Maintenance Thread

[SirMike1983]

I have found slippage to be more an issue with the old S3 Coaster and the TCW models than with the plain AW. Having had all of them apart, it just strikes me that the need to add the coaster resulted in design compromises in the hub that were not present on the AW.

It's very hard to disprove Brandt's knock on the AW because it's hard to prove a negative. We all end up saying, "it sounds possible to me, but I'd be hard-pressed to name someone who went over the bars because of provable slippage of a properly maintained hub." I don't know anyone (knock wood) who has had it happen. The cases of slippage I've encountered were almost always due to improperly adjusted hubs/cables or badly worn hub parts. I'll admit also though that I'm not a heavy thrasher.

The biggest issue I encountered with the TCW slipping comes from damaged or worn center-spacers. In the TCW III, for example, there's a snap-ring style spacer that keeps the two halves of the innards in place. They get worn and walk out of the axle slot, resulting in slippage of the gears.

 

[SKPC]

Thanks for chiming in on the Sturmey 3-speeds @SirMike1983. It takes some time maintaining them and riding all of them to find what may be their specific faults, if any that renders them un-ridable. For sure, 99% of the time it is an adjustment issue, which occurs when the rear axle nuts are loosened or come loose, cable housing gets dirty and sticky, or if it's simply not adjusted right to begin with. If adjusted and maintained correctly, they are a joy to ride and very dependable. I can say that I have gone over the bars, but it was an adjustment issue in that case. It hurt.
After wondering what the Poo-poo negative big deal was with the TCW and TCW3 hubs, I had to try them. The TCW3 is a modified TCW with a S3C brake side "repair" that separates the braking from driving actions, but sometimes the axle snap ring crawls out of the groove as you mention if jammed on really hard or worn. I have had this happen a few times on my S3C's. The TCW is at the top of my list simply because of it's simplicity and general good looks with thick chrome, fat body and 28 or 36 hole versions. I have not had an issue with adjustment or no brakes, even when adjusted a little bit off. It had to be really far out of adjustment to be an issue. Also, running smaller front rings with them gives it greater braking power since the brakes are driven through the drive system.
The S3C that replaced the TCW3 is built more fragile imo. I have three that I have on bikes. Two DO NOT skip out of 3rd and are darned good hubs, but I have one that always slips out of 3rd. after about 15-20 pedal strokes. This is apparently a confirmed wear problem between the drive clutch arms(4) and the pinion/drive pins(4). Funny thing is, I can't see the wear it is so slight. it may be that these two parts need to stay together to meld well and not let loose. Still prefer the Sachs H3111 and 515 over the sturmeys....
Does anyone have any experience with the early Tri-Coasters and parts availability? I know they are tough to come by, as they came into being in the late teens...rarely see these..

 

[SKPC]

One of the most important maintenance tasks you can do is cleaning, inspecting and lubing your chain. A clean chain is a quiet chain and is so important for so many reasons. One big one is that it is easier to find creeping roller pins that could ruin your day if not set correctly. I found one today.

 

[SKPC]

Shimano Dura Ace freewheel removal success. Got a new bigger vice, applied some judicious heat consistently around, and it came loose!
These were top of the line freewheels back in the day....now moving it on to it's new owner..pjm

Carefully heating the steel, trying to stay away from the alu Bullseye bonded hub shell.

Black stuff is remnants of a foam ring I made to keep out debris from the ratchet mech.

My memory served me correctly. Special silver anti-sieze was on the Bullseyehub. If not, it may have never come off...Now off to a new owner.

 

[SKPC]

Removed the Emblem chainring and replaced with an Excelsior style that fits the 34 AS cranks without mods. as shown. Emblem ran larger diameter drive side threads.(see shims) Running A&S drivetrain parts here for toughness. Even with big mileage, little wear if any on the running surfaces.