dynohubrider

hello my name is matt from west yorkshire, england, i am a big sturmey archer nut trying to lead a d#r@!ll~ur free existance! i'm currently building up a touring frame complete with old school low profile cantilever brakes and of course, sturmey archer dynohub front and aw rear hubs, can't wait to take her for a ride!

Juha

Cheers Matt, and welcome to the forums. Nice to have more Europeans on the site!

Does the old school principle extend to the hubs as well or are you using new hubs? From what I've heard, the old SAs were pretty much indestructible. Was it SA that once manufactured a combined gear/dynohub?

--J

East Hill

Hello Matt, what touring frame are you building up? There are a lot of SA fans in the Classic & Vintage forum--come on over, and bring photos!

By the way, I have ancestors who came from the lovely village of Scagglethorpe . Where are you located in West Yorkshire?

Welcome back to BF, and feel free to PM me with any questions !

East Hill

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dynohubrider

thanks, yes the hubs are vintage, the front dynohub is dated 1963 and the rear AW is 86, SA did manufacture gear dynohubs, a 3 speed (AW gear) dynohub is known as an AG and the 4 speed (FW gear) one is an FG, the FG is rarer but try searching sturmey archer AG or FG on ebay and you could drop on one. google sturmey archer heritage for information, exploded detailed diagrams and much more on these hubs,

dynohubrider

thanks, i'm not too sure the make of frame but i was told it is a York Cycleworks frame, it is full butted Reynolds 531st frame and fork and i resprayed it matt black- last of the 3 speed interceptors! at first glance the upside down north road bars give it a prewar look, handy tip i read on the "faux pre war on the cheap" thread right here on the forums. i live in castleford near wakefield.

cyqlist

Hi Matt. I am curious as to what sort of lights you use with your Dynohub. I could not imagine trying to get by with "vintage" incandescent light bulbs nowadays, the technology has improved so much. I can imagine that some of the modern LED lights which require less power than halogen might work very well with a vintage Dynohub, but I have not seen it done.

I toured with a Dynohub and AW for about 20 years, but have now for the most part switched over to more modern hub dynamos and hub gears. I do still use a 1951 AM hub on one bike, and still have the other old Sturmey Archer hubs and spare parts lying around.

Richard

tomg

welcome!
dahon user here, 3 speed s/a remains reliable!
welcome x2!!
tomg

dynohubrider

hi, the lights i use are plain old bulbs, 3x 0.1 amp bulbs, 2 lights on the back and 1 on the front, i wired the dynohub's AC output to a full wave bridge rectifier with a capacitor to smooth the pulsing out, the rectified DC is then wired in parrallel with 5x 1.2v ni-mh rechargeable batteries which soak up any excess charge and keep my lights on when stopped. i can switch to the dyno just running the lights, charging the batteries (day setting) or charging and lighting where they stay on when stopped (night setting). they are not the brightest lights and i have been experimenting with a scrap cateye LED light but the dynohub does not give out a great amount of current for its voltage= 6volts, 2watts(early GH6 units) 1.8watts(later GH6 units) and 0.3amps. can't seem to find any bright enough LED's with the suitable current rating i'm afraid.

dynohubrider

damn right, im sticking with S/A as long as i have 2 wheels beneath me! thanks

cyqlist

I had a system something like that which I used through most of the 1990's, 5 sub-C ni-cad cells (ni-mh were not out yet). I had one regular bulb headlight that ran directly off the Dynohub as usual, and a higher powered light (6V 6W halogen) that ran strictly off the battery and used only when needed with a switch on the handlebar. The taillight also ran off the battery so it was always on (and saved AC power for the headlight), and I had another handlebar switch, DPDT, to switch the main light over to battery when stopped or going very slow. Charging through the full wave bridge rectifier was only in the daytime when the main light was off. I gave it all up in the late 90's when I got more modern hub generators (a Shimano and a Schmidt) and LED lights with capacitor standlights. I am happy to have simpler lighting systems now, and to be not only derailler-free but also battery-free.

I have also mostly switched over from SA hub gears to SRAM and Rohloff, except for the 1951 SA AM which I continue to use on my "sporty" bike. I also now have a more modern Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub (SRB3) on my little Mobiky folding bike.

Richard