fiataccompli

I have a rather worn 3 speed (Sturmey Archer, 1965) shifter cable housing...the cable is ok and the housing in general is good. The effect of the worn end is the cable is too long and so the shifting can not be adjusted. I got an after-market cable kit (w/ ends for grip + trigger shifters) that uses a lock barrell and connects to the male adjuster at the hub. I could use this cable with my old housing and it will look right from a distance. I'd rather shorten the old cable. Question is: what do you use successfully as a cable end? Will a crimped aluminum (modern) shift cable cap work? (Will it hold? Looks like it will fit in the trigger housing). Should I pan on soldering?

Also-unrelatedly-there's a his/her pair of Huffy Bay Pointe (circa early 80s) bikes on the local CL....should these be decent to source some spares or are the fenders/bars/stem/3-spd components on those too junky to be useful? (I was thinking the fenders + bars might be useful if I turn my 26" wheel Kia road bike into a 5-spd English/Korean "racer")...I know, I know, it's a sick idea....

mickey85

The huffys are good bikes - use 'em. They will have ashtabula cranks, so the bottom brackets can't be swapped, but everything else should be more or less similar. Keep in mind though that they will almost certainly have Shimano hubs, and as such, the shifters and IGH wouldn't be compatible with Sturmey stuff - not a problem though, I kinda like the newer (i.e. 80's) Shimano hubs.

rhm

I confess, I don't quite follow your question. As I understand it, the front end of the SA cable fits the trigger, and the back end has the adjusting barrel for the indicator; likewise the front end of the housing fits the trigger, and the back end of the housing fits the fulcrum clip. If you have the short housing model (preferable) then your fulcrum clip is on the top tube (or downtube if a lady's model bike) and there's a pulley wheel on the seat tube; if you have the long housing model, then your fulcrum clip is on the chain stay. With me so far? If so, then to shorten your cable, all you have to do is move the fulcrum clip; move it 1 cm farther from the hub, and your cable effectively becomes 1 cm shorter.

If that's not the answer to your question, well... I guess I didn't follow the question.

southpawboston

rhm, you're right-- moving the fulcrum wheel will effectively "shorten" or "lengthen" the cable. that's the alternative to physically shortening the cable. to the OP's question of what to use as a crimp end for the trigger shifter, i suppose if you use a very narrow cable tip, crimping would be sufficient. i wouldn't use solder, as it will bleed by capillary action down some length of cable (an inch or so), making it stiff. that cable end needs to remain flexible as you shift through the gears and it rotates around the cam-like shifter mechanism.

rhm

Oh, I see. But I think, if the trigger end of the cable is still holding in the trigger (i.e. not slipping out), then it's not worn, so shouldn't need anything.

I have read that some forum members make their own Sturmey-Archer cables by attaching little sections of metal tubing to the ends of a new cable. I haven't done this. Apparently you have to use silver solder and the appropriate flux. I don't imagine it would be possible to do this to an old cable; even with flux the solder won't bond to the oxidized surface of the old cable.

fiataccompli

Ah....I'm a victim of overly linear thinking. I believe yes I can move the fulcrum and get the correct movement range...will need to check this evening.

Sounds like the Bay Points wouldn't be worth it ($40-50 i guess) to harvest a few parts from, but may be nice for someone who wants some 3 speeds.

mkeller234

I have a Bay Pointe sitting in my basement at the moment and it's fine. They have a Shimano 333 internal hub which has a different trigger. Also the usual mix of cheap parts, thin steel brake calipers, steel bars, stem, rims, crank etc etc. I stole the steel bars to use on my Lotus commuter because I liked how long they were.

These are the Huffy Bay Pointes bars:

Chris_in_Miami

You can make cables to any length by using wire fishing leader crimps. They're available from tackle shops that stock saltwater fishing gear.