Brompton little bike little ride.

[neilrichardson55]

Morning, little ride out on the brommie. did about 6 miles around Rickmansworth aqua drone. little up hill and lots of flat. the 3 speed worked well was a good all round little bike.
anyone know much about the 3 speed hub. 1 and 2 working well 3 seemed to click a little might be slight out of set up maybe. also ive seen, there is surface rust in the frame is it worth spraying the inner frame with wax oil to stop the rust ?>

have to say i am really singing praise of the brommie but i really am beginning to love it

 

[FrankCrank]

Re the SA 3-speed hub, there's a few vids on Utube explaining the set-up process.
My preferred method is having a little slack at the indicator chain when in 3rd gear.
I'm assuming this is the same for B's, others will correct me if not

 

[wafter]

The hub is nearly always noisey for some reason by virtue of the way it works. This is especially true in 1st and also 3rd as I think the latter certainly employs ratchets that constantly click as the bike's being pedalled, plus there's the infamous "coasting rattle" that I think happens in all gears.

Setup is easy by adjusting the position of the indicator chain; plenty of info about but basically bang it in 2nd, view the solid shank of the chain assy through the round hole in the axle nut and adjust the threaded boss that attaches the cable to the chain until there's around 1mm of the plain shank visible / standing proud inside the nut.

Yes; treat the inside of all frame components if you can - have been meaning to do mine for the past year and really should get it nailed before winter rolls round again...

 

[wafter]

So.... after some in-depth testing earlier; noises whilst pedalling that I assume are normal:

1st: Whirring noise, some rumbling felt through pedals.. latter might disappear when run in but I very rarely use this gear.
2nd: Silent as everything's locked together to give 1:1
3rd; Ticking / clicking

Hope this sets your mind at rest

 

[neilrichardson55]

So.... after some in-depth testing earlier; noises whilst pedalling that I assume are normal:

1st: Whirring noise, some rumbling felt through pedals.. latter might disappear when run in but I very rarely use this gear.
2nd: Silent as everything's locked together to give 1:1
3rd; Ticking / clicking

Hope this sets your mind at rest

Yeah that sounds like mine the ezy wheels on the rack were making a lot of. Noise to.
I did not really want to strip down that was a winter job to have a look at lol

 

[gizmo1994]

If you think your ezy wheels are rattling while riding then that could also be your hub. The 3 speed will make a light rattling sound as you ride, more when you freewheel than pedal. It sounds like it is coming from the rack or somewhere around there but it is a perfectly normal Sturmey rattle.

 

[fritz katzenjammer]

I just purchased a new six speed Brompton… egad what a noisy drivetrain! I used to Sturmey Archer hubs, the noise is normal. Throw in the Brompton’s chain tensioner and the 6 speed‘s wee derailleur and you have all the noise of a drunken clockwork mouse back there. I checked it over when I bought it, because I work at a bike shop and don’t trust anybody else to set up my bikes, and everything is fine.

enjoy the noise, it’s a happy sound! The hub noise will vary a bit in really cold or really hot weather as the lubricants change a bit with temperature but you really can depend on these hubs. As long as the sounds don’t get vile and the operation is correct you can pretty much ignore them. I lay the bike on its side and put about three drops of oil into the hub each spring through the hole where the shifter link goes in per the Sturmey Archer tech sheet.

 

[Gunk]

If your Brompton is squeaking check the rubber suspension block, the squeaking can be the rubber block rubbing against the shaft of the bolt. I’ve had this issue with two bikes, cleaning everything and smothering in lithium grease solves it.

 

[fritz katzenjammer]

If your Brompton is squeaking check the rubber suspension block, the squeaking can be the rubber block rubbing against the shaft of the bolt. I’ve had this issue with two bikes, cleaning everything and smothering in lithium grease solves it.

Silicone based lubricants are better as they are less likely to attack the elastomer block and degrade it. The voice of unfortunate experience from a life spent in plastics

 

[Dadam]

Silicone based lubricants are better as they are less likely to attack the elastomer block and degrade it. The voice of unfortunate experience from a life spent in plastics

I bow to your bike mech experience but I was always told that silicone lubes are terrible for metal to metal lubrication as they promote galling and are in some circumstances, anti-lubes. As a result I could never bring myself to introduce silicone anywhere that metal slides on metal.

 

[fritz katzenjammer]

I bow to your bike mech experience but I was always told that silicone lubes are terrible for metal to metal lubrication as they promote galling and are in some circumstances, anti-lubes. As a result I could never bring myself to introduce silicone anywhere that metal slides on metal.

It’s not the bike mechanic experience… it’s 35 years engineering for the automotive industry before I retired. Yeah, I tend to keep silicone based lubricants far away from heat or metal to metal applications. It runs like water when it gets hot and doesn’t do all that well under pressure. It is however really good at shutting up noisy plastics and keeping them from sticking, which is why most car door seals are coated with it at the factory. However, I have seen a lot of engineering grade polymers ruined by exposure to petroleum based lubricants. A lot of time is devoted to finding the right types of polymer and compatible adhesives and lubricants in the automotive industry. The things that cure adhesives and the petroleum components in lubricants tend to be the same chemicals that break plastics down. Anything under the hood has to endure fuel and lubricants fumes under elevated temperatures, the results of getting it wrong can be pretty amusing but also costly as hell. Like the time Pontiac found the hoods glued shut at the end of the Grand Am body line because the paint solvent attacked the hood bumpers and reduced them to sticky goo. I laughed like crazy when I got off the phone as it was their screw up, not mine.

 

[Gunk]

I wish I’d kept thoughts to myself!

 

[neilrichardson55]

a question, i think my 3 speed SA is greased, on the Brompton. on my old road bike its go a oil plug. with the Bompton greased. can you put a small amount of oil in the selector still, as i don't think you could get grease in it unless rebuilding.

 

[Fastpedaller]

A very knowledgeable SA guru on another forum recommends semi-fluid-greas (SFG) for hubs.

 

[neilrichardson55]

A very knowledgeable SA guru on another forum recommends semi-fluid-greas (SFG) for hubs.

think you are right its finding something that's not going to dry out and leak out also that wont wash out.