1954 English 3-speed

[DebW]

I went to Harris Cyclery on Saturday for parts. Got a new 32 hole rim for the front wheel, spokes, gear cable and pulley, chain and sprocket (the old ones were probably usable, but why not start fresh?), pedals, handlebar grips, rim tape, and AW indicator spindle. Also sprung for a new Brooks B72L but I may throw the old saddle back on until I'm sure that the project is worth that expense. At this point I'm waiting for a 40 hole rear rim, 4 pawl springs for the rear hub (I could just reuse the old ones but official repair documents say to replace them) and a used stem bolt. Think I'll have to pull the chaincase back off to size and align the chain. I'm thinking I may lace up the wheels without axles in the hubs - the rear hub is just a shell right now with all the innards out of it. In my shop years ago, we had holes drilled in the work bench for bolt-on axles to stick into while lacing wheels. Since I'm reluctant to drill holes in my current workbench, I think I'll leave the axles out until I'm ready to true the new wheels. The front wheels gets built with short spokes and 2x on the dynamo side, long spokes and 3x on the other side. Rear wheel in 4x with 40 spokes.

[DebW]

I started on the front wheel build last night. Below is a picture of the front wheel with the old rusty steel rim, and then the dynohub after I cut out the spokes. Looks like the front rim is original and the rear a later replacement, based on pictures I found of original Raleigh rims. I laced up the larger dynamo side of the hub and all was well. Then I tried lacing the other side and found out my spokes were too long. I could have laced it 4-cross, but 32-hole hubs do not like to be laced 4-cross. I took in a few old spokes when I bought new, but Elton had to round up by 1-2 mm to match a size he had. Today I found an online spoke calculator with Sturmey Archer hubs, and I need to go 6 mm shorter. So I'll head back to Harris Cyclery Thursday or Friday and swap spokes. The non-dynamo side of this hub is hard to deal with - every pair of spoke holes is linked by a hole large enough to fit the spoke head through (since the dynamo side is so large that spokes can't be inserted through). Makes it hard to hold the spoke head in place when lacing, and sometimes they fall out when you're not looking. Also you can't shift a spoke one hole since the hub allows a pull from only one direction. Since the old rim was right handed and the new one left-handed (or vice versa, anyway they are different) I may have to settle for less-than-optimum valve hole placement.

[mimitabby]

cool, Deb.
What about that rusty bolt? is that going to get restored too? Or just hidden eventually?

[DebW]

cool, Deb.
What about that rusty bolt? is that going to get restored too? Or just hidden eventually?

You mean the axle and axle nut in the hub picture? Actually it looks black. Somehow the camera flash changes the color (or reveals things I can't see?). Maybe I should soak the nut in rust remover and see if its color changes.

[DebW]

The front wheel is done, brand new Sun alloy rim and butted spokes.

[KnottedYet]

it's beeeeooooootiful!

[DebW]

Yesterday I talked to the builder who is building (and has mostly completed) my new frame. I asked him if he could straighten the 3-speed fork, and he said to bring it in Sunday when I see him. So the 3-speed is going to have a straight and properly aligned fork.

[margo49]

I am really glad you can get this job done on the old boy. It has been worrying me a little.
If you can watch it all the better. An experience not to be missed (see my previous post on this thread).

[DebW]

The 3-speed AW hub is back together. The pictures show the clean and empty hub shell before re-assembly, the innards all together, and the 2 tsp of Sturmey Archer Oil that I poured inside the innards just before inserting the innards into the hub shell. Can't test the mechanism until I get the wheel on the bike, a chain installed, and the cable and trigger. I did remove the chaincase so I can size the chain, and installed the crank arms. Even trued the chainring. It's obvious this bike has been ridden without toe clips/clipless because the chainring is shorter on the right pedal downstroke.

I took the fork to Peter Mooney at Belmont Wheelworks. He remarked on the fork blades being round rather than ovalized. Then another guy came in and saw the fork and started asking about it. This guy is very into restoring old Raleigh 3-speeds. He claimed the fork was from the 30s because of the round blades. So maybe the 1954 AW hub wasn't original on it. He said lots of those bikes came with single speed/fixed gear instead of 3-speeds. Peter kept the fork, so I won't get to watch him straighten it.

[Trek420]

it's beeeeooooootiful!

It's a work of art!

[margo49]

That's one use for kids' medicine measuring spoon I hadn't thought of - just threw out 3 before Passover since DS#2 is now nearly 15 and has been able to swallow pills for 10 years!
Very arty-farty photo-composition, Deb

[DebW]

That's one use for kids' medicine measuring spoon I hadn't thought of.

Another good use is measureing oil to mix with gas for a chainsaw or other 2-stroke engine. They sell the engine oil pre-measured to mix with 1 gallon of gas, but I prefer to mix smaller amounts (like 22 oz in my camping gas bottle).

[DebW]

Here's the 3-speed, together again and fully operational. I had some incentive to finally put the old girl all back together again (need to empty my basement before the mold remediation work next week and figured it was easier to move 1 piece than 20 pieces). I still need to rebuild the rear wheel when I can find a new rim. And had to put the old chain back on because the replacement that Harris gave me was too narrow for the chainring. It took me a couple tries to get the 3-speed adjusted properly. First I had only normal and high, then tightened the cable more and got low also (and the in-between adjustment was a freewheeling forward normal gear). I rode the bike up and down my street this morning checking out the gears. There are occasional clunking sounds coming from the rear hub. Not sure what that means. Anyway, I'm happy. Still have to decide if I want to keep this or let my dd and sil use it for commuting in the city.

[sgtiger]

It's so purdy! Nice job DebW. Thanks for the update and the picture. It's been interesting to follow the restoration.

[mimitabby]

wow! congratulations. It does look nice, but how about a few more photos?
as in closeups?

How interesting that you couldn't find a new chain to fit it!