Spotted on Bikerumor this AM:

Amongst all of the high zoot show bikes of NAHBS, SRAM had something new that was decidedly not as sexy, but still very important. Bolted onto the back end of a World Bicycle Relief Buffalo bike, SRAM was showing prototypes of their new 3 speed kick back hub.



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I really like the idea of the WBR hub PTO gear on the NDS. Hook it up to an alternator and an online batter with an inverter and you have a perfect emergency power generator. Thinking back to situations like the rigged-together bike generators seen after Sandy.

3 Speed kickback with the coaster brake?!?! DROOL! this is something I'd put on my Tern Uno and keep it clean looking!

I love that the African version will come with a corn shucker. It just might change some lives there.

"Can your bike shuck corn? Equipped with a PTO cog on the non-drive side and a rear wheel stand to lift the back off the ground, all of a sudden the bike is a different kind of machine. Obviously equipped with a corn shucker here, but as you can imagine the possibilities are huge. Water pump? Grain mill? Sharpening stone? If you can hook a chain to it and make it run, there is potential."

By the way, I wonder if Sturmey Archer would also release the 3 speed kickback hub that they make for Strida Evo as a standalone product.

Zero interest in a kickback/coaster. I test rode one of those Torkers that came with a 2spd kickback/coaster. PITA. Even though this drops into 1st it would still get old to me quick.

as both companies are manufacturing on the same Island , I wouldn't be surprised .

with 39,376 posts, they can't all be winners...

Sram moved the Sachs Machinery to Taiwan when they bought them out . nobody told you the bike industry is mostly over there?

Sturmey Archer's Machines may have been replaced , if they were all decades old , for computer operated CAD-CAM gear.

yes, i know all that, but what does having factories located on the same plot of land have to do with anything?

i'm just teasing you anyway. you know i love you, gramps.

Analogy .. its so much easier to copy the other kid's test answers if you sit next to them in class..

I like this; I have a surly 1 x 1 frame lying around that I've been thinking of building up and this would be a fun way to do it.

Anyone have news on availability or reviews of function? I'm curious.

Heard nary a word since. Reports from Interbike were neither SRAM nor Shimano showed a single IGH product.

BTW, from post no. 3, the three speed kick back 'hub' (sic) that Sturmey builds for Strida is actually a geared bottom bracket.

I hope the coaster brake isn't like the ones from Shimano. The coaster brake bikes I had in the past scrubbed off way too much speed. One bike I had (Bianchi Milano) got sold because it would lose momentum. I purchased a 20 year old hybrid that had a much better freewheel. Someone also pointed out there's something about a coaster brake hub that creates a huge amount of drag.

My second coaster brake bike (Dahon Presto) is collecting dust this very moment. It also suffers from the same drag problem.

I find one of the reasons it scrubs off too much speed is because it was improperly rebuilt. When I rebuilt mine I used 400 Celsius high temp grease and be generous but don't go crazy that you end up with too much on the brake shoes which i find where the drag is coming from if you just slop it on. With too much there will always be a gooey layer of friction between the shoes and the inside brake drum at all times. Else if that is taken care of the drive is a direct drive with very little energy loss from anything like a multi speed hub would do. It was a interesting learning experience when i took mine apart and learned how it worked. Oh the one I took apart is a shimano cb-E110 or something.

3 speed kickback coaster eh? Seems cool but sketchy. I'd wait til it's been in the wild for a while to see about the reliability. I hope it is though because I doubt that many people are going to have the parts tools or knowhow to fix it, especially in the remote locales where the WBF bike are being sent. Also i wouldn't trust a IGH coaster as the only brake, they better have some real high-temp grease and some good cooling.