fxdgrjedi

Hey all. Not really sure where else on BF to ask this question, so I thought I'd land it inthe mechanics forum.

I'm looking to build up a rear wheel with a 3-speed internal coaster brake hub. I've had my eyes on the current offerings from Shimano and Sturmey Archer, and have read that the newer Sturmey hubs have pretty marginal braking, while the Shimano Nexus are fairly nice.

I am also looking at older Sturmey Archer hubs, as there are many on eBay that can be had for much less than a new Nexus. First question is: is it a gamble to buy an older used Sturmey IGH? I have mechanical proficiency and tools, but I dont want to work with a hub that has worn-out or bum parts.

My second question is about downtube friction shifter compatibility. I am wanting to run a DT shifter on an older road bike instead of the trigger and grip shifters supplied with the Sturmey and Nexus hubs.

Thanks for any help (and pictures) that anyone can give!

mconlonx

I don't have enough experience with S-A coaster brakes to comment authoritatively -- the one on the S2C hub I had was plenty good enough.

Usually not a gamble to buy an older S-A hub since there is good parts availability on the most common among them and they actually are fairly simple to work on.

S-A makes a shifter that will attach to a downtube boss, so that might decide it for me right there; the same S-A shifter can be set up to work with a Nexus up if you rig it right, so that second gear is dialed in at the detente.

fietsbob

NIG Sturmey archer hubs at least wont go into a false Neutral..

Back in the era JFK was still breathing air, I had my 3 speed AW3 no-NIG design feature,

I used a downtube Huret lever to shift the Hub.

in fact I had 3 downtube levers .. as a 3 cog cluster on the 3 speed and a triple crankset
had derailleurs connected to those other 2 levers

3 cubed .. 27 speed.

I was barely a teenager then.

if you have any hand coordination motor skills you can learn how far to move the lever
to engage the planetary gear combinations.

JohnDThompson 

IIRC, modern Sturmey-Archer shifters can mount on standard down tube shifter bosses. But any friction lever would also work, with a little finesse.

Regarding used hubs: the Sturmey Archer AW series hubs have been in production since the mid 1930s with only minimal design changes through the years. They are solid and dependable; I have a 1953 AW hub on my daily commuter bike. With such a long production history, parts are also abundant and inexpensive.

tcs

I'd say the 'NIG' modification, which was implemented in 1988 on AWC coaster hubs, was fairly significant both in number of different parts and in operation.

Kimmo

If a compatible DT lever can't be found, given your mechanical prowess you could probably convert one.

I'm thinking you could use a Shimano lever that switches between friction and index. When you disassemble one you see two concentric rings with indexing divots on one and fine lines on the other. The tricky part would be to figure out and transpose the two points you want the lever the stop, but when you've done that you can just make the points on the friction ring with a centre punch, I guess.

There are two balls and two sets of index divots, but one set of your own may well suffice. If you mess it up you can probably ditch a ball and have another go.

tcs

With a Sturmey, just use the factory DT shifter, as several have suggested.

With the Shimano, well, first, you gotta hit second gear position accurately or your 3-spd hub will have a short and unhappy life. Okay, so there's a second gear alignment mark and the other two gears are found at cable slack and cable taut. (Internet semantic debate about definition of 'taut' goes here.) You could use a friction shifter and hit second gear by feel or estimated position, like Sheldon Brown did. More sure would be to use a many speed indexed DT shifter, and set one of the middle detents (and you'll have to remember which one!) to second gear alignment.

Scooby214

The Sturmey SRC3 coaster hub has a pretty good coaster brake. Sturmey Archer's bar end shifter will mount on your down tube boss without modification.

I am currently riding the freewheel version of the hub, the SRF3, with the bar end shifter. The combo works great, keeps its adjustment well, and looks like it came on the bike (a drop bar road bike).

fietsbob

Left brifters for triple cranks are reputed to be fine.. Like, three speeds in Dual Drive hubs
so it would follow to be useful without the cassette derailleur part added.

fxdgrjedi

Hey all, thanks for the great replies. Thanks for everyones insight about shifters and hubs. I feel much better about getting a S-A hub of any age now. Hopefully I can find one with everything I need to get up and running. What kinds of parts should be included with an older used AWC or SRC3? Ive seen some with chains and indicators and some without... (Wow I feel like such a IGH noob!)

Dan Burkhart 

The new Sturmey Archer 3 x 9 hubs are made to be shifted with a left side Shimano ATB shifter. Can't say if a road shifter, having slightly different cable pull would work.