duffer1960

Overhauling a 1978 Schwinn Speedster with Sturmey-Archer 3-speed. The3-speed hub seems basically OK as far as I can tell; before the rebuild, I put oil in it, rode it 10 miles in all gears w/no problems.

So, should I grease the rear wheel cups, cones, and bearings? Or will the regular oiling take care of bearing lubrication?

Can't find any specific suggestions on this forum (maybe the search I did wasn't right), and an old service manual says to grease when it's disassembled with SA-103b grease (whatever that is) but doesn't say that I'd ever need to disassemble it to grease it.

If you do recommend I disassemble and grease, would general-purpose grade 1 1/2-2 lithium grease be ok? Or should I use the special bike grease I bought, a polyurea type?

Would rather avoid disassembling and reassembling the right cone , given that it has to be very precisely done not to disturb the shifting mechanism. (Too late for the left one, it's already dissasembled, before I realized how complicated it might get).

Appreciate the help...

--Rich

moxfyre

As far as I know, SA hubs need only to be oiled. They have a built in oil port to make this type of lubrication frequent. If you want to be sure, ask Sheldon Brown because he knows everything about SA hubs.

I personally use white lithium grease for all bicycle bearings, and am very satisfied with it. Most other smart people on Bikeforums seem to prefer marine wheel bearing grease, which is designed to be very moisture-resistant. Lawkd apparently did some research on this and has concluded that marine wheel bearing grease is as good as specialty bike grease or better, and much cheaper to boot. That thread was just a few days ago, but I can't find it right now and search is still down

AfterThisNap

the grease isn't going to hurt at all, though the oil is supposed to atake care of all the lubrication duties. As far a bearings go, I figure better safe than sorry .Just jam some goo between the ball bearings and make sure you have a decent oil bath going on for the rest of the time.

sringlee

I put a small amount of grease in the bearing races before reassembly. Don't go overboard or it will dissolve in the oil and thicken the hub oil.

grolby

There's no need to grease it. So don't.

jcm

I suggest that anyone who has a 3-speed SA, and likes to ride it alot, should save this website. Great pics and not too wordy. I expanded the pics, did a printout, and now have a handy resource at my bench.
https://www.karrot.org/ascotto/three_speed/index.html

While you have it apart, grease the bearings. DO NOT grease any other part, like the pawls. You don't want them sticky. I have used marine wheel bearing grease (boat trailer grease) and ordinary white lithium grease. Both work fine but some of us are concerned with the minutae of rolling resistance so I generally prefer the white stuff. I use it for the wheel bearings, too. The marine grease seems kind of heavy to me. Personal preference.

Couple of tsps of medium oil and you're good to go. I use Outers gun oil but any brand works. 10/50 motor oil is adequate, too. SA's aren't finnicky at all - tough as a bunker. A drop or two every week or so. Park the bike over night with the nipple up. The oil will also migrate out from the hub threads and onto the shell, spokes, and cog. Harmless but will attract grit. That's why you shouldn't use fine oils - they leak out faster, but lube just as good.

grolby

I think that if the hub is leaking, you're oiling it too much, no? That's the impression I've always gotten. If the hub isn't overfilled, it shouldn't leak. I think. I'm happy to be proven wrong on this matter.

San Rensho 

I think SAs always leak a little, the hub and the spokes get a layer of oil on them, but in my experience, they are over filled when you add oil and a small puddle of oil forms on the floor over night.

duffer1960

Thanks all, think I'll defer the disassembly & greasing of the 3-speed hub. For now, I just want to get this back on the road in safe and sound running condition, so I can take my current-favorite commuter bike (1987 Trek 400) out of service for (maybe) its first overhaul. Anyway, I don't have some of the required tools here (no vise, no punch or spanner), so it'd be hard. May come back to it later.

Already took the left cone out. Looks dry. Also looks like extremely hard & durable cone and race, and very large balls, a better bearing than the others (headset and front hub) I've seen on this bike. Will put some grease on it, think I'll just squirt some oil in the direction of the right bearing.

Great site, that karrot.org ... thanks for the hint, jcm!

-Rich

juanblanco

it's not a big deal if it's overfilled because the excess just leaks out, right? i thought you were supposed to oil it until it drips out so you don't have too little.

juanblanco

wait a minute, you're not supposed to oil AND grease are you? the oil just washes the grease away.

jordanb

You shoud NOT pack the bearings with grease. The oil will break it loose and it will float into the hub.

Sturmey Archer recommends that you put a small line of grease in the inside lip of the dustcover things, (the outer bits of the gaskets). But that's the only grease that should go into the hub.

duffer1960

I meant grease the left which I have access to since I already took it apart. I can't get at the right one w/o disassembling further, so, was going to squirt a little oil in it.

duffer1960

OK, sounds good, will use a drop or two of oil on the bearing.

graywolf

Old thread, but I can add a bit to it from a bit of experience from the early 1950's.

Oil is all that is needed for running an SA hub. When I was a kid I used a bit of Vasoline to hold the balls in place when reassembling the hub. The oil dissolves the Vasoline OK. I got that from an English book (circa 1950) on maintaining, repairing and modifying your bicycle.

BTW, I recall a good way to check the oil was to lean the bike at about the same angle it would be on the kickstand only in the opposite direction. Fill until you get a drip. Upright or on the kickstand it should notl not leak much. With the old metal oil covers they aways leaked a bit, I always turned the wheels so the oil covers were at the top of the hub when I parked the bike for the night.

A weekly oil and wipe kept the bike in pretty good shape. Checking the cable adjustments about every six months and you are in business. Needed to check pressure tires everyday day back then though.

I don't know that I recommend it; but I always considered the pressure on the sidewall as a minimum and normally inflated them about 20 lbs above that, still do as a matter of fact. Of course these days it is not a matter of lower rolling resistance, but of carrying all this weight. Anyway I have never had a blow out on a bicycle tire doing this.