May be considering a conversion soon. Not sure if this is the best forum to try, but ...

Have there come to be any new/different/wonderful 3-speed hubs in recent years. Obviously I've not been associated with the scene for some years. Since about1952 or so actually.
So what's hot these days?

TIA
Charlie

I like the sturmey archer cs-rf3 or cs-rk3.

I still use the sturmey aw. Tried the newer sturmey archer version but the feel of an old broken in one is better to me.

I posted this recently in the love-of-3-speeds thread, but I’m really liking my relatively new S-A 3-speed hub with coaster brake:

It seems like they just continue their uninterrupted dominating relevance for city bikes

Sturmey-Archer SRF3, modern version of the venerable AW, with an alloy shell and without the neutral between gears; wonderful hub.

I have wheels coming with a Nexus 8, but that SA is much better-looking.

That's a beauty! May well be the 3 speed of my dreams.

Many thanks for the info, folks.

Cheers
Charlie

I've got an AW and it works great but, I am itching to try out a newer SRF3. I have sampled a Nexus 3 speed on a share bike and it was, excellent. But I don't know what the drag is on the Nexus 3 compared to an older AW. I have heard good things about the Alfine 8 speed and would love to sample one.

If this is for a bike that already had a AW three speed [MENTION=159629]Steel Charlie[/MENTION] , I would continue using an AW. No worries about trying to make a newer hub with a wider over-lock-nut dimension fit an older frame. Parts are available for the AW, they are simple to rebuild if ever needed and maintenance is a cinch. A couple of drops of oil every now and again and it will last another 50 or more years.

I'll admit that the SA 3 speeds look much better than the modern Shimano 3-speeds, which use that bell-crank assembly on the outside of the dropout... but those Shimanos are absolute workhorses on abused European city bikes.

The OP mentioned wanting to do a conversion. Here's miine. It’s a BikesDirect Windsor TimeLine single speed that I had my local shop convert to a three speed with an SRF3 hub. It’s inspired by the old British club bikes. Frame and fork are 4130 chromoly. Really fun to ride. Note the location of the shifter.

Agreed, it's like an AW Mk.II (I don't remember offhand if it's just a renamed AW N.I.G. - apologies for that). Have experienced a bajillion of them on the retired Spin Gen 2 share bikes I've worked on.

Also planning on mounting one in place of a rotary Sturmey hub in one of their 90mm drum brake shells. Should be fun; I believe it's a drop-in swap.

-Kurt

Fun fact: The Sturmey 'rotary shift' three speeds (RS-RF3, introduced in 2006) use an indexed (well, duh!) shifter with different cable pull than the classic Sturmey shifters of the last century. Oh, AND the rotaries are unique among Sturmey hubs with their 3/8 axles, the classics of course are threaded 13/32.



Super fun fact: Sturmey designed the inside-the-dropouts rotary shift hub in 1971, and first marketed it 35 years later.

I'm a fan of the late SRAM i3 hubs. If you do the planetary math they should have 12 planets - but 9 are missing! The planets are arranged asymmetrically and the sun, planets and ring gears all have prime numbers of teeth. It has an amazingly simple inside-the-dropouts shift cable. Debuting in 2009 to replace the venerable T3, the i3 is arguably the most 'modern' three-speed design - the AW-NIG/SRF3 dates to 1984, the Nexus to - hmm - mid 90s?, the MBI to early 2000s?

Boo on SRAM department: there are no spares and no support for this hub, and only a single, miserable twist shifter was ever offered. I still don't get why they just discontinued their hubs in 2017 and dropped IGHs instead of selling the tooling and intellectual property rights to somebody.

IMHO the best modern three-speed hub is the Sturmey-Archer...X-RF4 four speed!

Yep, just like in 1939, when you really wanted the FM or FW instead of the K hub or the AW.

The X-RF4 (introduced around 2015) can be as narrow as the AW (or go out to 135) and uses the same cogs. It has even 28% gear shifts and a 210% total range. It features a strong, modern axle-locking shift mechanism. It comes in a pretty polished shell and is just 80g heavier than the SRF3. Sturmey offers trigger, thumb and twist shifters. It's spec'd by upscale OEMs like BikeFriday and Hummingbird. You can even get it in drum, disk and coaster brake versions.



Fun fact: The folding bike manufacturer Dahon has at various times factory-fitted 3-speeds from Sturmey-Archer, Shimano, SRAM and MBI, and additionally built models with IGHs by Rohloff and NuVinci.

The Nexus is a darn good hub - no debate there.

But you can get spare parts for the Sturmey 3, plus Sturmey offers 'stick shift', two designs of thumb shifters, the classic trigger shifter, a bar end shifter, a braze-on shifter, a seat post shifter (!), a dual paddle shifter and three styles of twist shifters. Sturmey doesn't play games with expensive proprietary lubricants but is honest and open that they use (and you can use) commercial NGLI#00 grease.

Are you gentle with it? They have a reputation for breaking because of the braking.

I have heard/read that the reason that SRAM dropped their line of internally geared hubs is because of the proliferation of people fitting mid-drive electric motors to their bikes and then sending SRAM failed hubs for warranty replacement. I don't know how true that is but, it makes some sense. It is a shame though.

When I was young and car guys were talking about rear end or final drive ratios', I didn't understand until later why they were such odd numbers. Why aren't they 3 to 1. Why are they 3.07? or 3.54? It is so that the gears don't mesh in the same place too often. They have a walking pattern that allows the teeth to wear longer, more evenly and even to survive some damage, if any damage occured in one tooth. I know you know this [MENTION=81459]tcs[/MENTION] , which is why you mention it. I am stating here for others that aren't "in the know" one these details of gearing.

The aw has no brake. I am fairly gentle with them I guess. I don't generally stand to pedal but I do usually gear them fairly low. 2/1. So 42/21 teeth. Gives me 40.5/54/72" gears on a 700c bike. Great for getting around a fairly hilly city.

My bad, I have TCW III on the brain. it's the bugger with the heart of glass.

That's what I hear. The issue with AW hubs is false neutral when it gets out of adjustment. Honestly they stay good pretty much forever. I've rebuilt them but usually just flush with wd40 and put some oil in and they just go, go, go.

A properly adjusted AW will hold its adjustment, this is not a safety issue. And you can beat the living hell out of them.

As much as I love and respect the AW and FW, if you’re building a wheel anyway, why not go for more gears? I’m really fond of the Nexus 7 and 8 hubs on two of my bikes. They’re reliable and durable, and the gear steps are well spaced.

I build AWs because they sound like adventure awaits... From my childhood when my dad got a 24" wheeled British 3 speed from somewhere. It was in the family bike stable. When I was tall enough for it, it was the coolest bike in the world. Everytime I hear an AW I get that same feeling.

Agreed on the Nexus 8 (have yet to try the 7). 1st and 4th through 6th are perfectly spaced. One could make a 5-speed with those ratios and it'd be perfect, but I don't mind the extra ratios that come along with it.

Only quibble with it is how the roller clutches tend to slip occasionally upon engagement of 3rd and 4th (only on engagement) no matter how perfect the cable adjustment and regardless of the internal lubricant. I actually found that good old Sturmey-rated 00 grease tends to work marginally better than Shimano's goop in my particular 8.

-Kurt

Yeah, there's no "Society of Nexus 8"

https://societyofthreespeeds.wordpress.com/

or 'Eight-speed Tour'.

https://3speedtour.com/

Riders using the Nexus 8 have never held the Lands End to John o'Groats record, either.