Cycling UK Forum

i've acquired one of these dated from 1980 i think to give a go as a winter option on a fixed bike.

the flanges look thin to me. is there a specific spoke type that works best with them?

thanks

ps. not that it particularly bothers me but this hub is HEAVY.

The first problem you'll run into is that it's not a fixed hub.

sorry probably caused a bit of confusion there.

bike is fixed at the moment, hoping to give this hub a crack for next winter.

a 1980 hub could have one or two plastic parts in it; in particular the parts at each end of the clutch spring may be plastic. These parts are not usually troublesome but do occasionally crack. The sun pinion is riveted; this rivet occasionally works loose or wears (it sees load in 1 and 3) but the hub ought otherwise to be reliable. It will have a neutral position between gear 2 and 3.

The hubshells on AW hubs varied over the years; some are heavier than others. The differences mainly lie in the LH bearing support piece which is a chunky lump of steel. IIRC in 1980 the bearing housing protrudes into the hubshell on the inside which (deliberately or otherwise) may prevent the hubshell from being used with a 5s internal in it. Any of the steel hubshells need spoke washers (one or two per spoke depending on the elbow length) with modern spokes if you want a reliable wheel.

Also, when building a used steel hubshell, it is worth following the original spoking pattern if the stagger in the new rim permits it; this gives the elbow bends in the spokes an easier time of it.

The hub may feel heavy but adding an SA hub to a bike adds about 1-2lbs vs a singlespeed (depending on the weight of the parts that are replaced) and up to about half a pound vs a basic 5s derailleur setup.

The hub feels heavy because pretty much all the weight is in that one lump with an IGH!

BTW it is possible to convert this type of hub to a 2s fixed....

cheers

Brucey wrote:BTW it is possible to convert this type of hub to a 2s fixed....

Well as I've said before, you learn something new every day! I'd never heard that before, even in my previous spell as a Moulton Club member when I messed around with hybrid gearing converting a 5 speed into an extra wide 3 speed.

Do tell, where can I find out more?

2 spd fixed? now we're talking...!

in 2s fixed form the hub has a direct drive gear (in the gear #3 shifter position) and a reduction gear (in the gear 2 and gear 1 shifter positions). There are various ways of doing the conversion, some of which are described (or linked to at least) on Sheldon Brown's site.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/awfixed.html

However it should be noted that these conversions mostly suffer several problems

1) they are complicated or difficult or require special tools to implement

2) they are permanent conversions, there is no going back

3) they still leave the hub with quite a lot of lash in it

I have some ideas about how to overcome some of these issues. If I am successful I will let you know....

cheers