham models with ‘H’ crank. Still a nice bike though and I’d be tempted!

Spent a few hours on the Trent cleaning the frame, took the crank off, they aren’t actually decals on the frame, it’s been hand painted in house. Reminds me of Fairground signwriting. No wonder I couldn’t find any online.
That makes me even more want to touch the frame up but it’s going to be long winded. Someone said I should get it powder coated but I don’t want to lose the logos.

Thoughts?

I rarely see large frame 3-speeds in the US because there was a very limited adult market for bikes of any kind between the advent of cars and the bike boom - in other words the sweet spot in time for cool three-speeds.

I have a large (23") Puch three speed with 27" wheels, SA hub, and all the trimmings (lights, built-in lock, rack, pump, etc.) It really just needs cleaning but for some reason I never get to it. I think it is a 1979.

Spent most of today cleaning up the Trusty/Viscount folder 3 Speed I got from Jem yesterday. 

Really pleased with how well it’s cleaned up. Struggled to get into the chain case but didn’t want to dismantle it at this point, still some pitting on the bars and wheels but for 1975 I think it’s looking well. 
Had a ride around the block on it and it’s ace! Almost like riding a toy bike but not, if that makes sense. 

Yes Jem, the indicator chain on the hub just needed a minor adjustment, I put some light oil in the hub as well.
Really pleased with it and I’ll definitely be keeping it, so thanks again! 

Actually, you’ve set me off looking at other vintage folders on eBay now, like I need more bikes 

It does say patent on the white cap. I don’t recall ever riding one so I’m impressed how well it handles.

I’ve seen a Raleigh Stowaway locally, currently at £9.99. If it stays around that price it will be difficult to resist bidding on it. At least they fold up though, so I can fit two in the space where one bike would go haha.

I picked up a donor bike for the other projects today, a Vindec. I’d never heard of them but apparently they were a small London based bicycle company that disappeared in the early 1980’s after around a hundred years of production.
It’s quite a nice bike in its own right but I bought it for parts I need that would have cost me more buying separately.
The guy selling it had a drawer full of dynamo lights and accessories in his workshop so I picked a few other bits up too. Like a kid in a sweet shop.

I’ve got a 1981 Hercules Commuter frame/forks etc in good condition but the wheels were shot. 26” 1 3/8 wheels are a pain finding a decent used pair and not easy to find new either.

Looking at other options, I saw a guy on YouTube use 27” wheels and go single speed. The project looked good and I could go that route without much cost due to parts I have, but not sure my knees would cope with singlespeed. My BMX days are long gone

Anyone here occasionally ride a singlespeed and if so which size freewheel do you use?

Franco, that's a handsome machine, indeed. We should set up an international trading company where you ship me large frame 3-speeds and I ship you Nishikis, Fujis, and Miyatas. Very few American bikes worth shipping I'm afraid. I'm ready to place my order for a full container of English 3-speeds, assorted brands and colors, 23" frames or thereabouts.