First of all, sorry if my english isnt good.


Im from South America, and ive purchased a new Brompton a couple weeks a go. The brommie got 6 speeds, and ive been struggling with the right shifter (the Sturmey Atcher one) until today when i was told that i need to stop pedaling to change the gearings.

The thing is that ive been changing gearing while pedaling and sometimes even while i was going fas (30 - 40 km/h).

Im really scared that something could may happen to the internal hub. Everytime when i tried to shift i find it a bit stiff but in my head i was thinking that it was because the bike was new and over the time it will get softer.

Im being paranoid? im shifting the gears right now and it seems that shift correctly. the 3 march works fine while pedaling but when i look the cable it look a bit lose compare to the 2nd and 1st march. It is normal?


Sorry about this thread, but the brommie was a really really big investment for me and im in loved with the bike.

Are Sturmey Archer hub strong enough to overtake this 3 weeks bad use (or abuse)

6-speed Brompton has a 2-speed derailleur and a 3-speed internal geared hub (IGH). IGH should not be shifted either without pedaling or back pedaling. Derailleur should be shifted while pedaling forward with only light pressure. It takes a while to learn how to shift a Brompton. The IGH of Brompton is a BWR or Brompton Wide Range. The two speed derailleur acts as an intermediate gear for the wide spaced IGH. Hope this helps.

This ist the way the shifting works. It is normal.

Three speed hubs are pretty solid in general. They have been in the market for more than 100 years and I'd assume a relevant percentage of the riders over that time was at least a bit ignorant towards how they like to be treated. Either they work (which they do most of the time) or they don't (which does not seem to be the case with your bike). Just relax, these thingies are pretty much bomb-proof. Treat it nicely from now on and it will serve you well for a very long time.

Agree with the above. We were brought up with Sturmey Archer hubs, and standard practice was to stop pedalling or backpedal to change gears. You soon get used to it, plus, for the commuter, being able to change gears at lights (but gently!!) is very useful.

Well maye, thanks for the reply.

Im more calm right now.

Im going to use gear properly from now!

In 2nd the end of the shaft that pulls the inside part that does the shifting has a shoulder ... where your little chain is attached..
that should be level with the end of the axle , as seen through a hole .. for that reason.. across there., Hence the name Indicator spindle ...







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