Linda,
I love this story! You're of Albany NY, but have bike-work with Boston
roots. Hope to cross bike paths with you in the Boston area on that
Fleetwing or Clem.
Tailwinds,
shoji
On Sunday, July 24, 2016 at 10:15:07 PM UTC-4, LLM wrote:
>
> HI, I'm Linda of Albany, NY. I've posted a few times here and have
> enjoyed reading for several months. This is a longish post that serves as
> a bit of an introduction to where I'm coming from.
>
> I pre-ordered a Clem L-Style complete this spring in-between hip
> replacement surgeries. The Clem will take the place of my Surly Disk
> Trucker, which I will probably sell. Dreaming about riding a bike again
> after 2 years of not being able was a great source of inspiration and hope
> for me. Two weeks after the second surgery (early May), and with help from
> a curb at the side of a parking lot, I climbed back on my 1970 Fleetwing
> English 3-speed to enjoy an exhilaratingly pain-free ride. (There will
> hopefully be a photo of the bike sporting my new MultiSack and a Wald
> Folding Basket.)
>
> The Fleetwing came to me almost unused when I was in my early teens. I
> proceeded to ride the snot out of the bike, logging well over 1000 miles
> over the 3-4 mile stretch of country roads I had permission from my mom to
> ride. There was a long hill about 1/4 mile from my house that I would fly
> down over and over again just for the thrill of going as fast as I could.
> My father surprised me 5 years ago when he pulled the old bike out from
> under a tarp and asked me if I'd like to take it It was like a reunion
> with an old friend.
>
> The bike clearly needed some work. My prior experience was limited to
> tire changes and minor adjustments. Fortunately, a Google search took me
> straight to Sheldon's page on "Servicing English Three-Speeds." He gives
> the Fleetwing a one-line mention:
>
> "Fleetwing - A house brand of Boston's Jordan Marsh department store
> chain."
>
>
> The woman who passed the bike to me was a personal friend of the wife of
> the owner of Jordan Marsh. I believe it was a Phillips model that Raleigh
> continued to build after swallowing Phillips. The Fleetwing has the
> characteristic Raleigh dropouts (according to Sheldon) and wacky Raleigh
> threading.
>
> Sheldon's site gave me the assurance I needed that the bike was worth
> fixing. So I learned about cottered cranks and got a cottered crank tool
> from BIkesmith on my way to the busted bottom bracket. I think I ordered
> Phil Wood bearing grease from Rivendell. Got new bearings and assorted
> tools from my LBS. A set of Panaracer Col de le Vies didn't fit under the
> fenders. A set of Continental World Tours did. I added transmission fluid
> to the Sturmey Archer hub; eventually the pawls started ticking again. My
> first test ride put a familiar big smile on my face.
>
> Sometime later, after my first terrifying attempt to stop the bike going
> downhill in the rain, I sprung for a new set of alloy wheels from Harris
> that included a modern SA 3-speed Hub. At the same time, I upgraded the
> brakes to some long-reach Tektro side-pulls. To make room for the modern
> hub, I spread the rear dropouts Sheldon-style, with a caliper, a long 2x4,
> a chair and patience. It worked. Outside of a slightly bent front fork
> which made the front end twitchy, I ended up with a great city bike. A
> couple of months ago, in the course of conversation with Jeffrey Ferris of
> "Ferris Wheels" in Boston, Jeff offered to look at the fork ("We are an old
> school shop with old school tools and old school skills!"). The fork
> couldn't be saved, but a shiny new chrome fork has resolved all of the
> handling challenges. Handling has risen to a new level of importance now
> that I have a mid-range Subaru's worth of fancy hardware (not counting cost
> of installation) where my hip joints used to be!
>
> One of my goals at the outset of the Fleetwing project was to learn enough
> about bikes to be able to make an informed decision about purchasing a new
> bike. I ended up with the Surly. The Clem L-Style is an obvious
> successor. While I wait to hear from RBW that they are shipping my new
> bike to me, I continue to pedal around town on my first bicycle love, the
> Fleetwing.
>
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