tsgraham

I'm interested in a possible replacement for the 3 spd IGH on my '72 DL-1. The hills in my area are taking their toll even though I switched the rear cog to 22T. I'd like a 5 or 7 spd IGH but am having trouble finding a compatible width hub.

Does anyone have experience with a similar project?
Thank you,
tsgraham

Velognome 

Without knowing the spacing of the dropouts on your bike I'm assuming they are less than the 185mm the new SA 5 speed requires. Easy solutions would be to cold set the rear to the size needed or locate an older hub with a narrow spacing. The older FW hub offers 4 widley spaced gears, the lowest is a granny gear that will take you over most any paved hill. To climb hills, your not looking for more gears, just a wider range and the FW will give you that with nearly the same spacing as your current hub. If your buying a used FW make sure the # of spoke holes match your rims.

bikamper

As you already have an AW, swapping the guts out with an S5 or S5/2 would get you 5 speeds and also mean NOT building a new wheel. You'll get the same granny gear that Velognome mentioned plus another overdrive. The only reason that I mention the 5 speed hubs is that they are more common than the FW and the 4 speed trigger shifter needed for the FW are are even less common. The one drawback to the 5 speed is that you would have to add a second shifter for the left side but any friction shifter will work for that.

alr

The new X-RF5 is available with 119 OLD according to S-A website. That would only require minimal widening of the rear. I cold set my DL-1 to accommodate a 130 OLD 5 speed hub, and it is none worse for the wear. If you use this along with a 24 tooth cog in the back, you can have a low gear of 33.7 gear inches. The same set up with an AW would be 40.5. gear inches

tsgraham

Thank you velognome, bikamper & alr for your responses. Although I don't comprehend all of the gear ratio numbers, the operative phrase I picked up was " to cold set the rear to the size needed." I had ordered a SRAM 7 spd w/coaster brake but was freaked out by the width. The helpful fellow at Yellow Jersey said, "Don't panic. Just gently pull the rear stays apart by hand a little at a time." Tada...I'm in business. I had no idea the steel in that frame was so soft.

The next part of the project is to extend the brake rods up front. I'm 6'4" and wanted to raise the handle bars. A stem extender took care of the 3-4" I need so I could sit up and not be bent over on the bars. (Good ol' osteoarthritis makes that a pain in the....wrists.) Now I just have to come up with some sort of coupliing and short pieces of rod to connect to the bottom brake rod connections. Have any of you had a similar experience?
tsgraham

Velognome 

Sounds like maybe you'd have to make a longer rod? I solved the problem by swapping the wheel set out for a set built up with SA drum brakes that operate on cables......I'm sure there is a better solution.

tcs

Should anyone stumble across this thread in the future, it should be noted here that the IGH three-spline cog pattern is an amazingly wide-spread standard and Shimano 23T and SRAM 24T cogs (both available from many sources) will slip right onto a Sturmey-Archer hub. There are even custom 26T cogs available.

Lowering the entire gearing range is not the answer for everyone, but it might be for some.

PolishGuy

Interesting stuff. Would the new S/A 5 speed hub "guts" fit into an older AW shell? PG.

Roll-Monroe-Co

Shells are totally different diameter.

tsgraham

I saw some photos and drawings of this type of modification but wanted to keep the working rod brakes. Why? I can't answer. I test rode the bike yesterday without any rod brakes and just the coaster brake of the SRAM 7 and it reminded me of riding bikes as a kid when coasters were all we had. Now the search for stainless steel rods 3/16 in diameter and couplers begins.

tsgraham

TCS, Thank you for your response. I did really notice a difference when I switched to the 22t cog and can imagine what larger count ones could do. The problem with that solution was that I did miss the tall top gear. Yesterday I took the bike for a test ride sporting the new 7 spd selection and loved the transformation. Now I have the really low "granny" gear for spinning up the hills, the really tall gear for those down hill runs or with the wind at my back, and a delightful selection between the two.

I'm sure there are those that cringe at my modifying the classic DL-1 but I think there is a reason why Workcycles, Velorbis, Retrovelo and Pashly offer 3 spds and 5 or 7 speed gearing....because they're available now. The coaster brake is a nice addition too. Now, once I have the rods extended and connected, I'll have substantially more braking power...especially on those rainy days.

Thank you all for your contributions. I'll post photos once the project is completed. Now I want to get the stem riser I found chromed. Black just doesn't make it.

tsgraham