I've wondered how the new hubs work that way.

Reading around about them, they are built up with "semi fluid grease" some people have removed the indicator chain and laid the bike on its side and dripped oil into the end of the axle which is pretty quick and easy. I'll put some miles on this then open it up and see how well the grease seems to be doing its job.

Having grease in the hub instead of oil does make me think there will be additional drag compared to an oiled hub, but it should be good enough for now...

One thing I've learned recently is that oil migrates around inside the hub more than I thought possible. It even gets to the wheel bearings. I didn't have any 1/4" bearings on hand when I took apart the hub on my 55 scorcher. So I just cleaned it up, greased the bearings and rode it for a few years oiling the hub a few drops every spring. When I took it apart again to replace the bearings I found that they were oily. That got me to wondering if greasing the bearings is even necessary. A little fresh oil now and then will keep the old oil from drying out and getting sticky. Since road sand can't get inside, the parts stay wet and lubricated. To me, an oil port makes a lot of sense, but only if it's used.

Preliminary test ride, the coaster brake is more effective than the old one. You can't pre-shift your upshifts like you can with the older hubs, you move the shifter and thats the gear you are in, NOW, and there is no neutral space between 2nd and 3rd for resetting your cranks at a stoplight. I need the cable tension set quite tight for it to shift into first. It doesn't have much in common with an English made SA 3 speed.

MAD magazine 1973
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fc805895f.jpeg

A buddy of mine picked this up the other day to use as a parts bike.
Frame says Made under license in Maylaysia.
Rear hub is dated 1-72, has no pump pegs and Endrick rims.
The odd part is that the Endrick rims are different from those on other bikes I have, these are a bit wider with more angle on the sides of the rim.
I couldn't find anything on the rims about Made in England, Dunlop, or Sturmey Archer.
The tires are Raleigh scripted but also have some odd Asian brand on the side as well. "Triple Dragon" by Chang Star in small print.
Instead of giving tire pressure, it just says "Inflate Hard". The tire tread is also different, sort of a series of inward facing arrows. The wheels are 40/32 spoked.
The front and rear hubs are trashed, the front wheel was on in reverse and the bearings are chewed up, and the rear hub will shift and ride but it will not roll backwards, when you try it make a loud snapping, clunking sound. The saddle says Brooks "England", the fenders and stays look like all the other's I've seen, and the headbadge says Nottingham, England on it.
The chrome on this seems inferior to the England built bikes.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4ed8b6f844.jpg
.

That was me on the 10 speed! Gold Varsity! I have one pic somewhere...all legs!
Yeah you were the cool one till someone showed up with a new Stingray Peashooter!
I still have some old tools from the local bike shop...they would throw me a tool and show how to work on these bikes!

I had a sun gear wiped out like that in an AW a few weeks ago, also dated 1972. Every tooth was broke off and bits had jammed up the planetary gears. The whole hub was a bit torn up. It was a bit dry but still 'wet' with oil. It was on a ladies model that looked like it rolled off the showroom floor yesterday. She said her grandson had been riding it and making it bang in and out of gear real hard by holding the shifter between gears and letting go while pedaling.

Uggg, so something seems to wrong with this new hub, it will only shift into 1st gear if the cable is adjusted EXTREMELY tight, as tight as a guitar string when you do actually get 1st gear engaged. The hub was also pretty tight from the factory and when riding it, if you stopped pedalling you could feel a rumbling through the frame from the hub, to get that rumble to go away I did have to adjust the hub like an old AW, just a tiny bit loose. I sent an email to SA bout it asking for advice, I'm a little bummed than a brand new hub is having these issues...

More evidence....

I imagine that its an expensive item.

$82.

I figured it out!

I had cut the axle shorter on the drive side and did not double nut that side of the axle as this hub is "supposed" to be set up according to the instructions, because thats totally not necessary, this resulted in the shaft on the indicator chain coming out the very end of the axle so more tension on the shift was not pulling the clutch further into first gear it was just trying to be end end of the shaft on the end of the indicator chain. I of course had a indicator chain that has a much shorter shaft and now it shifts into first as it should :-)

Good for you,jackbombay! May I know where was the new hub made nowadays? Thanks. 👍😁

All the sturmey archer stuff has been made in Taiwan for some time now, since 2000 I think.

Well,not surprising. The Chinese seems to make everything nowadays.....😀😀

How much did you trim?

3/8" or an inch or so, 9mm, it was a fair bit. Didn't even cross my mind that the shaft of the indicator chain would be too long.

I have to dig through my junk barrel in the corner, I tossed it, the axle, the driver, and planetary set in the scrap pile.
It looks to me like it lost a few teeth or the ends of a few teeth and those got run through everything over and over again.
Things were scarred up more than worn. It was in permanent neutral when she brought it to me, and it would bind up if pedaled in reverse.
The inside looked like it was coated with graphite oil with lots of little sparkles.
If I can find the bits I'll snap a few pics, I didn't think anything of it till I saw yours here and that both were 1972 models.
I think the bike was also a Malaysian built bike like the one a few posts ago, but the rest of the bike looked 'normal'.
It didn't look abused overall, just a bit neglected in the maintenance area.

In my case, I can't remember the specifics but the bike would not shift.
Also, I don't recall if I just replaced the ground down gear or swapped in the complete unit.
The rest of the gears seemed ok
Another case was a loose pin that secures the sun gear.
This bike also refused to shift properly and closer examination revealed the
drive shaft was actually warped/bowed.

O.T.
Texas BBQ Pit
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...43ea4e87ff.jpg
British Money Pit
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a689c7f252.jpg
I haven't ridden the bike in 15 years...
The tank was pretty gummed up but 3 treatments of vinegar
did a good job.
Carbs were cleaned as well.

Vinegar...is there anything it can’t do...?

Mend a broken heart?
I guess drinking cider might help.

Mebbee hard cider...

Exactly.