I've never seen an old SA AW that was 126. Usually they are 114 with a 5 & 3/4 inch axle. You have to swap out to the longer 6 1/4 axle if you want it to be 120.

Be careful as most of the old AW's (pre-70's which are supposed to function better) have 40 spoke holes which make it harder to find a suitable rim. There are 36 hole versions of AW's, but they are less common. You can find 40 hole rims, but they are rarer. I found a 40 hole 27 inch rim that I used to build up an AW.

Here is a pic of my MB Super Mirage beater that I built up as a 3 speed:

I ran one up top:

I've been down this path many times in the last several years. Rear spacing on most Sturmey-Archer hubs is 115mm with a 5 3/4" axle, I believe, but you can swap in a 6 1/4" axle, throw a couple of spacers under the locknuts on each side, and you have a 120mm-spaced hub. Or you can cold set your rear triangle to 115mm. For shifters on a drop bar, there's a bar-end S-A shifter that SomaFab sells, and I have it on my '72 Super Course w/ a rear AM hub. It works great. Also, 36-hole SA AW hubs come up often on eBay, much more frequently than 40-hole rims.

Here are some of my conversions:

This one started me on the path: an early 70s Competition in Gran Sport colors:


When I sold this one, I converted more into Clubman style:


I fitted my '71 Raleigh International with a Nexus 8-speed IGH for a while, but wasn't crazy about that setup, and it's now a derailleur bike:


This Trek 412 was outfitted with a Nexus 7-speed hub and was my commuter for awhile, but I came to learn that I wasn't crazy about Shimano Nexus hubs!


I've found early 70s Super Course frames to be particularly good candidates. Here's one with a repaint:


And a '71, which is now in the hands of a list member and largely back to original spec:


And my current '72:


Though now it has the S-A bar-end shifter:

My latest creation is a Grand Sports w/ an AW hub and Cyclo 3-speed block:


And then there's the real thing:


Neal

Wow, thanks nlerner! Those are all beautiful.

Since you've tried a lot of different setups, have you found one particular combination that is your favorite?

Ya know, I was just thinking about the S3X...I'm thinking once the price comes down a bit, I'm definitely going to give one of these dudes a try...

Not my idea... this is where the shifter was placed on drop bars.

My '54 Sports (a conversion) came with a 48 tooth chain ring and I mated it to a 20 tooth cog which has been working really well as an all around gearing and am on the fence as to whether or not to use the cyclo 3 speed conversion kit I have and make it a 9 speed.

I also like the uncluttered look of a 3 speed...



My '55 Raleigh Lenton is even less cluttered looking as it is a fixed gear model.

nlerner is the man when it comes to doing nice conversions... love his bikes.

Have done quite a few myself... converted a Raleigh Criterum into a 3 speed road bike and rode that 1000's of miles before giving it away, converted a Kuwahara Cascade into a very nice 3 speed and sold that, have run my 20's as 3 speeds with dual drives which is great for utilitarian riding, have built numerous 3 speed mtb wheels for folks, used to ride a 3 speed roadster (miss that bike), and have also built a lot of 3 speed road wheels for other people.

Am probably forgetting some and as the "old 3 speed" guy around here I can't get away from them.

If you prefer the large chain ring Shimano offers rear cogs to 23 tooth. SRAM does a 24 tooth and Mark Stonich of Bikesmith Design is importing some custom made 26 tooth rear IGH cogs. All will fit SA hubs except for the 8 speed.

Old SA literature recommends not going below a 2:1 input ratio.

Thanks! I can't say there's one combo that's best, mostly because the different builds have been for at least a couple of different purposes. One is to attain a lightweight 3-speed in the vein of the Raleigh Sports or, more my inspiration, the early 1950s Raleigh Lenton Tourist. That's a 531-steel 3-speed with all alloy components. Last year, I managed to score a Lenton Tourist frameset in my size, and I built it up with upright bars, 700c wheels, 32mm Pasela tires, and an AW rear hub. It's one of my regular commuters, and is a terrific rider:



The drop-bar road bikes have the Clubman or club-style bikes as their model, so those are intended for longer rides w/ usually a 4-speed hub if I have one (an FW, ideally). Really, though, most of these builds end up somewhere in between. Fwiw, I didn't take to the Shimano Nexus hubs because I felt like they made the rear end of the bike really drag and found myself never quite in the ideal gear. That might just be a Shimano Nexus issue, so I don't rule out trying something else.

Neal

Here's a few of mine, 1970 Robin Hood I've had since new, set up as a Clubman years ago with an AM, Cyclo triple cog, and a Favorit PWB.

Eastman Tiger, aka, a DL1 copy. I built the AW for this one from parts in my bin. Not a bad ride if you don't expect much from it. Soon to have a Dyno hub. Also considering swapping the AW guts for S5/2 just to get up the hill to the house.

This is my favorite one, 1968 Superbe. I got this as a basket case at a swapmeet for 15 bucks. I rebuilt as a rehabilitation project when I was recovering from a car-bike accident.

Yes, the fork is tweaked and I'm still riding it like that. I have another locking fork coming from the UK and if it gets here before Lake Pepin, I swap it out. I converted the output from the Dyno hub to DC so I could run LED lights as I could get more light from a candle. Got a few thousand miles on this one.

Cool bikes bikamper!

Hey Zaphod, I really like those cable tie things you made out of leather straps and snaps. Did it require any special tools to put the snaps on them? I've never installed a snap on anything before.

This is why there is no point in trying to break the 3 speed addiction... the bikes are too beautiful.

Very true. But that makes me wonder. Why do we see so much beauty in triangular and circular hunks of metal? My guess is that it's a combination of the symmetry and our experiences using them that bond us.

Rewind to the time you first rode a two wheeler on your own and the feelings you had... for me it was a sense of freedom.

It still is...

I have trouble walking any distance but on a bike I am still me (almost) and sometimes... I can still get out and fly.

That's a very good reason as well.

I play soccer and am in good shape, but if I'm not playing soccer, running has no appeal for me. It's not that I can't run, I just don't enjoy it if I'm not chasing a ball.

On a bike, I get exercise, and it's FUN! I don't ride bikes for exercise specifically, I just do it because I like tinkering and I really enjoy riding them. I guess it could also be related to my fascination with gadgets. I love gadgets of all kinds, and a bike could be considered a big gadget I suppose.

Holes!
thanks for the advice. It would not occur to me to count them. I am nearly a Clyde (220 lbs), I frequently carry a lot of groceries and my commute crosses a lot of RR tracks and other crappy road conditions, so a 40 spoke wheel might be a good idea anyway. But yes, it would make finding a suitable rim a lot more difficult not to mention adding another $4 to the cost of the spokes.

thanks flammenwurfer, the cable straps are Leather and Glove Snaps. You need a hole Punch and a snap setter to work with the snaps...a snap setting kit is cheap and once you have a kit made up with some snaps and rivets you will find all sorts of uses for it. I get my stuff from Tandy Leather. I set myself up initially with a couple packs of snaps, some rivets and some grommets and they sell a setting kit that does em all for like 15 bux. I think I spent 25 and I've got enough to last me a long time.

Just the other day I used the hole punch and some rivets to fix up the stay bracket on a set of old ESGE fenders. Infinitely useful.

Just got my fourth 3-speed today!!!!

Cool, thanks for the info. I'll have to file it away for a future time. I'm in trouble with the wife for spending too much on bike stuff lately . I'll just have to work with what I have on hand for now. Maybe next month I'll be able to sneak some more bike purchases in.

For that same reason I think I will just clean up and re-grease my new Takara and ride it as is and see how I like it. I have a feeling eventually it will become a Clubman style conversion though.

PS. On a totally unrelated note, the Takara I just picked up has cloth bar tape, it feels awesome! I've never tried it before, but I love it.

That's funny, I just got my third 4-speed today! Well... I don't have it yet... but it'll be on its way soon.

I need details and pics please!

Yeah, okay. My first was my Norman Rapide, which you've all seen so many times you're probably getting tired of it (but I'm not):

It has an FW hub dated 1949:

The second, no photos yet, is a Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix that I'm going to run with an FM hub; photos may be forthcoming next week.

The third is a work not-yet-in-progress; but I bought a DYNO4FOUR hub (=FG) that I'm going to install on my orange Norman, which you've also seen before; here's an older photo. It now has appropriate looking headlight and taillight, which emply LED's in vintage fixtures. More current photos will be forthcoming in the nearish future!

haven't seen that orange one before... its great.

And honestly...how could we ever get enough of that Wonderfully preserved silver Norman

Now that's something you can get CHEAP. www.twilltape.com I got a roll of black from them that will likely last my entire life. Also you can use it for its intended purpose...Edge Binding for Sewing projects.

I LOVE that orange Norman! Orange is my favorite color, and that is going to look gorgeous when you're done with it I'm sure. I can't wait to see more photos. I have a request. When you are taking photos of that orange Norman, could you get some with it in from of a blank background? I want it as my wallpaper.

Zaphod comes through again! Thanks buddy. I ordered a couple small rolls from Niagara already. They were pretty cheap, but not that cheap. If I really get into drop bars with cloth tape, now I know where to go!

PS. If anybody is interested, I was checking out the "Groups" feature of the forums and I created an "IGH" group. I'm not sure exactly what the advantages of these "Groups" are yet, but everybody join IGH!

I'm noticing the frame sized tire pumps--are those still available, or are you guys getting your bikes with those?