'48 Rudge-Whitworth

Mark in Florida sent some photos of a nice looking 1948 Rudge-Whitworth. Mark says of the bike

Decals on the downtube state that it is a Rudge-Whitworth Sport model. The hub and research do point to 1948 Handlebars are mounted upside down, like the look better. This bike has basically just been cleaned up, the original front and rear lights work. Decals are original, some a bit faded. The seat is vinyl from a 60’s Triumph that I have, I do have the original 3-spring seat for this bike, but the leather is too deteriorated to use it. I ride it to the park often, the gears were pretty extreme on these! Lol

A 1948 with working lights is quite a find in my book. But horrors, Mark is moving and needs to thin the herd. So if you're in the market, leave a comment below.

Rob's Raleigh Sports

My old pal Rob sent a picture of his newest find, a Raleigh Sports. Rob says this about the bike:

I just bought this and have some plans to clean it up a bit, replace the tires, and add a seat (I’m not riding it like that). I’ll send an “after” photo when it’s complete. This one will serve as the “before” photo. It’ll be like one of those weight loss advertisements.

Sounds great, we look forward to seeing the finished product. And you can ride it "like that" if you want. We don't judge here at the Old 3 Speed Blog.

Johnny Cash would be proud

Ray has submitted an English Three Speed to the gallery. I can't be much more specific than that without the danger of a run on sentence. I'll let Ray explain more:

I just found your wonderful website and I thought I’d submit my bike for everyone’s consideration. This is a conglomeration of a few of the English brands from the 60’s. You are looking at an Armstrong bike with Phillips fenders and Dunelt chainguard. Finishing touches include to a Lucas cyclometer and a Elite lantern. I thought the black fenders on the red and white frame & fork, along with the chrome chainguard, really combine to make this bike a standout in the crowd! Hope you like it.

Ray has really hit all the high points of English 3-speeds. Impressive that he only needed one bike to do it! I wonder if he worked at a bike factory in England and had a big lunch box...




Well, I left Kentucky back in '49
An' went to Detroit workin' on a 'sembly line
The first year they had me puttin' wheels on Cadillacs

Every day I'd watch them beauties roll by
And sometimes I'd hang my head and cry
'Cause I always wanted me one that was long and black.

One day I devised myself a plan
That should be the envy of most any man
I'd sneak it out of there in a lunchbox in my hand
Now gettin' caught meant gettin' fired
But I figured I'd have it all by the time I retired
I'd have me a car worth at least a hundred grand.

CHORUS
I'd get it one piece at a time
And it wouldn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is a round.

So the very next day when I punched in
With my big lunchbox and with help from my friends
I left that day with a lunch box full of gears
Now, I never considered myself a thief
GM wouldn't miss just one little piece
Especially if I strung it out over several years.

The first day I got me a fuel pump
And the next day I got me an engine and a trunk
Then I got me a transmission and all of the chrome
The little things I could get in my big lunchbox
Like nuts, an' bolts, and all four shocks
But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy's mobile home.

Now, up to now my plan went all right
'Til we tried to put it all together one night
And that's when we noticed that something was definitely wrong.

The transmission was a '53
And the motor turned out to be a '73
And when we tried to put in the bolts all the holes were gone.

So we drilled it out so that it would fit
And with a little bit of help with an A-daptor kit
We had that engine runnin' just like a song
Now the headlight' was another sight
We had two on the left and one on the right
But when we pulled out the switch all three of 'em come on.

The back end looked kinda funny too
But we put it together and when we got thru
Well, that's when we noticed that we only had one tail-fin
About that time my wife walked out
And I could see in her eyes that she had her doubts
But she opened the door and said "Honey, take me for a spin."

So we drove up town just to get the tags
And I headed her right on down main drag
I could hear everybody laughin' for blocks around
But up there at the court house they didn't laugh
'Cause to type it up it took the whole staff
And when they got through the title weighed sixty pounds.

CHORUS
I got it one piece at a time
And it didn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is around.

(Spoken) Ugh! Yow, RED RYDER
This is the COTTON MOUTH
In the PSYCHO-BILLY CADILLAC Come on

Huh, This is the COTTON MOUTH
And negatory on the cost of this mow-chine there RED RYDER
You might say I went right up to the factory
And picked it up, it's cheaper that way
Ugh!, what model is it?

Well, It's a '49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56
'57, '58' 59' automobile
It's a '60, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66, '67
'68, '69, '70 automobile.

1963 Royce Union

Wayne sends photos of a 1963 Royce Union three speed with a personal back story:

This bicycle was purchased new by my mother in 1963. For the past 30+ years, it has sat in the garage, collecting lots of dust and slowly corroding.

Although the brand name is Royce Union, the bicycle was built in the Raleigh factory in Nottingham, England. Upon complete dis-assembly, I noticed that some of the components are stamped with the Raleigh heron. After cleaning, lubing, re-assembling and adjusting everything, it’s probably in better shape now than it was when new. When I took the Sturmey Archer AW 3-speed hub apart, I found it to be amazing and elegant in its simplicity. I decided against repainting the frame because that would have eliminated the character shown by the slightly worn decals; it polished up quite nicely. I did replace a wheel bearing cone, tires & inner tubes, brake pads and saddle.

I'm pleased with the outcome! Everything works smoothly, and it looks great while doing it.

I think we'll all agree it looks fantastic. Thanks for sending these photos along, Wayne.

1956 Speedwell

I'm sad to say these images have been languishing in my inbox for a couple of weeks now. James from Australia submitted pictures of his 1956 Speedwell (Australian brand manufactured by Malvern Star)for your appreciation. I personally am not familiar with the Speedwell badge, but it looks like a bike worthy of the Old Three-Speed Gallery.





James also has an excellent write up of the bike, along with more photos, at Perth Vintage Cycles. A great looking bike with a great story. Thanks James!