What was the toughest multispeed hub?
11-05-06, 06:28 PM
#26
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Originally Posted by cudak888
excluding the TCW.
Don't pass up any ASCs, even if your life depends on it.
TCW Mk's I, II, III, and IV; SW; S3C.
-Kurt
Don't pass up any ASCs, even if your life depends on it.
SeggybopIs there anything I should definitely avoid?
-Kurt
I just finished disassembling, cleaning, oiling and re-assembling the TCW
on my great 20.00 1965 Raleigh Sport using info and inspiration provided
by Aaron and it still misses second gear.
Yeah...I will avoid a TCW next time around
11-05-06, 06:53 PM
#27
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My 62 TCW on a Huffy/Raleigh Sportsman works like new. Lube the shifter, it helped mine out so much it was night and day.
It also is said somewhere that the TCW brake is unreliable. Mine has better brakes than a Bendix coaster single speed, lol. Yep, coaster in back, John bull's in front. It's my Shimano coasters that have sorry brakes. They might as well not be there at all. You have to stand on the pedal to slow down gradually.,,,,BD
It also is said somewhere that the TCW brake is unreliable. Mine has better brakes than a Bendix coaster single speed, lol. Yep, coaster in back, John bull's in front. It's my Shimano coasters that have sorry brakes. They might as well not be there at all. You have to stand on the pedal to slow down gradually.,,,,BD
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11-05-06, 07:06 PM
#28
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^^^^ Nice Sportsman, bikedued !! 
When I got my Sport it didnt have 2nd and I thought an adjustment
might make the difference but after hours of trying to adjust, clean, and
dis & re-assemble I am convinced something is wrong in the hub. I disconnect
the cable and pedal the bike with the wheel in the air and pull on the axle chain
by hand and there is a great big hole where 2nd should be....the pedals just
spin.....there is nothing connecting in the hub...from first to third !
When I got my Sport it didnt have 2nd and I thought an adjustment
might make the difference but after hours of trying to adjust, clean, and
dis & re-assemble I am convinced something is wrong in the hub. I disconnect
the cable and pedal the bike with the wheel in the air and pull on the axle chain
by hand and there is a great big hole where 2nd should be....the pedals just
spin.....there is nothing connecting in the hub...from first to third !
11-05-06, 07:11 PM
#29
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Originally Posted by Bikedued
It's my Shimano coasters that have sorry brakes. They might as well not be there at all. You have to stand on the pedal to slow down gradually.,,,,BD
+1.
-Kurt
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11-05-06, 07:38 PM
#30
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The Sportsman I may give to a friend of mine. He's an older gentleman who rides a Hercules that has seen better days. He is a three speed nut, and prefers English like anyone should. It's been in the back of the garage since I got home from Wilma ravaged Ft Lauderdale last year. I got the bike for $30 anyways, at an Antiques fair in Atlanta. Katrina missed me in New Orleans, but Wilma got us soon after in FL. I consider myself lucky.... I left NO on the Saturday before Katrina hit, about 2:30pm.,,,,BD
Okay, back to multispeed internals!
Okay, back to multispeed internals!
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11-05-06, 08:17 PM
#31
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I took the hub apart to check out the driver mechanism. It looks prety much like the one in this repair diagram:
Comparing it to this, which is from the repair manual for the special Columbia revision
it seems like I have the original sketchy variant? If so, that's annoying, but not annoying enough not to use the hub.
Comparing it to this, which is from the repair manual for the special Columbia revision
it seems like I have the original sketchy variant? If so, that's annoying, but not annoying enough not to use the hub.
11-05-06, 08:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Seggybop
it seems like I have the original sketchy variant? If so, that's annoying, but not annoying enough not to use the hub.
It isn't a complete loss though - you can still use the hub shell, if you find a NIbG variant of the internals. Or just go whole-hog and dig up a used, modern AW. PITA to find in comparison to the old ones though.
-Kurt
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11-05-06, 11:27 PM
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what exactly going on in this new design ??
does that driver have pawls in it ??
how does the new clutch engage the planet cage ??
is there an exploded diagram of the new aw ?? i couldnt find one on hadland's
does that driver have pawls in it ??
how does the new clutch engage the planet cage ??
is there an exploded diagram of the new aw ?? i couldnt find one on hadland's
Originally Posted by Seggybop
I took the hub apart to check out the driver mechanism. It looks prety much like the one in this repair diagram:
Comparing it to this, which is from the repair manual for the special Columbia revision
it seems like I have the original sketchy variant? If so, that's annoying, but not annoying enough not to use the hub.
Comparing it to this, which is from the repair manual for the special Columbia revision
it seems like I have the original sketchy variant? If so, that's annoying, but not annoying enough not to use the hub.
11-06-06, 03:33 AM
#34
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Will the guts of another type hub (AW, for example) fit in a TCW shell ?
If I find a garage sale beater, can I put the AW parts in and not have to
relace my wheel....leave the wheel in and hub laced up ??
If I find a garage sale beater, can I put the AW parts in and not have to
relace my wheel....leave the wheel in and hub laced up ??
11-06-06, 12:06 PM
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Originally Posted by -=£em in Pa=-
Will the guts of another type hub (AW, for example) fit in a TCW shell ?
Sheldon "Shell Game" Brown
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11-06-06, 12:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Seggybop
I successfully acquired a 1989 AW hub for $10 today! yay. It's got the modern SA logo that they still use today. Hopefully the slipping issue really was resolved at some point during the 80s, which would make my hub one of the good ones. Now to assemble it into a 700c rim.
By the way, does anyone know a good shifter setup for drop bars?
By the way, does anyone know a good shifter setup for drop bars?
The "skipping issue" is highly overblown by some folks, most notably Jobst Brandt, who has a very unusual riding style, involving extended very hard pedaling in top gear. These hubs are super reliable and super durable when properly installed.
The stock trigger shifter can generally be installed on a drop bar if you re-bend the clamp and use a longer screw. My favorite location is on the bar end, but some folks put them just below the right brake lever. My 54 speed tandem has the trigger mounted on the handlebar stem quill.
Sheldon "https://sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-archer" Brown
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11-06-06, 12:36 PM
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the hardened parts is why i'm interested in retrofitting the updated driver to an older hub..
by the way, is there a good way to identify the early hardened bits ??
seems to me like some time in the 60s or late 50s they stopped stamping everything with the 'SA' logo
perhaps that was the switchover ?
by the way, is there a good way to identify the early hardened bits ??
seems to me like some time in the 60s or late 50s they stopped stamping everything with the 'SA' logo
perhaps that was the switchover ?
Originally Posted by Sheldon Brown
Actually, the best Sturmey-Archer hubs were from the early '50s. They used to use a cyanide-based hardening process on the steel parts that made them preternaturally strong. Sometime in the '60s they stopped using the cyanide process because of environmental/worker-safety concerns.
The "skipping issue" is highly overblown by some folks, most notably Jobst Brandt, who has a very unusual riding style, involving extended very hard pedaling in top gear. These hubs are super reliable and super durable when properly installed.
The stock trigger shifter can generally be installed on a drop bar if you re-bend the clamp and use a longer screw. My favorite location is on the bar end, but some folks put them just below the right brake lever. My 54 speed tandem has the trigger mounted on the handlebar stem quill.
Sheldon "https://sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-archer" Brown
The "skipping issue" is highly overblown by some folks, most notably Jobst Brandt, who has a very unusual riding style, involving extended very hard pedaling in top gear. These hubs are super reliable and super durable when properly installed.
The stock trigger shifter can generally be installed on a drop bar if you re-bend the clamp and use a longer screw. My favorite location is on the bar end, but some folks put them just below the right brake lever. My 54 speed tandem has the trigger mounted on the handlebar stem quill.
Sheldon "https://sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-archer" Brown
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+----------------------------------------------------------------+ | A moment's insight is sometimes worth a life's experience. | | --Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. | +----------------------------------------------------------------+
11-06-06, 12:46 PM
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Originally Posted by coelcanth
the hardened parts is why i'm interested in retrofitting the updated driver to an older hub..
by the way, is there a good way to identify the early hardened bits ??
seems to me like some time in the 60s or late 50s they stopped stamping everything with the 'SA' logo
perhaps that was the switchover ?
by the way, is there a good way to identify the early hardened bits ??
seems to me like some time in the 60s or late 50s they stopped stamping everything with the 'SA' logo
perhaps that was the switchover ?
Sheldon "Brownish" Brown
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11-06-06, 01:23 PM
#39
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Originally Posted by cudak888
Yes, Shimano Nexus as shown itself to be a good performer - but will it stand up to the abuse that Sturmey AWs have been taking for 60 years?
Even though the Nexus may be considered reliable, I don't believe I've seen any track record of Nexus hubs stating that they are bombproof, still clunking along after serious usage. That remains to be seen.
-Kurt
Even though the Nexus may be considered reliable, I don't believe I've seen any track record of Nexus hubs stating that they are bombproof, still clunking along after serious usage. That remains to be seen.
-Kurt
11-06-06, 02:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Sheldon Brown
Actually, the best Sturmey-Archer hubs were from the early '50s.
Today I swapped the axle from a 1987 Alloy 5 Speed for the more efficient S5 axle. The driver and clutch were the same type as older models. Since these are the same parts as used in AWs I would think that if there had been a design change, such as spiral driver slots, it would have been incorporated in what was then their best hub.
Maybe more recent hubs may show this. I have a SunRace built AW, perhaps I should see what's inside. A friend recently started using a friction BarEnd shifter with a 3 speed. He had been advised that the SunRace built Sturmeys were a better choice, so maybe they are different. The hub does lack the "Neutral" between 2nd and 3rd.
However for toughness, I'd want an old AW and I'd make sure it was kept in adjustment. But will it give the range needed for off-road riding?
11-06-06, 04:01 PM
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I'll make a pitch for the FW, wide-ratio 4 speed, in order to have the sort of granny gear. I just built one into a 700c rim for one project. My gearing in inches will be 43, 52, 65, 83, which is a decent range. FW hubs have been coming up on eBay (mainly from the UK) quite regularly.
Neal
Neal
