Bicycle Mechanics - oil for 3-speed hub

I took a look at Sheldon Brown's article on 3-speeds and he says to use a "medium" (rather than light or heavy) oil to lube a three-speed hub. My girlfriend's 3-speed is old and I think the hub needs a bit of oil.

I don't really know what a "medium" oil is, what brand/product names it would be sold under, etc. I have some rock-n-roll bicycle oil, (www.rocklube.com) and I'm sort of hoping I don't have to buy anything else for this hub. Anybody here know what I should do?

I wouldn't worry about it excessively. Think about how long some of those internal hubs last with no maintenance at all. I think that I'd just use what I had and not worry about it. If you're the anal type, Sturmey Archer used to market their own lubricant for internal hubs, but I have no idea where to buy a can today.

I took a look at Sheldon Brown's article on 3-speeds and he says to use a "medium" (rather than light or heavy) oil to lube a three-speed hub. My girlfriend's 3-speed is old and I think the hub needs a bit of oil.

I don't really know what a "medium" oil is, what brand/product names it would be sold under, etc. I have some rock-n-roll bicycle oil, (www.rocklube.com) and I'm sort of hoping I don't have to buy anything else for this hub. Anybody here know what I should do?


I have several of these bikes that I ride on a regular basis and have been using 5-30 weight motor oil for years with no problems.

We used red transmission fluid (Dexron). NOT type F.

When I was a kid I had a Schwinn 3 speed and we used Schwinn oil that came in a can with a nozzle at the end to insert into the oil oil. But don't use 3 in 1 oil because it contains an acid which dissolves protective coatings and fills the hub with a brownish paste and the same is true with transmission fluid! I believe LSB's still carry that oil.

I never heard of the acid in the 3 in 1 oil but another reason not to use it is that it is vegetable based and will eventually gum up your hub. Like jfz, I just use motor oil(10w30 in my case because it's what I have on hand) with good results.

miamijim, the transmission fluid is an interesting idea. What is in the type F that made you steer away from it?

I also use 10W-30 motor oil in my S-A hub.

A neat thing I use is a syringe from the vet clinic to inject worm medicine in my dog's mouth. It's metered in cc's and I can put in the exact amount of oil in it I want and the tip fits in the oiler perfectly with no leakage and I don't overfill the hub!

singer sewing machine oil, basically the same formula as the SA oil.
(or get SA oil its still available I believe).

Marty

guess nobody has any idea whether the oil i already have is good?

We always used Phil Wood oil

I've used 30wt motor oil. Don't get too anal about it. Just about any non-vegetable based oil will probably be fine. These hubs aren't too finicky about lube. Your oil, if it's about the consistency of 30wt, will probably be OK. If thinner, it'll run out of the dust caps, down your spokes, and on your rim. Even 30wt will slowly ooze out, dirty up your hub, and end up lubing your chain. I've always wondered if that was intentional. ;)