Trudy Got An Upgrade

Remember the 1972 Phillips step-through that I had dubbed Mary Poppins' Little Sister?

She's finally gotten some much-needed love. I got her back from RedBike today.

Those are Cheng Shin 26 x 1-3/8 nylon tires that I scored on eBay from a guy who was offloading parts he hadn't used from a fixie conversion, a period double kickstand, the Canadian Tire Everyday saddle that had been on Mary Poppins (as a more-comfortable stopgap until I can get a Brooks), and a Nantucket Bike Basket Co. wicker basket and giant chrome ding-dong bell from RedBike.

In the not-too-distant future she'll also get a BoBike Junior child seat installed on her, and Dom will ride in the back while Audrey rides her own bike to school.

We'd been thinking of her as Ms. Phillips, but with the white tires and all that shiny chrome, I decided that she needs a 1960s stewardess' name. So she's now Ms. Trudy Phillips (after the author of a famous kiss-and-tell book).

Now that it's safe to do so, I took her for a quick spin around the block. She's a Raleigh-built three-speed. The lowest gear is ridiculously low and will only get used on the steepest of hills; second gear (big jump) feels like the third gear on the five-speed I had as a teenager; and third gear feels like the fourth gear on my old five-speed. This steel-frame bike will never go as fast as that five-speed... well, maybe if I'm headed down a steep hill. Also: hand brakes! I realized tonight that I have missed having hand brakes.

Can't wait to do a longer ride on her!

Mary Poppins' Little Sister

This one is Angel's as-yet-unnamed bicycle, but it's in my garage right now so I can fix the flat front tire and use it for pulling Audrey on the trailer-bike and return Violet. As soon as Bert is fully fixed it will become Angel's ride. It's another Kijiji find:

Ta-da! It is a 1972 Raleigh-built Phillips 3-speed, bought from the original owner, with all original parts. It looks an awful lot like Mary Poppins, except not a loop-frame and 26-inch wheels. I gave it a quick wipe-down with Simple Green and a little spray wax today, lubed the chain, and took some photos.

Ok, not all original parts. But this is easy to replace.

Headbadge.

Decals on seat tube.

Top tube decal.

Bottom tube decal.

Decal and Fairylites reflector on rear fender.

Chainguard, Raleigh-offlabel-from-Phillips-pattern chainwheel, cottered cranks, chromed solid pedals. 

The chainwheel and everything else was ridiculously clean. 

I think this was ridden only only Sundays by the baba I bought it from.

Notice the interesting change to the fork design. Pretty! Yes, all the pinstriping is this pristine.

Raleigh stamp on gooseneck.

Sturmey-Archer 3-speed trigger shifter and rubber grips. With bonus cute doggy action.

The Sturmey-Archer AW 3-speed rear hub is stamped 72 1 - so the bike was built in 1972.

The Raleigh stamp is the only mark on the front hub. 

What? I got tired of cleaning, okay?

Sturmey-Archer wheel rims.

The Raleigh Record tires are most likely original. They're pretty dry. 

That's one end of the cloth (cloth!) rim tape you can see poking out, 

from when I was investigating the flat front tire. 

The rest of the writing on the tire says:

MADE IN HOLLAND

55 LBS/IN^2 - 3.8 ATM

37-590 (26 x 1 3/8)

Pretty chrome fender nose.

I am a bit concerned about this small tear in the rear tire, but it has held air overnight.

Sturdy aluminum kickstand marked REG Italy.

Notice the plastic gasket between the top plate of the kickstand and the frame - smart!

All in all, a great bike in amazing shape. It seems to shift smoothly and the bottom bracket doesn't feel gritty. A few little dings here and there but really in fantastic shape and largely rust-free. She does have some scratches that suggest she once had a rear rack (probably a Pletscher-style rattrap rack). Oddly, no serial number stamped in the frame that I could find. Needs a bell and the front flat fixed then she'll be ready to ride!