Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Sturmey SX3 Hub

Heads up!! No timeline, etc. but it looks like a reality, finally! I can't wait to build up a nice 'retro' upright type...

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/three-speed-fixies-make-a-return-18328

its great that they are finally bringing this back. now maybe i can afford one.

Group Buy!!!

omg.. so excited. I want this asap. Perfect for my new build.

Perfect for LIFE.

I'm in on groupbuy. I bet they won't groupbuy.

It's still a prototype. They have been working on this for well over a year now.

I wonder what the cost will be...

I am totally in on a group buy!!!

same.

Is the backlash tight enough for track standing? The whole world wonders.


I wonder what the cost will be...

"You can pick up a regular Sturmey SRF3 three speed hub in the USA for $52 retail, and that includes a cog and the shifter. An S3X couldn't be that much more," he said naively.

tcs

I just saw the update on Metafilter, of all places. It seems like the jumps are awfully broad. I'd like to see something tighter, as they did in the original.

I just saw the update on Metafilter, of all places. It seems like the jumps are awfully broad. I'd like to see something tighter, as they did in the original.

heard a sentiment or two that the original was geared too closely together. I mean why not have a granny gear, an around town gear and a flat out flying gear.

heard a sentiment or two that the original was geared too closely together. I mean why not have a granny gear, an around town gear and a flat out flying gear.

Fair enough. I was thinking of using it as a retro time trialer.

God, if you're still listening, I would like million dollars.

Man, I want one. A gear to ride to the trails, a gear for the trails, and a granny gear. Who could ask for more?

-Rob.

No care ever.

Oh, the around-town bicycle I will build around this hub will be a good one. Honjo fenders, some dynamo lighting.... I'm stoked.

i just can't see this thing going that far... we have fixies, we have internally geared coastable hubs...but these market segments seem too disjointed to make this a viable product; IOW, the people that go for bikes with internal gearing are usually very different from those that go for fixed.

i just can't see this thing going that far... we have fixies, we have internally geared coastable hubs...but these market segments seem too disjointed to make this a viable product; IOW, the people that go for bikes with internal gearing are usually very different from those that go for fixed.

Don't be so certain. Lots of new fixed riders want fixed because it is cool
and zen and all that so they will eschew the retro-grouchish 3-speed hub
but every time an old ASC hub shows up on e-bay it
changes hands. For a lot of money.

Bikcult NYC describes an ASC they found thusly: Jim found a sacred object on a special track frame: a working Sturmey-Archer ASC three-speed fixed-gear hub. This 40-spoke gem was refit with a 40-spoke Sun CR18 rim, and a 28-spoke Mavic Open Pro for wingnut Airlite front hub. Continental Duraskin tires, Nitto moustache bars, special Brooks leather saddle, Campagnolo pista cranks

I think there are enough old and new convert retro grouches, and just plain old people who liked
fixed but want more than one gear that it will sell. It's a different schtick than the stripped down
bike for the velodrome or the street beater fixed machine.

I'd order one in a NY minute.

*drools uncontrollably*

I love my Sa three speeds and I love my fixed gears... I will also love my new SX3.

I think my heart skipped a beat. Seriously. I haven't had anything like that happen since I met my (unfortunately now ex) girlfriend.

....this is not a good sign.

Now this I will buy. Extremely useful.

sooo... it is a fixed 3 speed? i read about this earlier today, but dont quite understand

three speeds because it has three gearings.
fixed because for each gear there is no freewheel.
you can change between gears but you cannot
coast in any gear.

three speeds because it has three gearings.
fixed because for each gear there is no freewheel.
you can change between gears but you cannot
coast in any gear.oh, that is really cool. id be down for a group buy.

probably won't be hugely expensive but not a bad idea.
once you get to having a wheel built saving money
wherever you can makes sense.

Then it's settled, bfssfg "group s3x" buy. I'm down like a clown!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2058/2330546575_a05dd6d872.jpg?v=0

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2074/2331383008_78ac689290_b.jpg

ive had my asc set up for almost a year now. it is not like a track bike you can shift. totally different animal. dont expect it to be a hub for skidding, tricks, or other nonsense. but its damn fun if you utilize it how it was meant to be.

damn fun if you utilize it how it was meant to be.

That intended use is going 40mph. I won't gear mine for a granny/cruising/flying combo. I'm going for cruising/flying/drafting-cars-on-Storrow-Drive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storrow_Drive) set-up!

I set mine up with a 52t ring in the front and an 18 in the back, giving me 78, 70, and 58 gear inches. won first fixed in the santa cruz wildcat (mixed terrain alleycat) this year on it.

\\

128 - That Carlton is a sweet bike and the ASC is drool worthy.

[Raises hand] Are the cogs interchangeable so as to be able to adjust the gear ratios up or down?[/Raises hand]

cant say for sure but a lot of the internal hubs Ive dealt with have a splined cog system. I would guess this would be the case as well.

that ASC set up is awesome 120. . .
now if only I had a lugged frame
to go with the new SX3 when it comes out.

I have a lugged frame that eagerly awaits the SB3...err... SX3 hub.

ive had my asc set up for almost a year now. it is not like a track bike you can shift. totally different animal. dont expect it to be a hub for skidding, tricks, or other nonsense. but its damn fun if you utilize it how it was meant to be.

I don't want to hate you, but you leave me no choice. Please tell me it was insanely expensive so I feel better about you having one while I wait for this thing to get through production. If the new model isn't compatible with a trigger shifter, it will be a shame.

ASC hubs are insanely expensive.

I have only been lucky enough to fondle one and there are some issues with their durability.

I'm getting one by any means necessary, whether the LBS, a group buy here, or industrial espionage in the UK.

This will be the perfect complement to my Sachs Duomatic 2-speed kickback coaster wheel! I will miss being able to shift without running a shift cable though. Perhaps Sturmey can make a modern kick back hub while they are bringing out the retro awesome-ness?

[QUOTE
This will be the perfect complement to my Sachs Duomatic 2-speed kickback coaster wheel! I will miss being able to shift without running a shift cable though. Perhaps Sturmey can make a modern kick back hub while they are bringing out the retro awesome-ness?[/QUOTE]

you don't have to wait for S-A... this guy is selling 2-speed Duomatics, NOS:

http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/torpedo-duomatic-fs/

I don't want to hate you, but you leave me no choice. Please tell me it was insanely expensive so I feel better about you having one while I wait for this thing to get through production. If the new model isn't compatible with a trigger shifter, it will be a shame.

250 for the hub built up to a 27" rim. Ive seen them go for MUCH more though. I found a 50 dollar 700c 40h rim online, and rebuilt it myself (I switched to 700c to get more tire choices and clearance for the bigger tires that I wanted) the trigger cost me 80 bucks. So the whole set up cost me about 400 in the end. A little less than my generator hub in the front so I cant complain.

oh, that is really cool. id be down for a group buy.
Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, I'd be in for a group buy if we can get a good deal.

I could care less about tricks, but why exactly would this hub be bad for skipping/skidding. People keep saying it has "reliability issues". It sounds to me that very few people have ever held one, and even less people are running one, but those that are couldn't be happier. Is there a lot of slack in the drivetrain while using one? Does it work on some sort of clutch system that wears out?

There is some slack/lash in the drive train. as you shift to the easier gears (the hardest is 1x1) the lash increases. It does not feel like a standard fixed gear, with the added bonus of shifting. for that, find me my holy grail, a sturmey archer TF. (thanks in advance!) I think hard skidding and skipping would damage the internals, which are much smaller and delecate than the brutishness that is your average fixed gear set up. The asc works on a sun/planetary gear system, there are a lot of little parts in there that I dont think are up to being worked that kind of way.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2128/2269743613_f9000eb03f.jpg?v=0

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2027/2269743661_25ca15ecb0_o.jpg

so the what DOES it feel like? Is the lash similar to a loose chain or far worse? Would things sunchas track standing harm the internals?

i would say it feels similar to having a loose chain. Ive had no problems track standing and back pedaling/resisting to control my speed but that is nowhere near the same amount of torque as skidding or skipping. It will be interesting to see if sunrace builds them with tighter tolerances than the old english ones (as is the case with most their hubs)

Watch them release it on a 40 hole cutting.

:(

Interesting idea. But there goes the clean look on your fixed gear.

I think hard skidding and skipping would damage the internals, which are much smaller and delecate than the brutishness that is your average fixed gear set up.

Unless the tolerances are substantialy upgraded, would the new hubs need front and rear brakes?

I wouldnt feel safe riding my ASC without a brake. I went with front and rear as I always intended the bike to do double duty as something I could do light fire roads and mellow single track with.

I wouldnt feel safe riding my ASC without a brake. I went with front and rear as I always intended the bike to do double duty as something I could do light fire roads and mellow single track with.

I will have to adjust my riding style for this hub. I have been brakeless for so long, I will have to relearn. It is very tempting for my commuter or around town bike!

I can just see a BFSSFG group buy. 75% of the hubs get stripped from excessive skidding the first week of ownership!!!

Are the cogs interchangeable so as to be able to adjust the gear ratios up or down?

Long answer: Well, we're talking about the new S3X which actually no one has got in their grubby little hands, but I can't imagine that Sturmey would use anything other than the standard driver design they have used since 1903. This is as near universal as it gets in bicycling: the same cogs are used and interchange on every SA 1, 3, 5 and 7 speed hub, SRAM/Sachs 1, 3, 5 and 7 speed hub, Shimano 1, 3, 4, 7 and 8 speed hub, Velosteel coaster hubs AND the diameter and spline pattern are identical to Shimano freehub cogs EXCEPT a freehub cog has six splines instead of just three (http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Tools/Pages/default.aspx) like the IG hubs. Cogs are available from SA, SRAM and Shimano in 13T to 23T counts for road and track chain, either flat or dished for chainline ajustment.

Short answer: yep.

tcs

It will be interesting to see if sunrace builds them with tighter tolerances than the old english ones...

The S3X has different ratios than the ASC and quite possibly is a completely different design.

tcs

...but these market segments seem too disjointed to make this a viable product...

If it was high volume/mainstream, Shimano would already be making one!

tcs