Bicycle Mechanics - Sturmey Archer hubs

I have been looking for a couple used 3 speed inner axle hubs WITH coaster brake. I have found a few Sturmey Archers without the coaster brake (requiring caliper brakes). I cannot find any with coaster brakes at a reasonable price. Can a coaster brake be installed into a 3 speed hub that originally did not have one?...or is the hub and assembly incompatable to add to?

If a coaster brake version was offered during its production year, you can probably convert a given S/A hub, but you will be unable to find the necessary parts at a reasonable price. Keep looking for a coaster-brake unit or, more likely, for a suitable donor bike with one.

Or try Shimano 333's. They are supposed to be as reliable as Sturmey Archers, but lack that certain British gentlemanly je ne sais quoi.

Sturmey Archer 3-Speed hubs with coaster brakes ARE hard to find, but they do exist. Your best bet is to find and old bike with an S/A hub and take the hub from it.

I have one on my Raleigh Sport from 1972.

Look on ebay at http://listings.ebay.com/aw/listings/list/category420/index.html

Look at whole 3-speed bikes. You might be able to buy a bike for $30.00 or so and ask the seller to just ship the rear wheel.

The quicky way to determine if it is possibly a coaster-brake 3-speed is to look at the handlebars and see if it only has one brake lever (for the front brake).

If you add this to your bike you should also be sure you have a front caliper brake to assist braking.

I concur with Mike, except I would say that you need the coaster brake to assist braking, since I consider the front brake the primary deceleration device and will not ride any bike which lacks one.

One of the problems with used S/A hubs is that, while they do require very little maintenance, I'll bet not 1 in 100 of them out there have even recieved that. Most of the S/A hubs available in the US are over 25 years old, and if there is any oil still in them, it has probably sepeated and gunked up the insides.
Sheldon Brown sells new S/A (as well as new Nexus and Rohloff) hubs. That would likely be the better idea.

Holy jingles!

A Sturmey-Archer 3-speed coaster brake hub just sold on e-bay for $98.00.

Like I said, keep your eyes open for old bikes with 3-speed coaster brakes.

Happy hunting.

Mike