Seggybop

I'm looking for an internal gear hub that's demonstrated it's capable of taking a lot of stress and surviving. I'm thinking the Sturmey Archer AW is probably it, but that's only a guess. Any ideas?

LWaB

Rohloff (tandem rated) & Sachs Torpedo. The AW is pretty good, though Jobst Brandt doesn't think so.

Mooo

SRAM makes a 5 speed they seem to think highly of...
Also, Sturmey made a tandem 3 speed back in the 30's.

cudak888 

The AW is on target for a fine, bulletproof hub.

It does have one fault however, and that is it's tendency to slip if the gear cable is even slightly misadjusted - which, as you mention you'll be putting considerable stress on it, will be a dangerous combination.

However, in the mid '80s (forgot exactly the year), the driver and clutch of the AW were revised, eliminating any possible slip between gears. This variant is as perfect as the AW hub gets, and is what I would suggest you use.

Take care,

-Kurt

wahoonc

I would have to vote for the AW hub first, then the Rolhoff. The S-A has a 65+ year track record to fall back on and is readily available for relatively inexpensive prices. The Rolhoff has a great track record and is probably the ultimate in Internal geared hubs with the price to match. Plus it takes special dropouts or brackets to work. The S-A will work on just about any frame and all it needs is a couple of anti-rotation washers in the correct size, which are available from Harris Cyclery, and I am sure others. I currently have 5 bikes with the S-A hubs on them. Once is actually a TCS III but shares alot of parts with the AW. Most of the bikes have quite a few miles on them with minmal maintenance. One bike in particular has an estimated 30,000 miles on the hub...I know some cars that didn't make it that far

Aaron

MnHPVA Guy

Could you be more specific about how the hub will be used? AWs last approximately forever under reasonable loads if kept lubed and adjusted. However I hear they can fail catastrophically if overloaded. Never happened to anyone I know.

One thing to know about SRAM hubs is that SRAM USA does not stock internal hub parts. SRAM figures that they are not servicable in the US. If a hub malfunctions in the first year they will replace it. After a year you have to buy a new hub if you have problems.

However if you know where to look, like in my workshop, you can find any part you might need for an SA AW or S5.

Seggybop

I was hoping to try it for a cyclocross-type bike. Rough or muddy ground, but no sharp drops/bumps.

cudak888 

See my previous post.

-Kurt

coelcanth

does anyone know specifically what modifications were made and if a late model clutch/driver can be retrofitted to an early AW ??
i've never actually found a hub later than say 66 or so so i never got a look at the modern insides...

cudak888 

The driver was revised with a spiral shape, and the cluch likewise revised to match. Don't remember if there were any other specific parts that were changed - can check. I'm quite sure the new components can be fitted around the old internals, but it'd probably be easier to dig up a later hub, and either lace that into your wheel, or swap the complete internals in one piece.

-Kurt

wahoonc

Most of the NOS AW hubs you are going to find laying around were made in the 80's. Several years ago one of my LBS's was cleaning house and sold me several of them. I have done some spot checks along the way at various vintage friendly shops and several of them still had a few AW hubs around, most of them from the 80's and one odd one from the mid 60's that I grabbed off

Aaron

cudak888 

That's the odd part down here - most of the LBS, when they do have Sturmey hubs, they're either from the 1960's-'70s, with an odd mid '50s example or two kicking around. Have yet to lay my hands on a loose hub dated after '83.

-Kurt

Seggybop

I checked the two bike shops near me and unfortunately neither had any NOS SA hubs. Tomorrow morning I'm going to check with a guy who collects old bike stuff and see what he has. I know he has tons of old SA hubs of various types, though I'm not sure which he'd be willing to sell me. Besides the AW, what else would be good to look for there? Is there anything I should definitely avoid?

cudak888 

Anything of the "F..." and "A..." series, and any of the "S5" models. Your chances of finding K or T series hubs are slim to none, but get any if you find 'em - especially the "T..." series, excluding the TCW.
Don't pass up any ASCs, even if your life depends on it.

TCW Mk's I, II, III, and IV; SW; S3C.

-Kurt

cs1

Shimano Nexus is the clear winner. If Sheldon Brown gives it his blessing, that's good enough for me. He has a rather lengthly article on his site. It comes in 7 or 8 speed. Good luck

Tim

cudak888 

Yes, Shimano Nexus as shown itself to be a good performer - but will it stand up to the abuse that Sturmey AWs have been taking for 60 years?

Even though the Nexus may be considered reliable, I don't believe I've seen any track record of Nexus hubs stating that they are bombproof, still clunking along after serious usage. That remains to be seen.

-Kurt

Bikedued

Shimano 3CC or 333, not sensitive to adjustments like the SA, and can take all 220 pounds of me standing on the cranks. I have yet to come across a broken one as well. They're the clear winner in my book. Nexus hubs are awesome, but the one 7 I own sometimes doesn't respond to gear shifts, until the second click.
It is perfectly adjusted with the red marks lined up and all. Must be the cable housing length? I like SA and all, but I have entirely too many of them slip out of gear at the WORST possible time. They may be the best hub ever made, but I have a hard time trusting them.,,,,BD

wahoonc

One problem with the Shimano 3C hub is lack of repair parts availability. Depending on how much you plan on spending and what gear ratio range you are looking for...They type of abuse you are planning is right up Rolhoff's design intentions. They wanted to design a MTB type transmission that was fully enclosed to keep it out of the muck.

Aaron

Sheldon Brown

I agree that the 3CC (coaster brake 3-speed) is a good, reliable hub. I do NOT agree about the execrable 333 though. See: https://sheldonbrown.com/333

I think your Nexus 7 issue is with the RapidFire shifter, not the hub itself. My Nexus 7 does this too occasionally, though it never really bothered me all that much.

The Nexus 8-speed hub is quite a lot nicer than the 7-speed, it's not just the extra gear. The Nexus 8 is the best-shifting bicycle gear system I've ever used, no exceptions. I own two of 'em, like 'em a lot.

Sheldon "Neck's Us" Brown

jim-bob

I've got a pair of bikes with shimano 3CC hubs on 'em. One's in great shape, but one's been abused and had the drive-side locknut stripped. Any ideas on who might have replacements?

Bikedued

It's got a twist shifter that I ordered from Harris, actually. I ordered the brake from them also. I also have a full length cable housing and a tandem cable on it.,,,,BD

The gear skipping bike in question.........

Seggybop

I successfully acquired a 1989 AW hub for $10 today! yay. It's got the modern SA logo that they still use today. Hopefully the slipping issue really was resolved at some point during the 80s, which would make my hub one of the good ones. Now to assemble it into a 700c rim.

The guy also had one very old looking Sachs Torpedo 3spd w/ coaster brake. It looked extremely solid. I read that the normal Torpedo 3spd was a very good hub; was the coaster type as well? Did it have the special roller type clutch that distinguished the Sachs Torpedo coaster brake hubs? My girlfriend's bike has the S3C hub that's apparently unreliable and I'm thinking of switching it out for this Sachs hub.

By the way, does anyone know a good shifter setup for drop bars?

Bikedued

I also have a two speed automatic sachs, which came on a Murray beach cruiser of all things~~?~? It's a great little hub, but both gears seem to be a trade off. Another drawback is having to brake and get your speed down to get first gear. Not so bad going up hill, but on flat Houston roads, it gets a little tiresome. The gears seem too low, a sprocket change might help it.,,,,BD

frameteam2003

The inters of the Hercules 3 speed were better made than the S/A hubs which the Hercules was a copy.
I think one of the strongest gear hubs ever made was the manuel bendix 2 speed,which are being converted to fixed gear hubs.

cudak888 

'89? Pretty sure you're all right, as '84 is when they designed the "No In-Between Gear"/NIG AW hub for Columbia, and '89 is the year most of the other models in the line got it.

You might want to open the drive side bearings up - just to pull the driver out and make sure it is of the spiral design. Be on the safe side and check it - better then finding out "later."

Not sure about the design of the Sachs mechanisim - there you've got me.

I assume you're running non-Ergo, in which case, simply mount a conventional 3-speed trigger just below the brake lever, offset to the left of the lever, if mounted on the right hand side of the bars, or offset to the right if mounted on the left side. In other words - angle the shifter inwards.

This system works very well if you spend most of your time on the drops, and is also how it was done back in the day.

-Kurt