Internal hub 3 speed? - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Tony Raine · 07-02-2008, 01:33 PM

Heres the best pic i have right now.

its an old huffy "internal hub" 3 speed. found it behind my fraternity house a couple years ago. apparently an alum bought it new and rode it all through college and donated it to the fraternity after he graduated. it has sat behind the house under a lean-to ever since. i'm amazed it survived, given the location. not shown is the sears speedometer that was on it!

i put on new tires/tubes (kinda hard to find), lubed it little, and rode it around for awhile before i lost interest. now i want to get it in like-new condition, since i think its a cool piece of history. i am familiar with bicycles, every one i've ever had was a yard sale or dumpster special that i had to fix to be able to ride (i also have a 20" columbia "cruiser" and royce union "bmx"-style).

my only issue is that rear hub. gears 1 and 3 are good, but it "skips" in 2. i've played with cable adjustment with no noticeable help, which makes me think there is something wrong inside. plus i just want to take it apart and put it back together again, guess its my nature.

is there hope? is this something i can get replacement parts for? i did some googling, but didn't really find what i am looking for.

thanks for the help!

metromizer · 07-02-2008, 04:00 PM

I have had three different 3 speed hub bikes. The first two are still around my 1sq mile work site somewhere... I gave one away ten years ago to a collegue (who since has retired) the other bike was last seen in some bike rack in front of one of our buildings a few years ago... hmmm...

But there's hope. I bought a Dahon folding bike 10 years ago that came with a 3 speed hub (so They were still being produced up 'til then at least). I would search for Dahon bike dealers in your area or look for one on Craig's list.

Lazarus · 07-02-2008, 04:32 PM

This might help. Sheldon Browns a good place to start.

NoCO2 · 07-02-2008, 04:37 PM

I would love to start getting into collecting old classic bicycles that I find around and fixing them up as a hobby. I would take a different one for a ride each weekend on the Silver Comet trail or something, that might be fun!

ttoyoda · 07-02-2008, 05:56 PM

Quote:

my only issue is that rear hub. gears 1 and 3 are good, but it "skips" in 2. i've played with cable adjustment with no noticeable help, which makes me think there is something wrong inside. plus i just want to take it apart and put it back together again, guess its my nature.

If you do take it apart, be EXTREMELY careful. The inside is a mess of special nuts and washers with tabs and internal slots. All these parts look very, very similar, and unless you have exact instructions, or you can document (I would make sketches, video or photos alone often don't show that critical detail between otherwise identical parts) the order and *orientation* of every piece, you will be doomed. I would suggest you keep each tiny piece in a seperate container, and label the containers to match your sketch.

A three speed hub is the only thing I ever took apart that I did not work when I got it back together. It was locked all the time.

The problem is probably due to some oil having dried up inside over the years and some ratchet or pawl is sticking. If I had to deal with it, I would de-lace the wheel, and soak the hub in Kroil for a week to see if that fixed it. I would only take it apart as a last resort unless I had first-rate (factory) documentation of every step of dis and re assembly.

Ryland · 07-02-2008, 06:22 PM

try soaking it in liquid wrench for a few days, 2nd gear is direct drive, 1st is under drive and 3rd is over drive, if 2nd isn't orking it is often because the oil go to thick, if it has an oil fill hole then you have a nice one, other wise you have to losen a dust cover over the bearings and fill it there with liquid wrench.
what brand of hub is it? I have a pile of sturmy archer hubs and wheels, a shimono 3 speed on my personal bike and I think I have a bendex that no longer works.
you can still get sturmy archer hubs new, along with the shimono 3 speed, maybe 4 speed and 7 speed, the 7 speed is awsome and massive.

skyl4rk · 07-02-2008, 08:05 PM

Try spraying WD40 into it. Shift it and turn it quite a bit. Then drain as much as possible and squirt white grease into it.

I have taken a Sturmey Archer 3 speed apart and it worked afterwards. It is best to do it on a workbench with good light. You need to be in top mental condition to do it as well.

AndrewJ · 07-02-2008, 10:11 PM

Those old Sturmey-Archer hubs are nearly indestructable. From what I understand a bit of "freewheeling" between gears is normal.

But yeah, what everyone else said, a solvent followed by fresh oil.

JamesLaugesen · 07-02-2008, 10:25 PM

Hubstripping.com can sometimes be a good resource.

Tony Raine · 07-03-2008, 09:21 AM

thanks for all the help everyone! i'll check and see what brand the hub is after i get off work today. i do have a parts washer at work, i could always soak the hub in that. taking the spokes off is pretty intimidating to me (well, not taking them off but putting them back on), but i'm sure its something i can google.

yup, that was easy

i love old bikes. i'd restore them all day if i could find enough people to buy them. too bad the scrap metal craze means i'll never find another one. but i do have a few 20" frames from when i was younger. one is a chrome kawasaki frame, stem and handlebars, with a front plastic "GT" rim. heck, i even have "license plates" for them. remember when some cereal (maybe kix?) had the metal bike plates for all 50 states? i have almost all 50. all of this stuff is stashed in my mom's barn (200 miles away), since i don't have a workshop of my own yet. next time i go visit i will take lots of pictures.