Sturmley archer 3 speed cassette hub

[Tilley]

I have just fitted a new wheel with a cassette hub and despite every adjustment possible I am still getting chatter. The cassette and chain appear to be running smoothly and all indexing works fine. The rear derailleur was replaced at the same time so no issue with the jockey wheels. I can therefore only put this down to the hub gear is this normal?

[mig]

chain correctly through the new derailleur? i.e not over the 'tabs' that are often part of the cage.

[Brucey]

if you fitted a new chain on an old cassette, or have a stiff link or (as MIG suggests) the chain is routed badly through the rear mech , or similar, then you may have a basic problem with the chain drive, nothing to do with the hub per se.

However the hub itself can also cause noises. Does the noise happen in each of the three gears (under similar chain load) ? Or does it only happen in one or two of the three gears?

If the hub itself makes noises then there are several possible causes including

1) it is normal for that hub; there are clutches overrun in some gears and this makes a noise
2) the gear is badly adjusted
3) the gear has been badly adjusted and is now damaged

This hub design has some rather unforgiving aspects; the high gear clutch uses plunger pawls and because these run with tiny clearances if there is any debris in the hub (eg from chipping arising from bad adjustment or clumsy shifting) then the plunger pawls can be obstructed and the hub will carry on slipping in some gears.

However if the hub is well lubricated, set up and used as intended, it will usually give good service.

IIRC this 3s hub is designed to work with a longer cable pull than most 3s hubs and it won't work with a 'road' STI (unless a travel agent is added). If the cable pull is too short you will get slippage and shortly afterwards internal damage to the hub. What shifter are you using for the 3s hub? Note that you should avoid changing gear in the 3s drive 'full gas' as it were.

To bottom the problem out you could

-test the 3s hub configured without the derailleur, running on one sprocket only or
- test the gear setup by using a standard wheel with the same cassette and chain.

cheers

[Tilley]

All gears are working well with no slippage. However the hub appears to make a chatter type noise under load in any of the gears. To define what I mean by chatter it is the sort of noise made by either a stiff link or badly adjusted derailleur. The new hub is fitted within a recumbent trike so no issue with cable length. The seating position does put me closer to the rear wheel and therefore more aware of any noises.

[Brucey]

is the drive actually slipping?

Is the chain the same age as the cassette?

cheers

[Tilley]

The drive isn't slipping at all and it is an older chain I was thinking perhaps I should renew the chain.

[Brucey]

old chain + new cassette = 'orrible noise under load.

It also wears your nice new cassette out quicker than normal.

You can check the chain for wear by measuring its length/pitch carefully. More than 0.5% and I would change it when fitting a new cassette for sure.

cheers

[RichMoss]

This may be a silly question but have you checked that the chain isn't routed the wrong side of the tab between the jockey wheels of the derailleur? This is a common mistake and surprisingly easy to make.
<edit below>
...otherwise most likely to be the new cassette/worn chain combination - you can measure the chain to see whether it has worn excessively ( a new chain is 12 inches over 12 links.

Also is your chain width compatible with your the number of sprockets on the cassette? (eg not using a 10/11 speed chain on 8/9 speed cassette)

[Tilley]

New chains ordered from Halfords Shimano CN HG53 currently on offer at £10.50 and with my Cycling UK 10% discount that should mean I pay less than £20 for the two lengths I need. Reading RichMoss's comments I have double checked the line of the chain, and it is correctly fitted. So hoping all will be cured once I fit the new chains on the weekend.