gna

Sheldon Brown has a bit on it: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-archer/tcw.html
The brake is run through the gear train, so if the cable is out of whack, the brake could fail. Also, if you're in third gear, you have back pedal even farther to get it to engage.
If you take one apart, the brake band is not that big, either, but adjusted correctly it works ok.

I had one in a bike for my adolescent daughter, but I built up an AWC for her latest bike. She also likes the Sachs Torpedo in a different bike.

52telecaster

I have several aw hubs that I will probably stick with.

merziac

Cool find.

Looks like the crossbrace stiffens the spring mounts.

No way that rack goes away for me, derust, strip, clean, whatever, rattle can black or? and done.

steve21108

As a kid working in a bike shop in the 70s, remember replacing the OEM John Bull pads for those. Supposed to be safer, etc. Interesting to see that picture.

thumpism

Tall Sports for TWENTY BUCKS in DC.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...65709033512072

JohnDThompson 

It's not that they're failure prone; it's that the design makes for problematic braking effectiveness. The coaster brake in the TCW hub is actuated through the internal gear mechanism, which means that the mechanical advantage of the brake depends on which gear you're in when you apply the brake. Specifically, in high gear, when, presumably, you're going fastest, the mechanical advantage is at its weakest. If you remember to shift to low gear before applying the brake, you'll get the highest mechanical advantage. But you're least likely to remember to do that in a panic stop, which is also when you're most likely to need a strong brake.

thumpism

$50 for a men's Phillips and a women's Triumph in NH. Unclear if that's individual or pair pricing.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...67804183411537

thumpism

$60 for a rough 23" ladies' Sports in PA.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...86890655190784

SirMike1983 

They can be a real problem if they have been abused or ridden a lot in improper adjustment. I agree with Sheldon pointing out the problems of running the brake through the drive train, though I would not necessarily write-off all of them. They run relatively smoothly and the braking action is pleasant. The cable adjustment is familiar to anyone who has worked on an AW, with the caveat that extra care is needed when adjusting.

They're not overly complex to work on, but there are some sore spots. Where things go bad is if there's an issue with the central E-clip in the hub. The two halves of the hub innards (the transmission on one side and the brake set up on the other) are held in place by a single, somewhat fragile E-clip that rides in a recess in the axle. If the clip is bent or damaged, shifting into high gear will push it out of position and cause the hub to malfunction in various ways. The result is you have to remove the wheel, tear down the hub, and re-set the E-clip. Of the TCW hubs I've had (not a huge number but more than most people are willing to put up with), just about half had some issue with that E-clip.

If you have one that's original to the bike and is working properly, I wouldn't tear the wheel apart just to get rid of it. But at the same time, I wouldn't spend my time building up wheels with one either. Honestly, if you need a Sturmey coaster brake hub, I'd go newer with something like the AWC or the modern SRC3.

52telecaster

It's a hub that was given to me with several others and honestly I would install a front brake if I hade a rear coaster so why not use an aw and install two brakes. It will go unbuilt! I have an Austrian aw clone that's going to get used next.

mirfi

Raleigh RSW, circa 1974, made in Japan. Last month it had one wheel in the dumpster. Now with new bearings and grease in the headset/bottom bracket/front hub, new chain, shifter and pedals, it is a nice riding bicycle. Solid. A bit too small for my 6', 260lbs. But it will make someone very happy. Just hope it's appreciated.



Amazing how nice this bike rides.

thumpism

Almost a path racer for $95 in MA.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...11664897001952

nlerner

Interesting installation of the rear brake lever. And isn’t that just a Dunelt 3-speed (or maybe a single speed) with oddly flipped bars and sans front fender?

thumpism

Yes, an old Dunelt but prime path racer material and it already has the drops. Of course it'll take work; a 3-speed with no trigger is a single speed and those bars will have to be positioned correctly, but the rear fender would likely come off anyway.

I suspect that odd lever is positioned to accommodate right-hand braking, possibly due to a bum left flipper on the guy. I knew a fellow who rode an upright rig with two brake levers on the right along with a barcon and a thumbie for shifting.

1989Pre

That will look beautiful with just an oily rag. The decals are in extremely good condition, and it looks like the paint as well. This example is prior to the Dunelts with the "D" fork crowns. Does anyone know when they were first-produced?

clubman 

Dunelt was making motorcycles at the beginning of the 20th century and transitioned to bikes somewhere around the 30's iirc. This example has a Raleigh frame with a Birmingham fork so it's likely a transitional model from around 1960.

1989Pre

Aha. Yeah. The fork crown cap looks Raleigh. The one here has those "D"s, so is probably 1950's.

clubman 

It's the other way actually. The 'D' fork caps were early 60s while the big plain silver crown caps were typical of most all of the Birmingham manufacturer's forks before 1960.

Salubrious

The brake levers, plastic cable pulley, reflectors in the pedals (if that's what I'm seeing in the photo) and the angle of the shifter all point to later 1960s as well. About 1960 or so SA flipped the text on the shifter upside down.

thumpism

A 23" ladies' Sports for $60 in TN.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...51720886151545

nlerner

Reasonably well preserved (including Brooks B.72 saddles) his and hers Raleigh Sports in MA for $200 (which is twice as much as I'd pay, fwiw):

https://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/bi...586716132.html

Salubrious

If the saddles are good and ride-able, $200 is worth it for just them alone. Good B-72s going for what they do these days...

adventurepdx

Man, I'd like to find this mythical place that you and some other people here on this thread live in, where paying $200 for a pair (a pair!) of Sports in decent condition, both with intact B-72 saddles, is "twice as much" as you would pay. Here in Portland one of those bikes would go for $200 easily. One.

2fat2fly

I've got a single speed Dunelt that I fixed up a bit a few years ago, the consensus then was that mine was a 59-60 model.
Mine has seen minimal use since I'm still looking for a better set of Endrick rims for it. The rear rim has no chrome left, its badly pitted and basically just bare steel.
I had a decent pair I was going to use on it but ended up using them on another bike I was working on.



Before and after a lot of cleaning, some air brush touch up work, and strategic polishing to preserve as much of the original finish and decal work as i could.
It looks good, especially considering what it looked like when I first found it. The worst part is that its not my size, at 6ft 3in tall, its a bit small for me.

nlerner

Oh, I’m sure there are people here in the Boston area who might pay $200 for a Sports, and CL shows quite a few currently. But I’m the usual BF cheapskate, Shawn, so it’s not what *I* would pay!