Most British motorcycle and car fans and fanatics are like any others, they like to collect their brand no matter what the product is that wears their preferred name. This 1973 Triumph bicycle is cheap entry into the Triumph family. This one is posted on Craigslist in Boise, Idaho with an asking price of $199.
Jamie Palmer is our resident British car expert and Brian Birkner is our resident bike expert but I don’t know if either one of them has owned a Triumph bicycle. This example appears to be in mostly original condition other than the seller adding “a pair of rare gold-walled tires a couple years ago to match the frame. No air leaks and they have many miles left in them.” They also added a “Bontrager comfy seat” which has to make for a nice in-town ride.
Triumph bicycles was acquired by BSA in the early-1950s, both were manufacturers of motorcycles and bicycles. The great British bike company, Raleigh from Nottingham, England, bought BSA in the late-1950s so by default they acquired this unique brand. I have seen a couple of these bikes at antique motorcycle shows and they’re really fun to see among the other British motorcycles. This one is apparently still wearing its original paint but you can see that it’s not perfect. I don’t know if a complete restoration would be financially viable with this one being priced at $200 already.
The one problem spot with this example is its Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub. Apparently it’s slipping in the 1st and 2nd gears but 3rd is perfect. I would want to troubleshoot that for sure but that’s just me. 3rd gear is probably about the pedal effort that most of us remember as kids before multi-speed bikes came onto the market. If a person were good at tinkering with bikes this could be a fun and interesting weekend project. I bet that nobody else in your neighborhood, or neighbourhood… owns a Triumph bicycle. Have any of you owned one?
Bicycle. How much.
William.wurthmann4@gmail.com
William, the seller’s link and contact information is highlighted in the first paragraph.
I bet it’s the one Malcom rode into Mayberry when he terrorized the town!
+100 for an Andy Griffith reference, Mike! Nice tie-in, British bike, British guy.. ha!
Ha! Good one. I had a Raleigh, looked exactly like this. It was my 1st 26 inch, but kind of stodgy when everybody else had Schwinn Varsity 10 speeds.
I don’t have a triumph bicycle but I do have an Apollo. I love the ornate joints these old frames had you just don’t see that any more. My Apollo was an old ten speed and guite heavey and because it was one of my commuter bikes for a while it’s no longer original it now has a set of aluminum wheels, 21 speed gear set, new derailleurs, a modern seat, and aero bars attached to to a set of aluminum Rams horn racing bars. I also stripped it down and painted it red. When I bought it I payed $10.00 for it and it was a rusty heap of junk. Now it’s a pretty good sprinter. The bike here I beleave used planetary gears with 3rd being direct drive there is likely worn clutch packs in there which is leading to the slippage. Nice old bike all I’d do with this bike would be to service the back hub, front wheel, steering head, and crank bearings bearing I’ve also installed grease nipples in the hubs of my bikes so they can be serviced without dismantling. This bike I would not. My Norco bush pilot 21 speed mountain bike was my main bike and for ten years it took me to work and back about 250 km’s a week,nplus a 70 km’s sprint on Saturdays. I’ve had that bike 35 years now and estimate that it has over 40000 km’s on it. I’m on the 4th gear set front and rear as well as countless commuter tires. Bad knees made me park it 4 years ago but I got my first knee 5 weeks ago and now it’s part of my Theropy.
That’s great info, Mark, thanks! Best of luck on the new knee, hopefully you’ll be back to your ol’ self soon.
Internal 3 speed hubs like that are very difficult to troubleshoot/repair. Unless the problem can be overcome by adjusting the length of the shift cable (which quite often is the problem) repairing the slipping issue is going to be nearly impossible for amateur DIY’r.
I just went through that slipping on my ‘54 Schwinn Corvette. Second gear is direct drive. First is under drive and third is over drive. Mine was corrected by a two minute google search for instructions and a quick adjustment.
Ahhhh. Brings back fond memories of proper British Bobbies on bicycles during my visits in the ’60s and ’70s to Ye Jolly Olde England when they could be seen peddling far and wide up hill and down dale thru the lovely English countryside past hedgerows, pastoral settings, half-timbered cottages with thatched rooves, and quaint olde country pubs. It was a different world then, a more gentle world where the police needed nothing more than their trusty police whistle to attract attention and maintain order. Alas, that world is now gone forever I fear, but we still have a few reminders that it ever existed in the form of the above Triumph bicycle except, of course that it would have been glossy black enamel with blackwall tyres. I hereby raise a pint of the barman’s best bitter in honor of those halcyon days. Nice bike!
Maybe it hasn’t changed that much. See
https://www.rt.com/uk/434587-cop-bike-birmingham-arrest/
Raleigh built “police-spec” bikes until surprisingly recently. Upright, rod brakes, Sturmey, etc.
I had a Triumph 10 speed, and it was no “English Lightweight”. Sturmey Archer internal hubs are nearly bulletproof – keep them oiled and adjusted, there are plenty of YT videos and old bicycle repair books aren’t that hard to come by to keep you pedaling. Nice bike, but these can be picked up at yard sales for next to nothing, and there are plenty to choose from. Craigslist and eBay are the only places I see prices like that.
I have a 3 speed Raleigh bicycle of this vintage. Navy blue and white. You can really see the family resemblance. Sellers price seems fair. I’ve seen them listed for more in the Toronto area.
Exactly it appears to be a rebranded record.
I have a 1959 Viking, with a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub.
If I adjust the chain at the hub, I have 1st and third but no 2nd,
if I adjust again, I have 1 st and 2nd but no 3rd,
try another adjustment then only 3rd.
For 40 years those were my choices, so I quit riding it, but still have it hanging on the wall.
I would love to get it operational again, but just don’t know how to have 3 gears working, like it did when it was new.
It never had a cushy seat, its the original leather.
Google the instructions on adjusting and lubing. Watch some videos and read a couple of articles. You can do it!
Thanks Glenn Halperin, I had not thought of looking it up, but then I have not ridden the bike for a number of years.
I had a Triumph as a kid back in the 50s, and in those days, these bikes were considerably lighter than the other bikes. I also had a Humber, which was slightly lighter, but the same basic design.
The three speed SA hubs were basically bullet proof when kept properly lubricated and adjusted. I remember it took a little care to properly adjust the shifter properly, and sometimes it is the shifter on the handlebars that is the cause of not being able to get all the gears in the hub to engage properly.
Those hubs, as finicky as they were to adjust, were normally trouble free, and they withstood all my abuse.
Sturmy archer hubs are simple to adjust as others have said. As a side note…. The hubs are date stamped and as long as it is original to the bike you can tell the year by the 2 digit number.
You want to adjust the Sturmey chain so’s that the flat sits in the middle of the hole in 2nd gear. (as far as I remember…) Should stop it jumping/slipping.
I think that Triumph – and BSA, too – bicycles were owned by Raleigh by that point.
Dunno about Rudge and Sunbeam and the rest; there may have been some sort of trade over bicycle/motorcycle names and products at some point.
Derek may be right on adjusting the SA hub, but as I recall, having grown up with a Hercules version of the Raleigh bikes, and working summers in Guthrie bicycle shop in Salt Lake City when I was a kid, the flat on the thin shaft which screws into the axle center – it’s right where the first small chain link is riveted to the shaft – should be flush with the END of the axle when in probably 2nd gear, and that position should be visible thru the hole in the axle nut.
Someone mentioned clutch packs – there are none in the SA hub – they’re not like Bendix singlespeed/braking hubs – you just have a bunch of gears and they are shifted by the center shaft’s position from side to side in the axle. If the small chain’s shaft isn’t properly positioned, the gears won’t be engaged properly. It’s also possible that the gears have been stripped due to misadjustment of the shifter chain on the shifter cable. I tore these apart all the time – all you have to do is take before photos as you strip it, make some notes, and look at the guts. There should be plenty of hubs/parts still around as those hubs were in very wide use until mulitspeed derailleurs came out.
PS – the SA hub freewheels when you stop pedaling in any gear as it doesn’t do any braking like coaster brake hub bikes with their internal clutches.
I think that you may be right. It’s been a while….!
I have a Rudge from about 1952. It has the Sturmey-Archer 3-speed, Dyna-hub generator in the front hub with headlight and taillight, oil-bath enclosed chain guard, Brooks saddle, air pump and rear luggage rack. Mostly original black paint with gold pin-striping. Very good condition. I don’t know what it’s worth but suspect maybe $400-$500 based on similar bikes seen at the Hershey Fall meet. Located in Maryland. Would be interested in selling. If interested, please contact me.
I own and recently restored a Raleigh that is identical to this Triumph except mine is a 10 speed, its a great bike. I paid $35 for mine in original but neglected condition. Amazingly I was able to use all the original parts including cables and all hardware. The best part is the bike takes Whitworth wrenches! None of my friends knew what those were! $199 seems like a pretty fair price.
I have a Triumph Bicycle in black. I thought mine was older, but looks to be similar vintage to this one? I have original seat(I think. It is offsite so I’d need to confirm. Happy to let it go for $200!
Rare tires? Nah. They look like the typical Kenda, readily available. That said, this is a pretty cool color. As I recall, the bicycle “food chain” at the time was Rollfast (economy, and the first “English” bike I had), then Triumph, then Raleigh. All were Raleigh products. I also have two Triumphs in addition to my Rollfast.
And then there’s my Raleigh Sprite, with it’s truly bizarre but mostly functional five-speed Sturmey Archer hub.
Considering what I paid about 12 years ago for my black Triumph “boy’s” bike, the price on this one is probably reasonable.
Should you feel the need to keep this bike as original as can be, recognize that the rear wheel can be rebuilt into a new SA hub of known usage. Parts to replace would be the hub and spokes. Rim if reasonable, tire, tube, rim strip reused. Any reputable bike shop can do the job. This was never an expensive vehicle even new. Sentiment can override cost, but this one is very feasible.
It is so cool to see old bicycles on Barnfinds. It is even cooler to see the wealth of knowledge regarding these old bikes here.
This bike would be nice for vintage bike ride events, or just pedaling down the path for groceries and a wonderful feeling of nostalgia.
If this bike was local, I’d buy it and have the hub rebuilt (if needed).
Thanks for the post, Scotty.
Oh…I’d dump the Bontrager saddle and fit a B-17 or similar on the seat post.