Grand Bois

You don't have to twist my arm. Here it is.



I'm thinking about repainting it. It looks okay in pictures, but there are some things I've never been satisfied with. It will be too cold to paint for a while, so I'll have plenty of time to think about it.

Lenton58 

Delete see below. A complete deletion of a duplicatel post failed.

Lenton58 

Do you mean the Taiwanese successor hubs are not so adjustable as the old English production? Cog spacers? Could you point to where I can find out about what they are and what they look like — etc. As for correct spindle length as an adjustment: is this not sort of a hit and miss proposition?

No challenge is intended here. I'm just trying to get a take on what I can expect if I go this route. What intrigues me is the possibility of a perfect chain-line but having 'gear-inch' options at the flick of a lever. And since I am not racing, (duh) the spool-up time due to a heavier wheel is of absolutely no consequence.

Lenton58 

Thanks for the very helpful reply —especially in regards to wheel and cog 'T'. I am totally intrigued by the idea of achieving a perfect chain-line and having a gearing selection.

I'd like to see some of the 4 and five speed hub users comment on their cog and freewheel choice, but I don't want to pirate the thread away from the OP.

AZRCH, that is one handsome machine!

mparker326

It is the opposite. The new hubs are much more adjustable. The old hubs could basically be made to work with 110 OLD and 120 OLD. On the old hubs, you had to swap out the axle to use it on a 120 OLD frame.

I am running a S3X hub on a 700c wheel and I have a perfect chainline by arranging the provided cog spacers. The quality of the new hubs is far better than the older hubs. I am quite happy with my 3 speed commuter bike.

Grand Bois

You get one spacer with the hub. It can be put on either side of the cog. There is also a dished cog that can be reversed. It's not hard to figure out which combination gives the best chainline. You may want to use a shorter BB spindle for your single chainring.

I don't think we know yet if the quality of the new hubs is better or worse.

tcs

I used a Sturmey FCS74 with chainguard crankset. Sturmey specifies a 113mm spindle for use on 68mm BB shells with their IGHs. My chainline snugs up flat on my big straight edge and looks dead in-line to me.

Some AW-NIG family hubs come with a HSL701 metal Dust Cap and a HMW127 Sprocket Spacing Washer; other hubs come with a HSL871 plastic Sprocket Dust Cap that has the cog bumper molded into it. The HSL701 & HMW127 are reversibly interchangeable with the HSL871.

The SRF3 with the NIG has been in production for 13 years now - we should know for sure in another decade or two. In the mean time, here's what Sheldon Brown had to say: "In any case, the quality of Taiwanese production from SunRace/Sturmey-Archer so far has been excellent, generally better than the quality of later English production."

GamblerGORD53

I have been using an XL-RD5w with thumb shifter on the TT, on 2 frames using the same components. I got an WI ENO 180 mm crank with a PHIL BB, 121 mm I think. I have it set up for dished cogs 17 to 22. I left the spoke dish 2mm off and put a 2 mm spacer on the NDS and a 1mm on both sides. My hub is 130 mm and DO is 135.
First I had 46/ 18T on a junk 1990 18 sp Raliegh frame. 43.4 / 52.1 / 69.4 / 92.6 / 111.1 GIs.
Then I got a custom tourster frame and used a 48 18T. 45.3 / 54.3 / 72.5 / 96.6 / 115.9. Both went 45 mph on 9% hill.
I use 4th gear quite a bit on the flat with the wind or slope. Except for the gap between 2nd and 3rd, this SA hub beats my 24 sp in any gear but the 30/30 I seldom used.

So my 3 low gears are what AZORCH has. I would never put flat gear anywhere but the middle.

Japan has steep hills, so Lenton58 could be well served to get a 5sp with a 42T crank and cogs 18, 19, 20. GIs mid 30s to 90s.
Long cranks help on hills a lot with IGHs.

Sixty Fiver

The new hubs appear to be better than the latter day British made hubs... when SA was bought up the folks from Sun Race discovered that most of the machinery and tooling was so worn out that they had to rebuild almost all of it.

If we are talking about AW hubs from the 40's and 50's... these are as good as they ever got save for that little dead spot between 2nd and 3rd that that Sun Race fixed.

The SW was a terrible hub and it was not produced for long, it was supposed to be the replacement for the AW but was a dismal failure.

An original SA AW will run 30,000 miles before you have to think about rebuilding it, I am not sure how long these new hubs will run but as far as the new 3 RF 3 goes, it looks positive as I have built up a lot and have never had as complaint.

SirMike1983 

That has been my experience as well. The latter day English SA stuff declined in quality. The 1940s-50s AW hubs were generally quite good and they have not given me trouble. The 60s-70s AWs I have used were ok- not as good, but certainly well enough made so that you could make them run well. The later stuff from the 80s-2000s seemed more cheaply constructed to me, and I've generally avoided it. I have a new Sun/Sturmey 3 speed coaster ready to go for a balloon tire bicycle project, but have not had a chance to use it yet.

I have an SW-equipped Raleigh Sports in my shed now awaiting refurbishing. I'm not sure whether I'll have a go at getting the hub and wheel cleaned up or whether I'll just swap for another wheel. I have a mid-60s Raleigh Sports wheel as a spare in the shed ready to go. Maybe I'll have a try at setting up and running the SW and swap if I have difficulties with it.

Lenton58 

If I were you, I'd go no further with the SW other than to get rid of it. They are not only quirky and unreliable, they are dangerous. If you stand to climb, the SW can slip and cause you injury. And this can happen even after not so many miles after an overhaul. When I was a boy, all my friends had AW's and experienced no trouble. My SW was fiendish. And it hurt me. I learned never to trust it. I faithfully lubricated it from when it was new and I never abused it. I kept the cable adjusted properly according to a manual I borrowed from the little local country library (quaintly installed in a disused gas station). My Dad paid to have it overhauled by a Raleigh dealer in the city — I think it was twice. If I had been older and had more pocket money, I'd have replaced it with another hub.