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Soul-destroyingly, I got the wheel built up for Monday's commute, and the hub doesn't work in low gear :(
There are no controls so it can't be set up wrong. Very disappointing (have emailed the seller, and SA, to vent my spleen).
On the plus side, I can ride up from sea level just fine on a 72" singlespeed... it's getting me plenty of exercise!
Not sure now what I'm going to do for the two mini-tours we have planned this weekend and Easter.
That is a rubbish run of luck you've had. How is it meant to work?
Dave, one school of thought is that the S2C comes with grease, and too much of it, rather than machine oil, leading to recalcitrant pawls. Another school of thought is that it's related to bearing adjustments being too tight or loose, and possibly chain tension; I can't view the FB link in that link but it might be useful. The 3spd hubs in my experience seem to prefer their bearings to be a fraction loose.
It's certainly hard to believe that it can't be diagnosed, with so few parts involved.
I opened up for a look, since it's so simple to do so (just undo the nuts on one side and pull the mechanism out in one go):
You can see the 'upper' pawls (direct) which are out all the time, and get overtaken by the 'lower' pawls (high gear) which are either in or out depending on shift.
I think one of my high gear pawls hangs out a little when supposedly retracted, catching the shell when supposedly in low gear (this would account for the slipping and popping?). Certainly it doesn't seem to be a grease problem, the pawls were nice and snappy.
Hmm. When I requested a return, the seller said that it was a known fault, some part or other is not in tolerance, and SA have provided a fix kit with instructions, and would I like one?
Obviously I said yes, but I can't help feeling it's a bit mad that they go on selling faulty hubs, then let people write back to complain, then send out a fix for them to get their elbows dirty (if I don't reassemble it properly, will it still be in warranty?)
Oh dear, what a carry on. I thought Sturmey Archer hubs were supposed to be well made and reliable? So much for that myth...
I hope in the end it all works out okay for you, Dave.
Was scared to ask. That is pretty crazy. Mind you Apple sold the Cube with a known fault which meant I had to replace the on / off switch membrane.
It's nice that they let you build it up and then ride it with a known defect and only tell you when you complain. surely if there's a fix kit available at the very least it should be shipped with all hubs, along with a covering note.
The AW 3-speed seems to be a Terminator cockroach; certainly my one has aged better than my moving parts, and I'm two years younger than it.
Maybe S-A are one hit wonders?
I guess they'd stop selling overnight if SA shipped them with a 'defect resolution kit' and required you to disassemble the internal gearing on purchase?
Alas I crushed the bearing holder thingy so had to put the balls into the nearside race loose (but there aren't very many for a loose race, methinks). Still, I guess I could easily buy more balls, they must be a standard size.
I'd bet heavily that they are; I knackered a friend's toggle chain from her 2011 3-speed and replaced it with the chain from my 1976 one, and it's been flawless. I don't think Sturmey-Archer are much into fixing what ain't broke.
I just came out of 90 minutes of extraordinarily messy and nerve-wracking heart surgery on my S2C.
Cooking on gas!
The flanged tab washer widget provided by SA is astonishingly large (probably ~4mm thick) and you have to undo a legion of nuts and two C-clips, which is amazingly difficult without tools (OK, replacing them is - it's easy to get them off with a screwdriver!) before you can dismantle the hub enough to get the piece in place.
But anyway, the job is done, grease wiped from every imaginable surface around the flat, and I now have two gears with a brake, and no cables, and it feels FINE...
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