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Herculean task

Old 08-10-20, 03:42 PM
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Emarch
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Herculean task

I recently acquired a 1940's era Hercules out of Birmingham. The hub is an AType9, which may indicate that it was built between 1943 and 1951. Any comments on that?
An issue that has revealed itself is that the dovetail brake pads are slightly narrower than the modern versions. Are there replacements available? Can a modern pad be carved down at the dovetail to fit the narrower slot without compromising safety?
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Old 09-17-20, 12:33 PM
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Another issue with my Hercules is the shifter. It has a SA shifter but I can’t seem to tune it to where all three gears click. I can’t get combinations of two but the third one is always in between.
Does the AType9 require a Hercules shifter?o
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Old 09-17-20, 12:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Emarch
Another issue with my Hercules is the shifter. It has a SA shifter but I can’t seem to tune it to where all three gears click. I can’t get combinations of two but the third one is always in between.
Does the AType9 require a Hercules shifter?o
Welcome aboard, glad you found us.

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No expert here but the shifting issue may be in the hub but we'll get to that.
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Old 09-17-20, 01:03 PM
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and yes to carving the pads.
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Old 09-17-20, 01:52 PM
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To determine whether you have a hub or a shifter problem, try putting your bike on a shop stand and pulling on the shift cable while you turn the cranks. You should get third gear (wheel turns faster than rear cog) with the cable slack, and first gear (wheel turns more slowly than the cog) with the cable pulled taut. As you ease the cable slightly from the taut / first gear position, you should be able to engage second gear, in which the cog and wheel rotate at the same speed. This is also the gear you use when adjusting cable length.

When I converted an old 10-speed into a 3-speed, I just used the old Huret friction shift lever -- all the way back for first, slightly above first for second, and then all the way forward for third, with neutral between 2nd and 3rd. Since mine had a coaster brake, that free/neutral position was extremely convenient while waiting for red lights at intersections.
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Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
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Old 09-17-20, 06:03 PM
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Are the pads similar to the narrow and 48mm long pads used on Raleighs of the time? If so, there are some NOS pads on eBay, though the seller does mention they're rock hard.

I ordered a pair and plan to dunk them in a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and wintergreen oil to see if I can bring them back to life. Already did with one unmarked-brand pad from the 1960's to great success. Admittedly, a used Fibrax pad in the same solution didn't do so well, but the Fibrax pads always appeared to be of a slightly different rubber compound than the rest.

-Kurt
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