Yeah, this sounds like an awesome awesome awesome bike for commuting and errands.

IGH's are fun. I'm getting more and more used to my AW bikes. I'm starting to settle into the gear spacing. I always said they are spaced too far apart, but I'm getting to relax and accept the spacing and getting more comfortable. Neal, if you EVER see an AM (medium) or AN (narrow) hub that you don't want, PLEASE contact me. I'd die for one.

I don't remember the model name of the Shimano three speed hub that I saw in the late 70's and early 80's. Among us mechanics, it was noticeably less reliable than the Sturmey Archer. Parts are now unavailable for it. However, I hear the current crop of Shimano IGH's is very good. I take people's word for it on that matter.

Yes, fixed gear is a fad, but there's a lot of good to be said about it. There's a lot of bad, too, like other fads. It's disgusting that it's hip to go brakeless. But young people have to ride through that invinceability stage, it seems. Riding fixed builds skills such as spinning. If you train in the winter in a low gear, that spinning ability comes in handy in the summer. Plus it keeps you warm. It also exercises more muscles. My hamstrings ache after a ten mile fixie ride. And so do my chest muscles! My upper body is woefully underdeveloped, so this can't be a bad thing.

But fixie isn't a way of life or religion for me. I don't ride fixed much. I just jump on my fixie for fun. Or if one of my other bikes needs repairs. Or if I need to toss the bike in the car, as it has no fenders and breaks down small. It's also light.

The fact that that Kilo bike has heavy elements of style that are pure style and no function isn't different from most bikes. Aesthetics always play a major role in consumer products.

Probably "3.3.3"
The main advantage of the Shimano 3-speed hubs was that servicing them did not require a rebuild: instead you just popped out the innards as a unit and replaced it with new innards. These were cheap enough that it cost the customer less than the labor cost of rebuilding a Sturmey-Archer hub. Of course, a rebuilt SA hub would be good for another half a century, while the Shimano hub would be back for new innards in a couple years, but that's another matter...

That Kilo is all about style as the odds of someone using it as a utility bicycle (this is why double top tubes were implemented) is pretty unlikely.

As to this ss / fixed gear thing being a fad... folks have been saying this since the fad started and you should accept that ss and fixed gear bikes are part of the mainstream now, most major companies offer ss/fg models, and I have no lack of work when it comes to building wheels and fg / ss bikes.

There were two full pages in one of our major papers today on the topic of riding single speed and it's virtues...

I have ridden fixed centuries and have come off the bike feeling better than if I have ridden it geared... it probably stems from pedaling the entire 100 miles and not coasting an inch as this is not good for the muscles.

Folks think this is an epic thing to do... riding that far on one speed.

It's not.

Just converted my fixed gear Peugeot to a 6 speed... and I have to remember I can coast.

You're talking about your toe touching the front tire. Pedal strike is when the pedal hits the ground.

Thanks for the clarification. You're right, of course. Pedal strike is a terrible thing. I had the mildest case once, on my fixie. It made a scary sound, and I was able to recover. I was lucky.

I went to BikesDirect.com and looked at the Kilo OS. The version they sell has brakes front and rear and costs $450. The 5 speed version cost $480.

These are being discussed as fixed gear bikes but I think the multi-speed Sturmey-Archer hubs freewheel. Am I incorrect about that. The fixed gear OS (old school) bike has a single fixed gear.

Now, a five speed, internally geard hub has some appeal to me. Are there any restrictions on the external gear ratios one can use without breaking the hub? It comes set up as a 48 X 16T. Is it allowable and are the parts available (chainwheels and/or rear cogs) to lower the gear ratios?

That's right. And the S3X (three-speed fixed) is $380.

The gearing on the five speed version is a bit whacked. It is the equivalent of a 52T chainwheel with the following rear cogs - 28, 23, 17, 14, 11T.

If it is possible to switch to a 40 T chainwheel X 18T cog, theequivalent rear cogs are - 37, 31, 23, 19, 15. I'm sure I would find those a much more useful set of gears.

Are the parts available? Can the hub take the torque?



P.S. - What is up with the Sturmey-Archer 8 speed hub? The lowest internal ratio is 1:1 and it goes up to 3.25:1. That's like a 52 X 5!!! It takes something like a 32 X 24 to get low gear down into the realm of a truly useful low gear.

I honestly don't see anything at all wrong with those ratios. Thats pretty close to what you'd have on a typical 70's Bike Boom machine when in the Big Chainring. Most of em were 52-4x with a 28-14 or so.

So just put a smaller chainwheel and/or larger sprocket on it. No big deal, not expensive. IIRC the crank will take a 38T chainring and 23T cogs for the hub are available: that's something like a 28-71 gear inch range.

29" wheels on a mountain bike?? That'd make the gearing so high you couldn't climb!

Uh, not really. They just have smaller chainwheels to lower the gearing.

Those Moulton bikes use such small wheels the rider must have to pedal like crazy!

Uh, not really. They use bigger chainwheels and smaller cogs and just raise the gearing.

Lowest ratio on that IGH is 1/1! That would make the gearing too high!

Uh, not really. Just use a smaller chainwheel.

HTH,
tcs

SRAM offers cogs as large as 24T and Shimano does a 23T, as does SA, so gearing can be changed at minimal expense w/o changing the chainring. Bikesmith Design is also importing a custom made 26 tooth IGH sprocket. The normal Shimano and SRAM sprockets are interchangeable with Sturmey Archer ones. Exceptions are the SRAM iM9 sprockets and SA 8 speed sprockets. Those are each unique designs.

IMO due to the gear layout the SA 8 speed is best fitted to small wheel bikes. The gear layout is more appropriate for them.

I believe the SA 8 speed is for small wheeled folders.

You must have missed the highest gear is equal to 52 X 11. The whole business needs to be shifted one ratio lower, so I was exploring different chainrings and cog options.

Here's the "official" 8-speed bike Sturmey was showing in their booth at Interbike in Vegas.

tcs

Yeow! What's that got? 24 front and back?

Yes, I think that gearing is about right for that hub, however unconventional it may look. In that earlier post, I was suggesting 32 X 24 T. Looks like I was on the right track. They may have opted for something similar, which (as I age) makes a lot of sense to me.

BTW, that's a nice bike. It is retro styled. I like how the front hub diameter complements the rear hub and even the chainwheel matches. Style-wise, that works. The front fork does not match the Schwinn frame at all but it looks like a nice fork. One final comment, if it were mine, I'd put on some fatter, slick tires (Schwalbe Kojak, or modern equivalent).

I'm going to go look at those Rohlhauf hubs again. I know they are expensive.

Anyone know what the Sturmey-Archer 8 speed sells for?

The discount street price in the USA for the current production (W) design is around $130 for the freewheel version up to just under $150 for the drum brake version. This includes the shifter, cog, cable+housing, fittings & etc. (As with anything else in the modern marketplace, you can pay much more.)

tcs

It's a custom Retrotec "Triple" by Curtis Inglis which Sturmey commissioned especially for Interbike to show off their newish XRD8(W) 8-speed and XFDD dynohub (both with drum brakes). The gearing is 34x25 and that's the new Sturmey-Archer FCSX4 outboard-bearing crank.

tcs

Thanks for the info.

I've got the XFDD Front Hub and its great. Brake performance and modulation couldn't be better and the adjustment is about as simple as it gets.

My only gripe (and you can't really see it in the picture there) is the huge (nearly 10") black control arm that runs up the left hand side of the front fork. From the non-drive side its ugly as sin.

If the new Sturmey 8-speed uses the same drum brake as the XFDD I'd be all over it. Sure its a little heavier with the drum brake but you get a great clean look with no calipers and Wet Braking Performance is simply a non-issue.

Look at that second top tube! That bike is all about style.