1954 English 3-speed

[mimitabby]

i doubt it. once the integrity of the leather is gone (think old shoes with holes or old gloves) there isn't much you can do with it.

[ClockworkOrange]

Hi DebW

It really sounds quite a challenge, be good to see some pics.

Oh yes, came across the following, not sure if it is the same:




Sally

[DebW]

Hi DebW

Oh yes, came across the following, not sure if it is the same:




Sally

The 3-speed coaster brake was the S3C hub. We used to see those in the shop in the 70s. I've got an AW hub, without coaster brake.

Further web investication reveals:
The S3C hub came out in 1970. Your poster looks older than that. There were a number of earlier 3-speed coaster brake hubs, such as the TCW in 1952 and the KC in 1922. The AW wide-range 3-speed that I've got came out in 1936. SA even made some fixed gear (non-freewheeling) multi-speed hubs.

Another oddity of my 3-speed: The trigger shifter is labeled "3 or 4 speed". It has a round window to show the gear setting: H, N, L, B

The double-ended cables on my 3-speed were used until 1966.

The full chaincase on my bike was supposedly discontinued for the US market in 1953. Either that date wasn't a firm change-over, or perhaps my bike was sold in England? The tapped hole on the right chain stay to secure the chaincase was continued for several years after the chaincase itself was no longer installed.

The 3-speed cable pulley is a clamp-on. By Sheldon Brown's table, it should have been a braze-on on my gent's frame, clamp-on for a lady's frame of the same year.

[margo49]

Lovely, lovely, lovely
Please post pictures and tell us stories

[DebW]

OK, here are some pictures. Unfortunately, I didn't take a pic before I started dismanteling it. Here's its current state (and the state of my basement workbench):



The steel cottered crank, 44 teeth, and pedals and cotter pins:



The bottom bracket and spindle. You can see the notches for the cotter pins. Sorry for the mat on the floor - it makes the picture harder to decipher. I'll try to redo this one.



The chaincase. Normally the chainstay passes through the wide center opening. That tiny slit at the rear gets it on and off the chainstay. Chaincase attaches to the frame in 2 places. The round panel over the chainring pops off. The oblong opening in the round panel probably had a sliding cover at one time.



The front brake and fork. The center wire is from the generator hub. Note that the brake has no fixing bolt, just a lugged cable end that fits in the curled end of the caliper. Fork crown is a horizontal piece of pipe.



The rear brake after removal of caliper and cable from the bike. The two cable ends are part of one cable, and so is the barrel adjuster.



Last picture is the Brooks saddle. I think it says 72L but it's very hard to read.



That's all for now. I'll probably get some more photos eventually.

[mimitabby]

hey did you try putting some leather treatment on that saddle? It looks like the top surface is cracked but maybe not all the way through?

[DebW]

hey did you try putting some leather treatment on that saddle? It looks like the top surface is cracked but maybe not all the way through?

I haven't done anything to it. It's close to pulling through a few of the back rivets and one or more of the front ones.