Need help in extending Sturmey Archer Shifter Cable

[doity]

Hi all. I have a 2004 Raleigh Chopper reproduction bike, 3 speed. It does not have the old-style shifter (stick shift) but has the handlegrip shifter as they don’t use those old shifters anymore due to safety reasons. I bought a NOS Sturmey Archer “Twinshift” off of EBay years ago but never got around to installing it. Finally got around to it but the cable(s) are too short. Only one of the two cables will go to the rear derailleur and the other one will have to be tied down somewhere on frame.

The cables are too short to reach the back wheel and truthfully I have no idea of how to work on bikes beyond basic things like tires and brakes. I did talk with the store that I bought the shifter from and he said it is hard as those cables are proprietary and that it needs to stay semi-original. I guess meaning that I couldn’t re-cable the shifter. I am not sure if the ‘new’ shifter will even work with my current setup but can’t see why not. I have attached a picture of the back wheel derailleur....the hub is one of those SA internal gear hubs.


Here is a product that I saw.....will this work? Thanks for any help in advance!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/353498500151
Here are pictures of my bike, the shifter, and the back wheel:

 

[RustySprockets]

I think I understand what you're trying to achieve here and would disagree that the cables are non-replaceable. However, they are a little unique and the modification is probably not a job for a complete rube. No offense...everybody has to start somewhere...but inexperience will not work to your advantage here. The eBay products you've suggested are, in my opinion, way overpriced and of questionable value. I would actually be tempted to modify the cable that currently runs to your handlebar shifter instead. But...that's just me.

On the lighter side, that SA three-speed hub is pretty forgiving and needs only to be adjusted accurately to the Gear 2 position. The other positions are not that sensitive.

 

[doity]

Thanks for the reply. The problem is that the shifter has already been permanently mounted. The store that I bought it from strongly advised making modifications to the original cable where it originates at the shifter as it is pretty much locked in place. I looked at it and it did seem like it was made to not be tampered with. So that leaves me with extending it and the end that it terminates at.

But yes......I would likely have someone do the work who knew what they were doing as it is due for a tuneup anyway. I am usually pretty good at figuring mechanical things out but for some reason I draw a blank with bicycles, and am not familiar with all of the parts that allow them to work. Seems that there should be a decent enough workaround though, even just for light use?

 

[doity]

I think I understand what you're trying to achieve here and would disagree that the cables are non-replaceable. However, they are a little unique and the modification is probably not a job for a complete rube. No offense...everybody has to start somewhere...but inexperience will not work to your advantage here. The eBay products you've suggested are, in my opinion, way overpriced and of questionable value. I would actually be tempted to modify the cable that currently runs to your handlebar shifter instead. But...that's just me.

On the lighter side, that SA three-speed hub is pretty forgiving and needs only to be adjusted accurately to the Gear 2 position. The other positions are not that sensitive.

So are you talking about somehow ‘splicing’ the newer shifter cable into the current cable going to the derailleur? Because that makes more sense really as that already has the correct hardware and is dialed in. But like I say I am a novice when it comes to bike mechanics.

 

[doity]

Here is a blurry picture that I found online of the innards of the twinshift shifter that I want to use. You can see that it was not really made to be repairable as the cable end (sorry don’t know the terminology) is locked down tighter than Fort Knox.

 

[RustySprockets]

It's true that I am not familiar with the internal workings of the TwinStick shifter, but cables do wear out with normal use, so it's reasonable to expect that they are replaceable...even if that is a chore. I am not suggesting that you splice the cables--that is a sure path to eventual failure.

BTW, there IS no derailleur on that bike--internal gear hubs don't use them. I'll see if I can scare up a video explaining, at least, the basic premise of SA cable replacement and adjustment. A typical replacement kit is pictured below. The inner cable comes with two different cable ends. The unused one gets cut off and discarded. Unlike the original setup, the new adjusting barrel features an anchor clamp to which the new inner cable--adjusted for length--can be affixed.

 

[clamdigger]

Looks like standard Sportshift cable with large barrel on the end. Remove by sliding the barrel upwards thru the holes by #21 . It lifts out. Sturmey - Archer makes a connector for the other end called an anchorage. After the cable and cable housing are cut to their respective lengths , the barrel is attached with a nut and bolt. You can buy just the anchorage, or a kit https://www.amazon.com/CABLE-Speed-...s=sturmey+archer+parts&qid=1629146494&sr=8-41

 

[clamdigger]

http://sturmey-archerheritage.com/images/photos/pic-125.3.jpg

 

[doity]

Looks like standard Sportshift cable with large barrel on the end. Remove by sliding the barrel upwards thru the holes by #21 . It lifts out. Sturmey - Archer makes a connector for the other end called an anchorage. After the cable and cable housing are cut to their respective lengths , the barrel is attached with a nut and bolt. You can buy just the anchorage, or a kit https://www.amazon.com/CABLE-Speed-...s=sturmey+archer+parts&qid=1629146494&sr=8-41

Thanks for the good info. I was able to push the barrel end up through some holes in the bottom but it seems to be locked in that channel, for a lack of a better word. See pictures. It doesn’t seem like it was made to be removed unless I am missing something?

 

[doity]

It's true that I am not familiar with the internal workings of the TwinStick shifter, but cables do wear out with normal use, so it's reasonable to expect that they are replaceable...even if that is a chore. I am not suggesting that you splice the cables--that is a sure path to eventual failure.

BTW, there IS no derailleur on that bike--internal gear hubs don't use them. I'll see if I can scare up a video explaining, at least, the basic premise of SA cable replacement and adjustment. A typical replacement kit is pictured below. The inner cable comes with two different cable ends. The unused one gets cut off and discarded. Unlike the original setup, the new adjusting barrel features an anchor clamp to which the new inner cable--adjusted for length--can be affixed.

Yes I know it isn’t a “derailleur” in the classic sense, but was just using that name for the plastic cover thing that the end cable feeds into. I told you I was a novice .

 

[RustySprockets]

I wish I had some hands-on with this assembly. It looks to me like the white cable housing and ferrule gets pulled back and the inner stainless cable lifted up and out of those zig-zag slots. The barrel end on the cable should pop right out from the circular depression. If they're not cooperating, it's probably because they've been in place for a long time.

 

[doity]

I will likely just keep it on as decoration as it does look cool. Maybe somewhere down the line I will figure out how to connect the shorter cable from the shifter to the current cable going to the hub. It just seems like too much of a hassle right now.

 

[bleedingfingers]

I would find the proper 3 speed shifter as well as I don't know if the 5 speed is indexed properly .
So it may not work anyway .

 

[rickpaulos]

the right side (3 speed ) of the twin stick indexing is the same as a standard 3 speed.
the left side is a hi/lo.
Technically the 1970s S5 hubs were 6 speed hubs but two of the ratios are identical. One lever shifted the 3 speed on the right side. The other lever shifted the hi/low setting on the left side. Two cables going the rear hub on each side.

The cable ends are like mtb brake ends but smaller and with thinner cables. A midi-barrel end. The shimano 3 speed cable from the 1970s is pretty close and might fit.

There is no derailleur in your photos. I see a Sun-Race Sturmey Archer 3 speed internally geared hub. The right side of the twin stick should work fine with that newer hub. Sun Race of Taiwan bought Sturmey Archer in the British version of Bankruptcy court about 22 years ago. Many of the products are fully compatible with the older stuff, plus a bunch of newer designs including 5 or 7 speeds that shift with a single cable.

I also notice white cable housing coming out of the twin stick in one photo and black housing with a factory connection in the rear hub photo.

So how short is too short? If it's under a couple inches, a bolt on repair adjuster is longer and may reach. Side the factory fitting up the cable and cut off just the very end.

I've spliced cables together end to end to make them longer. I have a vintage tandem with a Cyclo derailleur that uses a 10 foot long cable with the anchor in the middle. Those are simply not available. I use two brake cable bolts from side pull brakes and feed both of the skinnier gear cables through both bolts. Not elegant but it works.