2 speeds plus neutral

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GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
11
38
San Diego, Kaliforgnia
These hubs were recently discussed. Unless this particular hub is a strange one, the positions are actually:
H: High gear.
N: Normal gear.
L: Low gear.

It is not a 2 speed with a neutral position but a 3 speed.
Neutral does not make any sense anyways. Who in their right mind would want to pedal their hiney off with the drive just freespinning, bike going nowhere?
The hub already can coast with the pedals not moving just like any other bike, so why have a neutral?
 

motorhedfred

Member
Jul 31, 2009
421
17
18
United States
Hmmmm, either the seller never rode it and assumed "N" means neutral, or that gear is messed up. I thought it would be kinda cool to be able to sit at a stop and not have to hold the clutch in.

What's the general consensous on these. Do they hold up to an I.C.E. ?

He's one of those guys who thinks he's sitting on a goldmine. Wouldn't tell me what he wanted, so I offered him $5 based on the posting title. He of course got indignant. When I pressed him for a price, he said $50. I counter offered $25 and got no reply. I'll wait him out.

MHF
 

bowljoman

New Member
Aug 7, 2010
370
1
0
Wa
junk, even at 5$ If it has neutral, its out of adjustment or broken.

Best thing about the bike is the bars.
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
11
38
San Diego, Kaliforgnia
IMHO, $20 to $25 is generous for that bike. It is dAmAgEd and not really all that collectable.
If it were an old skiptooth then it would hold some value. As it is right now the current owner does not know all that much about it and I agree, he thinks it is worth a small fortune.
 

F_Rod81

Dealer
Jan 1, 2011
1,031
2
0
Denver, CO
Just a POS with an older style internal hub. Nothing more. If you look, you can probably buy a newer internal 3speed hub for just as much as it would cost to rebuild that one.
 

diceman2004

New Member
Aug 26, 2009
564
2
0
Kitchener , Ontario
I have an old shimano hub like that .
Gearnut is correct with his explaination . N = 1 ; 1
I have 2 bikes with 3 speed hubs .

The older Shimano is ( no load shifting ) , you need to stop pedaling in order for the gears to change .

The Sturmey Archer is ( under load shifting ) . you must be pedaling in order for the gears to shift .

Both of the hubs work great .

I,m not a big fan of cassette shifters ( especially the multiple front chainrings ) seems every time something happens to the chain , 90 percent of the time it gets jammed up in between the front chainrings .
 

wheelbender6

Well-Known Member
Sep 4, 2008
4,059
221
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TX
The 3 speed hubs I owned all had many "neutrals" between the gears. With a shift kit, they could prove useful.
 

motorhedfred

Member
Jul 31, 2009
421
17
18
United States
Shift kit ? I'm a car guy (my job is selling high performance car parts) and to me, shift kit means a way to make an automatic transmission shift faster/harder.

MHF
 

motorhedfred

Member
Jul 31, 2009
421
17
18
United States
I just bought a 36 spoke Sturmey Archer S2C 2-Speed kick shift with coaster brake from Amazon. He can keep his bent up POS.

MHF
 
Last edited:

bowljoman

New Member
Aug 7, 2010
370
1
0
Wa
The 3 speed hubs I owned all had many "neutrals" between the gears. With a shift kit, they could prove useful.
I think thats called 'mal-adjusted' , and it leads to the fastest method of detonation a SA hub can encounter. Been there, done that, and BOOM it did go...

I wish the shimano nexus was a shift under-load but you need the output to spin faster than the input to get the shift. So that being said, a SA hub adjusted properly probably wont last as long as the nexus, but while it was tight, it would be a faster shifter and the winner of a drag.

Hands down, I think the nexus built for torker trikes is the easiest to adapt as jackshaft, since it has a sprocket on the hub output.