Originally Posted by chucky

After that I suspect the story went something like this: When new ownership saw the product wasn't up to snuff, they put the "slightly imperfect" stock on clearance and Downtube snapped them up at a deep discount...knowing the hubs had problems. I don't think Sturmey tried to hide the fact that this particular batch of hubs had issues...just that Downtube didn't care because their selling point is low cost (not necessarily high quality). That's why no other folding bike OEMs used this hub, even though it was specifically designed for folders, because Sturmey was honest about the issues and the only buyer that still wanted the hubs was Downtube.