1940s Raleigh rescue - Should I or shouldn't I?

[Chris S]

Sorry, they've also got a single one. At £32 I'd want the bike it came off as well.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-S...-Gear-lever-/291535503235?hash=item43e0debf83

 

[ChrisEyles]

Thanks for the link @raleighnut, I've always been curious to see how these worked so will definitely check that out.

@robsa, yep, this was the sort of quick and dirty fix I was planning on for now. Eventually I'd like to swap out the 19t sprocket for a 22t one, and when I do that perhaps I'll pluck up the courage to strip the hub down.

@tyred good tip on the four stroke oil, I was wondering what to buy for this purpose since all I have right now is chain oil which I guess isn't quite the thing. I guess the same stuff should also be good for lubricating the BB bearings and front hub?

@Chris S thanks for the link, they do look really nice! I actually just got hold of a shifter today through the post (from ebay). For some reason, they do seem to go for a lot of money (probably all the nuts doing up old bikes like me). Just need to get a pulley and end clamp thingamabob for the cable and then it'll be good to go.

Unfortunately that front rod brake is still utterly seized up for now.... Will carry on giving it a daily drop of oil while I get on with the remaining little jobs.

 

[Chris S]

Just need to get a pulley and end clamp thingamabob for the cable and then it'll be good to go.

The pulleys are still in production and they're a lot more reasonably priced:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=sturmey archer pulley&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=1&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

You can use any toggle chain regardless of its indicator rod length - it's just different to make adjustment easier but most people don't use it. Adjust the cable so pedalling between second and third doesn't drive the hub and all three gears should select correctly.

 

[mjr]

Well yes, you can adjust them that way but it's not as easy (or even possible on newer no-neutral hubs? not that that matters here) and risks the much-criticised slip from third into neutral which seems to make lots of people grind their bits into their saddle.

 

[ChrisEyles]

I've got a pulley and cable end clamp sorted now - might need a longer cable since the frame is really rather large! I'll have a go setting it up this week hopefully.

I managed to get the rear rod brakes working nicely tonight. Unfortunately there is a tiny bit of hop in the wheel which makes the brakes catch once every revolution (I can't get rid of it by truing the wheel), but the brake still functions pretty well.

That front rod is still not going anywhere... I've tried "tapping" it with increasingly large hammers in addition to the oiling, but it looks increasingly like it will end up being a hacksaw job

 

[Herbie]

Should.....I love seeing old bikes brought back to life

 

[raleighnut]

I've got a pulley and cable end clamp sorted now - might need a longer cable since the frame is really rather large! I'll have a go setting it up this week hopefully.

I managed to get the rear rod brakes working nicely tonight. Unfortunately there is a tiny bit of hop in the wheel which makes the brakes catch once every revolution (I can't get rid of it by truing the wheel), but the brake still functions pretty well.

That front rod is still not going anywhere... I've tried "tapping" it with increasingly large hammers in addition to the oiling, but it looks increasingly like it will end up being a hacksaw job

I'd try a bit of heat on it first, no need to go mad with Oxy/Acetylene though a small blowtorch should be plenty.
As for the ding in the rim, 'they all do that sir' but a bit of emery on the high spot may help or gentle tapping with a small ballpeen hammer on the spot.

 

[Chris S]

Well yes, you can adjust them that way but it's not as easy (or even possible on newer no-neutral hubs? not that that matters here) and risks the much-criticised slip from third into neutral which seems to make lots of people grind their bits into their saddle.

This is a 1940's restoration project - it won't have a newer no-neutral hub. The original indicator rod seems to be missing. How would you adjust the gears?

 

[ChrisEyles]

@Chris S I've got the adjustment rod - it was being kept somewhere "safe" i.e. buried under a heap of junk, but now back on the wheel. I've not set up an SA hub before, so am going to look it up on Sheldon Brown's site, which is usually pretty good for this sort of thing.

@raleighnut - I don't think emery paper will quite cut it for the bump in the rim, but a tap with a ballpeen hammer might well do the job, good idea. Would it be necessary to loosen off the spokes before doing this do you think?

I've tried heating up the sleeve with a soldering iron, but no joy. I'll see if I can find a small blowtorch to borrow... it is very frustrating not being able to free up that blasted rod, especially when the rest of the bike is basically finished!

 

[tyred]

I use the Sheldon Brown method of having just the slightest amount of movement in the toggle chain when the hub is in 1st gear. Has worked fine for me for thousands of miles.

 

[mjr]

I've not set up an SA hub before, so am going to look it up on Sheldon Brown's site, which is usually pretty good for this sort of thing.

This is one of the few things where I don't like Sheldon Brown's method - using it was the only time I've suffered the dreaded "finding neutral in top" problem. I feel http://workingoncycles.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/raleigh-twenty-sturmey-archer-gear.html is a better way.

 

[mjr]

This is a 1940's restoration project - it won't have a newer no-neutral hub. The original indicator rod seems to be missing. How would you adjust the gears?

Even if that were the case, I'd try to figure out which is the correct replacement indicator rod based on the axle length. http://www.starcyclespares.co.uk/st...ear-indicator-hsa125-hsa126-hsa315-3282-p.asp for example. They're cheap enough that it's annoying rather than ruinous if you get it wrong once.

 

[ChrisEyles]

Thanks for the tip @mjray - I'll have a play with both methods and see what works out. The indicator rod *should* be the correct one for the wheel, as far as I know.

 

[tyred]

I know some of my hubs have the wrong indicator rods but never bothered trying to correct it. If you are trying to source one, at a guess I would say a 1940s hub would take whatever is shortest as even bikes built for derailleur gears then were 110 mm dropouts so there would have been no reason for them to be building wide axled hubs.

Edit: Trade bikes could be a totally different kettle of fish, I've never worked on one but perhaps Sturmey made a wide axle hub for them.

 

[ChrisEyles]

I finally got around to sorting out the SA shifter this afternoon. I'm not 100% happy with the cable routing, since the pulley I ordered won't fit around the seat tube, only the top tube, but it looks OK and works fine. I used @mjray's method and it worked great.

Added in the rear mudguard and the whole bike is nearly ready to go

Just got to sort out that pesky frozen rod brake. I actually just realised that I forgot to tighten up the rear brake rod before testing out the back brakes... they worked perfectly despite this, which I guess must mean that rust is pretty strong!

I need to get hold of a blowtorch and see if that cracks it... must admit it is a little frustrating being so near and yet so far to being able to take it on it's maiden voyage!