Sun Solo - 1958 sturney archer hub - bike

[thegravestoneman]

For ease and choice of parts I would go for a 3 speed Sturmey, (I have had personnel and painful experience of speeds slipping gears back when you could get the parts from you LBS so may be a bit biased)

 

[MontyVeda]

looks great , i have also just picked up a Sun Solo but mine is the sports version so 5 gears and originally 27" wheel which somebody has replaced with 700's .

here you go , previous owner claims 60's i think nearer to late 70's

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My first 'grown up' bike was one of those; exact same livery but with drop bars and 10 gears... bought it brand new in Carnforth in 81/82ish.

 

[bobg]

If you're having trouble getting it to stay in 1st gear just hold the pressure on the lever for an extra second and you'll hear it engage. IMHO it's not unreliable it's just that it was designed as a 5 speed and SA never got round to it. Personally I think the ratios on the 4 speed are far more convenient than the AW.

 

[GoodLifeSpud]

Thanks for the feedback. My local bike shop is good and they do have a resident "expert" on SA hubs. Problem for me is that he isn't that approachable. The rest of the guys in the shop are fine. I wouldn't like to judge but think he has a touch of asbergers or whatever it is. And I get the impression they prefer the high end racing bike type customers.
It's funny I've been into a few shops (admitting I'm a novice) and it's like they'd rather not spend the time trying to fix something old. Or don't get why I would want to.

I think I may just bite the bullet and get the 4 speed made up and see what happens. I never used 1st when i was using the bike. Hmmmmm :confused:

 

[thegravestoneman]

Thanks for the feedback. My local bike shop is good and they do have a resident "expert" on SA hubs. Problem for me is that he isn't that approachable. The rest of the guys in the shop are fine. I wouldn't like to judge but think he has a touch of asbergers or whatever it is. And I get the impression they prefer the high end racing bike type customers.
It's funny I've been into a few shops (admitting I'm a novice) and it's like they'd rather not spend the time trying to fix something old. Or don't get why I would want to.

I think I may just bite the bullet and get the 4 speed made up and see what happens. I never used 1st when i was using the bike. Hmmmmm :confused:

A lot of shops don't like the old stuff and or talking to 'civilians' but there are a few out there and they are gems when you find em...

 

[GoodLifeSpud]

The saga continues.....

Having had a couple of different shops look a the frame and tell me it would be no problem dropping some 700C wheels in, I bit the bullet and got the rear wheel made up. It looks pretty good, and I've been trying to find suitable parts for the rest of the bike. Having got to the point where I wanted to find a front wheel to go with what I had (I couldn't easily afford to get both wheels made up at the same time) I've been into a mainstream chain and they advise me that I'll not be able to find a suitable 700C wheel in a standard shop.

I got the the mechanic to explain, and it seems the drop outs on the forks I have were designed to accommodate top hats (? Can someone explain what these are) and a super skinny axle.

The old front wheel had a dynamo hub (which I still have, as pictured).

If I was to put an off the-shelf 700C wheel on the axle would be too small; there's big gaps between the axle and the internal edge of the drop out. The mechanic suggested going to ye old fashioned bike shop/frame builder and to consider getting the forks re-forged. I honestly don't think the bike is worth getting someone to re-forge the forks (it sounds very expensive).

I could get the front wheel made up with the dynamo hub I suppose. Does anyone have any experience of these; i.e. are they easy to repair (for a shop) if faulty, how do I know how long the axle will last.......

I've gone from being confident about the progress to being completely flummoxed......