antiqueguy

Oh and my hub needs oil! What should I use**********??? I cant find Sturmey Archer Cycle Oil anywhere. [h=1][/h]

Velognome 

30W motor oil

wahoonc

Anything you want as long as it isn't vegetable based. I use what ever happens to be in the oil can, usually whatever is left over from the last oil change. I think mine has Rotella T 15w-40 which is what I use in my tractors.

Aaron

antiqueguy

Thanks gentlemen.

JohnDThompson 

Here you go:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=..._from=&_ipg=50

Fill it up with generic 20 weight motor oil and you're good to go.

Fenway

Sheldon Brown recommend Phil Wood Tenacious Oil and after using it for a year in the oil ports of various Raleigh's I swear by the stuff.

Velognome 

How is it better than 20 or 30W motor oil?

PalmettoUpstate 

I got one of the needle bottles of Hoppes with the intention of filling it with Phil's Tenacious when the Hoppes runs out...

https://www.amazon.com/Hoppes-Precisi...pr_product_top

Velognome 

This tenacious oil....it's like the Rivendell thing, isn't it?

Juggler2

I love my '79 Raleigh Sports, and I say that about a very few inanimate objects!

Fenway

Phil Wood oil seems to self clean better by allowing grit to flow out while still maintaining lubrication and maintains its consistency over time. When I tried using 30W motor oil, it had a tendency to gunk together unless flushed periodically with fresh oil. I don't know why exactly Sheldon Brown recommended it in the first place, but after use, the Phill Wood oil does seem quite a bit better than standard motor oil.

PalmettoUpstate 

I dunno; I have seen people here on this forum and elsewhere swear by it. As for me; I'm a great deal more pragmatic and don't get hung up on "name brands for name brands' sake" deal.

Another needle oiler [with oil in it] that looks very interesting to me is below and I particularly liked what the two reviewers had to say about it's performance in cold weather; and what this guy says about it's "mixability":

"This is good oil for general usage as well as specific applications.
This oil seems to work well with grease and I have not found any ill affects when the two are mixed.
I also lean more towards it when winter arrives as it's thinner than most oils I use and have used it during the Northern Nevada/Sierra winters."

https://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/pi...z-Needle-Oiler

PalmettoUpstate 

Nice mods. How do you like the Kool Stops?

If you didn't have the front brakes on there how do you think the braking would do with just the coaster brake?

slowtostart

This is a FWIW neophyte response. Not the OP here, but I now own three (They are all your fault.) Sports with coaster and not coaster brakes. The coaster girl is my official rain bike. Unlike the Corvairs of years gone by, I find her to be safe at any speed in wet conditions. I plan to replace the current pads with Kool Stops, but my commutes, to date, do not seem compromised with the originals.

Many thanks to all of you.

Amesja

I use Mobil-1 synthetic. Weight -whatever is available on the shelf. Maybe a little bit thicker rather than thinner as it is less likely to run out as fast. But new grease in the wheel bearings puts a stop to most of that anyhow.

It doesn't really matter that much what oil you use as long as you don't use one that tends to dry/thicken or gum up. This isn't a 15,000RPM high-performance engine we are talking about here. It goes around pretty slow, and the parts inside are not meshing with extremely high tolerances. There is almost no heat to deal with and the loads put into the hub are minimal in the grand scheme of things.

As far as detergent/non-detergent it doesn't make a flying flipping difference in this situation.

Mobil-1 off the automotive shelf makes for nice quiet hub. There is no need to spend lot of time or money sourcing and buying specialized fancy oil. A 1-qt bottle of Mobil-1 will set you back about $5 and last a lifetime of rebuilding 3-speeds much less simply riding them.

Juggler2

The Kool Stops do a great job, they do squeal though. After they break-in I expect them to quiet down a bit.

With just the coaster brake, I don't have a problem bringing the bike to a halt. However I don't ride at a breakneck pace either. Mine is the S3C hub, and I beleive that's the one that Sheldon Brown disliked. If memory serves, I beleive he stated that the coaster brake (S3C) was subject to impromptu breakage. I'm sure Sheldon was a much more aggresive rider than I, and as I said before, I have no problem with it. I'd never recommend anyone disable their front brake, in fact my Kool Stops are an attempt to improve the front brake.

I really love to ride this bike and hope to ride Lake Pepin with it next year!

Schwinnsta

Toe in the leading edge of your front brakes and you may eliminate the squeal.

I can see one advatage for the coaster on an old 3-speed. You have a good brake for the rain.

As I understood it, Sheldon's objection to coaster brakes was the chain failing and having no other brake, as many older single speed bikes did not.

PalmettoUpstate 

LOL, that pretty much nails it, thanks. My broad point in posting the two pics of needle oilers is simply that they [needle oilers] are, IMO, an essential piece of gear for this pursuit. And actually a lot more precise than an old SA oil can to boot! IOW, why frop 20-30 bucks for an old SA oiler when these are, in essence, free?

Is it getting chilly up there in Chi-Town yet? We've by-and-large had a cool summer down here in the Southern Piedmont.

PalmettoUpstate 

I hear ya. I'll hit the big 6 oh! in a few months and I definitely don't rag it like I used to. In fact, when I shined, oiled and tensioned up my trusty old 10-speed [yes virginia, I'm that old], a Panasonic Schwinn Super Le Tour 12.2, and took it for a blast at the beginning of the summer here, it finally occurred to me that I should get a helmet LOL.

But my 3-speed riding is generally recreational with an occasional grocery, drug store or auto parts store run thrown in.

So the reason I asked the question about the coaster brake is that I'm considering building a "Poor Man's KB2" by putting one of these...

https://hubstripping.wordpress.com/20...coaster-brake/

...on one of these...

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Thruster-7...-Bike/17206771

...to approximate one of these...

https://www.torkerusa.com/bikes/commute/2012-kb2-

Velognome 

Ha, Purist?...Innovationist!! You've shown yourself!!! ...We purists (Wep's for short) always use SA cans with with NOS oil. If you insist on using those needle oilers what would you use the oily rag in your saddle bag for?

Seriously the needle bottle is ( yawn) cool but this miniture grease gun is the cat's pajamas! Now can refill my BB and Headset on the road...whooppiiiii

Juggler2

Well, I'm 58 and a half! The first bike I ever bought for myself was a large frame, black, Schwinn Continental. So we have some similarity's there.

A few years ago I was looking for a 2sp Bendix to do a similar project. Sometime during that period I got hooked on Sturmey Archer 3sp's. Ended up buying the one pictured at an antique shop for $65.00. And, coincidently I've been considering a new style Sturmey Archer dynamo hub for the front.

Juggler2

Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try!

wahoonc

TCW series were the Sturmey Archer coaster brake with issues. I have a couple and yes they have issues. The S3C is a better hub from the braking stand point. I run Koolstop Continentals on all of my 3 speed bikes. I have crashed into more than a few solid objects over the years when chains broke or brakes faded and failed on single speed bikes. A front brake is a good idea.

FWIW my wife prefers coaster brakes. When I convert her bikes over to the S3C I just leave the hand brakes on it for backup.
Also if you are getting squeal from the pads try toeing them in a bit, it won't completely eliminate it, but will reduce it.

Aaron

antiqueguy

Both bottles are being sold as empty. But thanks!

antiqueguy

Picture update. I added some raleigh fenders to the bike. They are a great fit and look great. Bikes turning into a bit of a rat rod bicycle.