Is there a Riv-like three speed currently in production?

[Brett Callahan]

A few years back I briefly had a three-speed Public done up in Rivendellian style, with a thumb shifter, albatross bars with shellacked tape, a nice silver porteur rack, etc. It was, as a bike shaped object, fine. It was not a Rivendell and I sold it a short time later to buy a Clem. 

I find myself missing having a three speed in the stable. I've long entertained thoughts of buying a Quickbeam, if one would ever come up for sale in my tall guy size, and adding a three speed hub. The same might be possible with the new Roaduno and I'll be keeping my eye on developments. 

I wonder, though, if there's a nice purpose built three speed out there I should be aware of but have missed. Any thoughts? 

If anyone here has put together a three speed Riv, I'd love to see photos or read insights? 

Brett in PDX. 

[Eric Daume]

Check out the Brooklyn Bikes Bedford. Slightly longer chainstays (460mm?). I heard at one point that Grant was on the board of the company. Not sure if that’s true and if he had any direct influence on the designs, but they seem like practical bikes. 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/5137e824-f295-467c-8000-8a7a9da436e1n%40googlegroups.com.

[Joe Bernard]

Undoubtedly not what you're looking for, but this is the Will@Riv version of a 2-speed which can also be done with a triple crank as long as the chainring spread is within 20 teeth. I loved it and am tempted to convert my custom which currently has WAY more gears than I need. 

Paul Melvin chain tensioner, single rear cog with spacers on a cassette hub, front derailer and shifter. Much lighter than a 3-speed hub. But those hubs are cool, too. 

[Joe Bernard]

Let's try that pic again. 

[Patrick Moore]

Very definitely not a stock SKU available retail to the mere public, but a custom, carefully curated objet d'art created for a discerning owner of many Rivendells: behold a custom modeled on a Rivendell and built by Chauncey to accommodate a Sturmey Archer AM 3 speed hub (direct = 65", underdrive at 86.54%, and overdrive at 111.5%: from the top, 72", 65", 56", or the equivalent of 2 teeth drop between 3d and 2nd, and 3 t drop between 2nd and first. In this instance, like a 48 X 17/19/22 with a 25 6/10" diameter wheel.

Much nicer than Leah's Platypus.

Patrick "incendiary" Moore

--

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Brett Callahan]

Joe and Eric thanks for the good suggestions from totally opposite ends of the spectrum!! 

Patrick, you're right, that bike is simply stunning.  What a great bike and I love the color you picked.  It's something else.  

[Philip Williamson]

It looks like there are several flavors of that same Public bike three speed available. State, Linus, etc. they seem to all be $470; maybe they’re the same bike? A Riv 3sp? Doesn’t look like it. A Craigslist fixie conversion of a nicer bike, and a new Sturmey wheel might be the closest cheapest option. 

There is a Claud Butler 3sp and a Raleigh Clubman 4sp on San Francisco Craigslist. Kind of interesting, cheap if your Riv shopping, not cheap if your bargain shopping.

Philip

Santa Rosa, CA 

[Dave S]

https://handsomecycles.com/products/fredward-3s

[Tom Wyland]

Handsome Cycles if you prefer drops:  https://handsomecycles.com/products/limited-fredward-road-3-classic-black-tan

Take a look at the Devil geometry on Bike Insights.  I have one and it's very Sam-like.  Maybe even a little more stretched out.

Tom

[J Schwartz]

It's possible 

here's my 3-speed Clem L

44/34/24 up front and a 20t cog in the back 

[lconley]

I have an in-progress Sturmey Archer 3 speed Rosco-Baby that needed a chain tensioner for the three speed.

I also have an in-progress internal gear hub (IGH) Rosco Bubbe Medium Mountain Mixte (MMM) that has the horizontal rear drop-outs needed to avoid the chain tensioners. I think this is the most recent frame from Rivendell that can be used for a classic three-speed - what we used to call an "English Racer" back in the sixties. In this case the IGH is a Nexus 8 speed instead of a Sturmey Archer 3 speed.

I also have a Trek Bellville 3 speed from a few years ago - it has a three speed and a front dyno-hub and internal fork, rack and frame wiring. It used to have a front Porteur rack and a rear rack, but those found their way onto the MMM - they are blue, not a match, but pretty close. This picture shows the Trek with the 8 speed hub and the racks (including folding Wald rear baskets and front wooden box) before I transferred the 8 speed and racks to the MMM. This is a TIG'd steel Frame - they even made a true Mixte version.

Laing

[Patrick Moore]

Jack: Curious why 3 chainrings instead of 3 cogs in back? Three cogs would be lighter and I daresay shift better ...?

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/7a12083b-80fe-4333-8f51-da1eb26ea07en%40googlegroups.com.

[Linda G]

I'm curious about the quality of the Handsome Cycles frames: welds, paint, amount of prep needed. I'm sure it's not up to Rivendell standards, maybe more like a Soma? I really like my Roadini and am in the market for a mixte. The Platypus checks most of my boxes but I want an in-town bike. I just don't need 50 mm tires and a wheelbase that looks like it will be 7" longer than my Roadini. It's more weight to lift around and more length to fit into small spaces. I'm tempted by the Handsome She-Devil.

Linda

[Patrick Moore]

I'm surprised that there are so many at least halfway decent 3 speed road and city type bikes on the market; I thought 3 speeds were largely cheap, $350 imports from China (though even these look good for the money). 

Those of you who own road bike-type 3 speeds (I mean set up to ride a bit faster than an omafiets or DL-1) gear your drivetrains? Back when I used AWs, I always installed bigger cogs to make overdrive the cruising gear at about 70", and therefore making direct and underdrive climbing gears at about 53"and 40". 

[Patrick Moore]

I meant to add that the Handsome bikes are particularly interesting

--

[lconley]

Pashley makes several lugged steel 3 speed bikes including the Guv'nor.

Laing

On Monday, December 21, 2020 at 5:42:43 PM UTC-5 brettjc...@gmail.com wrote:

[Tom Wyland]

Linda,

I took some quick photos of my semi-clean bike's welds.  It's a 2014 Devil.  The powder coat is tough and there was frame saver already applied when I got my complete 8-speed back then. I've changed out many of the parts with the exception of the bottom bracket, headset, crankset and derailleur.  I can fit bike tires (38mm with fenders and 47 without on the diamond frame), but it lacks a kickstand plate.  The fork has mid-fork mounts but lacks a second set of eyelets at the front dropouts.  The tubing is (double-butted 4120) somewhere between a touring bike and something like a surly cross check.  So on the heavy side of "light touring."

I'll add the Jesse at Handsome is pretty quick to answer emails with questions.  

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1w8-_zHLdoH7qtsU25oNcMCUDavuQEEoc?usp=sharing

Tom

[John G]

Here's hoping the Roaduno would work.  I love having the QB running the three speed.  I found a 120 spaced AW hub and a friend helped me make some non-rotation tugs.

https://flic.kr/p/2jURZfQ

https://flic.kr/p/cScyTj

[Shawn Granton]

Hey Brett-

Glad to see that you are interested in re-introducing a three speed to the stable! There have been some good suggestions so far. Most of the obvious ground has been tread. 

There are plenty of more budget modern options like the Linus and the Public you had. But if you weren't plussed by the Public, I don't think any of those options will make you happy.

Or, you can go with Pashley. They are a well-respected UK company still making bikes in a traditional style, including lugs. Plus, the Guv'nor has a cult-like following, similar to Rivendell. Though they don't have a Grant Petersen equivalent. ;-) In any case, this would probably be the closest thing to a "Rivlike three speed currently in production."

Another route is go vintage and modify. If you want to do the whole trad three-speed experience, find a taller framed Raleigh Sports or equivalent (23" frame), rebuild the wheels with alloy Sun CR18 rims, throw on some modern Tektro brakes, and build the bike up the way you want. Or, find a nice sport-touring frame from the '70s and '80s and build up a wheel with a Sturmey-Archer AW hub or the like. The frame would be lighter/"sportier" than the Sports frame.

Best,

Shawn in PDX

aka El Presidente, Society of Three Speeds

[Brett Callahan]

Thanks everyone, there are some great ideas in this thread. The Brooklyn bikes and Handsome cycles seem like a step up in quality (from afar, anyway) from my old Linus, but are really reasonable. The Pashley certainly seems, as noted, like the most Rivendell equivalent of the bunch, short of a clever adaptation of an existing Riv like Jason's Clem and John G's Quickbeam. Or I could take a machine gun to the budget and go full custom like Patrick. Or, or, I could look vintage, which has the advantage of really keeping me busy, and the disadvantage of older standards that I'm not as comfortable working on. So many decisions!

Shawn, if I show up to a three speed event on a five speed, am I instantly persona non grata? (I've been exploring the Sturmey catalogue). 

John G, could you say a bit more about the non rotation chain tugs? I think the only other 3 speeded quickbeam I've seen did not use those. Were they designed to prevent twisting of the hub inside the dropout? 

Again, thank you all!

Brett

[Joe Bernard]

Patrick, how would you get 3 shiftable cogs on the back? What I did with my Cheviot was put a singleator kit on the rear and kept two rings up front, I can't picture how your reversed idea would work.*

*Of course I also can't picture pulling, say, a 9-speed cassette to replace with 3, but that's another topic 😬

[Brian Witt]

hi Brett heres my Riv Quickbeam  with Sturmey Archer S3X 3 speed Fixed... TA Cranks, rings 44/40 i think... The rear sprocket is18 ... hammered  Honjos, Carradice, - a great 'around the village' bike... attracts lots of attention.  the LBS  mechanic's fave!!   handling is nimble and a little tricky at low speed (overlap). (oh yeah, 18 y.o. Glenfiddish in the flask!)

On Monday, December 21, 2020 at 5:42:43 PM UTC-5 brettjc...@gmail.com wrote:

[Patrick Moore]

Rear derailleur. 1 mechanism and 3 small cogs intead of 2 mechs and 3 big cogs.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/706f4bd5-af2d-4eea-baa7-d7ed8b497290n%40googlegroups.com.

[Joe Bernard]

I presume you mean a cassette broken down into 3 cogs. I've never seen it done, presumably because nobody is going to keep a rear derailer and cassette but make the cassette less useful. But if that's your thing, party on! 🕺💃

[Roberta]

I have a 16 speed She Devil for my in town lock up, 38 mm marathon ( supremes I believe) tires with sks fenders. It’s a quality bike at a decent price. I did change the front flat stem to one with a rise.  I had looked ( in person) at the other brands and she Devil seemed more sophisticated and polished.  A few pounds lighter too. Great customer service. 

I got mine in 2017 and if I had found this before finding Rivendell, I would probably not be a Riv owner today. 

Roberta 

[Eric Daume]

I've tried that, as a way to simulate having the typical three speed ratios. But I quickly found I wanted a lower gear, and a higher gear, and a few more steps in between, and before you know it, I was at 8 or 9!

Eric

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ec0d871f-23c8-484d-87f8-f96e3bd9508cn%40googlegroups.com.

[Alex Wirth- Owner, Yellow Haus Bicycles]

I have an original Raleigh Tourist ('75) and I've often thought that it's the only other bike (That I've ridden) that comes close to that long wheelbase feeling where you kind of "carve" around turns.  The rest of the handling is unlike Riv, Riv is more refined, but that aspect sure is similar.

I've been lusting after one of these for many years.  Does anyone on the list have one?

https://www.raleigh.dk/herre/classic/tourist-de-luxe---moerkegroen-pg-695

If I had more room in the basement I'd try my best to explain to my wife *again* why it is that I need bikes in duplicate 😅

Alex Excited-about-Roaduno Wirth

[Patrick Moore]

There you go!

But I just don't see the reason for 3 chainrings instead of multiple cogs: more complication and weight and harder to shift.

On Wed, Dec 23, 2020 at 4:15 AM Eric Daume <eric...@gmail.com> wrote:

I've tried that, as a way to simulate having the typical three speed ratios. But I quickly found I wanted a lower gear, and a higher gear, and a few more steps in between, and before you know it, I was at 8 or 9!

Eric

[Craig Montgomery]

Shawn's got the right idea. Make yourself an English Club Racer: lightweight frame, drop bars, Sturmey AW. My favorite go-to-the-store AND day-ride (no mountains) bike is just such an animal. Mid-60's English thoroughbred of the highest order, a Dave Russell (any quality lightweight will do). You'd be surprised how fast and sprightly (=fun) these things are. Sun CR-18's (or equivalent), Compass Tires (or equivalent), Nitto stem/bars, Tektro sidepulls, fenders of your choice, and you'll end up with a bulletproof bike good for hauling stuff and/or riding fast. It's my go-to bike. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I have other bikes that miss me. 

Craig in Tucson

[Linda G]

Thanks for the info on Handsome Cycles, Roberta and Tom. All the 3 speed info is also very useful. Whatever mixte frame I buy, I would like to set up some type of simpler drivetrain than what I have on my other 2 bikes, maybe not a 3 speed but a 1x of some kind. It's great to see all the possibilities.

Linda