Sturmy Archer Gearing

On 31 May 2004 06:40:14 -0700, [email hidden] (Quorlia) may have

Quoted message said:

I've just bought a bike with Sturmy Archer gears (for $10
Canadian). It seems solid enough but I have a couple of
questions about the gears as I outgrew my last bike to have
Sturmy Archer gears when I was 10.

Firstly, what maintenance do they require?

For the internal workings of the hub itself, a little motor
oil through the oil port now and then, if one is present. If
there's no oil port, the hub uses grease, and must be
disassembled to fully lubricate...but read on. I've
typically oiled mine once or twice a year. If there's no oil
port, I've oiled them by laying the bike down on it's left
side and dripping some oil into the selector chain hole.
I've freed up ones that had sat unused for 10 years by dint
of nothing more exotic than that, but I'd caution that the
axle bearings also need attention now and then, and they
must be greased the old-fashioned way.

Quoted message said:

Presumably the gear cable can stretch and needs to be
replaced from time to time.

Infrequent adjustment may be needed, but if the jamnut on
the end of the selector chain is kept tight, this system
generally requires far less attention than a der cable.

Quoted message said:

Do they require oil/grease?

No more than any other cable, less than some. If not parked
in the rain, they are remarkably trouble-free in my
experience. Use a little light oil inside the cable
housing, light oil on the trigger works if it's one of the
older all-metal units, and perhaps a drop of oil on the
center of the pulley at the base of the seat tube if
there's one present. I put thousands of miles on a Sturmey-
Archer in days long past, with no more maintenance than
this and no problems at all.

Quoted message said:

My technical skills are limited to oiling the chain and
mending punctures so I'm rather hoping that this will be a
low maintenance bike!

It should be. American children seldom manage to destroy
these short of taking them apart; that speaks volumes for
their durability.

Quoted message said:

Secondly, the bike clunks (once per pedal turn). I seem
to recall that you do get a clunk from Sturmy Archer
gears. Is this the case or is this indicative of
something more serious?

The gears should not clunk, and if it's once per deal turn,
then it's clearly not due to an internal fault in the hub
since that makes a different number of revs than the cranks.
Check the cranks to make sure they're tight on the bottom
bracket bearing shaft, and check the lockrings on that
bearing to make sure it's not loose. If those are both OK,
it's possible that it may be in one of the pedals, a tooth
may be bent on the chainring, the bottom bracket bearing may
be worn out or damaged, or if the bike has a one-piece
crank, it may be that the chainring's a bit loose
(unlikely).

--
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e-mail. Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature. Words
processed in a facility that contains nuts.

"Werehatrack" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

On 31 May 2004 06:40:14 -0700, [email hidden]

(Quorlia) may have said:

I've just bought a bike with Sturmy Archer gears (for $10
Canadian). It seems solid enough but I have a couple of
questions about the gears as I outgrew my last bike to
have Sturmy Archer gears when I was 10.

Firstly, what maintenance do they require?

For the internal workings of the hub itself, a little
motor oil through the oil port now and then, if one is
present. If there's no oil port, the hub uses grease, and
must be disassembled to fully lubricate...but read on.
I've typically oiled mine once or twice a year. If there's
no oil port, I've oiled them by laying the bike down on
it's left side and dripping some oil into the selector
chain hole. I've freed up ones that had sat unused for 10
years by dint of nothing more exotic than that, but I'd
caution that the axle bearings also need attention now and
then, and they must be greased the old-fashioned way.

Quoted message said:

Presumably the gear cable can stretch and needs to be
replaced from time to time.

Infrequent adjustment may be needed, but if the jamnut on
the end of the selector chain is kept tight, this system
generally requires far less attention than a der cable.

Quoted message said:

Do they require oil/grease?

No more than any other cable, less than some. If not
parked in the rain, they are remarkably trouble-free in my
experience. Use a little light oil inside the cable
housing, light oil on the trigger works if it's one of the
older all-metal units, and perhaps a drop of oil on the
center of the pulley at the base of the seat tube if
there's one present. I put thousands of miles on a Sturmey-
Archer in days long past, with no more maintenance than
this and no problems at all.

Quoted message said:

My technical skills are limited to oiling the chain and
mending punctures so I'm rather hoping that this will be
a low maintenance bike!

It should be. American children seldom manage to destroy
these short of taking them apart; that speaks volumes for
their durability.

Quoted message said:

Secondly, the bike clunks (once per pedal turn). I seem
to recall that you do get a clunk from Sturmy Archer
gears. Is this the case or is this indicative of
something more serious?

The gears should not clunk, and if it's once per deal
turn, then it's clearly not due to an internal fault in
the hub since that makes a different number of revs than
the cranks. Check the cranks to make sure they're tight on
the bottom bracket bearing shaft, and check the lockrings
on that bearing to make sure it's not loose. If those are
both OK, it's possible that it may be in one of the
pedals, a tooth may be bent on the chainring, the bottom
bracket bearing may be worn out or damaged, or if the bike
has a one-piece crank, it may be that the chainring's a
bit loose (unlikely).

To continue to add to your good advice, if the crank is
cottered I would add a loose/worn cotter pin to the list of
suspects. Actually, I would put that at the top of the list
of suspects.
--
Mark South: World Citizen, Net Denizen

Quorlia said:

I've just bought a bike with Sturmy Archer gears (for $10
Canadian). It seems solid enough but I have a couple of
questions about the gears as I outgrew my last bike to
have Sturmy Archer gears when I was 10.

Firstly, what maintenance do they require? Presumably
the gear cable can stretch and needs to be replaced from
time to time. Do they require oil/grease? My technical
skills are limited to oiling the chain and mending
punctures so I'm rather hoping that this will be a low
maintenance bike!

Secondly, the bike clunks (once per pedal turn). I seem to
recall that you do get a clunk from Sturmy Archer gears.
Is this the case or is this indicative of something more
serious?

The clunk noise is more likely from a loose crank arm wedge
pin ("cotter pin"😉. Those may be quickly set at an LBS with
both a Var press and a doddering old greybeard who knows how
to use it. Most LBS can't, so telephone before arriving with
a loose steel crank.

Yes a periodic drop of oil on moving parts and inside the
gearbox (manual:"a drop per fortnight"😉 is good.

Disconnect the gear wire to ensure it isn't kinked or
coiled. If it is, the hub's spring will be insufficient to
pull it home to high gear and you'll be frustrated in your
inability to get a decent adjustment.

The cable should be fully slack in high gear and fully
tight in low. With the lever in "1", pulling on the gear
wire should not bring the indicator any further out of the
hub. If it does move in that test, tighten the adjuster
until it does not, than recheck to see that it fully
returns in high gear.

Because SA hubs have a neutral space between second and
high, poor adjustment or a damaged cable can be unsafe. Do
indeed ensure that the cable moves easily, is undamaged and
is adjusted properly before riding.

--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1
April, 1971

A Muzi wrote:

KirstyH (as Quorlia) said:

Quoted message said:

Secondly, the bike clunks (once per pedal turn). I seem
to recall that you do get a clunk from Sturmy Archer
gears. Is this the case or is this indicative of
something more serious?

The clunk noise is more likely from a loose crank arm
wedge pin ("cotter pin"😉. Those may be quickly set at an
LBS with both a Var press and a doddering old greybeard
who knows how to use it. Most LBS can't, so telephone
before arriving with a loose steel crank.

Ok. I've had a chance to get out and ride it properly now.
The actual clunk is caused by the cog that the pedals attach
to hitting the frame. There is a bit of paint missing and a
flattening on the frame indicating that perhaps the previous
owner has attempted a fix!

I have no idea what the various bits of the bike are called.
I used to think a bottom bracket was a particularily
ingenious style of racing saddle ;-) Guessing here - is this
crank arm wedge pin/cotter pin the thing which attaches the
shaft of the pedal (is that the crank?) to the cog?

Quoted message said:

Yes a periodic drop of oil on moving parts and inside the
gearbox (manual:"a drop per fortnight"😉 is good.

Yes, it has an oil cap. How does it come off? (I know this
sounds like a stupid question but I spent a good ten minutes
wondering how to remove the oil cap on my car before
realising that I had to lift AND turn AT THE SAME TIME ;-)

Quoted message said:

Disconnect the gear wire to ensure it isn't kinked or
coiled. If it is, the hub's spring will be insufficient to
pull it home to high gear and you'll be frustrated in your
inability to get a decent adjustment.

Uh oh..... This sounds like difficult stuff. I can just
about mend a puncture (actually last time I tried a rear
puncture I ended up lubricating a tame cyclist friend with
several pints in order to get it all back together again ;-)
Can you recommend a book/website where I can see nice
babyish pictures?

Quoted message said:

The cable should be fully slack in high gear and fully
tight in low. With the lever in "1", pulling on the gear
wire should not bring the indicator any further out of the
hub. If it does move in that test, tighten the adjuster
until it does not, than recheck to see that it fully
returns in high gear.

This sounds simple (but then it always does with bikes ;-).

Quoted message said:

Because SA hubs have a neutral space between second and
high, poor adjustment or a damaged cable can be unsafe. Do
indeed ensure that the cable moves easily, is undamaged
and is adjusted properly before riding.

Yes. Found that already. Only seems to find neutral on
slopes if I press too hard on the pedals and there aren't
many slopes where I'm intending to ride it.

Kirsty (Quorlia, but at home now)

On Thu, 03 Jun 2004 09:34:06 -0400, KirstyH <[email hidden]> may

have said:

A Muzi wrote: KirstyH (as Quorlia) said:

Quoted message said:

Secondly, the bike clunks (once per pedal turn). I seem
to recall that you do get a clunk from Sturmy Archer
gears. Is this the case or is this indicative of
something more serious?

The clunk noise is more likely from a loose crank arm
wedge pin ("cotter pin"😉. Those may be quickly set at an
LBS with both a Var press and a doddering old greybeard
who knows how to use it. Most LBS can't, so telephone
before arriving with a loose steel crank.

Ok. I've had a chance to get out and ride it properly now.
The actual clunk is caused by the cog that the pedals
attach to hitting the frame. There is a bit of paint
missing and a flattening on the frame indicating that
perhaps the previous owner has attempted a fix!

The tube that runs from the cranks back to the rear hub is
called a chain stay. There's usually a clearance dent or
bend in that tube where the chainring (aka sprocket, the big
toothy thing that's with the right crank) goes past it.

A bike terms glossary is available at www.sheldonbrown.com,
as is a wealth of other information. There is also a lot of
good advice at the Park Tools site, www.parktool.com in
their Repair Help section.

Quoted message said:

I have no idea what the various bits of the bike are
called. I used to think a bottom bracket was a
particularily ingenious style of racing saddle ;-) Guessing
here - is this crank arm wedge pin/cotter pin the thing
which attaches the shaft of the pedal (is that the crank?)
to the cog?

The arm that the pedal is screwed into is a crank. The crank
attaches to the shaft ("bottom bracket"😉 either via a nut or
bolt on the end of the shaft, or via a pin with a nut on it
that goes through the crank and wedges against the bottom
bracket's shaft. That wedgy pin is called a cotter, and if
your cranks have them then the one on the chainring side is
probably loose. If the crank's wobbling enough that the
chainring can hit the chainstay, you may have a challenge
getting it to tighten up to where that doesn't happen, and
you'll almost certainly need to replace the cotter, perhaps
some other bits as well.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Yes a periodic drop of oil on moving parts and inside the
gearbox (manual:"a drop per fortnight"😉 is good.

Yes, it has an oil cap. How does it come off? (I know
this sounds like a stupid question but I spent a good
ten minutes wondering how to remove the oil cap on my
car before realising that I had to lift AND turn AT THE
SAME TIME ;-)

There are two kinds. One is a rubber plug that you pry out.
the other is a little spring-loaded flip-cap which you
simply lift with a finger while sticking the snout of your
oil can into the hole.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Disconnect the gear wire to ensure it isn't kinked or
coiled. If it is, the hub's spring will be insufficient
to pull it home to high gear and you'll be frustrated in
your inability to get a decent adjustment.

Uh oh..... This sounds like difficult stuff. I can just
about mend a puncture (actually last time I tried a rear
puncture I ended up lubricating a tame cyclist friend with
several pints in order to get it all back together again
;-) Can you recommend a book/website where I can see nice
babyish pictures?

Erm. Can't think of a site like that right off, though
someone else may know of one. May I suggest, instead, a trip
to the local library to see if perhaps they have some
reading material on the subject?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The cable should be fully slack in high gear and fully
tight in low. With the lever in "1", pulling on the gear
wire should not bring the indicator any further out of
the hub. If it does move in that test, tighten the
adjuster until it does not, than recheck to see that it
fully returns in high gear.

This sounds simple (but then it always does with bikes ;-).

In truth, it really *is* simple in this case.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Because SA hubs have a neutral space between second and
high, poor adjustment or a damaged cable can be unsafe.
Do indeed ensure that the cable moves easily, is
undamaged and is adjusted properly before riding.

Yes. Found that already. Only seems to find neutral on
slopes if I press too hard on the pedals and there aren't
many slopes where I'm intending to ride it.

This does indicate that the cable is misadjusted and/or
in need of attention, though; you shouldn't have that
problem at all.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via
e-mail. Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature. Words
processed in a facility that contains nuts.