I've been riding two different bicycles with the S3X hub, and I find it to be superior to a standard 3speed hub. As another commentor has noted, the S3X doesn't make ticking/clicking noises (because there are no pawls inside it), making it quieter to ride.
I don't have empirical data beyond my own experience, but I think it also makes the hub stronger and less prone to failure. I have White Industries Eno freewheels on my bikes, and knowing that I have bombproof and totally rebuildable freewheeling mechanism on the *outside* of the hub is very comforting. I tend to push a higher gear than some, but with a 48x17 setup I get gears of 76/57/46, which is low enough to get up grades of 10-11%. Beyond that, I just get off and walk. On the recent Davis Double Century workers ride, I did the entire route without using the lowest gear. --Eric N www.CampyOnly.com CampyOnlyGuy.blogspot.com Twitter: @CampyOnlyGuy > On May 15, 2014, at 12:29 PM, David Banzer <daban...@gmail.com> wrote: > > I setup a bike awhile back with a S3X with a 16t freewheel. In the end I > didn't like the setup and didn't ride it very much, eventually taking the > wheel apart and selling the hub. > Unless you intend on riding fixed gear with it, I'd say that a regular, > coastable 3-speed hub would be better. Also, for riding fixed gear, if I > remember correctly, there was a little play between forward pedaling and > pushing back to slow down. It felt slightly different than regular fixed > gear, and I didn't care for it. > > If it were me, I'd stick with single speed wheelset and play around with what > gear inches feel good to you. > > David > Chicago > >> On Thursday, May 15, 2014 9:48:42 AM UTC-5, Avery Wilson wrote: >> A little off-topic, because the bike being discussed isn't a Rivendell, but >> I pulled my dad's old bike out of the barn and stripped it down for service >> as a 'round town single speeder. Since building it up, I've found that I'm >> using it way more than I thought I would! It just feels really nice to be >> way up high and not have too many gears to fiddle with. >> >> Here's a Pic. >> >> The frame is an REX Criterium by Araya, made with Araya 531 Tubing. I don't >> know anything about it other than that. It's lightweight and quick, and I >> like it, so I s'pose that's all that matters. Its got quite a bit of >> attractive beausage. >> >> The frame is a 63cm C-T with a 59cm top tube. I haven't measured the ST and >> HT angles, but I imagine they're a bit steeper than my 56cm Hillborne's. My >> PBH is 88, and the bike actually fits quite well, though with little >> standover. It's currently built with quite the mishmash of parts, most of >> which I had lying around from previous builds/unbuilds. >> >> Tech Deluxe 12cm Stem >> Cromo Albas >> V-O seatpost >> Brooks C17 Saddle >> original Sugino "Mighty Comp" crank 130bcd >> Silver Long reach brakes and Tektro mtb levers >> Black P45 fenders >> Berthoud saddle pouch >> >> Wheels - super cheap-o single wall single speed rear wheel >> Bontrager race-light front wheel left over from my racer days. >> >> Gearing is 42-16 Freewheel >> >> So, down to the real question: Since I'm riding this bike way more than I >> thought I would, I'm looking into getting a proper wheelset for it. >> >> Options are Sturmey-Archer (sunrace) S3X fixed gear threespeed with a >> freewheel screwed on, or just a nicer sealed bearing single speed wheelset. >> >> I know there are a few S3X riders here so, how does it feel? I mean, is >> there noticable drag or mushy-ness? In the 3rd (direct) gear, does it feel >> the same as a good single speed? The three speed is attractive to me, >> because I sometimes pull a trailer with my daughters with this bike, and >> sometimes 72 gear inches is a bit high.. >> >> Or I could keep it single, but just with a nicer matching wheelset. >> >> Or I could build it 1x8, which I already have all the parts for. >> >> Mostly looking for thoughts on the S3X hub, but all other comments/questions >> are welcome of course! >> >> Avery > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
