# 1968 Schwinn Town & Country trike: Fix it?



## MonnaVanna (Oct 6, 2007)

I never learned how to ride a bike (I know, I know, shut up), so I bought a 1968 Schwinn Town & Country tricycle for cheap and made it rideable (New tires and gear shift cable). Now the 3-Speed Sturmey-Archer hub is broken; they guy at the bike shop says that replacing it would be difficult, expensive and would require replacing the entire wheel. Furthermore, it is his opinion that I shouldn't fix it because it is a rare model and worth something to the right collector if it still has orginal parts. The gear shift cable and tires are the only thing not original, plus a previous owner tried to re-paint it (but the new paint is coming off, revealing the original). 

So: I can retire it to my mom's barn and learn to ride a bike, or I can cough up the dough to fix it so that I have transportation right away. I'm a college student, and I was riding the trike to class; without it I haven't been making it on time!

I'm skeptical that it's worth anything because I bought it for $50. What do you think, should I hang on to it as-is or fix it so I can enjoy riding it?


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## J.E (Oct 6, 2007)

Fix it.3 speed are farly common.


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## 37fleetwood (Oct 6, 2007)

I probably have a dozen old Sturmey archer hubs if you need one. all you will need to do is get one and replace the broken parts in yours saving the wheel. first though dust off your heels and find a new bike shop. he has been wrong on all counts. your bike is cool but not very rare nor is it particularly valuable. it is well worth fixing and this guy obviously isn't qualified to check tire pressure. finally, keep riding your trike and be proud! old bikes are cool and yours has that extra quirky kinda cool you don't get from a mountain bike
Here's you on your trike running him over
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 .
Scott


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## MonnaVanna (Oct 11, 2007)

The same guy told me I would have to rebuild the wheel because the spokes would need to be cut in order to change the hub. He quoted me $200 for a new hub + the labor to restring the spokes. Does anybody have an old wheel w/ the hub in it (a good hub) the right size? Or is he pulling my leg? Unfortunately it's the only for-profit bike repair shop in town; the bike co-op said that no one coud fix anything so complex.


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## 37fleetwood (Oct 11, 2007)

I have as I mentioned several of these hubs which should be good. if you pay shipping I could send one but it might be better if you sent the wheel. unless something really bad happened I can't imagine that the hub shell is bad. most likely something inside is broken. if you can describe what it is doing wrong and we will see if we can figure out what went wrong. it may just be an adjustment. again I have no confidence in your shop.
Scott


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## militarymonark (Oct 11, 2007)

it seems like the bike shop is trying to get one over on you. I think you should learn to ride a bike your balance is prob better than when you were a kid and it should be quick to learn besides then you can get into classic bicycles and enjoy an awesome hobby. No one is laughing so dont worry about that I had to teach my dad how to read and now he's a history teacher so there is hope


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## Wang Mark Restorations (Sep 23, 2009)

*Scott I Need Your Help*

I was looking around on google trying to figure out how to fix my Schwinn Town and Country Trike. The gears are starting to slip a lot in the internal 3 speed hub. I realize this is an old thread, but I was hoping that you may still monitor it. I you can at all help me with this it would be greatly appreciated

Thanks 
Stefan


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## Andrew Gorman (Sep 23, 2009)

Wang:
Try adjusting your shifter-
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-archer.html
They are a little fiddly to get dialed in, and age, cable stretch and loose locknuts can get the shifter out of whack.  SA hubs are pretty bulletproof.


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## OldRider (Sep 23, 2009)

I dread everytime I have to remove the rear wheel on my Eatons RoadKing.Those SA 3 speed hubs work just dandy when everything is set right, but it takes me, the amateur, 10 minutes of fiddling with the shifter cable to get it set right again!


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## Strings-n-Spokes (Sep 23, 2009)

Stefan

Some of those were Shimano equipped (post 70's) ealier ones were Sturmey Archer.  You can start your own post too


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## partsguy (Sep 24, 2009)

I actually thought this thread was new until I saw that someone pointed out it's age!


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## ditzyleopard (Sep 17, 2013)

*Would like to hear an update*



MonnaVanna said:


> I never learned how to ride a bike (I know, I know, shut up), so I bought a 1968 Schwinn Town & Country tricycle for cheap and made it rideable (New tires and gear shift cable). Now the 3-Speed Sturmey-Archer hub is broken; they guy at the bike shop says that replacing it would be difficult, expensive and would require replacing the entire wheel. Furthermore, it is his opinion that I shouldn't fix it because it is a rare model and worth something to the right collector if it still has orginal parts. The gear shift cable and tires are the only thing not original, plus a previous owner tried to re-paint it (but the new paint is coming off, revealing the original).
> 
> So: I can retire it to my mom's barn and learn to ride a bike, or I can cough up the dough to fix it so that I have transportation right away. I'm a college student, and I was riding the trike to class; without it I haven't been making it on time!
> 
> I'm skeptical that it's worth anything because I bought it for $50. What do you think, should I hang on to it as-is or fix it so I can enjoy riding it?




I was just given a Schwinn Town & Country that needs repairs and work for my birthday-I would love to hear how yours turned out. Mine is going to need a bit of work, and so if you have suggestions on how to get started I'd appreciate it very much!


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## ditzyleopard (Sep 17, 2013)

*Still have any of those hubs?*



37fleetwood said:


> I have as I mentioned several of these hubs which should be good. if you pay shipping I could send one but it might be better if you sent the wheel. unless something really bad happened I can't imagine that the hub shell is bad. most likely something inside is broken. if you can describe what it is doing wrong and we will see if we can figure out what went wrong. it may just be an adjustment. again I have no confidence in your shop.
> Scott




Hi! I am new to The CABE, but hope to be a long time contributing member! I was just given my dream bike that needs a little TLC. I was quoted about 8 hours of amateur work to get it back in great shape-so I am excited to share my journey and get some help from The CABE! 

My question for you: Do you still have any of those hubs you said should be good for this bike? I have a Town and Country, not quote sure just how vintage it is, but was wondering what you think it would take to sell one and ship it to Texas?

Thank you in advance!


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