Old Brompton Sachs hub.

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Paulus

Started young, and still going.
Location
Barnet,
Good evening all. The old Sachs hub on my Brommie seems to of come to the end of it's life. The 13 tooth cog also.

If I got a 3 speed wheel from flebay with a SA internal hub would I need a different trigger for it, or would the present Torpedo one have the capacity to work the SA gearing ?
 

TheDoctor

Europe Endless
Moderator
Location
The TerrorVortex
After a quick truffle around, the answer appears to be 'sorta kinda maybe-ish"
I'd get a new shifter in your position. A randomly slipping gear can result in severe gentlemanly discomfort!
 

berlinonaut

Veteran
Location
Berlin Germany
I'd assume it will work as Brompton was using SRAM and S/A 3-speed hubs in parallel from 2005 to 2008 and was using the same shifter for both (though it was the Brompton shifter and not the SRAM-shifter like on your bike). I'd give it a go. However, S/A 3-speed shifters are plenty in many flavors and easy and cheap to get hold of, so if you hunt for perfection it would not be a huge investment: https://www.sturmey-archer.com/en/products/rear-shifters
 

Gunk

Guru
Location
Oxford
I’ve got a spare Brompton SA trigger if you want it. PM me with your address and I’ll pop it in the post
 

chriswoody

Legendary Member
Location
Northern Germany
What's actually wrong with the hub?

I stripped one down and serviced it the other year and it's run sweet as a nut since. They're not too hard to take apart and clean up.

577549
 

Chris S

Legendary Member
Location
Birmingham
Good evening all. The old Sachs hub on my Brommie seems to of come to the end of it's life. The 13 tooth cog also.

If I got a 3 speed wheel from flebay with a SA internal hub would I need a different trigger for it, or would the present Torpedo one have the capacity to work the SA gearing ?
No - "A Sachs trigger will not work with a Sturmey-Archer hub, which needs a longer cable pull between the top and middle gear"
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/sachs-internal.html
 
OP
OP
Paulus

Paulus

Started young, and still going.
Location
Barnet,
What's actually wrong with the hub?

I stripped one down and serviced it the other year and it's run sweet as a nut since. They're not too hard to take apart and clean up.

View attachment 577549
It's all really sticky and quite hard to back pedal. Also, when folding the bike the chain slips off of the tensioner and rear cog ,which is also worn out.
I have taken it out of the hub and flushed it through with cleaners and oil, but to no avail.
 

Kell

Veteran
What's actually wrong with the hub?

I stripped one down and serviced it the other year and it's run sweet as a nut since. They're not too hard to take apart and clean up.

View attachment 577549


Very methodical. Did you follow a schematic or just work it out as you went?

I have an old wheel (and BWR hub) and I planned to do this with mine. But have not yet got around to it.

I'm convinced that if I ever do, I'd lose at least one of those bits...
 

chriswoody

Legendary Member
Location
Northern Germany
Very methodical. Did you follow a schematic or just work it out as you went?

I have an old wheel (and BWR hub) and I planned to do this with mine. But have not yet got around to it.

I'm convinced that if I ever do, I'd lose at least one of those bits...

Thanks, I did look up some info online about how to get started, but it was all a bit sketchy. So for the most part I made it up as I went along, luckily unlike SA hubs, there were no awkward springs or anything that needed fancy tools, it was a very straightforward job. I do try to be methodical and take lots of photos, because even with diagrams there is invariably an extra washer or two that's not accounted for in online diagrams. I did actually strip it a little further than that photo shows, I took the sun and planetary gears apart for a clean as well.

I realised actually after posting the picture, that my hub is a little different from @Paulus hub, because mine has an additional coaster brake in there. However, I would still be tempted to completely strip the Brompton hub down, the grease can get very sticky with age and cause the problems that has been described. A good clean and re-grease can do wonders and is a very calming job to do!

OP, have you tried SJS cycles for a spare sprocket? Holland Bike shop also carry spare bits for these hubs, but I think they've temporarily stopped shipping to the UK sadly.
 

rogerzilla

Legendary Member
The same shifter works for both in the real world.

Sachs/SRAM IGH parts are no longer made. You can still find spares online, especially in Germany (but good luck post-Brexit, many shops won't ship to the UK). You will generally need the three bearing cages and it is worth keeping a clutch key as spare. They sometimes snap, and leave you stranded since the bike will not pedal or freewheel.
 
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