Overhauling 60 Year Old Sturmey Archer 3 Speed Hub 

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I use to pull these apart often back in the 70’s when i was about 13 years of age, we use to love working on our bikes, life was simple and great!

What is really quite fascinating, and amazing, is how the 3-speed Sturmey-Archer bicycle transmission was so durable, and long lasting. There are.bicycles from the 30's, that still work as designed. An incredible piece of engineering.

As a kid 50+ years ago instead of unscrewing the large ball race with the hammer and screwdriver on the driven side to get it apart, I would chuck the fixed side hub in a vise on the two flats and use the wheel to unscrew it- quicker, easier. This was on the '50s & '60s wheels. Bought a new Raleigh Sports in '72 and by then they were pressing the fixed side in instead of threading. My sister borrowed the bike one night while wearing sandals and the hub came loose and she ripped her big toenail off when her foot hit the street. I replaced the wheel with a '56. The bean counters had begun their unrelenting quest to shift the global manufacturing paradigm from "How good can we make this" to "How cheap can we make this". They won. As someone else mentioned, the quality of steel they used on the old ones was amazing.

What a great design , still-used and virtually unchanged or bettered in decades . Thanks, very helpful

Hi ... from Australia ,, I started work at Raleigh bicycles ,Faraday Road ,Nottingham in 1959 in the Sturmey Archer section,I remember spending all day grinding 'burrs' of tiny machined washer parts and threading the chain attachment ,,,all day every day ... Thanks for the video now I know where they fitted in the assembly.. Oh by the way the making of ''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning '''was being filmed when I started ,,, theck the begging scene to see what life was like as a 15 year old boy..!! thanks again

51 years ago my mum and dad bought me my dream chopper bike for xmas and it was the best present i have ever been given. If i knew then what I know today after watching this absolutely fascinating intricate video, I would of seen with my X-ray eyes that there was pure beauty in the developers eyes.

Worked as a bike mechanic from 74'-78'. Did several Sturmey Archers and another type which was popular at the time (push-pin design). Out of all the repairs I did to bicycles, this was by far the hardest repair. Many SA's would get broken chains and you could not get the pin out without opening up the hub. Big Hint - count the bearings when they come out. If you miss a single bearing you will not be able to adjust the hub. NICE VIDEO RJ !!!

I just dived back into the Raleigh - "Sturmey Archer World" after a 47 year break from cycling. Once again a demonstration video of pure perfection. I think I'm getting addicted to Raleigh bikes and the Sturmey Archer 3 speeds. I just acquired a 1978 Raleigh D-1 with lever brakes in which I'm trying to replicate a British WW1 Raleigh bicycle. I wish they used a Sturmey Archer 3 speeds, but nope, single speed as far as I can tell. A few changes to the DL1,,,,,,,, crank set, rear wheel 3 speed to single speed and a new style - old style 3 spring Brooks seat, bolt on - rifle mounts, leather tool case and cargo racks,,,,,,,,, last but not least - a paint job to khaki. Some where black, some where khaki.

Old school is 'best school' no matter how old you are. If you ride a bicycle for pleasure on a warm spring day you are still a kid at heart. No matter how old your body gets.

I went to Schwinn school in the 80's, and 3-speed hub overhaul was a major part of the curriculum. At the time I had already done both SA and Shimano hubs before on many a customer's bike, but the course was helpful to learn tips and tricks about these hubs. Not long afterwards, IG hub popularity died off for a long while, and I have not overhauled one in probably 25 years. So it is great to watch your video. I may have to dig out an old bike at the co-op and open up the hub just for the heck of it.

Great video. My 1968 Raleigh Sports 3 speed was in rough shape after being stolen in Vermont. The local constable found it a year later in the woods on the side of the road. After getting it back to working condition I noticed low gear was slipping. It would engage sometimes but mostly not. With the help of your video I took it apart. I found both low gear pawl springs completely gone and ground up inside. I also found all of the bearings and the 2 cones were pitted. After replacing all that and putting it back together it is running fine again. With a working low gear now!

Thank you. Have taken apart 3 of these in the last few months and still need your video as I suffer from CRS. Excellent!

Hi there. I just wanted to say thank-you for this great video explaining the three speed hub. I have never tackled one before and your video was just what I needed. Seized three speed SA hub dismantled, freed up, cleaned and reassembled. Just need to learn how to lace it into a wheel now 😃

Great video; thanks for sparing me the anguish of staring at a table full of parts I would never have know how to put back together. I rebuilt my mother in laws childhood bike after her brother dismantled it 20 years ago... she is thrilled.

Hi again , am from UK , thanks a lot RJ for the really really useful vids . The greatest challenge in my project was the pawns & the miniature Springs , without another pair of hands , I would never been able to put them back in place.

I have owned a couple of British bikes in the past which had those hubs. First one was a BSA, as my money back then wasn't enough to afford a Raleigh, which was well past $1000,- in 1977 already. After a year or 4 I replaced my BSA with a Raleigh, which is a city bike which will last a lifetime, actually I gave it away 2 years ago. As I learned maintaining my bikes from my dad I was brave enough one day to take the Sturmey Archer hub apart, and I was amazed about the ingeneous way it worked, workmanship and the quality of the steel. Even after 30 years of use there was almost no vissible wear on the parts, this was British engineering from the days gone by now. A strange thing I marked from the video, what is gear one on your shifter was gear 3 on the shifters sold here. I have a few comments on things seen in the video. Firstly, the axle nut on the non drive side should be a standard 15mm axle nut, the tubular one was just to guide the indexing pin, however using a tubular nut on the other side won't harm, it was probably what the previous owner had around after losing the original nut. Secondly, the amount of play on the second cone you fitted back in was to much, there should't be any visible play. It must be tightened untill the axle feels to turn stiff, and then loosened a quarter turn, if it still feels slightly stiff it's not a problem. When you buy a new cartridge bearing it feels a bit stiff as well, a new bearing is supposed to have an amount of preload on the bearings. Having it that loose as you had will lead to uneven wear on the ball race as only a couple of bearings at the very bottom of the race will bear the load, instead of the load being spread around the whole bottom half of the race, also will the bearings have the tencendy to move from side to side a bit inside the race when not tight enough.

Found one of these at a yard sale and will try this! Thank you for the in-depth videos, they are so helpful.

Beautiful job RJ. Your library of videos is my go to for ANY bike project. WHAT a collection!

You just made my quarantine! I have found this beautiful antique and I will try to open it and fix it. Don't know if I can make it work but it is the best way to spend my stay-at-home weeks. :-)

one of the best descriptive and filmed strip and reassemble videos I have seen

Great job, thanks for sharing it. Man, a lot of engineering went into those old hubs!

Mechanically, that is a very interesting hub... never seen one before.

A customer brought me one yesterday, from a bike that was in a scrap yard. It didnt rotate at all, I had a spare one, belive I had one how did I get a spare from a scrap bike too!. And I sold him the one that I had which worked perfectly, I stayed with his non working one to see if I can fix it. Great vid.

Thank you very much. I followed your instructions precisely and was able to restore the hub completely. Thanks a million! 🇧🇪

Hello , i converted a front wheel to 3 gears with this hub. I found the whole bike in alley and i saved it for a while.I was planning to use it cause in my 20s i converted a 16 inch bike from the garbage to 3 speeds using a shimano hub. Now because of gas prices im converting another found bike into gas powered chainsaw front wheel drive bike but at this conversion the pin would not retract. With your video i got it back to work and now the project will be finished with a high rev gas motor and 3 gears to go to use it for work.Thank you so much and i think it will be the only gas powered front wheel 3 gear bike 👍

Wow this brings back memories 😍👍 These STURMEY ARCHER Gear hub’s are by Far the Best❗️ Ever made for bicycles & still to this day 👏🏆

Thank you so much for all your videos. I love how thorough they are and have watched many of them. This video is particularly helpful with my wife's schwinn corvette. I am an equipment mechanic but it's so nice to have a guide on how to do each step.

Thanks for sharing, I now feel confidant to tackle my 56 Schwinn American 26" all original garaged .

Thank you RJ. I took apart a 1947 hub today. What amazing engineering!

Thanks for refreshing my memory. Rebuilt a lot of these on Raligh Bikes. PS an old spark plug socket and rubber malet works well and protects the bearings and removable race/retainer . Thanks.

Just bought an old rusty schwinn with one of these on it and you have the most detailed video ive seen about cleaning and taking it apart so thanks for that. I hope i can do it as easily as you make it look

Thanks for posting this "how too do it" ! I will use the information to clean and repair the hub on my 1958 Armstrong which seemed like a frightening undertaking until I saw your video, now it looks like I will be able to handle it. Thanks again, Graham

looks so simple .i am going to try this soon but i bet the skill involved is way beyond how easy you made it look . thanks very much for a very helpful video .

Thank you for sharing super helpful, just want to make a note on how well designed and engineered these wheels hubs were back then incredible it's so intricate but still works after 60 years incredible

Just bought a '65 Schwinn Traveller with SA hub, so this will come in handy for sure. Thanks for posting this.

Great video RJ, just did my first overhaul of a SA hub using your tips.

Great video always wanted to see how a 3 speed works. And now I know

This has been the first RJ video I've seen that was informative and correct. I have posted several negative comments in the past, for either being vague, not addressing compatibility issues, or the biggy for a LBS mech, his advocacy for online sales. Stick to this stuff RJ. And don't mention 😈-azon. That way we all can continue to enjoy quality cycling experiences, and the LBS will still be there for all. The domestic economy, and all disciplines of cyclists, will thank you for it.

You are my bike teacher,bro,you know so much h about bike repair in general.I saw your vedeo and I was impressed! You nailed the overhaul of the Zturmey Archer hub.I have an old ,but in good condition three speed bike ,it was a gift .I will be ,God willing, re p bcc airing it and I will be looking at your vedeo many times ,so I can get it right! Thank you you the best you take your time and you make sure your vedeo s are clear and concise:)!I hope you have a shop where people come to bring you there bikes to fix them .I have ,since you have given me anew hobby..thank you keep up the good work:)!

My Raleigh Grifter (1976) had one of those 3 speed hubs.... Oh the memories!

Thank you for taking your time to make the Video , nice 👍

You know something? I've never tried a Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub as well as the Bendex hub; you know the one with the red line in the middle. You make it look so easy. I've ridden them both, but never have I tried to break any of the two hubs down. Looks complicated, but I can learn. Great build man.

thank you for this tutorial, this is easy to follow and really well shown!

great video - I will now have a go at servicing my own Sturmey Archer 3 Speed hub. I was expecting the thing to be packed with grease, but it looks like just a little will do!

RJ you rock. Just overhauled my SA hub with drum brake. Works perfectly! Great video, helped me a lot! Thanks!

Its amazing to think that this hub was designed over 100 years ago without computers or any other modern technology, Much less that it worked for 60 years. I wonder if it would stand up to daily commuting. I had a few Sturmey Archer 3 speeds back in the 1970s. I remember the problem that the low gear was not low enough to make it up a lot of the hills near home so it meant walking the bike. I also remember that the shift chains frequently broke. That was why we all went to "10 speeds" as we called road bikes then. The last time I remember seeing one must have been 10 years ago.

That was thoroughly badass

Man, you make stuff look like anyone can do it! I can’t wait to get my hub off now! Danka !

Thank you RJ i would never know how to do that with out your help i have done a few now and really enjoy it love your videos.

Had a Schwinn Racer from around 1972 with the SA hub. Those 3-speeds took me far and wide.

very interesting video, always wanted to see inside one of these. keep up the good work

Thank you for making a thorough video and explaining all of the steps. It gives me confidence to fix my 1969 Dunelt rather than give up on it.

In Sachs hub I'am using grease for bearings instead of oil. I also used the "greasing port" on hub, but I put so much grease that is started flowing away from left side. It's running like a dream and I don't have to worry about wearing the brake pads inside.

Extremely advanced for the age of the bike no were near like rebuilding a freewheel or a cassette..

Thanks for your videos. I have a couple of older 50 year old bikes with these hubs, and they seem to hold up really well just through regular oilings. A bit leaky, but apparently thats the British Way.

great explanatory video,i just bought an archer aw hub and with your helpfull video feel confident i can overhaul it..thanks again for a great video!!

I'm working on a similar bike of the same age so thanks again for another great video,

Very interesting. Now i would to work on one myself. I now feel confident.

Great video, watch 2 times and than i known its' principle ,thank you very much!

Thanks! This helped a lot with my 63 AW. Had a struggle with removing the ball cup from the hub shell, but some heat and WD40 got it off eventually.

Excellent video, informative and interesting to watch. Now I can figure out why my CCM free wheels in 3rd hopefully

New subscriber, very impressed by your stuff. First time I've seen this kind of assembly

Wow! Now I take out my 3 speed AWC from the drawer, messed up as a teenager in my still used Csepel bicycle, and I going to fix it!

Hi RJ., I have been watching ur vid for at least 10 times, your step by step explanation is really great . I love these old bikes & i got a wayfarer from my father on my 14th BD ( that's 40 yrs ago ) after watching ur vid got the confidence to dismantle a similar bike withSA , followed all ur steps & everything went well except after reassembly & when back pedalling there is a noise coming from it like a metal rubbing to metal sound , all 3 gears working fine , any clue what can that be please?thx in advance

excellent video explaining which position each part needs to be. thanks.

Very interesting to see what's inside one of these hubs.

Thanks a lot for this great instructional & pedagogical' video !

This is awesome, I might try this one day on my flying dutchman.

You woke the cat up with the hammering. Great video thanks.

You need to protect your hands from the mineral spirits: the stuff dissolves collagen and your body will rob it from other parts to replace what's winding up in the parts washer tub. I saw your hands at 14:20 and went, "Ouch". Trust me, I'm a retired ASE Master Tech and wish I had been more diligent about that when I was your age. Here's what I do nowadays: on this S/A hub I would have filled it up with 2-3 tablespoons of WD40 and rode it for a mile or two and then took it apart and soaked the parts in a bucket of warm water and detergent: good old cheap Tide works very well. Drying it up is all you need to do, residual detergent is actually a good thing for it and won't hurt the oil. After re-assembly I used 2 teaspoons of 2-cycle engine oil, that stuff you mix with gasoline. The synthetic is good, don't get me wrong, but it's expensive overkill. The 2-cycle oil is some sticky stuff, it has to be to do the job it's designed to do, and it won't leak out of your hub too fast. It'll leak some, but if you wash your bike every week or two it won't get on your tires and you'll get to replace a teaspoon or so every couple of months and so keep the oil inside on the newish side. Actually, getting back to your hands, transmission fluid is not bad to clean your hands with because of the detergent in it: sort of a preliminary to dissolve the grease and grime so soap and water can get the oily off. ATF doesn't get inside your flesh and dissolve the collagen like those solvents do. Come to think of it, next time I do a S/A hub I'll use ATF on it to clean it up before I disassemble it and I think I'll lube it with ATF for assembly.

First class video,thank you for sharing.

marvellous video, thanks. I'm buying one just to do this!

All your videos are great and explanatory. I don't think I will remove the pauls though when I do mine because sure as shootin' I'll lose the springs. I think it'll be ok if I just soak them for a while in mineral spirits.

fantastic video, RJ! I just picked up a Hercules Nottingham/AMF 3speed men's bike and the shift cable has been disconnected and its missing the indicator assembly at the hub. May as well take it and rebuild. This is the best video on the inner workings, and I super-appreciate it!

Great video just what I wanted, very well explained. Thank you.

Holy shit the things like a transmission of a car

Nice video. For 100 years SA hubs worked fine on organic (20 weight) oil. No need for synthetic. Although some use ATF.

Many years ago I had a 4 speed. On the non drive side a threaded rod protruded from the hub and connected with the tension chain through the hub.. It needed the extended nut to protect it.

Wow that bought back memories

Indicator pin is new to me. :) We call them Toggle Chains here. :) I enjoy watching video's from other countries as I learn what other places call things. :)

Thank you :) Very educational. My axle broke last weekend. Trying to fix it tomorrow with a new axle. I have the 3 Speed Hub AB with Brake. But most of the parts are identical. One problem is: I got a '86 Hub from my grandpa (with sane axle). My broken hub is '94. Same model, but the axle is different (the size of the slot for the axle key is smaller on the '86 one). Trying to mix it ('86 internals in the '94 hub). I do not want to renew the spokes.Thumbs crossed :D

While I agree that Finish Line Wet Lube (or any other product like that) is good for pawls, their races and other things "like that" I feel that a viscous gear oil (like, I mean really viscous, syrup- or honey-like consistency, preferably with some MoS2 grease admixed into it) is a better choice for the planetary gear itself. But then you have to consider the climate the bike is going to be used in - if it is going to be used in cold winter it is better to use slightly thinner oil, if the climate is milder/ warmer you'd like to use thicker oil.

I one screw one up trying to that many years ago. Wished they had you video then.

Hey RJ! In your other video on taking apart and putting back together a Sturmey Archer hub you use Phil’s tenacious oil - any reason why that wouldn’t be appropriate for this older model? (Also thanks, followed this video to success!)

Hi mr rj i didnt know sturmey archers will last forever eventhough no maintenance for almost 60 years its amazing..

great job and you re the best what a wonderfull effort

I clogged up one of these with water & mud on my old Raleigh Grifter in the 1980s......it took a while to pack up and it eventually ended up in "Neutral". It was stripped and cleaned out and it worked again for a while but finally stopped working due to a lot of full-load "Straight Through" gear changes !!!!

I really don’t have patience for that, i find it hard enough to tune my gears properly so nice rj

Nice video. This mechanism seems much simpler and easier to service than the Shimano 333, an overhaul video for which you also published.

Repared my bike. Costs... nothing! Thank you RJ.

I guess I was an old time bike mechanic.... ;~) I recall repairing these hubs back in the late 70s and early 80s... we had a stock of pawls, springs, gears, oil ports, chains (there were different lengths), etc. in the shop so we could actually fix them. Rather than using a screwdriver and hammer to disassemble the ball ring we had a tool that grabbed the two spots where the screwdriver was applied in the video. We would put the tool in the vice and spin the wheel. I see there is a flat spanner available for this purpose now but it seems to be shaped differently... I wonder if that vice tool is still available??

Wondering how often should this hub need additional oil? Watched this vid a few dozen times, then once again in the middle of dismantling my 72 AW. Perfect.

Can you talk about how to maintain a English 3 speed with the oil holes in both axles and the crank? Maybe a vid would be nice too. Not sure if I should grease or continue to use oil. If I used oil in the crank and front axle, I'm not even sure what I'd use. It's strange, the front axle has a clip covering the oil hole. Thanks for the vids RJ.

Very clear tutorial. Thank you!!

So cool! I find this your video's helpful an fascinating. 🚲

Hello sir! Thank you so much for the video. Since I'm trying to restore a Raleigh Superbe, I just realised that second gear is not operational, it's like the gearbox is in neutral when you select it. I also hear what I think is the freewheel ticking all the time when I pedal, but I'm not sure is that actually producing the sound. Watching videos I kind of learned that second gear should have the sprocket and the hub rotating at the same pace, but I really don't know what to look at in the hub to make that happen. Just wanted to ask if you had any suggestion for having already experienced that kind of situation. Thank you again!

Bad ass video .. clap clap ! Vintage bike are the best .. thank you for keepin them alive.. love these videos. Q: why so little grease on the bearing . All that work required a good amount and new bearings .

Rather you than me! But handy to know, I like these old bikes.

An I love your work u teach me my lot