Links:
- Pictures / Explosion Drawings (German): Andree Schote is the reference concerning old Fichtel & Sachs internal gear hubs. Model 53, 55, 415, 515 and 3111 (former Sram T3)
- Spareparts and used hubs (German): Jens Hansen is another reference concerning Fichtel & Sachs, SRAM and Shimano hubs.
-
Recent Comments
Brian Perkins on Hub Stripping Tips! Rolle on F&S / Torpedo AUTOMAT… John I on John´s DUOMATIC Bicycle P… sean on Hub Stripping Tips! sean on John´s DUOMATIC Bicycle P… sean on DUOMATIC movie! william wilson on Online Shops… Thiwa on Shimano Alfine hub strips… ugge2002 on Shimano / Nexus INTER-8 ugge2002 on Shimano / Nexus INTER-8 -
July 24, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Please can you help me. I have an Anthrotec trike that has what I think is a SRAM dual drive 8 by 3 hub. It can only get 2 of its 3 hub gears. I would be grateful for any advice you can give.Best wishes, Bert
March 10, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Today, I broke the second axle of my SRAM i-MOTION 3. It lasted a full 2 weeks. This is somewhat better than the 4 days the first installment has lasted.
I have been using F&S Torpedo 3-speeds for over 30 years and never had anything like this. The roads have not changed in the past weeks, nor have I. There must be someting fundamentally wrong with this design.
March 11, 2009 at 5:00 am
Knut – thats very intriguing about the broken axles. Could you put up some photos of the broken parts? Something seems to be very wrong – thanks for the update though.
April 16, 2009 at 10:33 pm
The hub made a round trip to the SRAM (former Fichtel&Sachs) facility in Schweinfurt, Germany. Came back with the comment, that a piece of the axle was manufacuterd out of spec, probably leaving it vulnerable to breaking. Repaired free of charge. They had not seen the first one. At least they did not admit.
I had contacted SRAM by email and got immediate response and a phone call, asking for the bike to be returned to them through the dealer. Shipping and all else was taken care of by them.
Bottom line. Customer care of SRAM is ok. They do have a manufacturing problem that most likely affects more than just the two hubs that I have seen. So watch out for T3 hubs with manufactue dates around early 2009.
June 7, 2009 at 12:30 am
I was just cleaning out my bike parts box and found an old F&S Torpedo 3-speed hub with coaster brake plus some tools and spares for such hubs. I don’t think I will ever use these things so whoever pays me the shipping shall have it. Total weight is less than 2kg, within Germany that comes down to EUR 3.90 (small parcel = Paeckchen), international is more (check DHL.de).
The hub is the real old one designed to be used with an oiler (mit Oelnippel). It reads “515″ on the body and accepts 36 spokes. A 19-tooth sprocket is attached.
It was between 1980 and 1990 when I put this hub into the box, and I had salvaged it from what was an older bike back then. It tested OK at that time.
July 13, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Martin– with the old F&S– still have that stuff? I have a few old and trashed hubs, and could really use parts. If so, send me an e-mail– threespeednerd@gmail.com. Thanks.
August 25, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Haven’t received any reply to my mails, putting it on EBAY now.
August 23, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Does anyone know the size of bearing balls used in a Spectro T3? They seem to be an obscure metric size, in between 3/16″ and 1/4″.
August 23, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Hi, if the ball is between 3/16″ and 1/4″ it is 7/32″. It is a less common size today, but decades ago it was used in campagnolo freewheel hubs, some sturmey archer hubs and in your case Spectro (which was developed from Sachs) hubs, among others. Some headsets use/used that size too. If your LBS doesn’t have any, they can easily order you a quantity.
Hope this helps, keep your Spectro rolling!
August 27, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Thanks! I had to dig the old ones out from the depths of the bin, but it’s relatively easy to replace the balls without stripping the whole hub again.