Originally Posted by
bfloyd6969
Another option I am consider is a 2 speed hub and I see that SA also has a 2 speed kick back hub. How does this work? I see there is no shifter for this. Is it a smooth working option? I wish to not use a coaster brake....
Thanks for the help.
I have a bike with a Sturmey Archer S2 (kick shift, no brake). I got the wheel with that hub on Craigslist. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend it. I have two complaints with the hub: 1. When you stop, it does not default to low gear. To me, this is a no-brainer feature; when you start out, you want to be in low. Instead, you have to simply start pedaling and if the pedaling is hard, you have to shift from H to L. 2. I've had the hub for a while now, and still getting the hang of how to shift it. Sometimes a little kick will do it, sometimes I move the pedals backwards a lot and it doesn't shift.
On the plus side, I like having a bike that has no shift cables on it. Kind of a clean look.
An alternative to the the SA hub is the
SRAM Automatix.
It shifts based on the speed that your wheel is spinning. When you get going fast enough, it upshifts. When you slow down, it downshifts. The rider doesn't have direct control, but I think the way the bike shifts on its own is pretty much what a rider wants anyway. I had an old bike that had the same shift scheme and I really liked the way it worked.