Three speed gear hubs have been on the market continuously for ~111 years manufactured around the world by a host of companies, so clearly they meet the needs of some segment of the cycling community.

The traditional recommendation is to set them up something like this:


Shimano, SRAM and Sturmey-Archer all build fine three-speed hubs, but S-A gets my aftermarket nod



for their 107mm-135mm OLD offerings, their large selection of shifter styles, their spare parts support, their generally complete 'kits' and the beautiful finishes on their alloy hub shells.