Problem with sturmey archer 3 speed gears on Pashley Poppy

[Mima_w]

Hi,

I'm a big ol' newbie here, but signed up as I wondered if anyone here could help me out. I bought a lovely Pashley Poppy a few months ago but unfortunately have had a string of issues with it, due to the fact that the bike shop I bought it from had not constructed it properly. I recently took it to the fantastic Bicycle Workshop in Holland Park for emergency repairs as it fell apart mid-commute, and it's been so much better since then.

However this morning I noticed that the gear shifter was rattling a little bit in second gear, and towards the end of my commute something pinged and the bike was stuck in 3rd gear. Getting off I noticed that the cable bit down by the wheel hub had come loose, so I screwed the two ends together again. It seems to be working now, although I think the gears are tensioned a bit differently now and are a bit tougher. But also the gear shifter rattles something cronic in 2nd gear, feels very loose, and 1st gear seems to have disappeared entirely!

My question is - is this something serious? Can I (or a bike-savvy colleague) fix it or will I need to go into a bike shop again?

I can't bear the thought of that at the moment, to be honest! Everyone is saying how crappy my bike is but I love her so much! I feel like she's just had really bad luck and it's not her fault.

Any advice greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[alecstilleyedye]

i've just bought my wife an old bike with a sturmey 3 speed and had similar problems. this is the fix:

put the gear lever in first. tighten up the cable that connects to the little chain so that you can just pull the chain very slightly out of the nut. if you can't, it's too tight. if it's too easy, it's too loose.

when correctly tensioned 1st gear should be quiet, 2nd should go tick-tick as it goes and so should 3rd, but louder.

credit to www.sheldonbrown.com

 

[Mima_w]

Brilliant, thanks - will try this out this weekend. Ta for the advice!