Sears (Puch-built) 3-speed serial number
07-05-21, 04:11 PM
#1
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Sears (Puch-built) 3-speed serial number
Hi,
I just purchased an unusual Sears 3-speed. According to my research the frame was built by Puch with a mix of German and Austrian components. The frame itself was made in Germany. The rear hub seems to be an Austrian clone of the Sturmey Archer AW. As in, the Sturmey shifter works and it has the infamous and distinctive "neutral" between 2 and 3.
Anyway, I believe it to be from roughly 1970 give or take 3 years. I cannot find a way to look up the serial number. I found a Puch serial number chart with the right number of digits but it only went back to 1973 and my number was lower than the ones on the chart.
The lot number is 503.47 2610 and the serial number is 3999153. Picture of the bike below. Can anyone help me narrow down the year? Thanks.
I just purchased an unusual Sears 3-speed. According to my research the frame was built by Puch with a mix of German and Austrian components. The frame itself was made in Germany. The rear hub seems to be an Austrian clone of the Sturmey Archer AW. As in, the Sturmey shifter works and it has the infamous and distinctive "neutral" between 2 and 3.
Anyway, I believe it to be from roughly 1970 give or take 3 years. I cannot find a way to look up the serial number. I found a Puch serial number chart with the right number of digits but it only went back to 1973 and my number was lower than the ones on the chart.
The lot number is 503.47 2610 and the serial number is 3999153. Picture of the bike below. Can anyone help me narrow down the year? Thanks.
07-05-21, 06:25 PM
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Those rear hubs typically have an open format, two digit, year code stamped on them. Generally, it's right after the "3 SPEED" designation.
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07-06-21, 10:27 AM
#3
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I loved that "neutral" between 2nd and 3rd when I had a Sturmey-Archer AWC, since it had a coaster brake which otherwise made it difficult to position the pedals for a fast and efficient launch from a stop.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
07-06-21, 12:57 PM
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I had one exactly like that I bought used in 1970. Yours is obviously pre-CPSC due to the lack of pedal and spoke reflectors. Unless you can find a date on the brakes, crank arms, or hubs - I would guess 1967 - 1970.
07-06-21, 03:50 PM
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The pedals do have built-in reflectors and there may have been spoke reflectors in the past, not sure. It's even got reflectors on the sides of the fork which I found unusual, but I don't know if that narrows it down.
07-06-21, 05:42 PM
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Was planning to open up the hub and take a look (and clean it, why not?) but I've abandoned that effort for the time being. My usual tool is slightly too small for the ball cup on this Sears hub. Just marginally such that I think it's a tolerance error rather than actually being the wrong size. So I reverted to the hammer and punch method but to my great surprise, the surface of the ball cup chipped off slightly with a carefully-seated tap of the hammer! I can at least say that the metallurgy of this hub is not as good as the English-made ones. The disassembly will continue some other time when I'm feeling lucky.
