# Need 3 speed hub advice



## ReVo (Nov 7, 2013)

Hello everyone! I hope to be taking a trip up to northern Michigan this coming summer with my girlfriend to Mackinac island. I want to take both our bikes but hers is a single speed 63 or 73 (never figured out which) (i will post pics so someone can maybe solve the puzzle) Huffy American tour. 


 
The hills up there are killers! So I was hoping to seek some enlightenment from wise minds on the subject. I would like to swap the hub for a three speed but keep the bike as close to era and brand correctness as possible. What brand hub would've been used on a Huffy from this era? It has a 36 hole Sachs jet on it right now that is original to the bike.

 I wanna do my research before I bite the bullet and end up with another shimano nexus.
Thanks for any help!

-Ron-


----------



## Andrew Gorman (Nov 7, 2013)

Maybe a Sachs or Styria 3 speed could have been used, but a Sturmey Archer would have been available then as well.


----------



## Denver Razorback (Nov 7, 2013)

One of my bikes had an old Shimano 333, which in my opinion, is a very low-end inferior 3 speed.  I'd steer clear of it and explore options for a Strumey Archer AW or something similar.  

The Sheldon Brown website has a lot of helpful information about 3 speed hubs, including details from the Sutherlands Handbook to rebuild them.


----------



## greenephantom (Nov 7, 2013)

Heck, I'd just go with a modern Sturmey 3 coaster or a modern Nexus 3 coaster. Girlfriend's bike, you want it to shift and stop flawlessly. She's not going to care about theoretical period-correctness. And drop a 22 tooth sprocket on there while you're at it to make the whole thing easier to pedal. That's my 2 cents.
Cheers, Geoff


----------



## rhenning (Nov 8, 2013)

Have you been to Mackinac island before?  The places you are allowed to ride a bicycle around the island are almost perfectly flat along the shore of the island.  I wouldn't build a special bike for it.  Most of the inner parts of the island are off limits for bikes.  Roger


----------



## ReVo (Nov 8, 2013)

Yeah, when I was in high school. We got crappy worn out single speed rental bikes and they were terrible. My friends and I opted out of riding the whole way around the island because of them. Plus my friend works up there running carrage tours and he said it's a must to have more than one speed. He lived on the island for the whole summer. 

-Ron-


----------



## huffyvw3 (Jan 4, 2014)

*restomod huffy 3 speeds*

I love the old 3 speeds  (especially early Huffys made in Celina Ohio) and have found the Shimano "cartridge" 3 speeds designated with the 3S marking to be an excellant hub. These are geat hubs and are easy to work on. 

I've changed out the rear cog so it's more to my riding.


----------



## partsguy (Jan 4, 2014)

'63 or '73? I'm putting my money on it being a '73 model if that chaingaurd is original. I have a '74 Huffy Westpoint 3-speed and it has a Sturmey Archer. I also once owned an '84 Huffy Coast-To-Coast 3-speed and it had a Shimano in it. OVer the years Shimano and Sturmey-Archer competed with Huffy so it shouldn't really meter. Both are great companies and are better than the modern Sram and Falcon garbage.


----------

