Bendix Auto hubs

[moparpaul]

Hi Fellow Rodders,

My question regards the rings around the Bendix hubs. I have a 1964 Spaceliner, that I am currently restoring, and it has a red, three ring Bendix Auto hub. I have seen one and two ring hubs but not a three ring. I know that this is a Kickback, two speed, but can anyone tell me why the three rings compared to the single and two ring units.

keep riding....

Moparpaul

 

[Lavrente]

My spaceliner has the single red ring. Mine is a single speed. The three ring denotes the two speed kickback.

 

[CCR]

1 ring = single speed, 3 rings = 2 speed, ive never saw a hub with 2 rings, the mexico made hubs had knurling on them that may have looked like 2 rings though, those were single speeds and replaced the single red band hubs in the 70's

 

[Wildcat]

There is no 2 ring hub, just the single and three ringed hubs. The red and yellow are the same, low gear and regular gear, blue three ring is regular and high gear, overdrive. The single red band is one speed.

 

[dangratsdan]

2 speed kickbacks are the coolest hubs ever built, IMO.
As a kid I had my 1st one on my mid 60s Sting Ray, a blue band. Fastest bike in the neighborhood, because of the low gear holeshot, then shift into the high gear and you are flyin.
Now days I put them on the bikes that I build. Red or yellow bands with the low gear so I don't have to stand up to get the bike going, then shift to high gear to cruize.
Got about a dozen of them. Got gears without cables, keeps a clean looking bike.

 

[deorman]

I wanted one for years, kinda figured they were mostly gone and forgot about them until I came across RRB. They must be good, if so many are still in service.

 

[roadmaster]

i am only lucky enough to have had the single speed redband hubs, but they are bullitproof. easy to rebuild and work great. have one on my 62' schwinn american h.d., and a few more for parts. never got to ride a 2speed kickback hub bike, but someday...

 

[Tommy Atoms]

I just bought my first one last week and the anticipation is killing me. I've wanted one for a while now. Hope it gets here by this weekend.

 

[Road Master]

The his & hers Spaceliners I picked up yesterday both have the red 3 ring kick back Bendix hubs. I rode one for the first time today - pretty ingenious. I've got another one on a $40 Rollfast that I picked up in St. Louis but the rear tire doesn't hold air so I haven't tried that one yet. Yes, I agree - no cables, clean look!

 

[Tommy Atoms]

Got mine today! mounted a tire and installed on one of my schwinns and what a bummer I dont think its working correct. When I gently kick back, the pedals do almost more than a half turn before I feel anything and there is very little brakes. Everything is real loose too. So I guess I'll be doing a hub service on this one later. I'm hoping the grease is just dried up on this thing.

 

[Wildcat]

This oughta help.

 

[NLCTVWguy]

One thing you'll find, as you try to tighten up the bearings on these, is that the internal gears try to turn a part of the carrier in the opposite direction. For the yellow band hub I have on my 64 RatRacer, I made myself a tool to engage the hub center nut and keep it from turning.

Once they're loose they're difficult to tighten without the proper tool. Grinding a 1/2" socket down so that only two fingers remain on one end gives the right type of tool to hold the center nut. Some people would call it a spanner. I also ground 2 flats on the drive end of the socket so I can put an adjustable wrench on it. The hub service diagrams here are a big help to see what you're dealing with.

I love my 2 speed and have put a lot of miles on it. It is a little unusual to have a coaster on a lightweight bike though- very easy to skid the rear tire, and that's all you have to work with for brakes. Simple and ingenious but they do have their limitations as well.

--Rob

Got mine today! mounted a tire and installed on one of my schwinns and what a bummer I dont think its working correct. When I gently kick back, the pedals do almost more than a half turn before I feel anything and there is very little brakes. Everything is real loose too. So I guess I'll be doing a hub service on this one later. I'm hoping the grease is just dried up on this thing.

 

[NLCTVWguy]

Part number 28 on the diagram provided is the part you need to engage with the special tool. Tightening that should eliminate the 1/2 turn rotation problem as well as the general looseness of the rear wheel.

I remember being about 10 or 11 and a kid on my street had a red Typhoon with one of these. He told me what it did and I never believed him. I couldn't have imagined how it worked at that time. Now I know, and I still think they're magic.

--Rob

 

[Tommy Atoms]

I dissassembled it last nite and everything looks good. Im going to slap it with some clean grease and put it back together. That special tool wasn't needed cause I used the end of some needlenose pliers and that worked fine. I also downloaded the bendix diagrams from the "how to" section.

 

[deorman]

If it's a red band, I would recommend using oil on the brake clutch(#9).

 

[Tommy Atoms]

Ok, I reinstalled it after a good cleaning and greasing and now I have great brakes but it doesn't feel like its shifting. It feels like I'm pedaling faster than I should be. Deorman, What gives about using oil on #9 disc? I didnt see that in the instuctions. Also how far do you back pedal to shift it? Maybe Im going to far back? ARRRRRGGGGHHH! :x

 

[Wildcat]

How heavy was the grease you used? It might need some light oil to get everything moving back and forth in there. It sounds like you are stuck in low gear. I have a yellow band, but it shifts the same way, pedal backward almost to where you contact the brakes, or even if you hit the brakes, you should go to the other gear. That's the only thing to get used to, it will shift every time you back pedal. After riding mine a while, it became second nature.

 

[deorman]

The discs are basically a wet clutch, oil helps them separate when not braking, whereas the grease, due to it's greater cohesion, doesn't allow them to compress closely together during braking, and sticks together when not. They do need lube, and grease is way better than nothing. The only way I can think of that it could affect your shifting is if there were not enough of them(disc pairs), it would create extra space. Not having owned one, I'd have to have the actual pieces in my dirty greasy hands to give any other useful input. Good luck. :|

P.S. the oil/disc is general info-not specific to that hub.

 

[Tommy Atoms]

I have the correct amount of discs according to the manual. I think im going to take it apart onemore time and put a few drips of Lucas oil on some of the internals. I used high temperture wheel bearing grease and maybe it is to thick.

 

[Tommy Atoms]

Hey Moparpaul, I just realized I have really hijacked your thread here, and Im real sorry :roll: about that. Who thought I'd have this much trouble with this thing? Anyhows thanks MP for getting the discussion going on the hub topic.