Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Review of Sturmey Archer S30 3-Speed 36h, Internal Drum Brake

Sturmey Archer S30 3-Speed 36h, Internal Drum Brake
Customer Ratings: 5 stars
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I like and use this 3 speed hub on a custom beach cruiser. It is inexpensive, available and works silky smooth. The built in brake is a plus to keep out sand and allows you to reposition the bike pedals for a strong take off from a traffic light. My only negative point is that the gears are wide where a regular derailer would have 5 gear steps that this hub spans with three. So, this results in a transition of pedaling too fast then too slow with a gear change on the road.

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I have the hub from the fishing reel company and the one with the artists name and 2 of these from SA. They are all different and they are all different compared to a deraillreurs.

With the SA you cannot play around with the way this works with the dropouts on your frame, in other words, do not try to loosen the axle to clock this one to work, you will mess up the way the bearing is adjusted and be in a spot with trying to bring it back to spec or not ruining it while riding on it in this state. This may be problematic considering the frame brace on this with the drum brake needs to be in a certain spot. I have one on my daughters bike with the front facing 45 deg dropout and on a track frame with horizontal dropouts and they both needed finagling to get right but they both work fine.

Next, be mindful of how this is adjusted in second gear and don't ride it hard immediately because there is going to be cable stretch and loosening/re-tightening of the cable as you dial it in on your first ride, be patient. I go with the 2:1 chainring to cog ratio, no issues with any of the chain rings or cogs and I use a lower cost $10 chain from one of the 2 big companies, I use an 18/38-36 on my two.

Finally, this does not shift like the precise fishing reel company's hub, it is a bit more laid back, and not at all like a derailleur. There must be zero tension on the chain when twisting into a new gear, do not force it! It is not like a derailleur where you may want a little tension as you shift to get the chain on to the next cog. I will be honest, I ruined my first one because I thought I should be mashing into the next gear, I also ruined the twist shifter trying to force it into what I thought it should do or wanted it to do before I adjusted it properly. It is just different and you need to get used to it. You would think I would toss it and do something different after blowing it up but my daughters setup has been perfect, 2nd one I did, and thought it was worth another try because operator error was likely to blame.

Because it is different and laid back, it does not lend itself to MTB riding because it is bit slower and you have cannot have tension on the chain,which is necessary on a MTB bike when negotiating obstacles, when changing gears. Do yourself a favor and keep this one on the road!

So, you cannot beat this for the money, it is smooth and quiet and comes with everything you need in the box to install it (everything). I did notice that SA is incorporating updates into the hub, improving little things from the ones I bought a year ago, so you know that SA is making constant improvements in the product which is a good sign that they are selling these and committed to a high quality product. I really like it and think I got a very good deal on it considering it comes complete..

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I really like this 3 speed hub. I converted my bike to a cargo bike (xtra-cycle) the same time I got this hub. I originally had a 38 tooth single speed sprocket on the front. The 3-speed hub didn't work too well with that 38 tooth sprocket. (Had to hold the shifter down to stay in 1st gear.)

Got a 42 tooth sprocket from amazon and the bike really works superb now, better with this 3 speed than with the original Nexus 7. I knew this 3-speed shifter was the one I wanted, from when I was a kid riding my cousin's Raleigh. Really impressed by it then and like it a lot now. Seems stronger, smoother, more mechanically sound than the nexus. Riding in the rain probably did the nexus in. Won't need to ride in the rain with this one but bet it would hold up if I did.

Recommend the cargo bike too. Really nice to have.

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