A New 3-speed

Alright! Three post in one day after four months of absence. I used to be a stickler about spreading out my posts but I don't have time for that.

Fixed Gear, For Real

In a previous post about the 2-speed Hercules, I had commented about how, despite the amount and intensity of hills in Pittsburgh, I did not usually feel the need for more gears even when the hills were part of the ride.

Getting To Know the Stuntman - 650B and more

As stated in an earlier post, I bought a brand new Raleigh Stuntman within a week of moving to Pittsburgh. Before I had even finished paying it off, I'd already started modifying it.

Fewer Gears for More Hills

Introducing: The 2werkules.

I Could Not Believe This!

I felt like imitating a clickbait title was appropriate for this post, so please bear with me.

Sir Wild Toad Gets A Little More Wild?

My move from Ann Arbor to Pittsburgh necessitated that a few minor changes occur on the Lenton before I was fully comfortable with it.

Raleigh Sports Visual ID: Amendments

US-spec Raleigh Sports (Light Roadster) Identification - Frame Attributes

Note: This page is under construction. Photographs will be switched out as better ones are taken to better illustrate the differences.

My First Modern Bike!

And naturally, it's a Raleigh.

Mobilizing the Motobecanes

These are the finest bicycles I have worked on to date.

Reverence for the Raleigh 3-speed Sports Roadster

After a brief peruse on this site, it may be obvious as to what my favorite type of bike is. I am going to take the time right now to explain why that is.

20 Upgrades for the Twenty

I acquired a 1971 Raleigh Twenty folding bike a year ago intending to keep it mostly in its original configuration, save for maybe a couple minor upgrades.

A22CASEFAIL

Dun dun dun

Religious Conversion

And by that I mean yup ... I should have seen a 650b conversion coming from miles away.

A Happy Ending

Last time this bike was photographed, it was in sorry shape. But now ...

1981 Schwinn World Tourist

A slight restomod. I'll try to keep this one short and sweet.

BMX?

I got me a BMX bike.

1975 Raleigh Sports "LTD-3 "

I have worked on a few nearly-new vintage bikes before, but up until now, all of the Raleighs seemed to have been "very used."

1976 Schwinn Varsity: See How Long We've Come

The Varsity changes hands once again. 

Retiring the Ross

I arrive with a heavy heart to report the news that my rusty-but-trusty workhorse has finally kicked the bucket. Final photos have been taken with it sitting on the kitchen table in an effort to give it a proper send-off. 

Still Way Less Than $500

Here is a 1971 Triumph 3-speed, another bike built for one of my old roommates, one of my best friends, and one of my most loyal customers

Reverse Restomods

This post has been a year in the making, mainly because I kept forgetting to grab photos of the Linus, but I'm sort of glad that I waited. Here are two newer steel frames equipped with vital parts from vintage road bikes, contrary to the usual course of action.

Sir Wild Toad

Can you see it?

Summer Jams

Here in Michigan, and I'm assuming in other places as well, we're having a very peculiar winter. Usually, by this time of the year, I would have to wear a balaclava under my helmet just to ride my bike. However, this year, our winter has been both too cold to ride at one time, and so warm that I hardly needed a jacket this past weekend. We seem to have settled between the 30-40 F range for the most part, which is still unseasonably warm. For the first time in my life, I felt a type of winter melancholy creep in the moment the trees became bare despite the mildness and my usual ability to enjoy Michigan's wide range of weather.

The Hopeful One

Urban Assault 3-speed

What comes to your mind when you hear the words "Urban Assault," or an urban assault bike? A 3-speed? Surely not!

Falter Star Rider Full-Size Folding Bikes

In late April of 2016, when I was taking a break from the grind of finals week, I found a 1960s Falter "Star Rider" folding bike for a low price on eBay located in Macomb, MI. I was fairly interested, but had no way to get to Macomb. I also wasn't sure if I was interested enough to weigh myself down with yet another project.

Rosalynn Gets A Third Brake, Plus the Most Unfortunate Tri-Coaster Adventures

And by "unfortunate," I do not mean that anything actually went wrong while I was riding, as the early Sturmey-Archer tri-coasters are known for in the wrong hands.

Raleigh Cottered Crank/Bottom Bracket Service

When I got my first bike that had cottered cranks, a 1958 Raleigh Sports, I didn't know anything and thought "Oh, how convenient! I can probably just undo the nut, use some WD-40, and slide it out! And nope ...

Note: Sheldon Brown and John Allen have already written an excellent article on dealing with cotter pins and they do a better job explaining, so look at that first. As with the article on SW hub service, this one is meant to be a one-stop guide that hopefully supplies enough information to bring someone from start to finish on a compete rebuild of the bottom bracket, covering more than just pin removal.

Rod Brake Service

Rod brakes are an ancient, finicky system. Tuned well, they can provide decades of maintenance-free service in dry weather. However, there are many ways by which their operation can be compromised and the seemingly innocent adjustment of handlebars, stem, and chain tension are a few things that demand extra attention with rod brake roadsters. Also, if you are like me and happen to live in an area without a significant following for vintage or utility cycling, it is likely that no shops in your vicinity will service rod brakes. Rod brake roadsters may seem intimidating to work on at first but I will attempt to dispel any self-doubt that may exist due to the smattering of poorly-given advice on the internet. If you have patience, some basic tools, and can turn a wrench, you can give your own rod brakes a full service. 

This post will cover several different things you can do with rod brakes to make them perform better than new. The order in which these tasks are completed will vary with the condition of the mechanism. If your brakes need a full overhaul, don't hesitate to tear them apart and do all the steps at the same time. With rod brake roadsters, basic maintenance, even a simple wheel removal can take much longer than expected. Take this as motivation to get everything dialed in correctly the first time. First, let's go over the names of some parts just to clarify what I will be talking about: