Jake.

Hello all,
I have been looking for my next bicycle project and have settled on trying to locate a Schwinn with a 3 speed internal geared hub. I believe that Sturmey Archer provided Schwinn with some internal gear hubs for a while, but have not been able to track down the years or models for which this style of hub was available. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

gna

Several Schwinn models had SA hubs, but some later models used Shimano hubs. To complicate your search, Schwinn offered some models with 3-speed hubs or with deraillers. The models I have seen with 3-speed hubs were the Breeze, Racer, Collegiate, Varsity, and Suburban.

Jake.

Thanks gna,
any notable quality difference between the SA hubs and the Shimano hubs?

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

for the older models the performance is similar between the Shimano 3.3.3 hubs and the Sturmey AW's but the servicing is worlds different. The shimano takes a cartridge unit as a complete replacement for the guts when they wear out (good luck finding that). The Sturmey AW can be rebuilt with spare parts which are (mostly) easily available


I didn't know they did a 3 speed varsity.

sillygolem

Avoid Shimano 333 hubs - They aren't very strong, and tend to sheer bits and pieces when they fail. The later hubs are OK, but not as bulletproof as the SA AW hubs. Generally, Shimano hubs were used on low-end bikes and early Japanese imports, and SA on everything else. I don't -think- any of the Japanese-built Schwinns got IGHs, but if they did, they'd probably be Shimano.

Nexus hubs are on equal footing with SA, with the difference mostly based on personal preference. However, I don't think they went into production until the mid-90s.

Scooper

When you say "Schwinn with 3 speed internal hub" are you looking for a lightweight, middleweight, or balloon tired Schwinn. In the fifties, sixties, and seventies Schwinn offered lots of models in all three categories with 3-speed IGHs.

You might want to browse the Schwinn catalogs on Tom Findley's website.

The holy grail of Schwinn IGH lightweights would be fifties/sixties touring model Paramounts with Sturmey-Archer AW hubs.

Jake.

Preferably LW, but MW is acceptable as well. Mostly looking for something to fix up and cruise the trail system with.

Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate it. And thanks for the link, that will come in quite handy

gna

Well, the 333 has a poor reputation, but the bikes I've seen were early '80s collegiates--they have a Shimano coaster hub, unusual because the indicator bellcrank is on the left. Shimano hubs are hard to find parts for, and there are many changes in model runs--very hard just to find servce information. SA hubs, though, are easy to find, parts are easy to get, new or used, and you can find info on service on YouTube or this site.

I didn't notice you were in Minnesota; here's a few from Craigslist:
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hn...470129211.html
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/da...450146147.html
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hn...472176728.html

Glennfordx4

The Schwinn Speedster also had a SA hub, this one from the late 50's early 60's is still going strong.

gna

I am probably mistaken; it may have been a Suburban.

I forgot the Speedster; that one came as a 3-speed (see above).

Jake.

Yep, I grew up just north of the Fairgrounds. I have my eye on that first Schwinn. Unfortunately I would not be able to look at it this weekend, so I'll see if it's still around on Monday. I'm not in any real rush to buy. Mostly want to get the lay of the land and see what's out there.

Jake.

Glenn, that's a really nice looking bike.

Schwinnsta

I think there were older 3-speed SA on the World lightweights. I think they came with the modern 1/8" pitch chain unlike most US bikes before the war. They were supposedly very well made and marketed toward adults but did not sell well and were dropped.

Scooper

Here's the 1941 New World Tourist:



I think if I were looking for a 3-speed trail bike, I'd be looking for one of the fifties/sixties middleweights with a cantilever frame, like a Corvette or Jaguar. The first MTBs on Mt. Tamalpais were built up around Schwinn cantilever frames because they were bombproof.

Aristotle80

I just replaced the cable on my mother's 1985 Schwinn 3 speed. (I found the exact model in the catalog link provided by Scooper.) It has a Shimano coaster brake rear hub, and the screw in tension adjuster has a different thread pitch and diameter than the equivalent Sturmey part. I had to find a NOS part on the internet, which wasn't particularly easy. The black plastic shifter has a crack in it that I just superglued together, since I could only find one single source for a NOS part on the internet, and it was going for $50. Once I got the cable right I found that the spring that pushes the bellcrank from the inside of the hub is a little weak, and it's slow to pop back into high gear if you shift down. I never did find a diagram to that old Shimano 3 speed hub, instructions for disassembly, or a source for a new interior spring. One of my own bikes has a SA 3 speed hub, which was hard to figure out at first, but at least I can get parts and info if I need it. All that said, The bike as a whole is super well made and shines up nice with a little flitz polish on the rims and handlebars.

tcs

AFAIK Schwinn 3-speeds began in 1938 and continue to the present day. Adult bikes, kids' bikes; light weights, middle weights, heavy weights; Paramounts, New Worlds, World Travelers, Corvettes, Tigers, Racers, Speedsters, Jaguars, Travelers, Sports, Town and Country tandems, Town and Country three-wheelers, Fairladys, Hollywoods, Breezes, Stingrays; plus your Total Concept Schwinn Dealer could fit a three-speed hub on any single speed factory model.

sailorbenjamin

They made a few fillet brazed Varsities inn the early 50s. I'd bet some of them were 3 speeds.

schwinnderella

Yes the mid 50's varsities were three speeds.Here is a pic. The bars were originally upright not drop bars.

sailorbenjamin

Yum. I've always wanted one of those.

Jake.

You guys and gals are fantastic. I was hoping for a few bits of feedback and have received much more than expected. I'll be sure to post pics of whatever I wind up picking up. Many thanks!

RFC

I know there were two speed kickbacks. What abou three?

Jeff Wills

How would you operate it? On the Bendix 2-speeds, a slight kick back would shift it into low gear (red and yellow band) or high gear (blue band). How would you distinguish between the desire to shift into "high" or "low" if you were in the "middle"?

Info on the Bendix automatic hubs:
https://www.trfindley.com/pgbndxhbs.html
https://www.bunchobikes.com/auto.htm

RFC

Ya, that's what I want to know!

sailorbenjamin

I suppose it could be sequential, 1-2-3, or 3-2-1, whichever makes the most sense. If you want to go from 2nd to 3rd you'd have to kick back twice. I don't think they ever made them.

tcs

Like this.