Late 70’s English Raleigh 3 Speed Sports Bicycle

Picture Gallery and Comments at the Bottom of the Page!!!!

Edited 02/25/2020

If you’d like to see a video of this lovely Raleigh Sports just click here for my youtube channel!!!

Last summer I found an ad for a bicycle I’ve always wanted, the Raleigh Gran Sport.  I miraculously came across one for sale up in Brainerd MN.  Needless to say it was a package deal and the Raleigh 3 Speed Sports came with it.  Originally, I was just going to sell it as is but after further inspection I found the sturmey archer 3 speed hub very interesting.  The bike was my size and I decided to fix her up.

It was in a lot of despair.  Structurally though the bike just needed a good cleanup and some new wheels.  The rims were shot, and rusted out. I contemplated on keeping the old and bent rims, but I ended up buying lighter alloy rims from Harris Cyclery. (Harris Cyclery is great place to find parts for your old English 3 speeds!)  I also thought about replacing the hubs as well and just buying a whole new wheel set, however I learned that the dropouts are sized differently.  New hubs wouldn’t fit unless I grinded the dropouts.  In the end I kept the old hubs which were in fine mechanical condition and decided to learn how to lace my first set of bicycle wheels!

While on the topic of hubs, I researched some valuable information about my specific Raleigh 3 speed hub and axle.  They are different than most bikes.  From Sheldon Browns website– “Most front wheels can be installed without regard for which side is left and which side is right. This is not the case with Raleigh 3-speeds. Raleigh front hubs usually don’t have cone locknuts. Instead, they have one cone with wrench flats, the adjustable cone. The other cone is round, with no place for a wrench. The non-adjustable cone is supposed to screw down all the way on the axle until it runs out of threads (there is a raised shoulder on the axle for this purpose). All adjustments are to be made with the adjustable cone. The fixed cone must go on the bicycle’s right, the adjustable cone must go on the bicycle’s left. On the left side, the axle nut will keep the left cone from loosening up. If the wheel is accidentally reversed, so that the adjustable cone is on the right, it can tighten itself up and ruin the hub.”  So please keep this in mind when working on your own Raleigh 3 Speed.

The old sturmey archer 3 speed hub was something new to me as well.  I ended up taking that apart and cleaned/oiled all the parts.  At first it seemed to be a daunting task but there are some great youtube videos out there that simplified the process.  This video by RJ the bike guy helped me a lot.  He’s got a lot of great vintage bicycle videos!  I used a couple “squirts” of 3-1 oil in the oil port, which I don’t think is prefered but it hasn’t created me any issues. Actually, I think, most experts recomend the phil wood oil.

Besides lacing the new rims, and reconditioning the sturmey archer hub, everything else was basic.  Surface rust came off with a brass brush.  I actually had the missing brooks mattress saddle in my parts bins.  The chain was messy and required a lot brushing and spraying with wd40.  The frame and fenders I waxed with turtle wax.  The new tires I bought from Rod’s Bike Shop in St. Cloud MN.  I even found an old brooks saddle bag for it.  The saddle bag isn’t in the best condition though.  The belt straps are missing but when I get some time I’m going to take it to a leather guy to fix it up.  It’s a cool saddle bag and I’ve only seen one other like it on the internet so I think it’ll be worth it!

I’ve found these English 3 speed bicycles extremely interesting and addicting.  They’re totally different than your typical “derailleur” bike.  The 3 speeds shift smooth and effortlessly!  There’s no grinding of gears.  You push the trigger shifter and boom you’re in gear.  It’s even got an oil port on the hub! How cool is that!   Adjusting the Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub may seem daunting but it’s actually quite simple.  Before working on this bicycle I never heard or biked on a 3 speed before.  Afterwards, I find myself using this Raleigh 3 Speed Sport the most.  It’s just a dream to ride!  It looks pretty awesome to!  As for my first time lacing wheels, I think I did a good job.  After putting on about a hundred miles, the wheels are still true and I haven’t broken any spokes.  I think I shaved probably 5 pounds in weight as well by going with the new rims.  The old steel rims weighed a ton!!