chico1st

I have a genuine Sturmy 3-speed shifter but when I shift to 3rd gear I have to push into the shifter and up on the lever. Is this normal or are they usually quite smooth?
Also I hear a click when im shifting from 2nd to first on the shifter but I cant see anything happening. Does the click mean its working?

How do I go about fixing these shifters? Where can I buy good cheap 3 speed shifters? I know Harris Cyclery has genuine ones for 20USD.

Sorry I filmed the shifter but youtube wont accept my video

noglider 

Maybe the shifter needs lubrication. Drop in some oil, any kind.

Or maybe the cable needs lubrication.

Or maybe the clutch spring is weak, inside the hub. That would require an overhaul. We can walk you through that, though it's unlikely to be necessary.

Grand Bois

Mine hangs up between second and third, too. I can say for sure that the problem is in the shifter itself, because it does the same thing on another hub. I'm hoping that the problem will go away as the shifter wears in. It's a seventies shifter, but it's NOS. The cable is new. Lubrication doesn't help.

chico1st

Whats NOS? That sounds like my shifter does that mean I need to change the clutch spring? Please tell me if your shifter wears in.

mkeller234

New Old Stock, meaning it's old but it has never been used.

flammenwurfer

I have the same issue with my shifter. Mine also doesn't want to stay in 1st or 2nd gear either. It will just slip into neutral position or to 3rd gear randomly while I ride. Very annoying. It has a new cable and the shifter has been oiled as well.

Panthers007

Shift to 3rd gear - feel the cable where it's coming from the hub to the adjusting bolt. Is it stiff/tight? If yes - you should re-install same.

Loosen the cable at the anchor bolt closest to the hub. Now unscrew the thin rod that's screwed into the hub itself. Give it a few drops of oil. Screw it back into the hub all the way. Now back it off by 1/2 turn. Got that? 1/2 turn.

Now re-attach the cable into the nut/screw that holds it in place to the rod & chain. Make sure the shifter is set to 3rd gear. And the cable isn't tight - but not loose either. You can easily move it side-to-side with your finger. But no slop either. Tighten the anchor-bolt so the cable doesn't slip as you adjust the barrel-adjuster that's directly between the place the cable exits the hub and ahead of the anchor-bolt. It's the gnarly looking barrel and the gnarly nut. Visualize. Read & look at the area. You'll get it.

Now shift the SA shifter to second gear. See where the rod & chain are in the little window where the rod & chain exit the interior hub? Do you? Good! Now in the second gear you should see, in the center of that little window, the straight rod and the chain near the middle off the window. Like this: ooo===. 1/2 and 1/2. With the anchor bolt torqued down (don't go nuts here, King Kong), shift it to 1st gear. Did it work? 1st is easier to pedal from a stop (apply brake)? Now try 2nd. Harder than 1st? Shift to 3rd. Harder than 2nd to pedal?

If not - adjust the gnarly barrel-adjuster a turn clockwise. Get all 3 gears? No? Try the counterclockwise 2 turns. Got it yet? You'll get it. Just keep an eye on that little window and the: ooo===.

You'll get it. Once you have the right adjustment so you have 3 distinct gears - screw the gnarly nut onto the barrel-adjuster and tighten it. This should maintain your adjustment fine for a long time.

I love 3-speeds!


By the by - it should NOT be a struggle to shift in either direction. Fix same by above directions.

pastorbobnlnh 

Panther,

I need a set of those wonderful instructions for my 4 Speed SA-FW hub. Do you have any experience with one additional gear?

I'm cutting and pasting the above into a permanent little file in my Palm! Thank you.

Grand Bois

The cable must be slack in top gear and yet not so slack that it won't go into 1st. That's all you need to know. Just make it so.

nlerner

Bob, you can download the pdf labeled "Fitting and Adjustment" from the Sturmey Archer 1956 master catalog on this page:

https://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ha...samaintind.htm

On p. 4 of that pdf is the section "Hub Gear Indicator Adjustment," which has some clear descriptions and drawings for setting up the indicator on 3- and 4-speed hubs.

For the FW, you put the trigger in 2nd gear and adjust the pull so that the rod on the non-drive side is flush with the axle end. I sometimes have to make this adjustment with the left-side nut removed so I can get a clear look at that axle end.

Neal

pastorbobnlnh 

Dirt Drop & Neal,

Thanks for the additional tips. I set up the FW today for the first time on my Schwinn pre-war New World. Unfortunately the driveway is covered in ice and a light snow has been falling, so no test rides. Seems to shift fine in the stand. I might have to take it to the church fellowship hall for a test ride tomorrow.

chico1st

To work a sturmy archer 3 speed hub do i need to use a Sturmy shifter? I have another 3 speed shifter which I would like to use just because it works.

I wont give up fixing the other one as I have 2 shifters and two 3-speed wheels.. .but I would like to get 1 bike working first.

wahoonc

It might work, depending on the shifter. You would be better off using a Sturmey Archer shifter on a Sturmey Archer hub. For the hub to work correctly you need the right amount of cable pull, if if is off by even a few millimeters it isn't going to work. Post a picture of your shifters, there were some aftermarket clones for the SA's. They are readily available on flea bay and some older LBSes may have one floating around. For me the hard ones to find are for the Shimano hubs.

Aaron

Mos6502

I don't know what shifter you may have, but if it is Shimano it will not work with the SA hubs.

chico1st

damn i realized this is really a shimano shifter

I really like the idea of vintage 3 speeds but they are so much work.. spokes were seized, cable adjustments, special shifters, odd numbers of holes on the hub, special cables... everything i go to do takes me so long

noglider 

I think you're having worse-than-normal luck. Mechanically, they're pretty good bikes. Yours must have seen some serious neglect or abuse.

MnHPVA Guy

To many of us part of the the allure is that they are so challenging to work on. A friend bought one to learn to work on bikes. I told her "That's like learning to kayak with a November crossing of Lake Superior."

noglider 

I don't agree! I'll bet you're familiar with derailleur bikes and unfamiliar with IGH bikes, so you're not comparing them fairly. If you were equally unfamiliar with both types of systems, you'd find the IGH much simpler.

Seized spokes are merely from age and neglect. It has nothing to do with the type of bike.

wahoonc

Yup I have a 5 speed that I am getting ready to attack, the chain is rusted to the rear cog, and god only knows the last time a spoke was turned...damned derailleur bikes

Bike is a bike, some are in better shape than others, some are built with better quality equipment than others, they can all be a PITA to work on if they were abused.

Aaron

chico1st

Well the real problem with the seized spokes is that this hub has i think 40-holes in it and I dont have easy/cheap access to a rim with that many holes.
If I could use a normal rim (without doing strange lacing) I would just build up a new wheel quickly... but I cant.
Since the technology is old most parts must be specifically bought as "vintage" parts which makes them more expensive and usually they have to be shipped.

noglider 

You can get this rim for 25 bucks. It's a good rim. No high tech anything, though it's nicer than the old rim. I recently built a pair of wheels with these rims. Very nice.

chico1st

well now I feel silly. I had only looked through Canadian sites to try to keep shipping costs down.
Even then... its 50USD of shipping for 50USD of rim.
Should have looked for that though

beech333

I did just the same. They look great, though I have not used them due to the weather.

noglider 

Jeez, maybe you should visit Niagara Cycles and cycle back home to Toronto!