Read up on Sheldon's Sturmey-Archer hub adjustment then: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-...tml#adjustment. Sometimes, a bit more back-and-forth adjustment/fiddling of the cable end then Sheldon suggests is necessary. While it's crucial to get the indicator in the right place (a millimeter off and you might end up with your pedals spinning around as we all know too well), sometimes, a good few twists one way or another will get some of the crankier hubs to work.

Either that, or some idiot over-oiled it until the oil in the hub reached the height of the bearings and washed all the grease onto the internal parts, causing the hub to slip when shifting from second to first in most cases.

Once had a Schwinn GT 100 derailer - just about the same as an Allvet, you know - and that bugger refused to go into second and first 90 percent of the time. Cage wasn't bent, but it still persisted. Who knows why. All the Allivets I have (1971 Schwinn Continental, 1973 Raleigh Sprite Mk III) work very nicely.

I simply like the idea of shifting when stopped. I can't stand it when I have to circle around like an idiot, in high gear, to get it into low for whatever reason...

-Kurt