# Tuning Sturmey Archer 3 speed



## vince72 (Oct 18, 2021)

Hi. Any good articles or videos on tuning 3 speeds? I can’t seem to get all gears to shift smooth

Vince


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## Gordon (Oct 18, 2021)

It usually is pretty straight forward. Put the lever in "3" and adjust the cable so it is fairly tight.


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## vince72 (Oct 18, 2021)

3 is closest to rear tire or furthest?


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## SirMike1983 (Oct 18, 2021)

What you should do depends on what state the hub is in. Have you greased the bearings and oiled the hub? Has someone else gone over the hub? Most of these hubs are now at least 35 years old, many over 50 years old now.

My first suggestion is that if this is a hub you have just gotten and has not been cleaned, you should flush out the hub, grease the cones/bearings, and oil through the filler with 20-weight oil. You can flush the hub by spraying WD-40 through the oiler until it runs out the sides relatively cleanly. Brown WD-40 coming out the sides is a sign of debris and gunk in the hub. 

Failing that, you can flush the hub and then run on pure 20 weight oil through the oiler. The oil will gradually seep to the bearing slots, but the bearings can be run on pure oil so long as you keep oiling it regularly. It will tend to make a mess though and you have to keep the oil off the rim. I suggest using grease on the bearing seals because it helps keep your oil in the center.

If you try to just run an old Sturmey hub in as-found condition, you could have built-up gunk or debris in the hub center or in the bearings, which will lead to hub that does not run smoothly.

I would only attempt to tune and adjust the hub after cleaning. High/3d gear is with the lever fully released and the cable loose. Second is with the lever in the middle position on the shifter. First is with the lever pulled in and the cable pulled tight.


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## Schwinny (Oct 21, 2021)

But when you are ready....
Third gear.
loosen the adjuster and adjust it to slack.
Pull on the chain a couple times to make sure it pulls itself back in stiffly.
put a drop of oil at the nut where the little chain slides over the rolled edge of the hub nut.
Tighten the adjuster while watching the chain at the nut lip.
Exactly as it starts to pull out from you tightening the adjuster. Stop and lock the adjuster down.
Rock the bike back and forth and put it in 1st.
Ride and test. Mini adjustments can be done on the road.

If it still has an issue with engagement. Flush the hub or disassemble and clean it out and re-grease.


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