My visits to the bike coop this week revealed what appears to be an embarrassment of riches - 2 IGH with hub brakes that followed me home.

As a year-round cyclist in a region with 7 months of sub-optimal cycling weather each year, I have become enthusiastic about avoiding rim brakes for my all weather bikes. I have rebuilt Sturmey Archer AW and S5 hubs, and also Sachs Pentasport and Torpedo 3 hubs. So finding two internal gear hubs with hub brakes made me excited to rebuild the hubs and lace them into wheels, but I wanted to check with the experience of others with these two hubs before committing to these chores. It would also be a particular treat to have a wide range 5 speed that does not have the annoyance of a coaster brake that stops one from adjusting the pedal positioning.

1. Sturmey Archer X-RD5(W) - Sunrace-designed Sturmey Archer 5 speed (256% total gear range) with 70mm drum brake and matched DT shifter

I believe this hub needs some attention as the hub parts seem to be only loosely fitted when I opened the hub shell (though the scrapes on the exterior are only cosmetic). I was not able to find more than an exploded parts diagram to guide me in a rebuild. Moreover, the hub was a gift, but I can return the shifter for sale at the bike co-op, if the hub cannot be made serviceable. If anyone can suggest any further guidance to the rebuild, I believe I would have the courage to proceed.

2. SRAM i-Motion 3 with coaster brake

This hub appears to be in a working condition, so I just need to lace it into a wheel and then test with a friction shifter (which seems to work with other 3 speed IGHs I have made suffer). Any cautionary advice about poor experience with this type of hub would be welcome (other than I know they were recently recalled due to problems with the grease causing the brakes to no always behave, so I can rely on a front disc brake). If it passes a preliminary function test, I will probably rebuild it with fresh grease in the hope of long service, even if it only has 3 speeds and is cursed with a coaster brake.

Finally, any thoughts about drilling each of these hub shells to add an oil port to allow them to be run "wet"?

-Will