gsi095

Hi,

I wanted to put together a bike to ride the 3 kilometres to work.

I wanted to use a coaster brake and single speed and I found these 3 speed internal hubs with coaster brake.

As its hilly in North Sydney I wanted to know how the gearing works.

Does it automatically shift?

See link to the Sturmey Archer S-RC3, is there an eternal shifting mechanism?

https://www.sturmey-archer.com/products/hubs/cid/3/id/15

Thanks
Dave

Panthers007

These hubs - which will last a lifetime or more with minor maintenance - are shifted by a finger-shifter mounted - usually - on the handlebars. These will come with the hub, if bought new, and include the cables and instructions. Here is a 3-speed S-A shifter:

https://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1556

The brake is actuated by simply pedaling backwards, like any other coaster-brake. These hubs are available in many models - with or without coaster-brake. If you like caliper-brakes better, get an S-A AW hub.

LarDasse74

As Panthers007 said, the shifting is handled with a shifter mounted on the handlebar, and coaster brakes are an option with that type of hub.

I have heard, however, that the modern Sturmey Archer hubs are designed to be used with a conservative gear ratio and might give you problems when used with too easy a gear ratio. I always had the impression these hubs were best suited for small-wheel bikes (like folders) as they generally have a much larger gear than standard-wheel bikes.

Similar hubs are made by Shimano and Sram that may be a better choice for an all-around bike.

Panthers007

I bought a brand-new S-A AW hub last summer from Harris. Mounted it on a classic 3-spd.* with the 26 X 1 3/8" wheels. Gear ration on this was the same as it always was. I opted for the S-A as parts are widely available and battle-tested (literally!). It, like always, simply needs to be set-up properly. And this isn't rocket-science - they are still easy enough for a 10 year old to adjust.

* - PUCH 3spd. from around 1973. See below i a almost finished stage of restoration.

Mr IGH

That's the 8 speed hub, the 3 and 5 speed hubs are great for the OP's application.

tatfiend 

If you want/need a 3 speed hub with auto shifting Shimano makes such a system. I believe though that it also requires their special generator front hub for the system to provide power to the control electronics which are in a third module which mounts to the seat tube. It also has a control module for handlebar mounting. A lot of wire to be run between the various components.

This makes conversion of an older bike more expensive by far than just installing a manually shifted 3 speed hub from Sturmey Archer, SRAM or Shimano.

gsi095

Thanks so muc for th information. Makes alot more sense.

I'll look for an single speed coaster option instead.

Dave

BCRider

But you said it's hilly in your area. For that you'll want gears for the uphills. Either that or if you select your single speed ratio for climbing the worst hill you encounter then you'll be spinning madly on the flat areas.

However the fact that you're here on BF and the fact that you even remember and want to find a 3 or more speed hub these days implies that you are after something a little out of the ordinary and are willing to go to the trouble and expense needed to get it. This being the case I suspect there's more to this quest than you're telling us.

Otherwise if this is simply to get a bike to get to work with just go find a used MTB in OK condition for cheap and put some smooth road slick tires on it.


Panthers, your Puch makes me long for something similar even if it only gets used for some casual beach or other flat trail rides. That's a beauty! But... um.... when will the brown Brooks be arriving to go with the brown grips and green frame?

gsi095

Hi BCRider,

You are very perceptive.....There is more to my "quest".

I do have an old Mountain Bike with road tyres but have become dissatisfied with it.

I remember riding a single speed clunker in Vietnam 2 years go through Hoi An that I rented for $1 a day and it was really fun, like riding was when you were a kid. No fancy gears and a back pedal brake.

This led me to try and recapture that experience.

While at a design store I came across the Vanmoof bike https://www.vanmoof.com/ and it was exactly what I was looking for. At $1000 (Australian dollars) it was a bit above my current budget with a baby due in 2 weeks. It didn't pass the W.A.F (wife approval factor) given our current situation.

I do have an old steel road frame in storage and decided to build a bike along the lines of the Vanmoof. Specifications include Single speed, coaster brakes, Brooks Saddle (ebay for that, possible second hand...so to speak) and clean lines.

While looking at coaster brake hubs I came across the 3 speed versions and that prompted my question. I don't want to ruin the simplicity of the bike with cables so Im back to a single speed hub.

Im willing to deal with the hills, what goes up must come down too.

Thanks for everyones help!

Dave

Mr IGH

Bendix two speed?

https://www.trfindley.com/pgbndxhbs.html

gerald_g 

My wife's bike has the 4 speed nexus. It's really nice, but I want to get a bigger rear sprocket for it, due to it's overall gear ratio being a bit to high for her, and would be for climbing for me.

BCRider

Aaahhhhhh..... so you've been assimilated by the fixie/single speed collective I see.... As a fellow rabid (the use seems fitting when it comes to fixies/SS's ) enthusiast that is on his second SS I have to sympathize and encourage. I started with a converted 10 speed that went from drop bars for the first few years to moustache bars for the last couple. It was a superb bike but I got to lusting after the Redline 925 and decided to get it as a slightly early retirement gift to myself.

As long as there's no killer 6 ot 8 degree grade hills you'll be able to find a ratio that'll let you grunt up the hills a little but not spin out to a crazy degree on the level. Due to the need to find a compromise gear you'll likely find that your comfort pace on the level will be around 25kph. If you don't mind a higher cadence maybe 30kph. Spin the dickens out of it and you'll hit 35 to 38kph but just don't lose it or your legs will tie themselves around the frame tubes in a highly comical manner

Another negative about the coaster brake hubs is that I suspect you'll find that a lot of them have little or no gearing options. So any changes you want to make would need to be done at the cranks.

You've got the right idea but if there's hills and traffic on your route then relying on only a coaster brake isn't being fair to your soon to be born offspring. It's a dangerous world out there for a cyclist on the roads and you need to adjust your sights a little and figure on at least a front brake to go with your coaster brake. Or opt for a proper single speed wheel with a single speed freewheel and two brakes. With brake levers that run under the bar tape and if you either run the housing under the top tube or modify the top tube to allow internal routing you'll maintain much of the simplicity but still have the real world advantage of actually being able to stop when and where you want or need to stop.


I know that no levers sounds simple and artsy and all. But if you talk to a lot of fixie riders that don't run any brakes at all most of the crash survivors will tell you that running at least a front is a pretty good idea in retrospect. The ones that can't answer that question would likely say yes as well if they were still here to answer......