Pursuing an Education in the Subject, Requesting Suggestions

[Harvey Haines]

The world of bicycles is still remarkably new to me; I'm just getting into the meaty part of my obsession spiral where I excitedly discover exactly how much there is for me to learn and that there are other folks with similar passions. Hopefully you folks can give me a an educational boost, perhaps a nudge in the right direction as I seek to build myself a great bicycle.

At the moment, I really need some suggestions for frame make and models to look for.(As well as potential leads if anyone knows where to get something good!) Component manufacturers would be great too, but there's not much I can do with those until I get the right frame! (As well as potential leads if anyone knows where to get something good!) I've outlined some of what I'm hoping to get and do below, and I'll appreciate whatever advice you can supply.

Function:

My bike will act as a daily commuter, rolling me the incredible 2.5 miles to work each day, then back again with Post Office reliability. (Rain, sleet, snow, or shine...) The bike will also be my main source of transportation for extracurricular activities around the Twin Cities. On the odd occasion, I will even ride moderately excessive distances on the bike - some friends and I are planning to bike from Minneapolis to Red Wing, MN in August. (This plan began before we knew about the Lake Pepin Tour!) The bike won't be taken on any mountain trails, but it may have to deal with a little bit of off-road or rough road. Baskets or racks may be bolted on. Weight isn't a huge concern to me, construction is. I prefer overbuilt! 

Form:

My particular love for old pieces of metal tells me that I'd like to have a frame built no later than the mid 1970s, but I'd really like something from a little earlier. It would be best to avoid a genuinely rare, historically significant, or especially old frame because it will be used with great regularity and will be built up with a fair few newer parts. 

Mechanics:

More parts, more problems. I love mechanical simplicity, as well as what I call, "Delightful Inconvenience." As such, I aim to build a fixed-gear bike. One day, I might turn it into a 3-speed, but while still slightly young and fool-hardy, I'll keep it to just the 1. Aside from that, I'd like to be able to throw on some slightly wider tires in the winter, maybe 40c. A lot of the moving parts will be modern, partly because I don't want to wreck a bunch of irreplaceable antique components.

If you have any suggestions, let me know! Thanks everyone!

[2whls3spds]

Welcome 

In my experience, you won't go wrong with a rigid frame from a 1980s mountain bike. If you get one from one of the better grade builders.  They are steel and will take a wide variety of components, as well as wheels and such. My commuter bike for years was a 1972 Raleigh Sports Standard. It was a base model 3 speed and still around today as a backup bike. If you want a newer frame, Soma Fab and Surly are a couple of current manufacturers that sell frames that are a decent value for the money.

Aaron

[Harvey Haines]

Aaron,

Is there a hierarchy of Raleigh bikes anywhere? I'm looking at a Raleigh Super Course, and I've seen a few Sports out there. How can I tell which one is sturdier?

I think I'm going to stick with an old frame, I don't love the way a lot of the new ones look!

H

[Jon Hanson]

There is a heirarchy, though it is weight rather than sturdiness. A Super Course is a well built frame made from Reynolds 531 straight gauge tubing. They make fantastic 3 speeds. They were a lower end racing model in the 1970s. A Sports is referred to as a "gas pipe" frame, thought it is really a better steel and a very solid bike. I built and rode a Super Course last year and was very happy with the way it rode. 

If you're going through the process of building a bike and have the choice, pick the Super Course. 

Jon Hanson

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From: 'Harvey Haines' via Gentleman Cyclist <gentlema...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2022 7:25:26 AM
To: Gentleman Cyclist <gentlema...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Gentleman Cyclist] Re: Pursuing an Education in the Subject, Requesting Suggestions

 

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[72 Superbe]

I commuted by bike for 7 plus years. My best steed was a Raleigh Grand Prix with a Sturmey AW hub and a drum brake up front. The nice part of drum brakes (or Shimano's roller brake) is they will stop well in rain and slop. Fenders and a rack for panniers were also a must for me. I slapped my bike up with all kinds of reflectivity to help others see to see me in the dark of night. Good lights are important. Something on the handlebars that light up the road and a good light on the helmet to light up the rest of the world. Tail lights are also needed.

Good luck with dialing in your cummuter bike. You will find yourself adding and subtracting bits and bobs over time as you learn what works best for you. 

Enjoy!

[2whls3spds]

There is a Raleigh Catalog collection on www.theheadbadge.com that can give you some insight as to what the various models were made of over the years. Raleigh did change things up from year to year. One thing to be aware of is that Raleigh used a 26tpi threading when the rest of the industry was using 24tpi. It can cause some issues for bottom brackets and such if you aren't aware of it. If memory serves me they started using 24tpi on the "racing" frames around 1982? The Sports and variants continued to use 26tpi up until the bitter end.

Aaron

[Warns Benita and Michael]

I can't remember where you said you are from, but if you are anywhere near the Twin Cities, we have a number of English 3-speed bicycles available for sale at Mr. Michael Recycles Bicycles. If you are interested, send email to us and let us know what size and what vintage and we can see if we have one available.

Benita Warns, Owner

Mr. Michael Recycles Bicycles, LLC
520 N. Prior Avenue

St. Paul, MN  55104

651-641-1037

www.mmrbstore.com

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[Harvey Haines]

Lots of great responses, thank you! I've looked into The Headbadge and emailed Bernita. Good to know about the bracket TPI, I see that I could theoretically get one and swap in an expensive Phil Wood bottom bracket if I wanted to put on a square-taper for a new crank. 

Jon, do you have an idea of what the tire clearance is for the Super Course? I looked at a few of the catalogs on the Headbadge, but tire clearance isn't something they would have thought needed listing!

[jon gentlemancyclist.com]

Harvey,

I have a Super Course and I can say the tyre clearance is generous. I would recommend a 650B conversion and you'll have room for some 38mm extra light casings. Great cycle!

Jon

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Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2022 8:16 PM
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Subject: Re: [Gentleman Cyclist] Re: Pursuing an Education in the Subject, Requesting Suggestions

 

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[Jon Hanson]

I have 32mm on my Super Course, 700c. I've not tried anything wider, but they require a long reach brake. As for bottom bracket threading, it was a mystery until my frame arrived. It was Carlton made, but Raleigh 26 tpi. I have 24 tpi taps and I tapped it out and put a sealed bearing unit in that doesn't depend on tension, just needs to be held in place. It worked simply and reliably. The headset was also 26 tpi. I understand that threading depended on the year and could even vary then. Attached is a photo.

Jon (a different Jon, just to be clear)

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Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2022 8:44:16 PM
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[Harvey Haines]

Both Jons have provided great info! 700c Jon, is there a fair bit of room? The winter tires I've looked at have had some girth to them.

Barring something more convincing, I'm definitely leaning towards the Super Course. I've found a couple online that seem like promising foundations for the project. Before I pull any trigger, I'm going to keep looking around and try to make sure I've got exactly what I want!

[Paulos, Richard G]

I'll call that mtb and raise you a Super Course.

Winter commuting in the upper midwest is tough on bikes. Especially cheap bikes. A decent name brand 20 year old mountain bike would be a very good winter commuter. The salty winters attack chains, freewheels/cassettes, cables, brake pads, bottom bracket bearings and zinc plated spokes. You can expect to replace most of those parts every year and a crank set every 4 or 5 years. Better quality bits like stainless steel spokes, nickel or stainless steel chains, stainless steel cables and Shimano UN cartridge bottom brackets will survive far longer. I'd recommend a Trek 800 or 820 or a Specialized Hardrock as a good commuter bike. You don't need full suspension or even a shock fork for commuting unless your commute includes dirt single track trails. A mountain bike will take wide knobby tires ( or even steel studded tires for ice) which will be far more stable and give you much better traction on snow and ice. A cro-mo frame would be preferred over low carbon steel. It seems like better frames are more rust resistant. A layer of clear spray paint can help fend off the inevitable rust. Trek paint has shown to be very durable. Giant, Raleigh and many other name brands of mountain bikes would be suitable. They have the higher quality parts on them to start with. They sold by the millions and there are plenty available.

Save the "Super Course" bike for good weather. It will be a joy to switch bikes in the spring and give you all summer to rebuild the winter bike. It's a bit depressing to see the good bikes rusted from salt.

I highly recommend mudguards (fenders) for year round riding. Not so much for riding in the rain but for keeping the slop off of you when riding after it's done raining or during snow melt. Full length fenders with a mud flap on the front fender to keep your good shoes decent. Planet Bike fenders are quite tough. The yellow versions are far more visible anywhere.

My wife is a full year rider. Her city bikes have been a Fuji first gen mtb, A Raleigh M40 (stolen) and currently a Trek 830. Her bikes always get full lights and rear rack for the folding shopping panniers. She would only use a mtb in the winter because they are so much more stable. Her hybrid and road bikes don't go near snow. I've kept a couple of co-workers going year round on their commuters, including lessons on replacing parts and keeping the drive train lubed. I used a Styer build JC Higgns 3 speed for a couple years. It turned into a block of solid rust despite all the extra paint I brushed on. I later converted it to a fixie. That was fun to ride on ice, pedaling backwards while still going forward. Good balance training.

You can do a single speed conversion on mountain bikes. As always, a frame with horizontal dropouts is the easiest to convert. I'd put a slightly lower gear on the winter bike because the cold weather and extra clothing will slow you down.

Having the spare bike in ride-able condition means minimal time off the bike when one gets stolen. Get a good U-lock.

Rick
Iowa.

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From: gentlema...@googlegroups.com <gentlema...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of 2whls3spds <2whls...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2022 7:01 AM
To: Gentleman Cyclist
Subject: [External] [Gentleman Cyclist] Re: Pursuing an Education in the Subject, Requesting Suggestions

Welcome

In my experience, you won't go wrong with a rigid frame from a 1980s mountain bike. If you get one from one of the better grade builders. They are steel and will take a wide variety of components, as well as wheels and such. My commuter bike for years was a 1972 Raleigh Sports Standard. It was a base model 3 speed and still around today as a backup bike. If you want a newer frame, Soma Fab and Surly are a couple of current manufacturers that sell frames that are a decent value for the money.

Aaron

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[Jon Hanson]

I've not considered anything larger than 32. I started at 28. I know I had no issues with fender (mudguard) clearance. I believe there is plenty to spare with 32mms. 

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[Jon Hanson]

My Schwinnter bike. Started as a $25 rusty mountain bike. The only original parts are the headset and fron derailleur. Now the only thing letting it down is the frame.

Jon Hanson

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[R H M]

Most MTB's have vertical dropouts, which will not play very nicely with either a single speed or three speed drive train. I believe there are some early ones (mid 80's or earlier) that have horizontal dropouts. For example I have a Specialized Hardrock that has horizontal dropouts. It's a tank!

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