Originally Posted by
mitchito
I just took the Royce/Rigby out for a spin. Started out ok then started having slack in driveline. Halfway around the block it went completely loose, pedals just spinning. Any idea what it could be? I have another rear wheel from a '70s bike but I would like to keep the original 1957 hub if possible.
Which hub is it using?
AW hubs have a "neutral" between normal and high, and a misadjusted indicator rod can line the driver up in that spot. I think Sheldon Brown or John Allen published an AW shifting setup procedure, but it's fairly simple to do. The directions assume the cable is not attached to the rod. Depending on which gear the hub is slipping in, the cable tension could be either too high or too low.
1: screw the indicator rod into the hub until snug, then back off as much as necessary to align the chain in the direction of the fulcrum pulley.
2: attach the cable to the chain, with the selector in high.
3: switch the selector to normal.
4: adjust cable tension so that the indicator rod's shoulders (just below the chain rivet) are even with the end of the axle or slightly past it. It's helpful to have the bike in a stand to confirm that you have a solid engagement. Some rods have a ring in them at the right spot, you might need to experiment.
5: change the selector to high, then down to low to confirm that there's enough cable for the selector to lock into low.