Vintage Bicycle Thread

[72doug2,2S]

The Golden Age of 3 Speeds
From the 1930's through the 1960's, English-made 3-speed bicycles were, in some respects, the ultimate in human-powered transportation. They spawned a vibrantly active club culture that has never been equaled. The bicycle provided unprecedented individual mobility to the British working class.

The bicycle industry, centered in the enormous Raleigh factory in Nottingham, was one of the most important in the country. The workers who built these bicycles rode the same kind of bicycles to work.

Sports or "light roadster" bicycles were the basic transportation of the urban working class. They feature 590 mm (26 x 1 3/8) wheels with Endrick or Raleigh-pattern rims, full steel fenders (or "mudguards" to the British) "North Road" upright handlebars, and cable-operated brakes. Sports bicycles had rather more nimble frame geometry, typically with 72 degree frame angles. These bicycles were faster and lighter than roadsters. The vast majority of English bicycles that made it to the United States fall into this category....

These Are Real Bikes!

Don't sneer at old 3-speeds. They are serious bikes, built for serious use. They are meant for utilitarian cyclists, and they are still extremely appropriate for riders who don't usually go more than a few miles at a time. They are particularly at home in stop-and-go traffic, because they can be shifted even while stopped. Their English heritage: full fenders, oil lubrication, and totally enclosed gear system makes them relatively impervious to wet conditions. They may be heavy, but that is not because they were built to be cheap, but because they were built to endure extremely rough usage and neglect. Properly cared for, they will outlast us all.

The Raleigh Factory
When a modern company sets out to build a bicycle, what they really build is the frame (if that.) They buy sets of tubing from a tubing company, cut and weld them together into a frame, paint it and install parts which they buy different specialized parts companies. Actually, many well-known brands don't even do that; they order bicycle frames to be built to their specifications, with their name painted on, and equipped with parts from a variety of vendors. These companies are actually trading companies, even though their image is that of a manufacturer.
Raleigh, in its glory years (up into the 1960's) was the absolute opposite. In their enormous Nottingham factory covered 40 acres and employed nearly 7000 workers. A Raleigh bicycle of this era would have a Raleigh frame, made of Raleigh Tubing conected with Raleigh lugs, with a Raleigh bottom bracket, Raleigh cranks, Raleigh pedals, Raleigh headset, Raleigh handlebars, Raleigh stem, Raleigh seatpost, Raleigh hubs (Sturmey-Archer was a Raleigh subsidiary) and even Raleigh spokes. All of these parts would have been made in the same factory.

The saddles would be from Brooks, another Raleigh division, and the rims and tyres would be from Dunlop, a company closely related to Raleigh.

This level of integration has never been surpassed in the bicycle industry, though Schwinn came close in the same era.

Servicing English Three Speeds

I just found a 1972 Raleigh 3 speed "sport" Made in Nottingham England and assembled in Malaysia. The tires (tyres) are the only locally sourced item on this bike, everything else is made in England.

I paid $10 for it and it is a beaut. I filled the dry rot tires oiled the chain and took it for a spin. It is obvious this is not a cheaply made bike. Wow!

Looks just like this one in the film.

[duncan1437]

thanks for the post.

i was hoping it would explain the reason for olde world 'cotter pins' (which hold the cranks to the bottom bracket axle). these were always a pain in the neck to remove and instal.

olde world



new world



the video doesnt discuss it, but i got a good explanation here

Bicycle Specialties: Aluminum and steel cranks.

if i got it right, the old world used steel axles and steel cranks. any cotterless technology was subject to high wear/wobbly. cotter pins were the best way of mating a steel axle to a steel crank.

in the new world, the steel axle is mated to an aluminum crank which fits much tighter and doesnt experience the same wear.

[Tim Hancock]

The pin only requires a straight bore and a round shaft. The square tapered parts on modern bikes are more complex and would require additional machining steps. Aluminum is lighter but does not produce a tighter joint than a similarly designed steel joint.

[Flieger]

I think what he may be getting at is they can do a (thermal) shrink fit easier with Aluminum on steel?

[LWJ]

My Mom had a sturmey-archer Raleigh when I was a kid. That thing was amazing. Smooth. Fast. Just a pleasurable bike. Ugly and out of style in the 1970's Schwinn Varsity era, but a nice ride.

Larry

[72doug2,2S]

Welcome Back, Cotter

There is a section on Cotters in the link
Cottered Cranks

Many older bicycles use wedge-shaped fasteners called "cotters" to hold the cranks onto the bottom bracket axle.

These cotters have a nut to hold them in place after they have been driven or pressed in.

They can be difficult to remove, especially if they have been in place for a long time.

Removing Cotters

Recalcitrant crank cotters are among the most challenging bicycle repair problems. The first thing to try, if you have one available, is a cotter pin press. Park makes the best one I know of, it is basically a super-heavy-duty "C" clamp. Var also makes a cotter pin press that uses a cam and long handles like those of a bolt cutter. I broke one once :-(>

The hammer and pipe system is best if you don't have a press, or if the press fails. You need a short length of pipe, long enough to go from the underside of the crank to the floor. Wedge it in position so that the non-threaded end of the cotter can fit inside of it. The pipe will transmit the impact of the hammer to the floor, so as not to damage the bearing cups or axle cones. It is best to rest the pipe on a concrete floor or to place a thick, steel pad under the end of the pipe. You could damage a wooden floor, and as the pipe indents the floor, it won't provide as good protection to the bearings.

The more rigid the support, the better your luck is likely to be. One neat trick is to place the head of the cotter inside another cottered crank, used as an anvil as shown in the photo below. (Use a left crank so there won't be a chainwheel or crank spider in the way of your hammer.) The crank in the photo is resting on a steel fencepost which is filled with concrete and set in concrete at its base. The cotter shown, already mushroomed by several failed attempts, let go with one hammer blow when resting on this support.You could also rest the assembly on a bench vise or an actual blacksmith's anvil, if you have one.


To be sure, a really rigid support can blemish the crank -- but these days, most cottered-crank replacements will be with new, lighter, more trouble-free cotterless cranks.

I prefer a claw hammer to a ball peen. Claw hammers are designed to drive nails without bending them, and that is very similar to what you want to do to a cotter. Most people are scared to hit a bicycle with a hammer, and are afraid they will miss if they swing too hard. They go "tappy-tappy-tap", nothing happens, then they try hitting a bit harder, then harder still, until the end of the cotter is mushroomed over or bends. If you are going to hammer a cotter, pretend that you are going to try to smash the crank right off the axle. Hold the hammer by the end of the handle, and give it everything you've got! It may work, or you may just bend the end of the cotter over. If you bend it, use the claw of the claw hammer to straighten it, then try again. If you repeat this cycle unsuccessfully a few times, the threaded end of the cotter will snap off.

Removing Difficult Cotters

The next line of attack is to use a punch (drift) to drive out the remnants. The ideal tool for this is a discarded pedal axle: they are the right shape, and the right kind of steel. Nothing you can buy is better.

Nobody is brave (or foolish) enough to hit the punch as hard as it needs to be hit while holding it in their hand. Use a Vise Grip (tm) or similar locking pliers to hold the punch from a safe distance, and whale away.

If this doesn't work, the next thing to try is drilling the cotter. You cannot drill the whole cotter out, because the drill would hit the axle, which is as hard as the drill bit.

Use a 1/4 inch drill bit or so. Drilling a hole through the cotter will relieve some of the pressure, and attacking again with the punch will usually do the trick.

The final assault, if all else fails, is to warm up the crank with a propane torch. You don't have to get it red hot, just pretty warm-too hot to touch, anyway. This has never failed for me, so I don't know what I would do if it did. Perhaps unscrewing the cup without removing the cotter, assuming that I was able to get one side off...

Installing cotters

The flat on a cotter is at an angle to the centerline of the cotter. When installing cotters, they must face in opposite directions so that the angles of the flats will cancel out and the cranks will wind up 180 degrees apart.

Some older books speak of installing the cotter so that the pedaling load is taken by the thick end of the cotter. This is an error, because if you do the right side that way, the left side will be stressing the thin end, and vice versa, and the cranks will not be 180 degrees apart. It really doesn't matter which way you put them in, as long as they face in opposite directions. [Exception: a cyclist who rides in trousers with loose cuffs has more to catch them on if the nutted end of the cotter faces upward when the crank is forward. There's a host of additional reasons to secure trouser cuffs -- John Allen]

Replacement cotters that fit well are not always easy to find. There is very limited interchangeability. The diameter of the round part of the cotter tends to be standardized according to nationality. Most use 9.5 mm, including British, Asian and most German bicycles. French and Italian bicycles used 9 mm, or sometimes 8.5 mm.

In addition to the diameter of the cotter, the depth and angle of the flat vary considerably. For this reason, it is best to replace cotters in pairs. If mismatched cotters are installed, the cranks will not be 180 degrees apart.

Filing Cotters to Fit

It is commonly necessary to file the flats to fit. To file a cotter, put it in a vise at an angle so that the flat is parallel to the vise jaws. When filing, apply a slight twisting force to the file handle to apply more pressure to the wide side of the flat, to help maintain the correct angle of the flat.

Be careful to move the file in a straight line; it is easy to rock the file as you push it across the cotter, creating a rounded surface instead of the desired flat.

Tightening Cotters

You cannot get a cotter tight enough by tightening the nut: you must use a press or a hammer. Cotters are made of fairly soft steel, so that they won't damage the axle. If you try to tighten them just by turning the nut, either you won't get them tight enough, or you will strip the threads.

After a cottered crank has been re-assembled, the bicycle should be ridden for a few dozen miles, then the cotter re-tightened with a press or hammer. If this is not done, the cotter will probably loosen up. If the bicycle is ridden with loose cotters, the motion of the crank will cause the axle to cut notches into the cotters, and it will become impossible to tighten them.

[72doug2,2S]

cnt.

If your bicycle has a three-piece crankset, as most do, the first step in overhauling your bottom bracket is to remove the cranks (arms) from the ends of the bottom bracket spindle. Three-piece cranks are divided into two groups: cottered and cotterless.

Cottered cranks are the older technology. They're usually found on fairly inexpensive bicycles, but many older bicycles of top quality have cottered cranks. They can be quite satisfactory in use, but are harder to work on than the newer cotterless cranks. There is a special tool for installing and removing the cotters, called a cotter press. This is strictly a shop tool: it weighs several pounds and is quite expensive. Bicycle shops that do a great deal of work on cottered bottom brackets might consider investing in a Park Tools cotter press; I've tested it several times and found it satisfactory. Fortunately, the most common tool to remove cotters is one found in just about every household: the hammer. To drive out a cotter that's been properly installed requires one or two very hard hammer blows. This can be tricky, because unless you take careful aim, you can severely damage other parts of your bike. One common mistake is trying to hammer the cotters out by tapping very lightly, for fear of missing, on the threaded end of the cotter. After a few light blows, you'll realize the cotter hasn't budged, and more forceful blows are in order.

A short time later, you'll notice that the threaded end of the cotter has come to resemble a mushroom, and it will never see a nut again! (Most books tell you to loosen the nut but leave it on, so that if the threads are damaged, unscrewing the nut will correct the damage. This is fine in theory, but in practice there is usually not enough length on the threaded end of the cotter to do this.) Some experts also instruct you to put a block of wood over the cotter's end, so the hammer blows won't damage the threads, but the compressibility of wood also blunts the full force of the hammer, meaning a solidly packed cotter just won't give.

Concentration Is the Key

The key to successfully removing the cotters is to take careful aim with the hammer, so you won't need more than one or two sharp blows to do the job right. This is easier said than done, but I've found it can be accomplished by imitating the concentration shown by karate experts: a karate trained board-breaker is taught to first form a mental picture of the board with the hand going right through it. Try to picture your hammer coming down into the cotter and going right through, breaking off the end of the spindle in the process. It won't, but this fantasy may help you to use the strength of your arm fully. By the way, you don't need particularly strong arms to hammer out a cotter. Many civilized people have trouble releasing the full amount of energy in a hammer blow that they are physically capable of; to do it right calls for deadly accuracy and a certain amount of barbaric abandon.

Picking the Right Hammer

The three most common hammers are the claw, ball peen, and sledge. The sledge hammer is not only too heavy for driving out cotters; it has a curved face that won't drive the cotters out squarely. Conventional wisdom holds that the ball peen is the proper tool for metalwork, and it is often recommended for removing cotters. But I've found that a 16- or 20-ounce claw hammer (carpenter's hammer) is better than the ball peen or sledge in removing cotters. A claw hammer usually has a more-nearly flat striking surface, and its face is angled advantageously for removing cotters.

Absorbing the Impact

When hammering on cotters, there's always a chance the impact of the hammer blows could damage the bearings in the bottom bracket. You can prevent this by supporting the crank from below while you are hammering on the cotters. One way is by holding the head of a sledge hammer underneath the thick end of the crank, so that the mass of the sledge hammer will absorb the impact. This works, but is a bit awkward to do without assistance.

A better way to support the end of the crank is to use a short length of pipe, braced between the floor and the underside of the crank at the bottom bracket. This transfers the impact directly to the floor. (If you care about your floor, put a strong block of wood under the pipe.) The pipe surrounds the end of the cotter, leaving room for the cotter to move, but it gives excellent support to the end of the axle. The length of pipe depends on how the bicycle is being held. At home, I usually use one of the inexpensive "Y" shaped stands that go under the bottom bracket and hook over the down tube. With this type of stand, I find that a 13 1/2 inch long pipe does the job nicely. If you are working with the bicycle standing on both wheels, something more like 12 inches would be in order. If you use a higher stand, you will need a longer pipe. If your stand works by hooking under the top tube, or, like mine, under the saddle and handlebar stem, you will need different lengths of pipe to work on different-sized bicycles. That's why I use the "Y" stand for this job: one size pipe fits all bikes.

If you have a professional-type stand that clamps onto the seat tube, you can adjust the height of the bicycle by choosing where to grip the seat tube, so with that type of stand you could also use a single length of pipe for many different frame sizes. The pipe that I use is 3/4-inch cast iron gas pipe. (Pipe is usually measured by the inside diameter, unlike bicycle tubing.) The diameter of pipe is not critical; almost any scrap will do if it is the right length.

Welcome Back, Cotter

If you have both skill and luck working for you, the cotter will fly out on the first or second blow. If not, you're in for trouble. After a few blows the threads of the cotter will be ruined, but the cotter may still be in tightly! After a few more good smacks, the threaded end of the cotter will probably bend away from you. If you are using a claw hammer, the claws are the perfect tool to pry the cotter straight again. If it is a really tough one, you may hammer and bend it until the threaded end breaks off. Then it's time to get serious!

As the cotter will no longer be protruding from the crank, you will need to use a punch (drift) that can go into the cotter hole to drive out the remains of the cotter. My favorite punch for this purpose is an old pedal spindle with the thin end ground flat. These spindles are made from the same superior kind of steel used in good tools. They are thick at the end you hit, but they taper down nicely to a size that will fit into the cotter hole of the crank.

Do not try to hold the punch in your hand, because if you miss, you could do yourself a serious injury; even if you don't miss, the closeness of your hand will inhibit you from hitting the punch as hard as you must. The punch should be held with a pair of pliers, preferably locking pliers such as Vise-Grips. With the punch, 95 percent of cotters should come out without need for more heroic measures. If yours is among the five percent that still won't budge, there are two more things to try. One is to drill the cotter out.

Time to Drill

Use about a 1/4-inch drill bit and plenty of oil.

Drill all the way through the cotter lengthwise.

In almost all cases, this will relieve enough pressure that the remains of the cotter can be easily driven out with a punch.

If that fails (and I have never know it to fail), your second option is to heat the crank with a propane torch. This expands the crank, including the hole that the cotter is in. Once the crank is well heated, the cotter will come out easily with a punch. This measure is used as a last resort, since overheating the crank will weaken it. Do not heat the crank so hot that it changes color, much less becomes red-hot.

Replacing Cotters

If you have been unable to remove both cotters without damaging them, you will have to replace one or both of them. This may be a problem because of lack of standardization. There is a limited amount of standardization in the diameters of cotters (usually all cotters used in a given country will be of the same diameter) but very little standardization of the flat face. Neither the angle nor the depth of the flat face is standardized. If possible, you should try to obtain replacement cotters made or distributed by the manufacturer of your bicycle. If not, you will probably have to file new cotters to fit, a touchy job at best.

You will need a vise, securely attached to a solid bench, and a good file. The most useful single file for bicycle work is the ten-inch half-round bastard, but any flat file of similar size will do, as long as it is made for use on steel.

Make sure that the file has a handle (you should never use a file without a handle of some sort). A Vise-Grip-type locking plier makes a good temporary handle if you do not have anything better.

[72doug2,2S]

cnt

Some Filing Tips

There are a few pitfalls in filing cotters. You need to remove more metal from the wider end of the flat (near the threads) than from the narrow end of the cotter. Balance the pressure on the file to compensate for this, or you will inadvertently reduce the angle of the taper. If this occurs, your cranks will not come out 180 degrees apart when assembled. One remedy is to put the cotter into the vise with the flat parallel to the tops of the vise jaws. This gives you a reference so that you can see whether you are changing the angle. Tighten the vise securely.

The other pitfall to filing cotters is that most people tend to rock the file as they use it. This will give the "flat" a partially cylindrical surface, and as a result it will fit unevenly against the flat of the bottom bracket axle. It is very important to keep the file horizontal throughout the process.

Good file technique requires lifting the file off of the work for each back stroke. You should also use a file cleaning card, a special brush with very short steel bristles. After every few strokes of the file, clean the file with the file card to prevent a buildup of chips in file teeth.

To reassemble, the cotters must be hammered in just as they were hammered out. If you try to tighten them just by tightening the nuts, you will not be able to get the cotters tight enough and you may strip the threads. The cotters should be hammered, then the nut snugged down, then hammered a bit more, the nut tightened a little more and so on, until further hammering does not produce any more slack to tighten the nut. After 50 miles or so of riding, you should give the cotters a couple of taps and tighten the nuts again. After that they should be secure.

Tool Tips--Cottered Cranks

[Zeke]

I have forgotten almost all of what I knew about 911s, but one of the early ball joints was attached in a very similar manner.

And it was usually a beotch.

[xbrumossalesman]

Originally Posted by LWJ

My Mom had a sturmey-archer Raleigh when I was a kid. That thing was amazing. Smooth. Fast. Just a pleasurable bike. Ugly and out of style in the 1970's Schwinn Varsity era, but a nice ride.

Larry

Here is my 1959 Schwinn Jaguar with a Sturmy-Archer 3 speed (shifter is visible on the handlebars by the headlight)

[dannBarry]

That thing was amazing. Smooth

[72doug2,2S]

I'm having cotter problems. I think all the generous amounts of oil I put on must have worked in there.

Frustrating.

[jyl]

Tighten w/ hammer then re-torque nut? I doubt oil alone would loosen a cotter pin.

[intakexhaust]

With all these bike threads and other's of bargain find -Goodwill- hunter interest, I just picked this sweet Raleigh Twenty folder up for $10! All original including the redstripe rubber, some Swiss made accessories and a Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub.

Wife tells me she wanted to check the store out while I'm at the Home Depot. Not knowing exactly if its all junk in the place but after reading here of others finding steal's, this sure was a fun score. While walking out into the parking lot, had three different parties hound me about it... guessing reseller folks.

Any experts know what lube to use in the Sturmey Archer rear hub?

[Jim Bremner]

Originally Posted by intakexhaust

With all these bike threads and other's of bargain find -Goodwill- hunter interest, I just picked this sweet Raleigh Twenty folder up for $10! All original including the redstripe rubber, some Swiss made accessories and a Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub.

Wife tells me she wanted to check the store out while I'm at the Home Depot. Not knowing exactly if its all junk in the place but after reading here of others finding steal's, this sure was a fun score. While walking out into the parking lot, had three different parties hound me about it... guessing reseller folks.

Any experts know what lube to use in the Sturmey Archer rear hub?

10/30 motor oil. S/A used to sell a squirt can of oil and it might have been a little lighter weight but not much