3 speed problems

Doki said:

I've been out in the garden having a look at the old Puch
3 speed I picked up a few weeks ago. I've noticed that the
spokes in the rear wheel have naff all tension in them,
and that the steel wheels are going a tad rusty on the
surface. I've also had a look at the tyres, they're
Michelins, marked "37 -
590 (26x 1 3/8 ROADSTER)". I can find tyres, but is it
still possible to get spares for the wheels etc?
Ideally, if I were to rebuild the wheels, I'd get
hold of some aluminium rims, as from what I've
heard, steel rims don't provide brilliant braking.

On the other hand, being as I don't know how to build
wheels, it might be a better idea to strip the bike and
sell the Sturmey Archer Dynohub it's got. Any ideas on
what they're worth?

Sheldon Brown is the Dynohub expert.

Sun make CR18 rims in this size. St John Street Cyles have
them (at a price, as always!)

Zog The Undeniable said:

Doki said:

I've been out in the garden having a look at the old Puch
3 speed I picked up a few weeks ago. I've noticed that
the spokes in the rear wheel have naff all tension in
them, and that the steel wheels are going a tad rusty on
the surface. I've also had a look at the tyres, they're
Michelins, marked "37 - 590 (26 x 1 3/8 ROADSTER)". I can
find tyres, but is it still possible to get spares for
the wheels etc? Ideally, if I were to rebuild the wheels,
I'd get hold of some aluminium rims, as from what I've
heard, steel rims don't provide brilliant braking.

On the other hand, being as I don't know how to build
wheels, it might be a better idea to strip the bike and
sell the Sturmey Archer Dynohub it's got. Any ideas on
what they're worth?

Sheldon Brown is the Dynohub expert.

Sun make CR18 rims in this size. St John Street Cyles have
them (at a price, as always!)

I found them. And I thought "I could bodge together a
singlespeed MTB for the price of two wheels, and have cash
left over"...

"Doki" wrote...

Quoted message said:

I've been out in the garden having a look at the old Puch
3 speed I picked up a few weeks ago. I've noticed that the
spokes in the rear wheel have

naff

Quoted message said:

all tension in them, and that the steel wheels are going a
tad rusty on

the

Quoted message said:

surface. I've also had a look at the tyres, they're
Michelins, marked

"37 -

Quoted message said:

590 (26x 1 3/8 ROADSTER)". I can find tyres, but is it
still possible to get spares for the wheels etc?
Ideally, if I were to rebuild the wheels,

I'd

Quoted message said:

get hold of some aluminium rims, as from what I've heard,
steel rims don't provide brilliant braking.

On the other hand, being as I don't know how to build
wheels, it might be

a

Quoted message said:

better idea to strip the bike and sell the Sturmey Archer
Dynohub it's

got.

Quoted message said:

Any ideas on what they're worth?

If you don't know how to build wheels, this could be your
chance to start. Get a copy of Jobst Brandt's book "The
Bicycle Wheel", read through it, and decide whether you want
to try to build your own wheels. Financially, building your
own wheels provides little or no behefit, but I take a fair
bit of satisfaction in building my own wheels.
--
mark

On Sun, 30 May 2004 11:46:59 +0100, "Doki" <[email hidden]>

may have said:

I've been out in the garden having a look at the old Puch 3
speed I picked up a few weeks ago. I've noticed that the
spokes in the rear wheel have naff all tension in them, and
that the steel wheels are going a tad rusty on the surface.

Surface rust may be deceiving, and may not indicate a real
problem. Peel the tires off and look at the inner surface,
particularly where the beads seat and along the edges of the
spoke tape. If you have flaking, scaly or bubbly corrosion
there, I'd recommend considering replacement of the rim.
While it's possible to clear the corrosion and keep the rim
in service for a while, it's been my experience that once a
steel rim starts to rot in this way, it just gets worse. If
the inside surfaces of the rims are sound and smooth, I'd
keep on using them.

Quoted message said:

I've also had a look at the tyres, they're Michelins,
marked "37 -
590 (26x 1 3/8 ROADSTER)". I can find tyres, but is it
still possible to get spares for the wheels etc?

That would be an EA-3 rim, which isn't as common as it once
was, but is still readily available.

Quoted message said:

Ideally, if I were to rebuild the wheels, I'd get hold of
some aluminium rims, as from what I've heard, steel rims
don't provide brilliant braking.

Aluminium EA-3 rims are available.

Quoted message said:

On the other hand, being as I don't know how to build
wheels, it might be a better idea to strip the bike and
sell the Sturmey Archer Dynohub it's got. Any ideas on what
they're worth?

The hub by itself typically fetches in the area of $25 in
the US market in my experience, somewhat more in the UK
market; no data on anywhere else. Whether the rest of the
components will fetch any offers will be determined by the
local demand.

Building a wheel isn't really too difficult; a bit tedious,
yes, but as long as you have a bit of patience and can
follow the directions, it is possible to build a good wheel
with little experience.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via
e-mail. Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature. Words
processed in a facility that contains nuts.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doki said:

I've been out in the garden having a look at the old Puch
3 speed I picked up a few weeks ago. I've noticed that the
spokes in the rear wheel have naff all tension in them,
and that the steel wheels are going a tad rusty on the
surface. I've also had a look at the tyres, they're
Michelins, marked "37 -
590 (26x 1 3/8 ROADSTER)". I can find tyres, but is it
still possible to get spares for the wheels etc?
Ideally, if I were to rebuild the wheels, I'd get
hold of some aluminium rims, as from what I've
heard, steel rims don't provide brilliant braking.

Those tires are the same ones used by classic English 3-
speeds:

sheldonbrown.comtire sizing.htmlOpen ↗ sheldonbrown.comenglishOpen ↗
3.html

Replacement aluminum rims are fairly easy to buy:

sheldonbrown.com590.htmlOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

On the other hand, being as I don't know how to build
wheels, it might be a better idea to strip the bike and
sell the Sturmey Archer Dynohub it's got. Any ideas on
what they're worth?

Dynohubs are somewhat desireable, but not hugely so.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden]
sfu.cawiredcolaOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio
Mazzoleni Fan Club