Hello,

I've lurked in this forum now and again, but now it's time to post.

Does anyway have any experience with the Sturmey Archer X-RDC (70mm rear drum brake hub, cassette compatible)?

I built up 2 rear wheels for myself and my wife with these hubs and have been very happy with them, until now. My hub completely failed. The freehub no longer catches when you pedal forward. Upon disassembly and closer inspection, it appears that S-A employs a suspect design in their freehubs. The freehub body itself can be removed, but the ratcheting system is between the freehub body (3 spring loaded catches at the bottom) and the hub itself which has a circle of pawls that the catches, well, catch.

I'm still not clear on the cause of my failure, but the pawls on the hub seem to have worn down to the point that the freehub body can no longer hold the wheel when I pedal. The pawls and the catches are quite deep, so it's impossible that it was caused by a loose freehub body; that would have been quite noticeable I think.

Oh, and I have about 300km on the hub.

So, my question is, does anyone else have any experience with these hubs? They are still quite new and hard to get, but I am wondering if I just got a bad one or if this is a design flaw and I should expect my wife's wheel to end up the same way.

Any tips or ideas will be appreciated.