Sturmey-Archer 3-Speed Fixed Gear Hub

guggles · January 15, 2009, 4:01am

So no skidz with these?..

surfcat · February 14, 2009, 1:15am

S-A has another update on teh S3X on their blog. They’re claiming mid-March for release… we’ll see.

http://sunrace-sturmeyarcher.blogspot.c ... drive.html

New pix too:

Apparently there will be 120mm and 130mm sizes… yay for everyone.

Too bad they insist on calling it the S3X instead of the SB3… somebody there’s got an ego investment in teh S3X apparently.

guggles · February 14, 2009, 1:26am

so… no skidz with these?

Critical_Jeff · February 14, 2009, 1:58am

thats what im thinking.

Larry_Winget · February 15, 2009, 3:21am

The stock cog looks shitty.

asterisk · February 15, 2009, 5:39am

How long before the early adopters grenade them?

RJ1 · February 15, 2009, 6:15am

Ive been wanting to turn one of my bikes into a townie with full fenders, a rack, swept back bars, and now…this.

It would be beautiful.

dougtruck · February 15, 2009, 7:09am

can’t say i’ve ever thought these were any sort of useful.

surfcat · February 16, 2009, 8:05am

FWIW, I ride a fixed gear with front and rear brakes, and while on occasion I bust out teh skidz, I mostly just use the brakes when I need to slow down. Brake pads being a lot cheaper than tires and all that.

Anyways, for me and the way I ride, a hub like this is pretty damn sweet. I could gear a lot higher on my direct drive ratio (I’m currently just a hair under 79"), and then have two other options. Probably setup the middle as the normal around-town gear, and have the lower for really steep hills and the higher for nice flat sections and downhills.

Maybe I’m too old and too lame (actually, I’m for sure too old and too lame), but that’s the way I see it.

bexley · February 16, 2009, 10:48am

Seems like sound logic to me.

I can’t wait for this hub. Still mid-March?

Captain_Gnarlock · February 17, 2009, 12:03am

i will be buying one, 104% sure

reedreeder · February 17, 2009, 1:11am

[quote=“surfimp”]FWIW, I ride a fixed gear with front and rear brakes, and while on occasion I bust out teh skidz, I mostly just use the brakes when I need to slow down. Brake pads being a lot cheaper than tires and all that.

Anyways, for me and the way I ride, a hub like this is pretty damn sweet. I could gear a lot higher on my direct drive ratio (I’m currently just a hair under 79"), and then have two other options. Probably setup the middle as the normal around-town gear, and have the lower for really steep hills and the higher for nice flat sections and downhills.

Maybe I’m too old and too lame (actually, I’m for sure too old and too lame), but that’s the way I see it.[/quote]

if you just use the brakes to slow down every time, then what’s the point of having a fixed-gear setup? i’m not talking about skids - do you backpedal? do you just run fixed because you lack the motivation/determination to constantly be pedaling on an ss setup?

reedreeder · February 17, 2009, 1:17am

i don’t mean to be ragging on people riding fixed with two brakes at all, i just usually assume that even with two, they’re still just meant to be a safety measure, or for comfort (people who want hoods on their drops).

i don’t know, i just don’t really understand the advantage these things have over the ratcheting ones that are cheap and widely available. someone enlighten me.

Captain_Gnarlock · February 17, 2009, 1:26am

[quote=“reedreeder”]i don’t mean to be ragging on people riding fixed with two brakes at all, i just usually assume that even with two, they’re still just meant to be a safety measure, or for comfort (people who want hoods on their drops).

i don’t know, i just don’t really understand the advantage these things have over the ratcheting ones that are cheap and widely available. someone enlighten me.[/quote]
aesthetics
weight
less shit to break/maintain
cool shiny shit that looks cool

it’s kind of a dumb question, frankly. horses for courses, diff’rent strokes, etc. So you’re not interested, move along.

reedreeder · February 17, 2009, 1:36am

fair enough.

guggles · February 17, 2009, 6:04am

fukk i want one but i wanna be able to skid/skip with it.
and i deff dont want it to break riding breakless.
so i guess count me out.

Whippin_Skidz · February 17, 2009, 6:48am

There will be one on my soon-to-be-delivered Creamroller for sure.

zombie · February 17, 2009, 6:58am

What shifters options are out there?

surfcat · February 17, 2009, 7:16am

I do it for the bitches, of course.

In all seriousness, I gave it a shot at the suggestion of a friend who knew how much I like singlespeed (and especially coaster brake) bikes as a general principal. I like uncomplicated, low maintenance and reliable things. The less dongles/clutter, the better. My bike has a fixed/free hub, I rode it free for a week, then flipped it and never went back.

As more thorough response:

The workout is better. Heartrate is always elevated regardless of whether I’m going up, down or on the level (I don’t ride slow and having brakes helps that). I didn’t really start to lose weight from bike riding until I got the FG. I’ve lost 45lbs. since.
Bike control is better. I do some amount of backpedaling, but especially trackstands. Super easy with FG.
Silence. Love it. Nothing better than stealth biking IMHO. Just the “whoosh whoosh whoosh” of your tires as you’re standing up and mashing.
No Fucking Deraillers. 'Nuff said. They are great when they work, and then you have to fuck around with them to get them working again. I find it aggravating and run them in friction mode whenever possible.
It’s Fun. I love how a FG bike feels when riding, and prefer it (though having FG + gear range would be even better).

In summary, for me, I don’t need to figure out how to wrap my riding style around a FG IGH. I instantly get what it can do for me. Others’ mileage may vary…