Wow Ingrid, that's cool! Did you bring your flashlight? This has been a personal favorite of our family. I've mentioned it before and knew it shows up elsewhere on a forums search -- lo and behold you have a thread from 2004 that mentions it.
The Elroy-Sparta bike trail is in very hilly terrain in SW Wisconsin and three old train tunnels are part of it. It's dripping and dark inside them and you literally cannot ride it is so dark. One is 3/4 miles long and the other two are 1/4 mile each. This is the place to go if you want to impress kids!
it's large and has loads of information, so consume slowly.
lots of good cross links and start with the glossary section...
cheers
2air'
Wow! The Sheldon Brown site is loaded! Hope I don't get lost in there. Thanks, 2Air!
The light on this bike was a real curiosity to me. Never saw anything like it before. Both headlamp and rear reflector light up off the 6V-3W generator on the rear wheel. Only one bulb (of two in the headlamp) is burned out. Pretty slick.
And the saddle is in nice shape. Just took a little polishing on the metal underside, and a leather cream on the seat, and it's like new again.
My 12-year birthday all over again, and I got my wish!
The Raleigh is very cool. Quite a find; I cringe to thing it almost went to the big bike rack in the sky I had a 50's vintage Raleigh three spd for a while but ended up selling it 'cause I never had the time to do anything with it. Yours looks to be in fantastic shape.
Just sold two track bikes my son had outgrown (a Schwinn Paramount and a Madison). I think that leaves us down to, lets see... 14? Oops forgot the TT bike, better make that 15 A few more will be on the block shortly
Here's a shot of me racing my vintage Klein Mantra. Too bad the crime scene tape is in the way. And no, it's not a folding bike -Bernie
Wow! and Pat was trying to tell me I had too many bikes. I'm down to four now: Old Touring Bike, New Touring Bike, Century Bike, and Pat's Electra Bike Townie.
Randy
__________________ Randy and Pat Godfrey
1st VP Florida Unit WBCCI# 7591 - AIR# 17017
2007 Safari SE 23' - Daisy
2006 Lincoln Mark LT - Hoke
We are considering bikes for riding the Katy Trail nearby and for campground rambling or level trails on trips. However, we are upper 60's, haven't biked for years, DH has arthritic frozen spine and, on a bike, we'd both not do well with a spill. So, you young fit kids on this forum may now laugh, we are looking into the trike bikes, 3 wheels for stability. Yesterday we looked at one that was low, stretched out, with a very comfortable supportive seat with back that Max liked a lot. I was really put off by how low it was and strange it looked. I imagined not being able to see past the road side weeds along the way. I tried an upright 3 wheel with a really broad seat (matched mine!). The low one was in the $1000 range; the upright around $500. Both seem exorbitant to us, but then my last bike was a Schwinn in the 60's--wish I had it now. Please, some comments or recommendations from bicyclists on the forum. Thanks, ~G
__________________
maxandgeorgia
1995 Airstream Classic Limited 30' ~ Gypsy
Chev Silverado 2500HD Duramax/Allison, 4X4, Crew Cab
WBCCI #5013 AIR #2908
WDCU
Go, Mizzou...Tigers on the prowl!
The cost of a quality bicycle has gone the way of the automobile. You tend to get what you pay for. You might do well to look into used bikes. eBay and or the Human Powered Vehicle forum at ihpva.com: The Best Search Links on the Net would be a good source.
Now as to your choice of upright or recumbent..... I would favor the recumbent as I am a 'bent rider. You'll find the most in comfort for an all day ride on this side. If you're wide in the seat you'll appreciate the sling types an or big wide saddles. The riding position tends to spread the total of your body weight across the back and backside rather than just the later.
IHPVA has a for sale side and if you join (free) you can subscribe to the newsletters and the for sale newsletter. Like here it can be infomation overload for the newbie, but you will find your answers there.
BTW all the trike recumbent riders I know use whips on the back with streamers to attract attention to their low slung rides on road.
__________________
Glen Coombe AIR #8416
1984 28' Funeral Coach
Golf Professional Sales Rolling Showroom
"I'm not an expert. But I did sleep in an Airstream last night."
It's not foldable, and it won't pull my Bambi, but I'm so excited about this gift my dear husband brought home for me this weekend I have to share it.
This is the second bike Doug's found at the local swap shed (giveaway spot at the garbage and recycling station). The other was a Mongoose that we haven't looked over very well yet. But this is the real deal, a 1968 (by the Sturmey-Archer hub date) 3-speed Raleigh, just my size! I've wanted one of these since I was a kid. I've been polishing on it since yesterday evening, and now I"m busy searching the internet to find out what I can about maintenance and care. If anyone out there has any advice or favorite bike sites to share, I'm all ears.
-Jamie
Sweet Ride Jamie....here is one of mine
and my bride's 17" Raleigh Colt...just her size!
We ride together whenever we can. I also have a Raleigh Compact (sort of a folder) that will go in the Airstream when it gets back together
The Sheldon Brown site is probably one of the best. If you have specific questions about the care and feeding of the Sturmey-Archer hub, ask away. At last count I have 9 of them on various bikes. We also have a 19?? Hercules Skyliner ladies bike that we are planning on taking to the ABCE in September. No one has ever seen one like it before.
And as far as total bike count...according to my wife...there are 36 bicycles out there but in all fairness about half of them are junkers that I m stripping for parts
Aaron
__________________
....so many Airstreams....so little time...
WBCCI #2449 AIR #2495
Why are we in this basket...and where are we going
We are considering bikes for riding the Katy Trail nearby and for campground rambling or level trails on trips. However, we are upper 60's, haven't biked for years, DH has arthritic frozen spine and, on a bike, we'd both not do well with a spill. So, you young fit kids on this forum may now laugh, we are looking into the trike bikes, 3 wheels for stability. Yesterday we looked at one that was low, stretched out, with a very comfortable supportive seat with back that Max liked a lot. I was really put off by how low it was and strange it looked. I imagined not being able to see past the road side weeds along the way. I tried an upright 3 wheel with a really broad seat (matched mine!). The low one was in the $1000 range; the upright around $500. Both seem exorbitant to us, but then my last bike was a Schwinn in the 60's--wish I had it now. Please, some comments or recommendations from bicyclists on the forum. Thanks, ~G
Georgia,
I can highly reccomend the wizwheelz Terra Trikes, they are one of the best values for the dollar. I have ridden one several miles and once you get used to it, and being low to the ground it is great. FWIW when I was riding it on the road the motorists were giving me a wide berth. And as Glen pointed out you get what you pay for. The trikes are a niche market (like Airstreams) and produced is small numbers, so they are not as cheap as the mass produced stuff you see in the discount stores. If you really want to go first class with a trike the Greenspeeds are the way to go. We test rode one of their tandems and IIRC the price was in close to $8k. Another thing that is driving the cost of the semi-custom cycles at the moment is raw materials. In my business sheet stainless is up almost 50% in the past year with other metals rising but not as rapidly.
Aaron
__________________
....so many Airstreams....so little time...
WBCCI #2449 AIR #2495
Why are we in this basket...and where are we going
We ride together whenever we can. I also have a Raleigh Compact (sort of a folder) that will go in the Airstream when it gets back together
The Sheldon Brown site is probably one of the best. If you have specific questions about the care and feeding of the Sturmey-Archer hub, ask away. At last count I have 9 of them on various bikes. We also have a 19?? Hercules Skyliner ladies bike that we are planning on taking to the ABCE in September. No one has ever seen one like it before.
And as far as total bike count...according to my wife...there are 36 bicycles out there but in all fairness about half of them are junkers that I m stripping for parts
Aaron
Wow, Aaron, you're quite the collector! The Superbe looks like it could be the mate to mine. We're watching for something like that for Doug now so that we can go on Raleigh rides together too. I'm still madly in love with my new bike -- you wouldn't believe how quickly and beautifully it shined up! Doug said, "So is that sculpture, or are you going to ride it?" The only thing that's broken on it is the little plastic cover on the gear trigger. I have the pieces, but don't know if I can put it back together. Maybe I'll find a replacement someday.
If anyone out there has any advice or favorite bike sites to share, I'm all ears.
-Jamie
The only advice I can think of right off the bat for a three speed like that, is don't stand up on the pedals when you're going up a hill. Wait that was a men's bike with a horizontal top bar.
The one I rode as a kid, had a habit of slipping when you were cranking up a hill. Never a good feeling to straddle the top bar at an accelerated rate..
That ever happen to anybody else, or was that old bike a one of a kind?
Dave
The only advice I can think of right off the bat for a three speed like that, is don't stand up on the pedals when you're going up a hill. Wait that was a men's bike with a horizontal top bar.
The one I rode as a kid, had a habit of slipping when you were cranking up a hill. Never a good feeling to straddle the top bar at an accelerated rate..
That ever happen to anybody else, or was that old bike a one of a kind?
Dave
Dave,
That was a quirk of the older Sturmey Archer AW hubs basically anything built prior to about 1998. My brother had a pretty spectacular crash by trying to stand and hammer on the flats. It primarily happens with the bike in second gear.
Aaron
__________________
....so many Airstreams....so little time...
WBCCI #2449 AIR #2495
Why are we in this basket...and where are we going
Wow, Aaron, you're quite the collector! The Superbe looks like it could be the mate to mine. We're watching for something like that for Doug now so that we can go on Raleigh rides together too. I'm still madly in love with my new bike -- you wouldn't believe how quickly and beautifully it shined up! Doug said, "So is that sculpture, or are you going to ride it?" The only thing that's broken on it is the little plastic cover on the gear trigger. I have the pieces, but don't know if I can put it back together. Maybe I'll find a replacement someday.
-J
Jamie,
The shifters are still readily available from various sources, and the later all black ones will fit too. FWIW it will work just fine without the plastic, just doesn't look as nice. I got a couple off of Ebay as BIN's for about $18 each a while back for a friend. Also if you have any old bicycle shops near by they may have a few way in the back. I found a NOS shifter cable the other day for mine.
Some people think I have a bicycle addiction problem...according to my wife there are 36 bicycles out there but only about half are really usable, the rest are parts bikes or on their way to the scrap yard. Current projects include a Clubman using a frame that fits me. And a Rat Rod cruiser
Aaron
__________________
....so many Airstreams....so little time...
WBCCI #2449 AIR #2495
Why are we in this basket...and where are we going
The only advice I can think of right off the bat for a three speed like that, is don't stand up on the pedals when you're going up a hill. Wait that was a men's bike with a horizontal top bar.
I guess riding a ladies bike does have its benefits.
Quick Links
Wow! The Sheldon Brown site is loaded! Hope I don't get lost in there. Thanks, 2Air! 
I had a 50's vintage Raleigh three spd for a while but ended up selling it 'cause I never had the time to do anything with it. Yours looks to be in fantastic shape.
A few more will be on the block shortly 
AIR #8416
I've wanted one of these since I was a kid. I've been polishing on it since yesterday evening, and now I"m busy searching the internet to find out what I can about maintenance and care. If anyone out there has any advice or favorite bike sites to share, I'm all ears.
The only thing that's broken on it is the little plastic cover on the gear trigger. I have the pieces, but don't know if I can put it back together. Maybe I'll find a replacement someday. 
Linear Mode
