Internal 3 speed wheels (Hubs)

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RedB66

RedB66

Active Member
Dec 28, 2007
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Sunshine State
I've been looking into adding a shift kit to my Worksman bike. Husky has two 3 speed wheels. One is a Sturmey Archer SRC3 3-Speed with Coaster Brake and the other is a Shimano Nexus 3-speed with coaster brake, 22T.

Will they hold up to a shift kit?
Does anybody have any knowledge of which one is better? Are they basically the same? The cost difference is about $14.

BICYCLE WHEEL 26X1.75 ALLOY 3-SPD W/COASTER BRAKE: Husky Bicycles



BICYCLE WHEEL 26X1.75 ALLOY NEXUS 3-SPEED 12-G SPOKES: Husky Bicycles
 
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BarelyAWake

BarelyAWake

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Jul 21, 2009
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Sorry Red, I'm curious too lol - I've not racked up 'nuff mileage on mine yet ta have any useful feedback... and I've got the S30 sos I'm of no use at all :(

;)
 
silverbear

silverbear

The Boy Who Never Grew Up
Jul 9, 2009
8,325
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northeastern Minnesota
I wish I knew something to be of help, but I'm following the thread in hopes of learning. I think there would be a lot of interest in having a shift kit on a Worksman, but it is kind of uncharted territory. I think it would put the bike into another whole class with the ability to run the motor through gears. Regardless of how cool they look as board trackers, they are limited with a single speed hub. I wish somebody made a heavy duty 2.125 rim with a reliable 3 speed. I think we'd see a lot or Worksman and vintage bikes go to shift kits. Thanks for being a pioneer in this.
SB
 
mapbike

mapbike

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Mar 14, 2010
5,502
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Central Area of Texas
I would even put a 3 speed internal on my mountain bike with a shift kit if I knew it would hold up, it would be a much simpler set up and easy to maintain. let us know how it all works out if you do it, i'm very curious too... good luck and happy trails
Shan
 
K

kicking

New Member
Apr 11, 2010
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mississippi
Re : i have a three speed hu....

i have a three speed hub on my (next) bicycle ... dang thing jumps around a lot in and out of gear ... it dont want to stay in first gear no matter what ... i have to pull back on my handel bar shifter to stay in first then let go of it to shift into 2nd gear,,, tried to adjust it dont do no good // but this bike will roll !!! the frame has a very thick weld on it too ... to much hassel for me to put an engine in the frame ( which looks cool if your an 55 year old kid like me) i like loud pipes and runing from cops too lol ) i am going with a push cart here on this $45,00 bike... good luck you came to the right place ... i love it here !!!!
RedB66 said:
I've been looking into adding a shift kit to my Worksman bike. Husky has two 3 speed wheels. One is a Sturmey Archer SRC3 3-Speed with Coaster Brake and the other is a Shimano Nexus 3-speed with coaster brake, 22T.

Will they hold up to a shift kit?
Does anybody have any knowledge of which one is better? Are they basically the same? The cost difference is about $14.

BICYCLE WHEEL 26X1.75 ALLOY 3-SPD W/COASTER BRAKE: Husky Bicycles



BICYCLE WHEEL 26X1.75 ALLOY NEXUS 3-SPEED 12-G SPOKES: Husky Bicycles
Click to expand...
 
Maxvision

Maxvision

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Jun 13, 2009
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San Diego, CA
I built a bike for a guy that had a Nexus 3 speed hub. The hub didn't last a week before it's innards turned to mush.

I put a 6 speed freewheel on mine and cut the tab the shifter bolts to off another bike and welded it to my frame.

Only problem I've had with it was because I used the chain from my coaster brake hub. The chain was too wide for freewheel gears and bent the sprocket teeth to where they looked more like turbine fans causing the chain to start skipping teeth. So I got another set of gears and changed the chain to the ultra narrow kind.
 
mapbike

mapbike

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2010
5,502
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Central Area of Texas
Maxvision said:
I built a bike for a guy that had a Nexus 3 speed hub. The hub didn't last a week before it's innards turned to mush.

I put a 6 speed freewheel on mine and cut the tab the shifter bolts to off another bike and welded it to my frame.

Only problem I've had with it was because I used the chain from my coaster brake hub. The chain was too wide for freewheel gears and bent the sprocket teeth to where they looked more like turbine fans causing the chain to start skipping teeth. So I got another set of gears and changed the chain to the ultra narrow kind.
Click to expand...
Ouch....! so I guess the Nexus hub aint to swift for the pull from these little engines
 
silverbear

silverbear

The Boy Who Never Grew Up
Jul 9, 2009
8,325
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northeastern Minnesota
Maxvision said:
I built a bike for a guy that had a Nexus 3 speed hub. The hub didn't last a week before it's innards turned to mush.

I put a 6 speed freewheel on mine and cut the tab the shifter bolts to off another bike and welded it to my frame.

Only problem I've had with it was because I used the chain from my coaster brake hub. The chain was too wide for freewheel gears and bent the sprocket teeth to where they looked more like turbine fans causing the chain to start skipping teeth. So I got another set of gears and changed the chain to the ultra narrow kind.
Click to expand...
Maxvixion,
How has the six speed freewheel held up since you got the right chain on the bike? Was there any problem with the smaller chain fitting the pedal sprocket (which I'm assuming was originally for a coaster brake? Do you have any pictures of what you did with adding the tab? I'm very much interested in what you did as it sounds like it might be a viable approach for a vintage bike on a budget. I don't know if posting the response here is kind of high jacking this thread and taking it in another direction. Maybe start a new thread or there is one I started a week ago in the board track and vintage bike section on adding a shift kit to a vintage bike. I'm guessing that I wouldn't be the only one interested. Even if it didn't work out, knowing what happened can still be helpful. Many thanks.
SB
 
2door

2door

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Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
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Red,
Depending on which shift kit you choose, if it were me I'd talk to the kit supplier. Pablo, SBP, might have some input for you. They might have done some experimentation with both of those hubs.
Tom
 
RedB66

RedB66

Active Member
Dec 28, 2007
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Sunshine State
2door said:
Red,
Depending on which shift kit you choose, if it were me I'd talk to the kit supplier. Pablo, SBP, might have some input for you. They might have done some experimentation with both of those hubs.
Tom
Click to expand...
Will do. I was going to go with the SBP kit.
 
Ghost0

Ghost0

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Mar 7, 2008
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Bellingham, WA
Well I wish we could offer a little more advice than has already been posted but I am afraid we can't. I have heard of some of the internal hubs working but I have also heard of them self destructing. It is also difficult to trust some of the feedback. I am sure anything can be broken if not set up right or abused so who knows. We have never tried one. I do know the standard derailleurs work fine as do the NuVinci's but other than that we can't be of much more assistance.
 
BarelyAWake

BarelyAWake

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Jul 21, 2009
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Birddog1148 said:
What about the Sturmey Archer 3 speed hubs? How do they hold up? I dont even have my first bike done and already building a second in my head.
Click to expand...

I've managed to rack up about 500 - 600 miles on my Sturmey S30 X-RD3 3sp drum brake hub w/a shiftkit so far this spring. I can see the potential for "detonation" however if care isn't used. It's kinda critical to be careful while shifting as to not "slam" the hub. Upshifting is easy and only a momentary pause is needed, letting off the throttle to drop the RPM down to match - but downshifting for power to go up a hill or w/e is a lil tricky, requiring a gentle, building increase of throttle/RPM to match or it'll slam when the engine RPM suddenly catches up with the wheel's.

It's not that tricky really but I can see that if someone has a habit of "powershifting" and/or the shifter cable isn't properly tensioned there'd be a great potential for damage, I suspect if maladjusted - the "skipping" in and out of a gear could cause damage in a hurry... but it's really not difficult to learn and I think if the above is avoided that the hub is completely capable of dealing with the engine's power - but I'm still workin' on gettin' miles on it heh

Here's lil vid I took on a hilly back road if yer interested, you'll notice the healthy pause when I downshift to take a hill. You'll also notice that the gearing isn't quite right for my bikes weight/hub gearing (easy 'nuff to change) and the "pulsing" sound is from binding links on the chain... shiftkits devour cheap chains BTW ;) YouTube - Shiftkit 3sp long
 
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S

slowenuff

New Member
May 5, 2010
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baltimore,maryland
RedB66 said:
I've been looking into adding a shift kit to my Worksman bike. Husky has two 3 speed wheels. One is a Sturmey Archer SRC3 3-Speed with Coaster Brake and the other is a Shimano Nexus 3-speed with coaster brake, 22T.

Will they hold up to a shift kit?
Does anybody have any knowledge of which one is better? Are they basically the same? The cost difference is about $14.

BICYCLE WHEEL 26X1.75 ALLOY 3-SPD W/COASTER BRAKE: Husky Bicycles



BICYCLE WHEEL 26X1.75 ALLOY NEXUS 3-SPEED 12-G SPOKES: Husky Bicycles
Click to expand...
the shimano has a high level of quality control compared to the sunrace[former sturmey-archer]....both are good...i would say the shimano axle is is definately a better quality steel....i have worked on both hubs and find the biggest issue is support w/ internal parts....sunrace will somewhere in the univesr, provide individual and grouped parts for repair....i think shimano only provides the internals as a complete assembly [cartridge] so $$$$$.....but their assembles are pretty bullet proof unless set up improperly, over oiled[ no oiler on shell, calls for special grease], failure to check bearing adjustment, etc......the shimano has a 22T cog which is more versatile than the 18T w/ the other wheel....ask husky what the width is on each wheel and compare to your bikes rear end. either will work but the shimano is an evolved design and the sunrace is building off 70 year old tech w/ improved materials and higher qual control.....hope that helps a little charlie in baltimore.duh.
 
noisydad

noisydad

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Jun 17, 2009
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BarelyAWake said:
I've managed to rack up about 500 - 600 miles on my Sturmey S30 X-RD3 3sp drum brake hub w/a shiftkit so far this spring. I can see the potential for "detonation" however if care isn't used. It's kinda critical to be careful while shifting as to not "slam" the hub. Upshifting is easy and only a momentary pause is needed, letting off the throttle to drop the RPM down to match - but downshifting for power to go up a hill or w/e is a lil tricky, requiring a gentle, building increase of throttle/RPM to match or it'll slam when the engine RPM suddenly catches up with the wheel's.
Click to expand...
The way I always heard to "correctly" use a three-speed hub when pedaling was to STOP pedaling briefly while shifting. Not so easy (or even possible?) to stop the chain motion with a motor driving it. If your method works...can't argue with success, I guess.
 
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