How much play in S-A hub?
 

I've read--probably in Sheldon Brown--that a when the cones of a Sturmey-Archer AW hub are properly adjusted, there should be "a small amount" of side-to-side play at the rim. But how much is that, really? My rear wheel has maybe 1 mm of side-to-side play, which I'm guessing is in the right ballpark, but I really don't know.

Sounds about right to me. Once you bolt the wheel down most of the play goes out of it. I set mine so I can just feel it with the wheel out of the bike, then when bolted down there is just a hint of play.

Aaron :)

I'm no expert, but I have a tiny bit of experience. I have a virtually unused 1970s AW hub that I adjusted to have just perceptible play at the rim when everything's battened down. The lore is that if your cranks will tend to turn when pushing the bike along the sidewalk, then the bearings are too tight. My cranks do turn, very slightly, and it's annoying, but I'm not going to mess with the bearing adjustment, because it seems about right to me.

I worked at an LBS back when these hubs were common. We always loosen the SA cones just enough so the pedals don't turn while the rear wheel is coasting at a good clip on the repair stand (~15-20mph). That always means a slight amount of play at the rim, maybe ~1mm.

sounds right to me. i use a combination of sight and feel to arrive at my proper adjustment. you should be able to feel a slight amount of back and forth play at the hub, with a small amount of movement at the rim (~1mm). if you can see the hub itself moving left and right, it's probably too loose. i wouldn't use the pedals moving as the sole gauge for whether the hub adjustment is too tight, because other factors can influence pedal movement when freewheeling, such as chain tension.

Only if the chain is too tight :) The chain on an SA 3 speed should always be slightly slack, otherwise you'll damage the drive side cones/bearings. With the chain properly tensioned, the pedal spin test is very good because it takes into account the actual hub being worked on. Every SA hub is slightly different, some need to be sloppier than others depending on miles, lube etc :thumb:

This thread is helpful to me, because I was wondering the same thing.

This applies to derailleur-equipped setups also, yes? My wheel has a three-speed cyclo cogset in back and two chainrings in front. Given the presence of the derailleur, the chain is always under some degree of tension. It's greatest in the big-big combination--the chain is under a fair amount of tension then, because the rd is within a few teeth of its maximum capacity (though still within the acceptable range). So presumably if the pedals don't turn in that gear, then I'm okay? Not sure what I can do if the pedals DO turn, because there's no easy way to reduce the chain tension give the current setup.

I've always followed this guys approach:

http://www.karrot.org/ascotto/three_...justments.html

Tighten cone until it won't go anymore & then back it off 1/4 turn. Produces ~1 mm of play.


In regards to your chain tension question, I wouldn't think a derailleur could put enough tension in the chain to make pedals turn.

As long as your chain tensioner's spring isn't 100lbs :)

Here's how we adjusted SA 3 speed hubs, with the bike in a repair stand:
Note: hub needs fresh oil and should not be gummed up, otherwise all bets are off :)
- make sure drive side cone is tight against the locknut
- install rear wheel on the bike, align and tightening wheel axle nuts
- loosen the non-drive side axle nut
- use cone wrenches to adjust the non-drive side cones
- with the rear wheel turning, manipulate the non-drive-side cone, if it's too tight
the rear wheel will drive the pedals
- manipulate the cone until the cone is just loose enough to not have
the internals drive pedals.
- when it's just right, there'll be a slight amount of play in the hub, that's life with the older British SA hubs.
- tighten cone against locknut and tighten axle nut

Me too. I took apart and cleaned an old hub, and I wasn't sure how much slight play at the rim was.

Thanks for a clear and concise procedure.

right. but that assumes that the user has checked tension and adjusted prior to adjusting the hub. without ensuring that the chain is properly tensioned, i don't rely on the pedal test to determine whether the cones are properly adjusted.

So, is there a procedure for getting the right amount of chain slack? I haven't noticed that being covered anywhere.