Has anybody done one ? Furthest I have ridden on a 3-speed is 47.7 miles on my 1969 Dunelt back in April, didn't find the wide saddle or the lackof variety in handlebar grip positions un-comfortable. Recall an article in the LAW Bulletin in 1980 or so, a man and his wife were invited to a Veterans (50 and older) Century in the UK, he bought a new frame over there, wrote about assembling it with his tried and true components. Joined his group, saw riders on DL-1s that looked pre-war, gleamed like vintage limousines, handed down like heirlooms, and rolled smoothly.

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would expect one would wish to increase cog size over the OEM specification...

SirMike1983 is likely to have some insightful input here...


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40-50 is my max on a three speed. My biggest issue is the jump between gears. It isn't a big deal on shorter rides but over 100 miles I'm guessing it would be annoying. Of course some folks do it on single speeds so there's that.

I've ridden three speeds about 60 miles. I do have them geared down a bit with a 21 or 22 tooth cog in back.

I rode the MS150 (75 miles a day) a few years ago with my Raleigh Sports, but it has an S5 5-speed hub so it was a bit easier. Got a lot of odd looks. The funny thing is several people were very concerned that I would die or something.
I thought I should do it again on my DL-1, wearing knickers, a bow tie, and dress shirt.

I rode a century in 2020 on my touring bike , and it was fine up to about mile 80. Between 80 and 90 miles is when everything started to bother me--chafing, rubbing, soreness--but I was going to finish. I imagine on a 3 speed it could be tough.

I've never done a century on a 3-speed. I've ridden that over a couple or more days, but not all in one ride. I've become a true believer in shorter rides on a more frequent basis. I like to set aside maybe 60 - 90 minutes or so each day to ride at a brisk but comfortable pace (weather permitting) rather than try to do really long rides in one sitting. If it becomes uncomfortable due to pace, or weather, or injury, or whatever, then I stop as needed. I find that if you reach the point of "Something is wrong but I'm not stopping", that's when really bad things like injuries tend to happen. I also like frequenting areas where there are other bicycles on the roadways with some frequency because in those areas at least some of the motorists tend to be less surprised to come across a bike (a few never learn though...).

I guess there are people who do 100+ miles on a 3-speed and are used to very long rides. I would tend to think the terrain needs to be reasonable, given the jump between gears. I'd want at least one "bail out" climber gear in low or bottom gear, so probably a 22 tooth cog (or more if you like it really low). All the better if you have an S5-equipped bike you like and want to ride that. The ultra low and ultra high add a little more versatility on hilly roads. Make sure that saddle is well broken in.

I really want to do the Lake Pepin tour and you have to do that on a 3 speed:

https://3speedtour.com/introduction

People have been riding 3 speeds for a long time over all sorts of distances. Records for different rides were set in the UK riding bikes with SA hubs; the most famous of these is the Raleigh Record Ace which was used with a SA 3 speed hub to set the record from Land's End to John O'Groats in 1929. The ride was ridden in 61 hours and 27 minutes. That's around 840 miles with a lot of climbing.

https://on-the-drops.blogspot.com/20...1933-1942.html

I have a 1950s era Claud Butler Jubilee that I plan to build up with an SA 3 speed and drop bars to do some longish rides.

I am with Mike, why torture yourself. If you want to, I am sure it can be done. In fact I am certain I read an account in this forum of someone completing a century on a 52 sports with an oilbath chain case.

It would be nice to have drop bars at least

Agreed about the drop bars being a big plus on a long ride. Contact points (handlebars, pedals, and saddle) really matter on a long ride.

Why is ta 3 speed SA hub torture once you've sorted out your contact points?

With a SA RS RF3 hub, a 22 tooth cog, and 44 tooth chainring, you'll get gear ratios from around 40 inches to 70 inches. That's what I was planning to use on the 50s Claud Butler I'm rebuilding.

I could rebuild it 2 x 5 using a stronglight 49d crank, campy derailleurs (I'd likely use a nuovo record which is much later since I don't think a first gen campy gran sport can handle 10 teeth), and a 14-26 5 speed freewheel. The gears would run from around a 40 inch low to 100 inch high. There would be a much better set of in between gears and there would be a better high but the climbing gear would be around the same. This would be a sympathetic "resto mod."

You can see why a lot of top end British bikes in the 50s were kitted out with an utterly reliable SA 3 speed hub. People did some serious riding with an SA 3 speed BITD.

Given steep enough hills, there will be some I'll have to walk with a 40 inch low which would not be the case with a triple.

I rode a metric century in 2005 on a ‘62 Dawes Realmrider equipped with a Sturmey-Archer FW four-speed gearhub, 27-in wheels, dropped bars and a B-17. That bike came in around 28-30 lbs and the ride was a lot like a c.1972 Raleigh Super Course.

Did a 50 mile for my bicycling merit badge on a 3 speed columbia, of course I was 14 so youth conquers technology

Longest day I've done on a 3-speed is 50-60 miles. Terrain, of course, will determine whether you're wishing for more gears. I've thought I might try this one at some point on a 3- or 4-speed:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/856676

That's 100 miles with about 4K feet of climbing, so "flat" is definitely relative in this part of the US!

You need to do that century in central Iowa. I'll bet you a dollar to a donut that I can find you a flatter century than the one you posted. There may be more brew pubs on the ride, however, that will offset the flatness advantage . . .

I agree.

I have been riding every day for the last year. Despite all the rain, if the road surface dried off between downpours, I was out there spinning the pedals.

One really bad thing that happens once I reach that "threshold" is I begin to acquire negative feedback (pain) associated with riding. THAT is a bad thing. You know,... Pavlov, and all that. At the very least, it happens subconsciously.

Well, a year from now I'll be on sabbatical, so I might take you up on that, M!

Hey, if you're free in late July, I have an idea for you!

I usually run 21-42 on an aw hub with 700c. 40.5-54-72. pretty much all I need.

I am a commuter and a utility cyclist, I live at the top of a good sized hill so all my 3-speeds have SRAM 24 tooth cogs, that gives me a top gear of 66 on my 26" wheel bikes, 73 on my Dl-1s, the other 2 gears are for hill climbing.
Have ridden only one informal century on my 1978 Schwinn Superior. Set off one day, realized I had gone 65 miles w/no effort so I decided to go for 100. Ending up doing 112. (Got home at 2AM.)

I suspect handlebars (drops or mountain with extensions), saddle, and overall fit are crucial here. What I dislike about standard 0.75/1.0/1.33 (e.g. Sturmey AW) gearing is that the jumps between ratios are simply too large for my tastes.
When I was a UCLA student I did a lot of commuting and recreational riding on an English 3-speed Armstrong with drop bars and a 14-16-18-20 Cyclo cogset adapter system. The bike was heavy, but the 39 to 99 gear inch range with a 40T chainring and 26" tires was nearly perfect.

i did a metric century (~61miles) on a single speed. not hilly by most parts of the world standards.
i think i didn't really notice not having more than one gear due to the cold rain.
and once i bonked around 45ish miles, i took a nice fish & chips lunch and a couple pints of stout. after that the cold rainy ride home was no more miserable than the rest of the ride - but the whole deal is obviously quite memorable!

An old college professor of mine pedaled from Connecticut to Minnesota and back in 1946 or thereabouts on a 3-speed bike.

Yes, with over 10k of elevation. But with an Italian 3 speed.

106100-002-026f by iabisdb, on Flickr

Several times. As has been said, larger rear cog, drop bars, and fit. As for the jumps, it never bothered me. I just roll with it. I've done centuries on fixed gears, so a 3 speed century feels like luxury. As I spend my non bicycling time on a Ural sidecar rig, or in an 18 year old Wrangler, comfort is over rated.

I did a century on a 50’s Schwinn cruiser, skip-tooth single speed. This was in South Florida where there were no hills to climb. The worst part about the ride was sitting on the original saddle all day. I wouldn’t do it again.

I did TOSRV 1980 (a weekend double century) on a Raleigh 3 speed because I was 17 and didn't know any better. I wouldn't do it on the same type of bike now, especially with the original saddle, but I think you could set up a decent road bike with a just a 3 speed hub and be fine on a century that wasn't too hilly.

https://www.thetourdedonut.com/Race/OH/TROY/TourDeDonut

Your comment made me think of this. The rest stops serve donuts and you get time deducted for every donut you eat. They don't have a century route, 58 miles is the longest.