Single speed to 3 speed conversion

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BARTO

BARTO

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Morning dudes and dudetts,

I have a late 40s early 50's Rollfast that I'm rodding out. I want to convert it to a three speed but don't want to get rid of the coaster brake. I have balloon tires and really don't want to put hand breakes on it. Any thoughts out there???

Already podercoated it satin black, installed a springer (think its a repop but still cool), new set of 2.125 white walls, some very cool reflecters, and a stupic cool battery powered horn. Seat is still at the powdercoaters but once complete I'll simply stretch some black and red leather over it...no padding. I want to find a tank and ape hangers for it and paint the rims red (I know...tons of em out there ...but I love em).

Thanks for the help everyone,

BARTO
 
Search eBay or Amazon for a Shimano 3 speed coaster brake hub. Or check with member ind-chuckz he usually has hubs or even complete wheels in his inventory. I got a Worksman 3 speed wheeler from him for the price of a hub alone.

Good luck brother.
 
Look for a Sturmey Archer SRC3 hub. You can then find a vintage Sturmey shifter to pair with it. You remove the rear hub from the rim, buy the correct length spokes, and lace the new hub into the rim. Get yourself a universal Sturmey cable and a pulley to go with it. The SRC3 hub has a strong brake and shifts pretty smoothly. I did that on this Schwinn Tiger:

2.7.15%20002_zpswqcpnqwr.jpg
 
I agree, 3 speed w coaster is the way to go. No extra brake, just a shifter and cable. I prefer my 2 speed with no cables or anything but that's not 3 speeds. I have done a few 3 speed w coaster conversions and liked using the twist grip shifter best. I tried to make the cable hidden as much as possible also. Shimano, Sturmey and Sachs 3 speeds all worked well for me.

Sachs:
2vxq42p.jpg


Shimano with twist grip shifter and cable routed through tank:
213n6rm.jpg


Sturmey Archer heavy duty:
169honn.jpg
 
I just gotta type 2 words: Sturmey. Archer. Yes, the offerings from other manufacturers will work, but if you go AWC or S-RC3, you'll have more gearing options than Shimano, more parts availability than any other, and less spreading to do on the rear dropouts (the hub is spaced at 116; most others are 120mm...)
 
Awesome, thanks for the photos too..Wildcat, love how you hid the cable in the tank. To date all of my hobby builds (motorcycles and cars) have been stock so I want to use some kind of a big obnoxious shifter on this so it really sticks out (no pun intended).

BARTO
 
If black rims match your build, then @ind-chuckz just posted a nice 3 speed heavy duty wheelset.
If lime green wheels float your boat, then I have a new Electra 3 speed wheelset.
 
Cool, if you are planning on painting rims, then it may be best going the route of buying the 3 speed hub separately and lacing it up after you paint.
 
I love it on my 1940 CWC. It works great, use it on single track and unlike a derailleur it shifts going uphill. I used an all thread rod, fender washers, nuts and a caliper to cold set the dropouts. I then realigned the dropouts parallel with a big wrench. I did this again day before yesterday on an AMF that I converted to a 3 speed coaster.
 
Are you kiddng? A single track on a 1940 bike! That is just way too cool! Thanks for the motavation. After I find a tank for my rollfast I'm going for the three speed....thanks oh, and I love the seat post
 
Bicycle808 said:
I just gotta type 2 words: Sturmey. Archer. Yes, the offerings from other manufacturers will work, but if you go AWC or S-RC3, you'll have more gearing options than Shimano, more parts availability than any other, and less spreading to do on the rear dropouts (the hub is spaced at 116; most others are 120mm...)
Click to expand...
808, What should I expect to pay for a Sturmey Archer?
 
BARTO said:
Are you kiddng? A single track on a 1940 bike! That is just way too cool! Thanks for the motavation. After I find a tank for my rollfast I'm going for the three speed....thanks oh, and I love the seat post
Click to expand...
I bent two seat posts. The first was the homemade lucky 7 in the picture, then I made a straight one, thinking with my weight right under it that it wouldn't bend: wrong. It now has a the strongest cold rolled 5/8 steel rod available and so far that has not bent but 2 feet of it was nearly $40. They bend pretty easily on single track bumps.
 
BARTO said:
Uggghhh, I'm 230 lbs...I might - just might be a little heavy for one
Click to expand...
I weigh 155, you will bend a hot rolled mild steel one for sure. The cold rolled may work and there is a guy on this site that sells hand made posts that the big guys haven't been bending. He has not answered my requests for costs so I don't know if he has current stock or not, but that would be the place for you to get the strongest seat post available for these old bikes. Mine was the thinest style 5/8 inch which is part of the problem.
 

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