A Sturmey Archer Dynohub for the Sports

Hello and welcome. I had planned to replace the incorrect front wheel on the Raleigh Sports from the beginning. After searching and not finding anything I liked, I contacted Darrell from Bent Wrench Restorations. I was hoping he could point me in the right direction. He did better than that. He actually had two suitable wheels he was willing to sell. The first was a perfect match. But the other was even better, a perfect match with a Sturmey Archer Dynohub. After giving it some thought, I decided to purchase both of them. I really wanted the Dynohub for myself. And I know that if I ever do sell this bike I would want to keep the Dynohub for my next classic Raleigh.

Above: I am not exaggerating when I say, I had no idea how to hook up the headlamp wiring to this dynohub. All the old Sturmey Archer lamps I found on e bay and elsewhere had two wires coming from them. But all three of my salvaged headlamps have only have only one wire. I did manage to find a UK bike shop online that had some Sturmey Archer headlamps for sale. However I could not complete the purchase on their site. The site kept asking for my "security code" but gave me no place to enter it. After three tries I just gave up. I e mailed Darrell again asking if he knew of some directions or tutorial online that might help. He explained as basically as he could what I needed to do and gave me the URL of a bicycle lighting blog. Between Darrell's description and looking at some pics online. I got an idea of what I need to do.

Above: Even though I was not able to get the lamp to work by wiring it to the hub and spinning the wheel by hand, I decided to mount it on the bike anyway. Once I had the headlight mounted I checked the wire length and cut off the excess. Then with one post on the hub grounded to the frame I connected the headlamp wire to the other and spun the wheel. Then the least expected thing happened, The damn thing lit up! I think I probably had it wired properly "off the bike" but when I shortened the wire and stripped away the cover on the end of the wire I now had a good connection. Either the wire had a short in the part I cut off or the connector was no good. Maybe the lamp itself needed to be mounted to be grounded? So basically I don`t know 100% "for sure" why it is working. But I do know that it is, and that is good enough for now.

Above: The headlamp is actually a "Schwinn Approved" model. However it does look very much like the Sturmey Archer headlamp I was looking at the other night. And knowing that Schwinn imported many parts and accessories from England and France back in the day... I would not be surprised if it really is a Sturmey Archer.

Above: Today I decided to rewire the headlamp. The wire I used was very old and had several spots where it had been kinked. Also the connectors I used did not fit properly and were also tarnished badly. So this morning after coffee I headed to Peter's True Value Hardware to purchase some new low voltage wire and small wire connectors. I began by cutting the headlamp wire about 3 or 4 inches below the lamp. I also removed the wire cover for about the last 3/8 inch on both wires. I inserted the bare ends of the wire into the connectors. Then with the new wire properly inserted into the connectors I crimped on the male and female ends of the connector.

How I insert the wire depends on how much room for the wire there is in the connector itself. If it is too tight I will just insert the copper wire, folded over if necessary for a tight fit. (like the one above) If it is loose I will fold the (exposed copper) end of the wire over the wire cover, running back up the wire. Then insert the cover with the copper exposed on the side into the connector. The main thing is that is is tight and that the copper inner wire makes good contact inside the connector.

Above: Here from the opposite end of the wire I have slid a small piece of shrink tube over the new connection. This should protect the connection from corrosion. Shrink tube comes in many sizes. I chose a size that fits fairly snug over the connectors. To large of a size and the tube wont shrink down tightly. And the connection will not be secured and protected properly.

Above: To shrink the tube I wave a small flame from a Bic lighter back and forth underneath and around the tube as much as I can. (the above pic is actually the new ground wire) I need to keep the flame moving so I do not melt or ignite the shrink tube. Using a torch is not a good idea as it will make too much heat. I imagine a heat-gun would be the proper way to do this. But the Bic is faster and works well enough.

Above: You can see the shrink tube is now pretty snug to the connection. I will heat the ends a little more and try to get a better seal around the wire. If I ever want to access this connection I can remove the shrink tube using a razor knife.

Above: This time I chose to run the wire down the left or back side of the head tube. This will make it less noticeable when I photograph the bike. And I will secure it to the back side of the fork using black zip ties. Again to make the wire less noticeable. I have seen stick-on wire hangers on bikes before, but I have no idea who sells them. If you know where they can be purchased, please post it on the face book page or leave a comment.

Above: First thing I slid a small piece of shrink tube over the white wire. I then used a bare hook connector. (it has no plastic insulation) I strip about a 1/4 inch of the wire and fold it over the side of the wire cover so it is running back towards the lamp. Then I insert it into to connector and crimp it tightly with needle nose pliers. Then I slid the shrink tube into place and warmed it up. Then I just loosened the nut on the Dynohub and slipped the hook in behind it and re tightened it. You can see the connection on the left looks much cleaner than the connection on the right or red wire. The hook connector on the right is called an insulated connector. This is the ground wire and it should be black. Tomorrow I will pick up some bare hook connectors and scrounge up some black wire and replace it. Then it will look cleaner and be sealed up better too. This is why I grabbed a few different type connectors today at the hardware. I wanted to see what would work and look best. And now I know.

Above: Another change I will make tomorrow is the white wire should be outside the fender strut. With it behind the strut I had to add another zip tie to keep it from rubbing the hub. I might shorten the white wire a bit tomorrow as well. Quite often studying my photographs I notice things that I could have done differently or that just need a little tweaking.

Above: Here I have made up a new black ground wire using uninsulated connectors and protecting the connections with shrink tube. I also moved the headlamp wire to the outside of the fender strut and shortened it up a wee bit as well.

Above: I was having trouble trying to find this thin low voltage wire at Hardware Stores. Then it occurred to me that Radio Shack would be the place to go. And yes they had this 3 small spool set for $8.49 Another thing they have that could prove useful is a pretty good selection of flashlight bulbs.

Above: This 3 speed Raleigh has been a lot of fun to work on. And between this "Sports" and Brian's Raleigh "Sprite" I have learned a lot. I will be ordering the correct fork decals for the Sports. To me the modern ones just would not look right. And I did notice after riding the Sports that the left pedal spindle was ever so slightly bent. So for now I have vintage (1960's) English road bike pedals on it. So I will be changing those back to block pedals eventually. I thought the saddle would require a break in period but so far it has been very comfortable. I did read somewhere that Brooks uses a softer leather on their touring type saddles.

Above: Now it is the evening of the day after rewiring the headlamp for the last time. I ordered these NOS (new old stock) vintage Raleigh Pedals from the UK last night. As you might imagine they were "a little pricey". But after close inspection of the other pictures of the above pedals, I could see they are a perfect match both thread wise and spindle end wise. The threaded post ends are slotted for a large screwdriver just like the originals. I have read that, When European bicycle manufactures were attempting to standardize thread type (and I imagine metric sizes as well) Raleigh resisted. This was because Raleigh manufactured all their own parts. So there was no need to justify the cost of doing so. I think my pedals (1964) might have been made before Raleigh complied to the standards. (if they ever actually did) Because "In my opinion" the modern Raleigh 9/16 threading is just a little different than the old. The TPI (threads per inch) looks really close. But the angle of the threads looks different to me. I may be wrong about this, but I don't think so. I will look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas on the subject.

CAUTION!! The Modern Dynohubs are much more efficient. And the L.E.D. lights are brighter and better. But I almost never ride in the dark. This was done basically for the "Cool Factor". My Specialized and my flip/flop single speed both have bicycle LED head and tail lights. LED is the only to go if you are riding in the dark or anytime on the road or bike path.

Above: This is the other vintage wheel I purchased from Darrell. Unless someone is willing to pay a "boat load of money" for the Sports with the Dynohub wheel. This is the wheel that will be on it, when and if I sell it.

Above: When I do switch the wheels I will install one of theses vintage bolt on generator headlamp combinations. Please do not ask to purchase one of these from me, as they are among my most prized possessions. Along with my Schwinn "dog bone wrench" and my vintage Schwinn "pen type" pocket air gauge (Made in England). There are some things I will never part with.

I think on the "L.L. Bean" bike I will try to do a step by step on rebuilding the threaded headset. Seems like I am always focusing on the crank, probably because that is what people ask me about the most. Other than the pedals, which are on their way from the UK there is nothing else to talk about concerning the Raleigh Sports.

Until next time, Please RIDE SAFELY and Remember to Always...RESCUE, RESTORE & RECYCLE!! Cheers, Hugh

ATTENTION AMAZON SHOPPERS! You can help Support This Blog by simply shopping on Amazon dot com using the Amazon Search Box located at the Top Right Corner of This Page. It will not effect your cost and I will receive a very small commission. Thanks for your support, Hugh