S-A TCW questions
 

I've been reading all (I think) of the posts here regarding the S-A TCW 3-speed hub, as well as over on the Sheldon Brown site. I still have a few questions.

When I add oil to the oil port, should most of the oil just leak out over a day or so, or should the hub hold enough oil to be maybe half full? I really have no idea how to measure how much oil is still in the hub. I used 30 wt non-detergent oil that I use for oiling all kinds of things around my place. Do I just give a squirt of oil into the hub once a week if I ride it regularly? Can I over-oil the hub, assuming oil just leaks out anyway?

Regarding the coaster brake and third gear (high range). Should the coaster brake seem kind of weak in all three gears, or just high? The brake on my cheap single-speed Schwinn seems much better, but then again the Schwinn isn't 43 years old. If I pull the hub apart are there brake replacement parts available and will they make the brake any stronger? Maybe the brake is already working as good as it can. I don't know because I have never owned a S-A TCW equipped bike.

The issue with the hub possibly slipping from high gear into neutral and losing brakes, if the hub is in 1st or 2nd gear, is there any danger of losing brakes, or is it only with the "3rd into neutral" issue? Is there a danger of the hub slipping form 1st or 2nd into neutral? This is all assuming the shifter is adjusted properly.

Thanks,

andy b.

I don't know about the neutral brakes issue.

It's notorious of 3-speed coaster brake hubs to have pretty weak brakes. Should also have at least a front caliper brake, regardless of how strong the coaster brake is, if you intend to do more than toodle around the block.

Oil - a couple/few drops every week or so. More will just leak out. No harm done except you have to clean it up.

I recently got a new, Taiwanese version of the Sturmey-Archer 3-speed with brake (SC3?), laced it into an old Schwinn. (Could've more easily & cheaply bought an equivalent Schwinn so-equipped, but our bike was 'special' having been in the family forever.). The brake was strong enough to lock up the wheel even with heavy-me on board, but under non-locking heavy braking it had a periodic 'clunk-clunk' that reverberated through the bike. Also installed a front caliper, so no big deal really. Smooth & no noise in 'normal' braking. May be less apparent with a lightweight rider. I opened it up to see if it was something I could figure out & fix - it wasn't - but I was impressed with (what looked to me) the good quality of the workings inside.

There are no oil seals on any SA oiled hub so excess oil WILL leak out. Think of it as a total loss oiling system.

SA hub coaster brakes were historically weak compared to most SS coaster brakes or the coaster brake Sachs IGH units per my understanding. Most SA fans I have seen posting seem to avoid the TCW like it has the plague!

Thanks for the replies regarding the oil. And here I thought I'd no longer have oil stains all over after I got rid of the 1962 Harley. :)

I'm not all that worried about the brake strength since the bike does have a front brake, but I wish I had a few other bikes with coaster brakes to compare it to. I know when I was a kid I could lock up the rear wheel pretty easily, but those bikes had 16" or 18" wheels on them, plus they were just single speeds. I do need to find out for sure if the brakes will stay engaged in 1st and 2nd gear. Since most of my riding would be in those gears, and I can always downshift when coasting down a hill, the 3rd gear brake issue doesn't really bother me. If the brakes can slip into neutral in all three speeds, that would definitely be a concern.

andy b.