Chesterton

Oh, so pessimistic!

I think I'm going to have a go at repairing it. Apart from the planet gears that need to be replaced, the rest of the hub seems to be in good condition. Worst case scenario, it breaks down again after a while and then I buy a new hub and have the wheel rebuilt at that point.

sping

I thought I'd jump on this old thread as it seems like a good place to dump info for people interested in this hub. I have accumulated a little trial-and-error experience with them.

Even though they shipped the hub without it, that traditional Sturmey Archer square lockwasher is, IMO, essential. At least some sort of washer is absolutely necessary, and the square one is utterly reliable and easily obtained. Thrust in high and low gears, along with the brake, will tend to rotate the hub and loosen the RH bearing if the locknut is against the frame.

I put a few thousand miles on one hub, the bearing worked loose but I was too inexperienced to recognize that, and too scared to dismantle the hub, and just kept adjusting the LH cone. As a result, 2 gears stopped functioning (1 & 2 IIRC) - I soldiered on for a bit with a larger cog and contacted the US support rep, who kindly sent me a new unit. I installed that and over time it did exactly the same thing. I then abandoned this hub, thinking it inherently flawed.

This was before I became comfortable with dismantling and servicing simple IGHs, and now I've realized my X-RD5 is probably in reasonable shape, and I've serviced it. It seems to be working, though on a proper test ride it sometimes failed to enter 5th. It was 0F / -18C out there, so I think my copious fresh grease may be causing problems that should settle down. Either that or there is too much shifter cable friction, but I don't think so.

Thank you to everyone who's shared your information on these hubs - most especially Dan! It's given me a new appreciation for this hub and how to shift it correctly.

I was short a few crucial parts, but resolved that first by jury rigging a fulcrum clip with a fender-stay small p-clamp. But, having done that I realized I could do something neater using the old brake braze-ons, and go with the classic routing that usually uses a small wheel. Very happy with that with the SLS50-T Sprinter thumb shifter.

noglider 

Nice work, @sping!

sping

Update - I dug in again due to my troubles with 5th gear - did another full strip down. I wanted to get a proper look at everything, and lube with lighter grease.

I found quite a bit of damage to the inside of the sun pinions - clearly visible grooves dug by the ball bearings, no doubt from the abuse my hub suffered when the RH cone was loosening and I was beating it to death years ago as the whole mechanism shifted to the left but my indicator chain didn't.

Anyway, I'm pretty confident that ordering replacement sun pinions will return it to full working order, and in the meantime it feels great in gears 1-4. Here it is on my winter bike, paired with its natural sibling, the X-FDD dyno/drum front hub.

dragonspeed

I hate starting new threads for a niche issue that's already got one, regardless of age.

I've got a 2005 Schwinn Stingray "Grey Ghost" that was underwater at my LBS in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It was brand-new in its box so had never been ridden and had all the fresh grease, etc. Bike was damaged out for insurance purposes and chucked with a bunch of its brethren into the grassy lot behind the shop which is where it sat for a couple years before I found it and salvaged (backstory just so you have an idea of what the hub's been through). Never rode it much except one time I tried taking it for a longer jaunt but it never made much in the way of odd noises either until very recently. BEFORE YOU TELL ME TO CHUNK IT: this is a 28H hub shell! I doubt I would ever be able to find another and it makes for a very striking "motorcycle" style of spoke webbing. I have compared visually with the more common spoke count look and do not like it. I want to keep the 28H web at all costs

Not sure if it's because I tried futzing with it a bit or not but it developed a regular "clang" in the higher gears. I decided it was time to do a full breakdown of the bike anyway and decided to dismantle the (somewhat rusty) rear wheel and spokes (these came with VERY heavy chromed steel rims and spokes). Well I finally got the thing mostly apart yesterday and have most of the smaller bits soaking in degreaser. Noticed quite a lot of metallic particles settling at the bottom of the jar this morning and after inspecting the interior of the hub shell, I noticed that the ratchet ring is secured to the hub shell with dozens and dozens of what look like teeny-tiny spot welds or solder dots but that a lot of them are missing? A quick drag with a dental probe revealed at least two were loose enough to just come away. I haven't seen them whole at the bottom of the jar yet but maybe those fragments are remnants of them after being crushed? I guess I'm wondering if this is something I should be worried about reassembling this hub. The bike is obviously never going to get serious or frequent use but I still want to make sure it's not going to leave me stranded suddenly.
I can't upload a photo (or URL) but it looks like around a quarter of the little dot-welds are gone.