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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Bike Before |
Today I started work on a 3 speed Triumph city bicycle. It is a very interesting bicycle I found in central Wisconsin. Triumph was most know for making motorcycles, but Triumph also made cars and bicycles. This Triumph is famously made in England.
The Triumph is in rough shape but the paint is good and that is the the best starting point. The Triumph will get a total restoration with new cables, cable housings, brake pads, handlebar grips, tires, tubes and new seat and maybe a basket and rack. It is going to be a great comfortable riding bike perfect for riding around town.
I started as always striping the frame of it components. The frame was very dirty but cleaned up nice. I did my new polishing system I came up with and the blue paint shines!! The cotter crank was frozen in place, it required some heating with a torch and some pressure from a very large C-clamp.
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Bicycle Before |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - 3 Speed Hub Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle -
Rear Fender - Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Beautiful Rear Fender Logo |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Made in England Decal |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Triumph Head Badge |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Front Fender - Before |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - 3 Speed Fender - Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Awesome Triumph Bell |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Chain Guard Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Crank Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Rear Brake Before |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Wheel Rim - before |
Frame Polished, it is in very good shape, a few chips and scratches will be filled.
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Frame Dirty |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Frame Dirt - Bottom Bracket |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Frame Dirty - Drop Out |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Fork Dirty |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Frame Polished |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Frame Polished - Bottom Bracket |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Frame Polished - Triumph Decal |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Fork - Polished |
I started by laying all the chrome components out for cleaning and polishing. There was some rust and a lot of grime but everything polished beautifully. I replaced all the headset bearings and bottom bracket bearings. The headset is loose bearings, this is a bit of a pain to reassemble but in the end no problems. The bottom bracket and headset urns very smoothly, very nicely.
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Chrome Components - Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Bottom Bracket - Before |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Headset - Before |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Stem - Before |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Handle Bars - Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Crank - Before |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Chrome Parts - Polished |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Headset - Polished |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City BicycleBottom Bracket - Polished |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Stem - Polished |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Handlebar - Polished |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Crank Polished |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Headset Cups - Pressed |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Headset Complete |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Bottom Bracket - Complete |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Stem & Handlebars - Installed |
I got a lot done in a morning, will post the afternoons work later.
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Bicycle to this Point |
I started work on the wheels. The wheels are in ok shape to start, the rear 3 speed wheel needs a rebuild but does work even before. I disassembled the rear wheel and cleaned all the hub components, I then greased everything and reassembled in. It function perfect. i do need to take after photos of the wheel. The rear wheel rim is a little rougher to start with then I like, there is some rust and pitting. I cleaned and polished the rim, I am a perfectionist so I am not 100% happy with the results but it is way more then respectable.
I also disassembled the front wheel and cleaned and polished the components. The front wheel polished up a lot nicer then the rear. I then reassembled the front wheel. I need to replace a good amount of spokes on the wheels. I had to order the correct size spokes, I was out and they are a little odd sized. They will be here in a couple of days.
I do have the tires I have chosen to use. Schwalbe Delta cream colored tires. I love these tires, they are slightly fatter then standard and ride wonderfully, the cream color will also look great with the blue color of the bicycle.
I do need to take and edit more photos, but below is what I have so far.
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - 3 Speed Hub - Before |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - 3 Speed Hub - Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
3 Speed Hub Internals - Before |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - 3 Seed Hub - Components |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - 3 Speed Hub
New Grease |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - New Schwalbe Cream Tires |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - New Schwalbe Cream Tires |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Front Wheel - Before |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Front Wheel Hub - Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Front Wheel Rim - Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Front Wheel Hub - Old Grease |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Front Wheel Hub
Cleaned & Polished |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Front Wheel - New Grease & Bearings |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Front Wheel
Components Polished |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Front Wheel
Complete - Waiting on Spokes |
Next is the brake calipers and brake levers. The calipers in levers where pretty dirty and some rust. I cleaned all the parts in the crock pot on low with soapy water. After that I polished all the components and reassembled them. I am pleased with the results. The calipers will look great against the cream colored tires and the levers will look great against the cork handlebar grips.
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Brake Calipers & Levers - Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Rear Brake Caliper Exploded View - Before |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Rear Brake Caliper - Polished |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Brake Calipers - Before & After |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Rear Brake Caliper - Complete |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Front Brake Caliper - Polished |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Front Brake Caliper - Complete |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Brake Levers - Before |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Brake Levers - Before & After |
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Brake Levers - After |
While I polished the brake components I also polished the seat post and seat post bolts. They both polished nicely, they are better polished then new.
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| Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle - Seat post & Bolt - Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Seat Post Complete - Installed |
The fenders make the look of the 3 speed bicycles. The front wheel fender is in pretty good shape, it will restore beautifully. The rear fender is in good shape except for the rear end. It is pretty common problem on rear fenders, the rear half gets beat up and banged around. I was thinking of repainting the fenders white to go against the blue of the frame, but I really like the Triumph decal on the rear fender even slightly scuffed. So instead I sanded the rust off the white portion on the rear fender and pounded out some dents with a dome and nylon point hammer. I will repaint just the white portion of the fender, I think it will be very nice with the fresh white and the original blue and decal.
The rear fender strut is loose because the strut bolt that connects it to the fender is extremely rusted and the nut is rusted in place in a loose position. The bolt broke removing the nut and the reflector crumbled. It was just to far gone. I will have to come up with a way to connect the fender to the strut.
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Rear Fender - Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Rear Fender Before - Strut Removed |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Rear Fender - Taped for Priming |
Today i finished the priming and painting of the rear fender. I have built a small heating booth to bake my paint, in the smaller shop i did not have room for a bigger one. I am very very happy with the results, saved the Triumph Decal, even if it is banged up a little and the white looks so much better then the old!!
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
rear Fender - After - Painted
Super Happy! |
Tomorrow I tackle the front fender and chain guard and straighten and paint the fender struts for rear and front. That will be about all for the Triumph for tomorrow until the spokes show up. I ordered them from a place that has great prices but they are not exactly fast on there shipping and handling.
Still waiting on spokes but the front fender is polished. Will be starting a restoration modification of a Trek 970 while I wait for spokes.
Below is the front fender. It has some strange speckles of hard dirt on it and a dull finish. With a good polishing the fender shines super nice! Very happy!
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Front Fender -- Before |
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Front Fender - Polished
Happy with the shine. |
I had question on how to get the correct size spokes. It is pretty simple with a spoke ruler, just slide the bend of the spoke into the notch and measure. The 3 speed rear requires 282 mm spokes and the front requires 288 mm spokes. I ordered stainless steel and am contemplating new rims since I will be replacing around 10 spokes a wheel, might just replace all and the rims.
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Triumph 3 Speed City Bicycle
Measuring Spokes |
What do you use to polish the frame? And components?
ReplyDeleteHello Liz,
ReplyDeleteI use different high speed bench top buffers and a combination of compounds. An easy but not the same results for polishing metal is Turtle Wax chrome polisher and Mothers Mag Polish.
Thanks,
John Z.
I have this exact bike and the male to go with it. I'm thinking of selling them. they are in working order and all there paints good,extra. Do you know what they are worth.
ReplyDeleteThey are worth more if there in original condition up to £200 is what original bicycles go for
DeleteHi ,i have the very same bike and im doing it up , i was just wondering what is the offical colour of these bikes ?
ReplyDeleteRegards
Chris
Green is the official for the men's triumph traffic master bicycle
Deletebut if its a women's triumph traffic master the official bicycle colour is beige but there are lots of other colours for men's and women's bicycles to choose from
got a triump in vegas if anybody wants it.
ReplyDeletegot a triump in vegas if anybody wants it.
ReplyDeleteme I would love another triumph to add to my collection of four other restored triumphs
DeleteHello John,
ReplyDeleteDo you take your wheels apart (dismantle hubs and spokes) to clean them? Also, have you ever had to repair a front shock fork because of back and forth play?
Thank you,
Alex
I got one these Trumpet bikes, rode good but I pulled her apart because i got laid off from my job and was bored n so forth. anyways, i pull the seat post out and then flip over the bike to take the wheels n tires off and 3 hot dogs come slidin out of the seat tube!! they were all hard but not rotten or anything so i boiled em up and after about 30 min they looked ok. tasted fine, and im still here to talk about it!
ReplyDeleteAny chance you know the measurements and counts for the bearings. I was a little ambitious with out proper lighting.
ReplyDeleteBen
I had a black men's Triumph 3-speed that I rode hard for years. Then I went to college and my brother took it over. Don't know what happened to it (this was new in 1965) but I'd really like to get one - I like that look of the front fender, and it was really light. I live near Dallas if anyone happens to have an old one I can fix up.
ReplyDeleteHey MotoMike88, are you still looking for a 1960's Triumph 3-speed? I have one in Austin that is in need of a good home as I will be moving soon and can't take it with me. Thanks.
DeleteUnfortunately, I just bought another bike and don't have time (or space! ) to get another one. Good luck.
DeleteI can ship you one from the uk if your willing to pay for it
ReplyDeleteThanks for the offer; I'll probably be able to find one closer.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't shopped bikes in decades and, having just gotten back into riding, I'm surprised that this type of bike (Raleigh or Triumph, narrow diamond frame, 3-speed) isn't very available new. I've had 10-speed and 12-speed bikes and appreciate the additional gears, but the vast majority of commuting and pleasure riding work with 3 speeds.
Very nice restoration.
ReplyDeleteI had one of these bikes, it was red and when we purchased it new, the dealer said it was a Raleigh sub brand with less expensive components than the Raleigh 3 speeds. As young teen I saw 3 things that I liked about the bike: cool name because of the Triump cars & cycles, the color red, and the gear/brake components were Weinman brand. So I knew the bike was of good quality and considered a watered down version of the Raleigh 3 speed, which made the Triump bike more affordable than the Raleigh 3 speed.
Other 3 speeds were made back then but their quality wasn't as good. Columbia, Murray, Huffy were brands to avoid.
Sears and Skyway also made bikes that were very similar to the Triump.
Inspiring...beautiful work.
ReplyDeleteI need a new chain for my wife's TT. How should I specify the chain, is it 'standard' (I'm in the UK)?
Thanks
How much is this bike in the photos you restored worth?
ReplyDeleteJake U.S.A