gster

Crazy bikes and crazy heavy...
I had one and converted it to a SA 3 speed


This one was missing most of the "extra" stuff when I got it.

thumpism

Not mine. Here in town.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...58398461119403

cudak888 

The eventual result of the fixie trend falling apart.

-Kurt

thumpism

I'd be tempted to get 'em for my Raleigh Pro project but I'm already never going to get around to it and don't need even more clutter, no matter how attractively priced.

mitchito

Hello. I'm new to the forum and new to these bikes. I just picked up a Birmingham built Hercules Renown. From what I gather it is early 1950s. I have it apart now, I sanded down the rusty fenders and repainted them. , there was little paint to be saved and I don't care for "patina" . The bike has its original tires and the Hercules marked pedals look unworn so I guess it was in the basement it was found in for quite some time. I took off as much of the chrome pieces that I could and soaked them in Evaporust and they came out shiny. I do feel like I'm going down a Rabbit hole with these old bikes, I just want to buy another one as soon as I finish with this one.

gster

Yes.....
That's how it starts.
They're like potato chips.

mitchito

Yes. I just grabbed a Schwinn Caliente from the curb in bad shape. Now I'm a garbage picker!

GamblerGORD53

3 speed gearing is what it is, no mystery to me. Logic, and the original SA intension, dictates that you start with a SS gear in the middle, most were 63GI > 46/19T. So you wind up with 48/ 63/ 84 GI. One gear for UP hill and high gear for DOWN hill. This makes my shift speed at 10 mph. I did a hilly 85.5 miler on my CCM 650B just fine last year. I've come to the conclusion that there is NO other way to use a 3 speed.
I did use it at 49.8/ 66.4/ 88.6 GI at first, with the shift at 14 mph. It was kind of poor at hills and awkward when wanting to ride into a wind at 13.5 mph.

My SA 5w was mostly 46 to 117.6 GIs for 7,000 miles. Yah very slow or walk up hills, but a rocket down hills. I did my PB 133.6 miles like this, on my 73 lb tour bike.
This year I got a roadster with Nexus 7i at 44/ 22T, 34 to 84 GIs. It does hills way better, but ultimately was slow. Plus I tried this the same with my SA5w. Same slowness. So I went to 44/20T, 38 to 92.5 GI with the Nexus 7i, much much better.

The common modern perception, that these are only for slow short rides in slow places, is LAUGHABLE. I do many all day centuries, on all my IGHs.

BFisher 

A few pics of the '51 I've been cleaning up. The tires arrived today, so I was able to get it all back together.

cudak888 

Just came in from working on the '50 Superbe, and seeing your success with this one put a great big smile on my face. Such a difference from when it first arrived. That chaincase looks flawless! Lucky you!

Might want to point the trigger shifter downwards as in the early catalogs; it was only later on that Sturmey re-oriented the trigger upwards. The long lever on the 3-or-4 speed shifters work really well when they're pointed down - it's really easy to pull the lever towards you or flick it outwards with the index finger. That alone has made it my favorite shifter of all time - on that bit of ergonomics alone.

-Kurt

BFisher 

Thanks, Kurt. It really is amazing that this thing is 70. With today's thunderstorms I didn't get a chance to ride, so I'll take the trigger note into consideration when I take it for a spin.

cudak888 

Bring a small screwdriver with you so you can tinker with the adjustment mid-ride.

-Kurt

gster

I like to align my triggers flat/parallel to the ground.

gster

This one's going to a new home today.
Not sure why the focus is soft.....

Its a 1964 Glider frame running a '61 hub.

Set up with drop bars (buyers request).
Tires are good/newish.
BB and headset were rebuilt a few years ago.

It has a French leather saddle.
The buyer is a co worker and the price is very reasonable.
I'll adjust seat and controls when she comes over.
Being the neighbourhood "Bike Guy", bikes often just show up here.
Last week I came home to find this one lying in the driveway.
The front wheel was off and it looked quite abandoned and filthy.

Turned out it wasn't complete junk
An early 90's Canadian built mountain bike with Shimano Biospace components.
Total cost to fix this was $15.00 for some new cables and grips.
Being given to a friend of mine in need of a good city bike.

Patrick L.

Hello,
A while ago I read about the benefit of changing the rear cog on the Sturmey-Archer AW hub, so then bought a 3-spline 22T cog on Ebay. I wanted to replace the cog on a 1950 Raleigh Sports (original cog was 18T) but found out that the cog on the 1950 hub was threaded, so the new 22T cog went on a 1978 Raleigh Sports instead. It worked fine and is still on the '78 Sports.

So my question is: Are threaded cogs available for the threaded hubs of the earlier S-A AW hubs?

Thanks, Pat L.

thumpism

One shop here in town had a stock of old Sturmey stuff, if it has not been thrown out by the new owner. The staff is young, too, so they may not be familiar with the treasures in the garage loft. Pedal Power Bicycles on Staples Mill Road. Worth a call.

nlerner

It'll be much easier to replace that threaded driver with one that takes the 3-splined cogs than to find a threaded cog bigger than 18 teeth:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/27308210392...kAAOSwXfVakEIh

Patrick L.

Thumpism,
Thanks for the tip on the possible source for S-A parts.

Pat L.

markk900

Patrick L. It was very easy to replace the driver - I did this on a 1949 hub and it also makes it much easier to swap cogs in future - I never could get the 18T off the threaded driver (but I was worried about damaging it).

Patrick L.

nlerner,
Thanks for your advice. I'm starting to think it would be better to let the 1950 Sports remain as original as it is at this time.

Patrick L.

Markk900,
Thanks for sharing your experience with this.
As I mentioned above, I think I'll leave the 1950 hub as it is. Since I have other Raleigh 3 speeds that already have the splined driver, those are the ones I will screw around with. I just wondered if any place was offering the threaded cogs for sale, as I couldn't find any myself.

Thanks again, Pat L.

thumpism

A Superbe from the original owner?

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...44802166557630

barnfind

Back in the day when threaded drivers were more common we came up with a custom jig or holder to removed stuck threaded sprockets without ruining the driver.
It was basically an oak 2x4 with a hole drilled through the center that matched the OD of the driver. Then there was a center bar that engaged the slots of the driver.
The board was cut in half lengthwise. The two halves would grasp the driver tightly in a vise, and the bar through the middle kept it from spinning.
We would warm the sprocket up with either a propane torch or heat gun and remove the sprocket with a chain whip.
Something like this:

mitchito

"A Superbe from the original owner?"

Shouldn't that be worth more considering the condition and the provenence?

Salubrious

Of course! Any track cog for a track bike has the same thread. I have a Surly cog on my 1935 SA KB hub (don't tell anyone- shh). Its hidden inside the chaincase anyway. To remove the cog you simply need a chainwhip. I got one from Park tools which was equipped with a smaller chain but it was easy enough to replace the chain with the size I needed. With that the original cog came right off no worries.