How To Overhaul/Clean/Lube Sturmey-Archer 3 Speed Hub - AW type 

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I did this solo about 35 years ago and I literally had to draw an exploded view of every single part with every hole and notch and spring etc because there was no way it was going back together otherwise! This time - with the very SAME hub, mind you - I can just pull up this video and throw all the pieces together into a can of degreaser. Thank you RJ.

Whenever working on a sturmey 3 speed i marvel at the engineering that went into all these intricate parts and assembly, and all just for a bicycle hub

I have some vintage toys that need maintenance and occasional repairs, things such as jukeboxes, Schwinn Stingrays, mini-bikes and at least one old car at all times. I'm constantly tinkering or fixing one thing or another, I've never tried taking a 3 speed hub apart. Eventually, I'd like to learn. In the meantime I think I might be paying someone to do this, watching you do this is impressive. You have some serious skills, thanks for posting this..👍

I'm a good bike mechanic, but this video absolutely saved me on this job. I typically work on modern race bikes, but this walked me right through the sturmey job. thank you so much!!

Some years ago, I did a Level 2 EAL cycle maintenance course - that's a UK intermediate pro-level vocational qualification. My crowning achievement on the course was a complete rebuild of a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub just like this. I was both amazed and delighted when it worked just fine after my rebuild, but I'm not in a hurry to do that job again - it's definitely not for the faint of heart. Watch out for those teeny pawl springs - they are incredibly easy to lose and the hub won't work at all without them!

Najlepszy tutorial. Nawet laik dałby radę 🙂 Thank you. Greetings from Poland!

I think you have done an excellent here. I'm a 75 YO retired tool maker and have been messing with AW hubs for many years now.YOU GUYS ROCK.

The sequencing as always was perfectly addressed. You've succeeded in making a relatively complex assembly very straightforward and due to the parceling out of the sub-assemblies brought this project into one quite approachable and simple to compartmentalize procedure-wise. The camera work was excellent as always and no aspect of the disassembly, or re-assembly was ever obscured, or compromised as to clarity. Especially valuable to the novice is your attention to various parts' orientation and the importance of cleaning the components thoroughly. This is one for the permanent library and I commend your dedication and principled mechanical discipline that always makes your videos a genuinely entertaining and informative experience. Thanks on behalf of cyclists and mechanics everywhere. Mike Kirwan - Kenmore WA.

Thanks much for this RJ, I'm rebuilding an old Phillips 3 speed that a relative had as a lawn ornament. The hub is a Sturmey Archer AW numbered '67-11' and has a pretty rusty planetary gear assembly. One of the springs on the pawl has lost it's 'bounce' but since they're hard to get (or make) it'll be alright with some TLC. I've always wanted to know exactly how these hubs work and it's a pleasure to disassemble, clean and reassemble to get it working as if new. Your video of the process is perfect, and the audio is great! You must be quite adept at audio/video work! Thanks very much.

This was INCREDIBLY helpful, thank you very much! got my hub shifting smoothly now from being completely stuck, would have been lost without you.

Not serviced one of these in 30 years, it brings back memories...

Another excellent RJ video. I’ve taken apart, cleaned and rebuilt several of these SA hubs now, I always come back to this video to refresh my memory. The design of these gears is nearly 100 years old, it’s extraordinary that the design is still being used on Brompton bikes, all be it with a few tweaks and cheaper materials.

Incredible video, I got all the way down to reinstalling but it's SO FIDDLY. Of course the spring pinged off out of existence somewhere in my garage so will have to revisit this video after finding them!!!

Thank you for this video, RJ. You gave me the confidence to take apart the hub on a 1972 Raleigh that needed service. The clutch works great on it now!

I've cleaned all the parts, ready to put everything back together, so excited, really fun to do! Sturmey should put your video on the Heritage website, so clear in your explanations.

What a great video. Just bought my daughter an old second hand Raleigh Caprice and found to my horror that first gear didnt work. Tried flushing with WD40 but no joy. You have saved the day. I down loaded your video to my Kindle and step by step followed your instruction in my shed. Worked a treat. I used white spirit and a toothbrush to degrease and a magnetic screwdriver to recover the parts. I found the first gear pawl section had rusted up and a lot of fragements of metal appeared in the wash tank. All came apart & cleaned up. The semi circular indents made the hammer and punch difficult and the SA bespoke 'C' spanner is expensive and only for installation. So I used 18 inch stilsons and a mallet to shift the collar..they just lock into the indents. The rust had eaten one of the Pawl springs so I used some spring steel out of a ball point pen to make a new one as time was not on my side. I hear old electric guitar strings are even better. I had a chromed ring that went round the bearings as an extra part. I used oil for my four stroke lawn mower as the lubricant and added a couple of squirts in the filler cap at the end. All now works perfectly. Thank you.

Thanks for this video. Though here in Germany Sachs hubs were more common, I like this hub, have one on my folding bike. I service it every few years, in the same way you show it, and it is still a runner- no pittings, no wear on the gears. I don´t like the small pawl-springs who are likely to desappear suddenly, but if you pay attention, this should be no problem. Mine is from 1993, the bearings are a little bit different, but the rest is all the same as shown in the video.

One of the best guide videos I've ever seen. Completely walked me through the process from start to finish. Hub is back together and working great.

It may 10 years old but a fantastic video thanks you make it so clear 👍🏻

Really nicely explained and filmed. Well done! Thank so much for taking the time to do this properly

Man, I watched with huge trepidation when you were taking out the springs. Impressed with how easily you got them back in without bending them or losing them or putting them in backwards. As always, your video is clear. I just got a Raleigh Sport at a tag sale and am all set to go at the hub. Thanks.

I must have watched this at least three times. Just gotta say thank you 🙏 I am now competent at these, and it's down to you 🤝

I'mm helping my daughter rebuild a 1973 Raleigh Sport and this was extremely helpful. Thanks!!

Thank you Bike Guy! I could realise the dissassembling,cleaning, oiling and reassembling of my gear. Your very practical video helped me a lot. Without it I would not have dared to do the job. Also great tips by the adjusting of the indicator pen. Much obliged. Thanks.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, RJ! My husband's grandfather's bike was given to us and had a flat rear tire. I wanted to change the rear tube myself and your videos are such a big help, that I may get some more supplies and overhaul it while I'm at it.

Thank you for putting this video up. A few days ago I was cycling uphill and stripped every single tooth on the sun gear. Now, in the basement our dorm has some abandoned bikes, one of which also had an AW on the rear wheel but the rim was bent, so this disassembly video helped me transplant the innards. I didn't actually change the grease as I didn't have any handy today. Might do it later.

I just inherited a vintage Raleigh Colt with a 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub. This video was a tremendous help! Thank you!

I found this very helpful and it gave me confidence. One note however, you correctly note that the sprocket goes either up or down with the dish cavity. You might want your viewers to note that there is a reason why that dish is there. On my bike with a full chain guard the sprocket needs to be lined in the center guard case. The spacers and the dish feature allow this positioning. So I expect that without a chain guard the sprocket goes with dish out. Mine didn’t come that way and when I put it on to check if the way you did it was correct I mounted the wheel and it was too close to the guard. Not centered. So I put one spacer in and one out and made the dish down and then it was centered correctly. I suppose if you just note which way yours came then it’s fine. But I think it’s useful to know why it’s there and check for yourself if centered inside the guard. Thanks for your videos. Great stuff.

Having watched this video several times I took the plunge and did my first 3-speed overhaul on a 1970 Sturmey Archer. The video made it easy. I was amazed how the oil and grease had become solid and glued parts together. Thanks for all your help.

Today I bought a Murry 1965 3 speed bike.The Hub was not engaging at all and the cable was stuck.I followed your tutorial breaking everything down well almost everything then put it back again after lubing and cleaning and same problem persisted.I was frustrated thinking maybe the hub was shot totally then mentally started to think what makes gear shift and bingo clutch sleeve was seized up not moving up or down and after loosening and cleaning everything started to work again.Well took me 3 hrs of puling my hair but learned a lot about Stormy internals.Thanks to you giving me confidence. I subscribed!

You made that look easy RJ.

Excellent video, well explained, the mystery of how these gears work is now revealed. Thank you RJ The Bike Guy.

Excellent video. I've been riding these hubs all my life but I'm only now getting to grips with how they actually work!

Thank you. Have one of the last "Made in England" AWC here. Your video helped me a lot.

Hey RJ ,I know a lot of people who would love to see you rebuild a same era 5 speed Sturmey archer hub as there is nothing on you tube and they are a mystery lots of muscle bike raligh chopper and australian dragster bikes need this vid if you find the time Thanks again

This video is an absolute lifesaver if you're rebuilding one of these things. I could have done it without you!

I performed the maintenance on my hub step-by-step with your video and it worked wonderfully thank you very much

Fantastic! Just finished my first AW disassembly and rebuild, let's hope it works still...

I just finished a strip / clean / rebuild of a Strumey-Archer 3 speed hub from an late 60s / early 70s Raleigh Twenty which I'm hoping to fully restore. Thank you so much for this video!, these things are bomb-proof and fit together like lego (but with no instructions) With the help of your video I was able to do a job that should have been far beyond me!

you helped us so much!! thank you and greetings from Germany

Excellent. Done at a nice easy pace that a 'first timer' can follow the steps. The main thing: don't loose those little springs!

this video has given me the confidence to have a go myself

Cleaned and lubed everything, inverted those springs that somebody inverted by mistake and it works again! Thanks for this amazing tutorial!

I have used this excellent video tutorial in my efforts to overhaul a 1971 Sturmey Archer hub. There are some subtle differences and some parts that don’t precisely match with the 1974 hub. But thanks to the Bike Guy for his excellent effort...make sure you make a photo record of your chronological disassembly/reassembly steps.

Can't wait. Just purchased '69 men's Raleigh Supurbe and '71 women's Raleigh Sports. (The dates are what was stamped on the Sturmey Archer hubs.) What a project! We'll have his/hers matching 3 speeds when I'm done! Awesome vid!

Very helpful in that you show how it all fits together. I would not let you touch a hub of mine as your attempts at lubrication leave the working surfaces of the gear teeth and ratchets devoid of lubrication.

Great video. Have Grifter with a hub turning both ways, now understand the internals, and have ordered some new Pawl springs as mine were so weak and corroded. Thanks

29 people haven't realized that derraileurs suck. Thanks for the video!

Fantastic. You explain the procedure comprehensively. Easy to follow. Thanks to let me watch and learn.

I just found an abandoned 73 ccm with a archer 3 speed sturmey . This video will be handy. Thx

You Sir are a Legend for doing this. I have two AW 3 speeds hubs circa 1940 Im about to try to refurbish

Nice work I have a 1963 schwinn traveler sturmay archer 3 speed and this is good for me to know thanks a million man Alex Baker

good man i had a raleigh grifter back in the early 80's for christmas and i always wondered how they worked inside THANKS BRO

Very helpful video! I had some problems tightening the non drive side locknut while holding the cone with a screwdriver. I would suggest using some long nose pliers to hold the washer in place, as this worked perfectly for me. The least thing you want to do is put too much pressure on those bearings :)

Great video I am in the process of rebuilding a 1949 Hercules Tybe B hub just waiting on some new Pawl springs as one was bent and not under the Pawl. Thank You

Nice video, I love your attention to detail, just rebuilt a very similar hub thanks to your video!!!

This is such a helpful video, thank you so much. I've done one hub and have three to go. I really enjoy doing this and play this video every time. Also, these hubs are amazing bits of engineering - right?

Thanks buddy. I have a 1948 AW :) The planetary gears and sun gear got chewed up going uphill on campus! After realizing that no shop in Gainesville repairs S.A. and no one carries spare 26 1 3/8 rear wheels, I decided to learn how to fix it myself. Your video was the best one! My 48 has a threaded sprocket and mount, so I just left that guy on. Take care..--Juan

Thank you very much! I didn't need to follow the whole tutorial but the parts that I referenced were very useful!

It's like disarming a land mine.

This video was so helpful - thanks for posting! I was so intimidated with my pan of parts but you made it very simple as to where everything should go and how everything should be lubed.

Thank you!!! I did not think I would get any help on this. Honestly I still can not conceive how it works, but now I can fix my 30 year old bike. My only problem was the tightening of the outside nuts, when tightened too hard the rim tends to stick. Now I know, tighten with fingers and then back, then use screwdriver for nut. I'll keep you posted on progress. P.S. I wonder how many dads watched this video after grabbing their old 'bike' to ride with their children?

Man, very informative. I just did a rebuild of an old Raleigh and had a few hiccups with the hub. This one looks great!!

I really enjoyed watching this video...and I don't even own one of these bikes. Such a cool design. I recently made a video on automatic transmission planetary gearsets...the basics. One of my viewers left a comment, talking about his Sturmey-Archer 3 speed. Had to check it out. Great job!

Sweet, I am rebuilding an all original 1969 Huffy Rail 3 Dragster for my son. this will help me tremendously!

Very informative! I'm about to pull apart one of these and this is very helpful. Thanks RJ.

Geepers RJ this is complicated. Simple, but not easy. Appreciate your help. Now I see why the Allies bombed the German Ball Bearing Factories during WW2. Nothing moves w/o them. Until I can master this process I'll leave the repair/maint. to a skilled mechanic, or simply replace the Hub. My Bike Friday NWT had it's hub Lubed by a local Mechanic. He's quite talented. Thanks again, Happy Holidays

I still can't see how the SA hub works but I wouldn't have any qualms about tackling one now. Thanks RJ, another brilliant "How to".

thanks for the video, your message is crystal clear. I just completed the overhaul and now it works, before it didn't engage any of the gears. Thanks again

Thankyou so much RJ,you are a gem , I dont know how you make those Pall springs go in so easy ,I got em in the end... Great video !!

Thanks, just what I needed. Nicely made and very informative. Thumbs up!

RJ, you're the Sheldon Brown of RU-vid.

Thanks, it helped! The little springs were broken. Works like a charm again! 😀

Fantastic vid RJ. I've got a 5 speed SA hub that needs cleaning & re-greasing. If you ever get a chance to post a vid of that hub, it would be so helpful. Thanks !

AMAZING! Now, after this video, I may even attempt to do this. :) Thank you so much for doing this and putting up the vid to share.

This is so concise! I just found a 70's Raleigh with a 3-speed sturmey-archer hub that looked intimidating, and while this video doesn't lessen the intimidation factor, I can at least do this with confidence now! Wish me luck!

Fantastic video! Thank you! I learn things so much better by watching stuff like this. Excellent detail and info for someone that previously had no concept of how this would be done. Much appreciated!

Really helped on a rebuild today! Thanks

Great video thanks. Its given me the confidence to attempt a strip down and clean of my raleigh chopper mk1 sturmey archer 3 speed hub

great video. i picked up an old schwinn S5 wheel with a sturmey archers 3 speed. its needs a good cleaning inside and out. i was scared to do this on my own until i watched your video. i will dig into it this weekend:) thank you for the video!

Really enjoy your videos and these ones particularly as I have no exp with SA hubs and had no idea what was in the guts. Very interesting and well done. Have found your other videos really helpfull working on my Rover 8ext. Thanks again!

This is incredibly helpful. Thank you!

Great video. It's given me the confidence to look into the hub on my Moulton restoration project. Thanks

Fantastic explanation from start to finish. Am about to overhaul internal ⚙ gearset first time. 👍

I have a 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub..its from a Hercules Commuter 1986..seems to run nice..hope it wont need this full reconditioning..the clicking sound when she is running is sweet..

Thanks:extraordinarily good vid; a bit like going to the moon ! I've done most bike bits and bearings but never approached the very few Sturmey Archer hubs I've ridden (& I live in England !) Well done, all the tnsions of cold garage days, usually preparing a tour make my fingernails black and the smell of paraffin cleaner in my nose.. But the Hitchcock tension of those ball bearings (too many younger days on my knees searching under cabinets...!) make me call to you to do them at least on a flat bowl or even a car hub cover dish ! I love the 'planetary' and 'sun' engineer's names; I'm now riding the universe, much better ! I'm saving this for a rerun anon..

Very nice clear demonstration. I would use different lubricants to what you are suggesting but otherwise I agree fully with everything you did.

Great Video, I've now stripped and overhauled many aw's

Wow! Thanks for the tutorial. I don't have the skill-set for this repair so at least I won't cause any additional damage.

Very nice video and great help to service My ralighe bikes Many thanks

Of course it helps. Thank you very much for sharing.

great video, the way you explain,it’s really simple thanks!!👍🏻👌🏻

very clear instructions, RJ. I will be sure to watch again when I attempt to overhaul (just for fun) my Raleigh Twenty. Just out of interest. When do you know you need to overhaul? Other than the amount of fresh grease and new ball bearings, is that enough Tenacious oil to keep it going for years?

Excellent clear explanation, thanks very much.

So, thanks for the excellent video. I just completed the same job. The hub is from 1972 and though not dried out it was very crusty in there. Whew! does it smell in my apartment.

Very helpful and clear tutorial, it helped me a lot, cheers from Italy

Awesome video! Who thumbs downs a video like this? What is wrong with people?

For cleaning anything like this I recommend an ultrasonic bath and some suitable cleaner - Simple Green is very effective, but I'm sure you could use all sorts of things. Anything ends up super clean, and anything that has not come off falls off onto a bit of cloth.

"just put a little bit a grease here" *Massive dollop of grease* Would love this guy to butter your toast I honestly I'm really sparingly with grease and I NEVER use enough. I'll learn one day XD