Bicycle guys, 60s vintage Raleigh 3 speed

scottmandue · 06-12-2008, 01:11 PM

You may remember I am looking for a bicycle for a lady friend who is having car trouble.

Now I don't want to be buying a maintenance nightmare... 1960's Raleigh 3 speed ladies?

Tough as rocks or... run away! Run away!

?

The Gaijin · 06-12-2008, 01:16 PM

Ha!

I lent my men's Raleigh to a lady friend who was heading off the grad school. Since graduation, she has refused to give it back..

I found a ladies version in the same color (colour) and it is at the local bike shop getting a tune up. We are going to meet mid-Brooklyn to swap..

They are great urban bikes and the perfect three speeds you need. A little heavy by modern standards, but yes, tough as rocks. It is amazing how many old ones you still see in the City..

tcar · 06-12-2008, 01:18 PM

The 3 speeds are pretty durable. And user friendly...

Friend had an old one as a kid and just beat it and beat it...

it was a men's but,...

The Gaijin · 06-12-2008, 01:22 PM

My Dad bought it in the UK in 1968 and brought it home. He traded it away and I got it back 25 years later. I love it..

lm6y · 06-12-2008, 02:38 PM

If it has the Sturmey - Archer three speed, they are pretty much bullet proof. Just keep it adjusted, and go another million miles.

If it's a "Weird Brake" Raleigh you have a double score. They have Mechanical linkages instead of cables for the brakes. These are truly as close to bomb proof as a bicycle can get.

scottmandue · 06-12-2008, 03:02 PM

WOW, thanks... I'll email the person and see if it is still available.

tcar · 06-13-2008, 11:10 AM

We called it an "English Police Bike".

Get her a HELMET!

MichiganMat · MichiganMat's Garage

Im surprised you guys know as much about these old rigs as you do. Honestly surprised.

Im of the opinion (and it may be ill-informed) that vintage bikes are just that, vintage. So many brands, so many components, you're lucky to find something with a recognizable name let alone a reputation. Its like trying to keep track of old clocks or radios, god only knows what they are worth or what the reputation is.

My view: if it shifts, pedals, and holds air, ride it.

gbalke · gbalke's Garage

I couldn't agree more about the raleigh being a durable bike. I bought one last year on e-Bay. Then I found one locally on Craigslist, a women's model. Bought that for my wife just in time for Christmas. I now have five English 3 speeds in my "collection", including a matching pair of Raleigh Sports and a frame set that I am rebuilding from the frame up into my version of a 3 speed racer.

1967 R50/2 · 07-02-2008, 03:29 PM

The Raleigh/BSA/Hercules pull-rod brake bikes have ben extensively copied and improved in India and China for about 60 years now. Look for a Flying Pigeon, Forever, Phoenix or Indian Eastwood and you have the same thing, but without a gearbox. Both FP and Eastwoods are imported into the US. I would not be surprised if the parts interchange.

MRM · 07-02-2008, 05:57 PM

My father in law somehow saved enough boxtops or something and was able to mail order one, aparently direct from England in the lates 60s - in Beijing China. He never was able to fully explain to me how he pulled it off. All he would ever tell me was that he saved up and mail ordered it by mail. For delivery in the middle of the Cultural Revolution, it seems. Maybe he had to pay extra for delivery to a revolutaionary zone. Anyway, he still was riding it in the early 90s when I first visited them. It was beat up but still solid as a rock and was his pride and joy. In the late 90s they came here to live with us and he had to leave his beloved bike behind. He found an identical one in a garage sale in my neighborhood and he bought it for something like $25. He fixed it up and it was almost like new; much better shape than his old one in China. He died a few years ago but the Raleigh 3 speed is still in the garage and gets used regularly by the kids. They're bullet proof and classic looking as far as I can tell.

1967 R50/2 · 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRM

My father in law somehow saved enough boxtops or something and was able to mail order one, aparently direct from England in the lates 60s - in Beijing China. He never was able to fully explain to me how he pulled it off. All he would ever tell me was that he saved up and mail ordered it by mail. For delivery in the middle of the Cultural Revolution, it seems. Maybe he had to pay extra for delivery to a revolutaionary zone. Anyway, he still was riding it in the early 90s when I first visited them. It was beat up but still solid as a rock and was his pride and joy. In the late 90s they came here to live with us and he had to leave his beloved bike behind. He found an identical one in a garage sale in my neighborhood and he bought it for something like $25. He fixed it up and it was almost like new; much better shape than his old one in China. He died a few years ago but the Raleigh 3 speed is still in the garage and gets used regularly by the kids. They're bullet proof and classic looking as far as I can tell.

Great story! As I live in Beijing, the streets are awash in old Flying Pigeons (I ride one) Forevers, etc.....

...but once in a while you see a genuine Raleigh. Old, beaten,...but they clearly stick out and it makes you wonder how they got there. Must be the box tops. Or could it be that your wife's dad was really connected? That might explain why he couldn't explain how he came by the bike.

I don't suppose you can post a pic of your father-in-law and his bike back in the day?

As a side note:

You also see BSAs sometimes in Beijing...but that brand is now owned by a Chinese factory so that is kinda self explanatory. Hercules is owned by an Indian firm now, and Raleigh itself is no longer made in England.

Times change.