Multi speed hub recommendations

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FrankNBrew

FrankNBrew

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I picked up a brand new Felt 1909 single speed last night. My first thought is to install a multi speed rear hub. I already have 2 Felts with the Nexus 3 speed hubs. I want to do something different this time. I'm thinking maybe Nexus 8 speed? I've been looking around the site for a couple hours and I'm not finding much. Any ideas what kind of hub will fit nicely inside the aluminum frame? Maybe somebody could point me to an existing write up? Any and all help is appreciated.
 
I've got Nexus 7 on one of my bikes, and it is noticeably heavier then Nexus 3, so if you want to keep your bike as light as possible (and you might want to, since it is aluminium) then i'd stick to Nexus 3, since they are ones of the lightest planetary hubs and have good range (186%, 1kg/2 pounds). Similar SA hub is 177% and 1.5kg/3 pounds roughly, talking about coaster brakes. Skip the seven gears, because it is almost same weight and price as eight, but has 50% less range, you don't really want that. If you don't mind the weight, there is Nexus 8 with coaster brake, that is 302% and 2kg/4 pounds. Personally, as a coaster lover, that would be my second choice after Nexus 3. If you want to use disc brakes or roller brakes, then SA X-RF8 wins against Nexus-8 with 325% and only 1.7kg/3,5 pounds when Nexus is 302% and 1.5kg/3 pounds (the brakes add about 0.3kg/0.6 pounds, so it won't be way lighter then coaster in the end). Don't know much about SACHS hubs, so check them if you want, may be you will find something, but they are not so famous around. Would be interesting to hear from people who use and know them.
So, to summarize, think about what qualities of the hub are prior to you and then it would be possible to give you a better advice.
 
FrankNBrew said:
I picked up a brand new Felt 1909 single speed last night. My first thought is to install a multi speed rear hub. I already have 2 Felts with the Nexus 3 speed hubs. I want to do something different this time. I'm thinking maybe Nexus 8 speed? I've been looking around the site for a couple hours and I'm not finding much. Any ideas what kind of hub will fit nicely inside the aluminum frame? Maybe somebody could point me to an existing write up? Any and all help is appreciated.
Click to expand...

The new 1909 looks to be equipped with a Nexus 3 and a re-branded Sturmey-Archer X-FD drum hub up front. I guess they sold the singlespeeds a few years back, and they just had the coaster brake? I dunno; if i recall correctly, Felt used to respace their cb-e100 hubs at 124mm and a bunch of other silly stuff like that; maybe you can let us know what your frame's rear spacing is, what kind of brake(s) you want, etc, and then maybe we can help you narrow it down?

In the meantime, the short answer is Sturmey-Archer AWC or S-RC3, since you've got an aluminum fetish. :grin: For the life of me, i'll never understand why ppl want to put those plasticky Shimano clickboxes on bikes that are s'posed to look retro. Indicator chains and fulcrum clips just look the part more, plus Sturmey-Acher is far more user-friendly.
 
That SA X-RF8 sounds pretty nice. The frame spacing is 125mm. I'm not super concerned with weight. And I'm interested in using a disc brake in lieu of the coaster brake. I'm open to just about anything at this point. I appreciate the great info!


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Some thoughts about the Sturmey 8 speeds:

-the disc version (x-rk8) is spaced at 134mm, and spreading aluminum frames is risky. There is also a drum version called the x-rd8, which is spaced at 132mm.
-i'm not sure you have a disc boss on that frame; there are bolt-on adaptors if you want to try that route, but i'm pretty sure your spacing is going to be a deal-breaker for any disc-ready IGH, which are spaced @135mm pretty much universally, to be compatible with disc-ready frames.
-the x-rf8 is available in two OLDs: 134 and 120. You could almost certainly space-out the 120mm version to 125 and run it (the axle is 175mm long), but then you'd need to find a way to run a rim brake, as the x-rf8 is a brakeless hub.
-the main challenge with the Sturmey 8 speeds is that the lowest gear is the direct drive 1:1 ratio, so you'll need to run a huge rear sprocket and/or a tiny front sprocket, b/c all 7 of the other gears are overdrive. The Shimano 8 speed, by comparison has the direct gear in 5th, with 4 underdrive gears and 3 ovedrive gears, so you can gear it like a regular singlespeed or 3speed and it will provide a useful range.

The biggest rear sprocket they make for the Sturmey 8 speed is a 25t (there are also 23 and 20t sprockets; the 8-speed hub takes a different kind of sprocket than the "Standard" 3-splines that mot other Sturmey-Archers, SRAM, and Shimano IGHs take...). If you run the 25t rear with the stock 44t chainwheel, you'll have a range of 46" though 148" gears, with 30% steps between 1st/2nd and 7th/8th, and 14% jumps between all the rest. Basically, that puts your 6th gear at a very high 100", and 7th and 8th will be virtually unusable under most cruising conditions. For comparison, a stock 1909 3speed with the Nexus is running gears of 38", 52", and 71"....

If your frame was spaced at 135mm, i'd suggest goign for a Nuvinci, which has up to 380% range, with stepless changes in ratios (it's a CVT) and direct drive occurring in the lower-end of the range--- it goes from 0.5 underdrive to 1.9 overdriv for the latest n380 hub. But, really, your frame's material is limiting you somewhat in terms of what hubs you can run. I'd still say you're best off with an s-rc3 or an AWC, although Sturmey-Archer does make a new x-rd4 with a drum brake that is spaced exactly at 125mm. Shame it runs a rotary gear selector, instead of an elegant indicator chain...
 
I will not do a rim brake. And since I'm not a fan of cables, maybe a coaster brake should be my main focus. But if a disc or drum makes more sense, I can live with another cable. I'll just have to make sure to use a unique color cable housing, or some unique routing.

Are there better options for a 5 speed with coaster brake that will fit nicely inside the 125mm spacing?

Thanks again to all of you for the info!!


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You could possibly find a used or NOS Nexus 7 in the SG-7C26 or SG-7C16 version which'd be 7 speed gripshift with 127mm spacing and a coaster.... they're out of production now, but you could also find the older-style s-rc5 from Sturmey.... this retailer in the UK still has'm. . . 127mm OLD, lots of shifter options, but kinda pricey. (I've ordered hubs from them before; they ship quickly and pack well...) http://practicalcycles.com/products/245777--sturmey-archer-src-5-hub-gear-with-coaster-brake.aspx
 
Bicycle808 said:
You could possibly find a used or NOS Nexus 7 in the SG-7C26 or SG-7C16 version which'd be 7 speed gripshift with 127mm spacing and a coaster.... they're out of production now, but you could also find the older-style s-rc5 from Sturmey.... this retailer in the UK still has'm. . . 127mm OLD, lots of shifter options, but kinda pricey. (I've ordered hubs from them before; they ship quickly and pack well...) http://practicalcycles.com/products/245777--sturmey-archer-src-5-hub-gear-with-coaster-brake.aspx
Click to expand...


That's looks like a very nice contender. Thanks for the info and the links!
 
I found the SRC-5 (W) on Ebay for $75 + $17 for shipping from Germany. Brand new, and it comes with everything including the shifter. Shiny hub, wide gear ratio...it sounds too good to be true. I pulled the trigger. Keeping my fingers crossed that it's as advertised and works like a charm. If not, it's another part added to the pile.
 
FrankNBrew said:
I found the SRC-5 (W) on Ebay for $75 + $17 for shipping from Germany. Brand new, and it comes with everything including the shifter. Shiny hub, wide gear ratio...it sounds too good to be true. I pulled the trigger. Keeping my fingers crossed that it's as advertised and works like a charm. If not, it's another part added to the pile.
Click to expand...

I think that stretching the 125mm to 127mm will be ok, even with the aluminum. Apparently, some folks have had issues with the last generation of 5 speeds, whereas others haven't. Keep it lubed and i bet it will work, but my experience is that the 3 speeds tend to work better than the higher numbers of speeds. But the additional range and shorter steps are nice. That's a killer price, btw.
 
I finally got my new hub in the mail. Got it laced up and adjusted this afternoon. After a brief test drive and a few readjustments I still appear to only have 4 gears. I'm guessing there's no first gear. The bent coaster brake arm needs to be replaced with a flat arm. I had to flip it around to get it to work, but it looks terrible. So far, so good. Now if the temps could get above freezing...

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Looks cool. Definitely looks nice in that frame. A few thoughts...

That particular hub gets the initial adjustment with the shifter in second, and from there, use the indicator to get it worked out. If you do it right, you should have all 5 gears. If you don't, don't ride that way! Riding mis-adjusted IGHs could result in real damage to the innards of the hub...

As for the brake-arm, it looks to me like it should work fine in the stock config with the coaster tab. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm having trouble seeing how it wouldn't work. FWIW, you can probably bend the arm til it's roughly flat if you have to.
 
I have it adjusted right on with the indicator sitting flush with the end of the axle in 2nd gear. It's just too darn cold outside to mess with it any further. And the coaster brake arm is bent in a way where it goes right across the tab on the frame. If it were perfectly flat it would be perfect.


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It happens to be sunny and a balmy 37 degrees so I went out this afternoon and double checked my adjustment. It appears to be working nicely now, except it doesn't shift from 2nd to 3rd properly. I have to go to 4th and back to 3rd. Hopefully after putting a few miles on the hub things will loosen up and work well.

My next plan is to replace the twist shifter with a thumb shifter...and maybe mount it to the rear rack boss with the cable going straight into the hub with no housing. Anybody tried this?


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FrankNBrew said:
It happens to be sunny and a balmy 37 degrees so I went out this afternoon and double checked my adjustment. It appears to be working nicely now, except it doesn't shift from 2nd to 3rd properly. I have to go to 4th and back to 3rd. Hopefully after putting a few miles on the hub things will loosen up and work well.

My next plan is to replace the twist shifter with a thumb shifter...and maybe mount it to the rear rack boss with the cable going straight into the hub with no housing. Anybody tried this?


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Click to expand...

Try the rackboss-mounted suey shifter with a braze-on shifter; that's my best advice. https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/gear-sh...archer-sls50s5-braze-on-thumbshifter/?geoc=US

And, my other advice is, stop riding it hen it's mis-adjusted! Youll grind the gears out.
 
The nut sits flush at the end of the axle, and I have it adjusted so the yellow stripe is centered at the end of the axle in 2nd gear. It's shifting fine and there's no grinding, but the shift from 2nd to 3rd is a bit touchy.


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