Sturmey Archer gears on a 1978 Triumph Trafficmaster

I've come upon a rather lovely 1978 Triumph Traffic Master - at least, i'm guessing that's its age because it says '78 8' on the Sturmey Archer hub at the back. Although it looks like it could have come from any era from the early 60s onwards - it's a classic British working man's bike.

I've never seen a bike this old in this good condition - there are one or two scratches on the frame but to see steel rims in such good nick is a bit of a rarity for me.

The thing is, it's not for me, a friend asked me to find something like this for them 'because I know about bikes'...

And as my use of this forum demonstrates, I only know enough about bikes to get myself into trouble but not to get myself out of it again.

So this Triumph is lovely and rides well but has two issues:
1) I rode it for the first time this morning and it's developed a squeak when the pedals turn. I suspect that the bike will have been unused and stored in a garage for a long time - I'm worried that this means I need to do something with the bottom bracket. I've never attempted anything with a bottom bracket before, and I'm not sure I've got the tools, let alone the knowhow.

2) I can't get first gear to select. I've had bikes with Sturmey Archers since the early 90s so usually I'm ok with adjusting the cable tension to sort that out - but usually it's been 1st and 3rd that are fine and it's second gear that slips. But with this one, no matter what I do, I don't seem to be able to get first gear to engage. I've tried swapping in the spindle from the Sturmey Archer on my 1986 Peugeot but that hasn't seemed to help.

From what little I know of the mechanicals of Sturmey Archer hubs, I've heard that simply riding them and using them (particularly after a long period of not being used) sometimes untsticks them so I put some lube in through the oiler hole last night before riding it this morning... but it doesn't seem to have helped.

So, as ever... all advice gratefully received! Could it be to do with the gear linkage somehow?

I would usually replace the cables anyway on a bike this age - but the brakes are really responsive and set up no bother, and the outers are the old-school white ones that are kind of ribbed on the outside, and I don't have anything that would replace it that looks right for the period.

hello drew savage, yeah i wonder from time to time if there are still those sa hub reconditioning/exchange guys
about i must admit even with an exploded diagram my patience has depleated some what. i know sa hubs go on for decades. i wonder if you could try a solution of something in the oil port..
as a first. acetone/plus gas/ machine oil loads of it and perhaps taps with a timber drift and hammer.
tools for bb removal cheap on ebay and so are bb ball races.to remove the cottered cranks you just need a spanner and a hammer and again if mullered the old cotter pins...ebay cheap replacements
what i have done in the past is kept the inner cables in the outers raised them and made a funnel
from polythene tied to the outer with a rubber band on the end and kept pouring oil down but dont over do it.well worth oiling the pedal spindles i would.

Re:

I took a sturmey hub to bits for the first time back in the summer, following the instructions on Sheldon Browns website it is pretty easy to get the main gubbins out in one lump, my problem was stuck pawls and was easily rectified, I would think that theres not a lot wrong in yours, read the instructions and go for it, if you remove the circlip and sprocket then undo the big knurled ring behind the sprocket it all comes out and goes back easily.

They aren't that complicated. But if you don't want to take it apart, try flushing it out with white spirit. Then use some gear oil to relubricate.

The bottom bracket will be fiddly, but may need attention. Although it may just be that the chain needs oil. If you do take the crank off, don't use a hammer to get the cotter pin out. Unscrew the but, then put a socket over the unthreaded bit and calmp it in a vice. Much less likely to bend anything.

IIRC these pedals are rubbish and they may well be the source of the squeak, I don't think they have any ball bearings in them. A worthwhile period upgrade would be Union pedals like these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151505610208 , which do run on ball bearings.

Thank you, as ever! Now you've mentioned it, I'm fairly sure the squeak does come from those pedals. Trying to squirt a bit of oil in there seems to have helped it a bit.

And some Plus Gas sprayed into the hub gear, plus finding this very useful article from Workington Cycles, means that first gear is now biting on something, rather than the pedals just spinning round uselessly. I'm at work at the moment, and popped out to try it in my tea break - the acid test will be when I ride it home at midnight when my shift's over.

So now I know the foolproof method of correctly adjusting the cable on a Sturmey Archer hub gear. I've ridden my Peugeot with a Sturmey Archer 3-speed for ten years, and never known how to use the viewing hole and the indicator rod, I've always just done it by feel until now.

Sometimes you really do learn a new thing every day.

Sounds like you've got it correctly adjusted now, so the hub should free up given time. You just get a bit of dried-on crud inside which restricts the movement of the mechanism. Now you've put fresh oil in there and you're using it, the oil is getting circulated and you should find it'll free up by itself.