noglider 

I had a thumb shifter on an S3X hub which is a 3-speed fixed gear hub. It was fine. But the regular shifter is not the least bit vague in my opinion. If yours is, maybe some parts in it are worn, or maybe you just need lubrication.

Salubrious

Clunky yes vague not at all! you might want to see if your cable sleeves are gummed up.

arex

S-A (modern-day) makes a nice indexed 3-speed thumb shifter. I put one on my wife's R20, and I have a similar bar-end shifter on my Sports.

clubman 

+1 Voted most decisive indexed gearing 10 decades in a row. By someone.

Your shifter may be gummed up as well. Or your hub.

BigChief 

The issue there is that the shifter has to be indexed correctly for the hub. Notice the long gap between 2nd and 3rd on the trigger shifter. That's because there's a neutral that needs to be avoided. The triggers do have a clunk to them, but I've never found them to be vague. Maybe some part of the system isn't working as well as it should.

arty dave

Thanks BigChief! Appreciated
Are the top bars parallel to the ground?

BigChief 

Yes, to my eye. Here they are

daily ride by Billy Bones, on Flickr

73DL1a by Billy Bones, on Flickr

arty dave

Yes they are Big thanks BigChief!
That helps me feel more confident on what I'll ask the bike mechanic to do. I'll be taking the forks to him today & I'll print out your 2 images so he gets a better idea of the fork rake.

arty dave

Straightened forks woohoo! Took about 15 mins. He had obviously done it before and had a good eye for the necessary manipulations, plus the tools to check the measurements.
I thought I may as well have a go at the drive side BB cup and it actually came out! I didn't think that would happen because it was painted over, usually meaning stuck. Yesterday I took off the non-drive side BB cup and saw what I thought was PVC tubing in the BB, but had no time to look any further. So today after wiping out the old grease (in OK condition but a little gritty) there is definitely a PVC tubing sleeve in there, with a secondary PVC ring with a notch cut out to fit around the BB grease nipple. The whole thing was completely full and overflowing out into the chaincase and a really tight fit - I could hammer it out but I might just leave it there.

Cute Boy Horse

Raleigh still made bikes for the public during the war, they put out special brochures with patriotic stuff in them

clubman 

Well then, there you go. it's not a post-war bike. Must have been made between 43 and 45. My mistake.

BigChief 

What a glorious day for riding in Maine today. Had the roadster out on the wheeler trails. Had to walk a few swampy spots, but the trails are nicer than the roads in some ways.

gster

This Sunday.screen-shot-2017-07-07-at-1-53-20-pm.jpg

nlerner

Update on my Sturmey-Archer trigger spring replacement project. This is for a 3/4-speed trigger from the late 40s/early 50s. Here's a pic of an NOS spring on top of the existing spring:



Note the couple of degrees difference between the bends of the long end. I imagine that 60 years or so of wear and tear will do that. While I plan on installing the two new springs in two of the triggers in my stash, I have a couple of others that I'll just bend these springs back to their original shape.

BigChief 

Never thought of that. Unless they're too rusty a retensioning may be all they need. You'll notice the fresh spring right away. It will have that like new crisp feel.

obrentharris 

I am resurrecting this $20 Schwinn Traveler for the https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...e-100-3-a.html



I have gleaned from the serial number that this bike is a 1955 model. I'm quite sure that most of the parts on it are non original. (The 700c front wheel for instance) I am curious about the rear hub and the shifter. It appears that both are Sturmey Archer clones. Am I correct in this assumption? The hub is marked "JC Higgins 50320 3-speed" and is laced into a 26x1 3/8 EA3 rim.




After several baths in penetrating oil then light lubricating oil and the judicious application of emery cloth to the inside surfaces I was able to bring this "Brampton Speedy Switch" back to life.



Can any of you help me in piecing together my own less-than-scientific history of this bike by providing some idea of the age of these two components?

Thanks,
Brent

BigChief 

That hub is a Styria made in Austria. Not a licensed Sturmey Archer clone like a Brampton or Hercules.

clubman 

You sure BigChief? I thought the internals were licensed SA clones with just the shell being different.

BigChief 

You know, I'm not sure. I've never had a Styria apart. The case is very different, so it is an assumption. The Birmingham made Brampton has the same style case and interchangeable parts except they kept the older style threaded driver. I assumed that the licensing would be rather specific and require the same case like the Brampton. But maybe not. I suspect that Brampton may have been the actual manufacturer of the Hercules hubs as well.

Velocivixen

Would you please explain or show a few photos of how to get the shifter apart? I have some nice older shifters that I would love to use, but they have the same issue - need a new spring (3 speed) & I don't know to to get them apart without ruining them. They're riveted.

On a different note: Is there an era or span of years where the SA AW hub is particularly "bomb proof"? I mean, for example, are the ones from the '50's sturdier than the ones from the '70's? Thanks.

clubman 

I've been sitting on this NOS Brampton hub complete with the bits for some years now. It's interesting that all of the external 'parts' are not SA made and I haven't opened it up to look at whats inside. So when SA licensed these other companies, were they required to retool everything? That's not an inexpensive venture. I think you're right about the Hercules connection, the round trigger can be found on some of their bikes as well.

Any idea when these were made? No date code.

nlerner

See @BigChief's pictorial explanation a few pages back. Those two pins aren't riveted in the triggers I'm working on (though perhaps they were in some of the generations of shifters). The end that protrudes on the face is knurled, and it's the end that protrudes through the back face plate that I whacked with a hammer and punch. There are also at least three different generations of springs, I believe, so you'll need to sort that out, too.

gster

My theme for tomorrow'a bike show here in Toronto is.. Scorchers!
2 three speeds, ('61 Raleigh Superbe and a '67 Glider), 1 Duomatic (modified '72 Glider)and 2 single speed bikes, (Raleigh frame with a Bayliss Wiley hub and an Indian Eastman with rod and lever brakes).
P1190155.jpg

P1190156.jpg

dweenk 

VV,

One side of the rivet looks like a small nail head, so flip the shifter over and drive it out from that side. Save the pin because they can be reused. When you re-assemble it, pust the pin in from the "nail head side". Lay the shifter down on the nail head side and gently peen the thin end of the pin.

BigChief 

Love it!! There is a bit of historical perspective here. This is how kids made "racers" out of throw away bikes in the 60s. Nobody valued the old 3 speeds much and I put my original Rudge together from mostly roadside trash day finds.
I sold it to somebody who came into the bike shop where I worked and always regretted it. Took me years to find an over painted, 50s Rudge that was messed up enough to scorcherize. Wish I could be there with you!

Rudge Scorcher by Billy Bones, on Flickr