No, it is only the SA 8 speed one that has direct drive in 1st gear. the SA 5 speed has direct drive in 3rd gear. I am about to go for this one myself-- I think the range looks pretty good, it is not too heavy, and the shifter choices are really good. I hate twist shifters with a passion.

Lots more opinions here:

http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/in...ar-hub-review/

You must be thinking of an SRF5. An SA5 has two shifters. My SA5 uses a trigger shifter on the right and a Suntour thumb shifter on the left.

Look at tcs' 8 speed bike if you want to see how that will look. http://go.bikeforums.net/?id=42X1295...lly-Geared-Hub

Grand Bois, I went to that site last night and looked again just now. I find that format for the text to be almost unintelligible. Perhaps, when I get home tonight, after voting, I will download it into MS Word and reformat it so I can more easily read it.

The bike picture you linked is amazingly like the one I am putting together. I suspect I will end up with a chainring and rear cog that are small and similar in size. Mine will even be black in color with silver components.

Mine has a level top tube and flat bars of some sort (no drops). It has a classic curved fork shape but is uni-crown in design. I have cantilevered brakes and FAT tires.

The wheels and rims that came with the bike look to be decent quality and are virtually new, so I was thinking I might just relace the IGH into the existing rear wheel (requires new spokes but not a new rim).

Here's my next hub related question -

Will I be able to use the existing cable guides for the IGH cables? Do the hubs require one cable or two? I know 3 speed hubs require only one and that Rohloff requires two but what about the others?

With anything but the SA 8 speed hub similar size chainring and rear cog will give gearing that is way too low to be practical for most applications. For example I am running 2 to 1 gearing on my older model NuVinci hub and this gives a gear inches range of 26" to 91" with the overall gear range of 350% the hub provides. Other hubs, except the Rohloff, Nuvinci N360 and Alfine 11 will have a narrower range than that.

The old rule of thumb was that a standard design IGH with a direct middle gear should have an input ratio in the neighborhood of 2 to 1 or a bit higher. Raleigh geared their 3 speed bikes at close to 3 to 1 which many people found to be too high. In fact Sturmey Archer literature used to specify a recommended minimum inpuut ratio of 2 to 1 for all their hubs. This was prior to the introduction of the direct drive in low gear 8 speed hub. SRAM documentation stil lists recommended input ratios in the 1.7 to 2.0 to 1 range except for the dualdrive. The Rohloff lists a minimum recommended input ratio of 2.35:1 or 2.5:1 depending on rider weight. The older NuVinci lists 2:1 as the minimum and 1.8:1 for the new N360. IIRC Shimano "suggests" about a 1.8 to 1 ratio for the new Alfine 11.

What site are you talking about?

I think that some or most of you questions could be answered by doing a little internet research on your own. You could also look at your frame and decide for yourself if you can use any of the existing cable guides. I think that's what most of us do when we plan a build. Your question about the SA 5 speed hubs shows that you're not really paying attention to the answers anyway.

I'm not too picky about weight or gear range as I rarely push anything bigger than 72". I have SA AW, AM, FW, S5/2, and S3X hubs. I have an Alfine and a Sram S7 drumbrake. I also have a couple of older F&S 415 hubs and a Bendix 2 speed. All these have their own little niche. All use a single cable 'cept for the S5/2. I find the Alfine to be the nicest shifting and quietest of the bunch and uses a Rapid-fire shifter.

The S7 is a tough little bugger but low gear feels like a coffee grinder because of how busy things get inside the hub when in low. Things have improved a bit, though, since I converted it from grease to oil lubrication. It uses a twist shifter mounted on a homemade hubbub. Kind of a klugde but it works.

The older SA hubs are more or less bullet proof and are what they are. I find the SA hubs set up with a 72" high gear work fine for me. I haven't put enough time on the S3X to form an opinion but I wonder how many 60 year old Alfines my grandkids will see.

The F&S 415 hubs are little 3 speed jewels but work no different than an AW.

It's gonna work out to what you are comfortable with.

My mistake, it was Iowegian's link to the Hubstripping site, not yours.

What I've gathered from all the above is there isn't a flat-out, "don't buy this hub it's a bad one" in the bunch. That's great news. :)

I'm definitely wanting more than three speeds. The question is this, is five speeds enough or does it have to be 7, 8, 9 or 11? If I wait a month, I might be able to get an 11 speed Alfine.

I want a single control cable.

I'll buy a hub that is "freewheeling" (no coaster brake).

11 lb for a Nuvinci is flat-out too heavy, so it's out of the mix.

Everything else is still up in the air. I have to go to the store to see some of these in real life. My local REI doesn't have many/any of these. Perhaps Bikecology will have some.

How about a Schlumpf drive Crankset ?

This one gears up by 165% http://www.schlumpf.ch/hp/sd/sd_engl.htm

This one gears you down 250% for ultimate bailout gearing. http://www.schlumpf.ch/hp/md/md_engl.htm

Paired with a narrow range 3 speed it might be really cool.

I wish velosteel would do the torpedo 3 speed!

Depends what you're trying to do, but (all else being equal) more speeds is better. The Nexus and Alfine 8-speed hubs use one cable.

GAD ZOOKS! What are those things?




P.S. - OUCH! They cost about $700.

I'm trying to build a commuter/fun bike using a modern IGH. I am also using this as an "experiment" to learn some new stuff.

I'm getting there - a seat is on order, the tires are ordered, I have the bike frame in-hand,...




Now, where's that grinder and my files???? :)

Thanks, I'll take its descendant, a modern SRAM T3, instead. Except I'd take the new iM3 over the T3 (I ride one of each.)

The iM3, apart from the mythical RS-RF3, is the only all new, modern design 3-speed. It shifts fast - nigh instantaneous - both up and down, and has an inboard shift cable. Low normal. Available with disc brake mount. The coaster brake model is roller actuated (like the old Torpedo). Best-in-industry tool-less, one-hand, 5 second cable attach/detach.

If only SRAM would offer shifter choices for this little hub. Forever true to their GripShift heritage, the twist shifter is all they'll let you have for the iM3.

Sturmey-Archer has offered a number of 5-speed hubs through the years (none of which had a model designation of "SA5"):

S5: 1966-1976 225% overall. LH indicator, RH bell crank, two cables.
S5-1: 1977-1981 LH & RH indicators.
S5-2: 1981-1990 Improved axle assembly
5 StAr: 1991-1993 First NIG mechanism
Sprinter: 1993-1999 First single cable design
Summit: 1999-2008 Ball Locking. Last British designed 5-speed
W: 2009- First SunRace designed 5-speed 256% overall

You are correct. I should have said S5-2. Thank you for pointing that out.

I just like the idea of having something on my bike called a "Schlumpf" (with apologies to the German-speaking BF-ers out there).

Neal

Florian Schlumpf is my internally geared hero. Check out the two-speed unicycle hub. Awesome!

The new NuVinci N360 is about 1/2 that weight. 11 pounds is what the original hub, with shifter, was IIRC. The new N360 is very close in weight to the coaster brake version of the SRAM iM9. It is a dual cable pull-pull shifter though. It, and the Rohloff, are the only two dual shift cable IGH units currently made.

Relatively few bikeshops are likely to have the hubs. Many will have bikes with Shimano 3 speed and 8 speed hubs. A Swobo dealer might have a Swobo Dixon which has the SRAM iM9. Other than that you may be SOL unless you live near a city like Portland or Seattle which have commuter/cargo bike specialist dealers.

I have an S5 hub. I use a friction shifter for the left side bellcrank and the classic SA trigger for the right side. It takes some getting used to the shifting, but I like it. The 5 gears are evenly spaced, and I can always find a gear that works.

That said, I am building a commuter bike/winter bike, based on a '83 Schwinn LeTour Luxe, but I will use the classic SA AW 3-speed for that bike. My reasons are:
I have a 36 spoke hub already
Spare Parts are readily available
I can always install the S5 internals in the AW shell for summer riding, so no worries about it getting damaged.

My SA 5speed hub is loud in 3rd 4th and 5th grear (clicks, I think because it's an eccentric style), but the thing is reliable and so far proven to be bullet proof.

Does anyone else have issues with their SA 5 speed being noisy in the higer gears?

I am not really sure exactly why I picked the Nexus 8 over the others, aside from the $1500 Rholoff LOL. I guess perhaps it was either shifter options or a decent price on wheels. unfortunatly I don't use it enough but it sure is a great setup.