Originally Posted by
Salubrious
Hey, anyone here that's worked with the SW hub- have you found a lubricant that allows it to work without slipping?
I know I should change this out (its on a 1958 BSA rod brake machine I just acquired) for an AW, but hope springs...
I have several SWs here. My experience is you can always count on 1/2 or more of a revolution of the cranks before the springless pawls engage. Sometimes they surprise you and engage right away, but don't count on it. Performance is especially bad in cold weather. Riding my SW wheel when the temperature is below freezing is thoroughly frustrating. Sometimes several complete revolutions of the crank go by before the pawls engage.
On the plus side, they're particularly easy to overhaul: fewer parts than the AW hub, and no fiddly pawl springs to lose. Precious few of the parts interchange with any other hub, though. Curiously, I have SW hubs with two-piece indicator rods as well as ones with one-piece indicator rods. One of the hubs with a two piece indicator is newer than some with the one piece indicator, so I don't know how to relate this difference to date of manufacture.
As far as lubricant goes, I'd suggest the lighter, the better to minimize problems with the pawls not engaging.