Sturmey Archer AW3 question

[GregG]

Back in the day while attending the mechanic school offered by Schwinn, the instructor (Gary Fuse? / Fuze?) showed us ways that if the control linkage was not connected, the hub could be locked into either 1st or 2nd gear instead of 3rd. I've seen people jam a spoke into the end of the axle, and force thread it into the axle key and after pulling it out to engage a specific gear, bend and cut off the spoke to hold it in place. This topic came up a few years ago when volunteering at a co-op that gave away bikes to less fortunate people, where they were discarding rear wheels with AW3 hubs as they couldn't reliably get them to stay in a low gear, as replacement 3speed cables were a luxury. I seem to recall that the method involved flipping the clutch over as the method to get it to stay in 2nd, but it's been too long to recall the details. I wasn't able to find any answers when I went looking a few years ago, and the conversation popped up again with my son (who's now working at the same shop I did in college). Anyone recall any of this arcane bit of info? I'm looking for ways to show my son that just because the technology is newer doesn't mean I've lost my edge

 

[Gordon]

As a kid, I used to lock in my 3 speed by inserting a paper clip through the indexing chain with it pulled out to engage the desired gear.

 

[morton]

As a kid, I used to lock in my 3 speed by inserting a paper clip through the indexing chain with it pulled out to engage the desired gear.

Now that's Yankee ingenuity...from a kid no less.

 

[SirMike1983]

As a kid, I used to lock in my 3 speed by inserting a paper clip through the indexing chain with it pulled out to engage the desired gear.

This is the correct, temporary work-around for a busted shifter cable or an indicator chain broken off at the end of the drive side nut. You take a piece of wire and run it into the shifter chain while pulling the chain out to lock the bike in low (or even normal). This allows you to get home and install a new shifter cable.

There is another method that involves taking a soup can, soda can, or similar, punching two holes in it; then tying off the two ends of the busted cable through the holes in the can. The can then acts as a temporary "bridge" to tie the cable back together until you get home. If you do it right, you'll still have all three gears. I saw an old shop mechanic demonstrate this once.